Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Westward the Tide by Louis L'Amour Narrator: Robert Petkoff, Jason Culp, Dan John Miller
Published by Penguin Audio on October 25, 2022
Genres: Historical Fiction
Length: 7 hours, 59 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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Matt Bardoul was a good man to have as a friend and a bad one to make trouble with. He was also a single-minded drifter - until he met his match in an outspoken beauty named Jacquine Coyle. She was headed into the Bighorn Mountains with her father and an expedition in search of gold. After Matt signs on to join them, he discovers that there is a group of outlaws in the party, gunfighters and thieves that Matt wouldn't trust for a minute.
At first it's unclear what they are planning, but before long Matt realizes that he's the only man standing between innocent people and a brutal conspiracy of greed, lust, and cold-blooded murder.
Westward the Tide has the distinction of being Louis L’Amour’s first full-length novel. Everything he wrote previously was published as short stories or serials in magazines. And, oddly, it was released in the UK first and didn’t publish in the US until 1977. Traversing parts of the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming of the 1870’s, this latest Lost Treasures Audio western brought a wagon train and gold prospecting adventure with a rugged gun-fighting hero, intrepid heroine, and lots of gutsy skirmishes to be won along the trail.
Matt Bardoul took one look at Jacquine Coyle and he was well and truly hooked. So, when he arrives in Deadwood and learns from an old mountain man friend that her father is one of the partners heading up a secret gold hunting expedition into the Bighorn Mountains, he deals himself in. The group of wagons include a motley crew of hard-bitten pioneer types, old buffalo hunters and explorers, cowboys, prospectors, and, oh yes, a pack of outlaws with their own agenda for the trip. Matt senses trouble, as do a few others, but what form it takes isn’t revealed until the wagon train is well along on the road and out of sight of any town or fort, in rugged Sioux and Cheyenne country fresh after the Little Big Horn battle, Fetterman Fight, and other encounters when two ways of life clashed.
As usual, I appreciate L’Amour’s vivid description of the location, the historical backdrop, the colorful and diverse characters, and the gritty adventure full of gun fights, wilderness survival, bare-knuckle boxing, and even some intrigue. There were a couple times when I felt a lag in the story, but it didn’t take long to pick up the pace again. The romance was back burner, but a sweet element weaving through the rest that culminates in the usual exciting blockbuster climax fight.
Incidentally, the extras included Beau L’Amour talking about the story behind the novel and that time period in Louis L’Amour’s life. This book nearly disappeared twice before it could be published in the US.
All in all, I love these new Lost Treasures editions and particularly on audio. Westward the Tide was another western winner for me.
Narration:
Robert Petkoff was a familiar voice who did a bang up job voicing the characters particularly Matt Bardoul and catching the tone of the writing particularly when it contrasted thoughtful to an intense action scene. Also good and familiar were the afterward Lost Treasure extra narrators Jason Culp and Dan John Miller.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Jason Culp
Jason Culp was born in Los Angeles, second son of actor/writer Robert Culp and his wife Nancy. Raised variously in the San Fernando Valley, Ojai, Malibu and Beverly Hills, he began acting at the age of 10 in a small role in the film “Hickey & Boggs”, directed by his father. After a great deal of theater through his teen years, he trained at the American Conservatory Theater, in New York with Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen at the esteemed HB Studio, and back in Los Angeles in the 80s with John Lehne. He appeared in the soaps “General Hospital”, “Days of our Lives”, and appeared in the film “Skinheads”. He moved to New York in the early 90s and resided there for 25 years, doing regional theater and focusing on voice over work, audiobooks and writing. He has now returned to Los Angeles to resume his acting career.
About Robert Petkoff
Robert Petkoff is an award-winning American stage actor known for his work in Shakespearean productions and more recently on the New York City musical theater stage. Petkoff has performed on Broadway, the West End, regional theatre, and done work in film and television. Petkoff was featured as “Perchik” in the Tony award-nominated 1994 revival cast of Fiddler on the Roof but is perhaps best known for his role as “Tateh” in the 2009 revival of “Ragtime” on Broadway. Petkoff has also provided the voices for over two dozen audiobooks, winning awards for his reading of Michael Koryta‘s So Cold the River. Married to actress Susan Wands, Petkoff has lived in New York City for the last twenty years, and often performs in benefit concerts for theater-district-related charities.
About Louis L’Amour
Louis L’Amour was an American author. L’Amour’s books, primarily Western fiction, remain enormously popular, and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death all 101 of his works were in print (86 novels, 14 short-story collections and one full-length work of nonfiction) and he was considered “one of the world’s most popular writers”.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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While I haven’t read this particular western, I do love Louis L’Amour. A friend introduced me to his books in college and I’ve been enjoying them ever since.
Glad to meet a fellow fan, Lark! I haven’t branched out very far into the western genre, but I do love L’Amour books.
This is an author I want to try sometime. I do enjoy historical westerns. With a little romance, of course. Fab review, Sophia!
Oh yes, I do love a dab of romance in my westerns. Surprisingly, L’Amour has a fair few that have strong romance elements and even good murder mysteries.
I am going to have to try one of his books at some point. I think that I remember some on my mom’s shelves. Maybe she still has a few that I can borrow.
I tried my first one by borrowing it off my dad’s shelf. It was Milo Talon which was both western and murder mystery so it caught my fancy. Hopefully she’ll have a few for you to test drive.
Not a big fan of historical fiction but I know I have to try it someday. Definitely keeping this one once I decided to give it a shot. Awesome review Sophia Rose 🙂
That’s okay if you aren’t into western historical fiction. I have genres I don’t pick up too often, too.
I wouldn’t have looked twice at this. But this looks fun!
Yep, a gold hunt, a romance, and a wagon train adventure all in one. 🙂
Ya know I love historical Sophia. I really need to try one of his books. Which would you recommend?
Oh, the pressure of which to recommend. If you want a strong western women’s fic-ish one, The Cherokee Trail or Ride the River. Romantic-ish, Conagher or The Rider of Lost Creek. My personal favorites are Flint, Man Called Noon, and Comstock Lode.