From the Listening Hills
Stories
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- ¥850
発行者による作品情報
Classic tales that capture the heroic and indomitable spirit of our great land
The twelve stories in this collection run the spectrum of human emotions as they transport us from the fading majesty of the Old West to a small-town football field to the lonely canyons of one man’s mind. These classic tales of adventure, mystery, mysticism, and suspense epitomize the uniquely American yearning for connection and roots, justice and love, as only L’Amour can. Here is a diverse group of heroes and traitors, outlaws and lawmen—the innocent, the guilty, and those who operate in the shadowy territory outside the reach of justice.
The wastelands of Death Valley form the backdrop for the tale of a desperate man who leads his pursuers into a desert trap—where heat and thirst are his only weapons. A rodeo rider framed for a crime he didn’t commit takes a wild ride on a legendary bronco that may help him catch the real killers. An American pilot flies Russian and British agents into the labyrinthine forests of Asiatic Russia—only to discover that one of them is a traitor. A hit man discovers the fatal limits of friendship; and a quest for revenge becomes a frantic race to find a cache of gold hidden in the drifting sands of the Southwest. And in a powerful and moving parable, an Indian boy must lead his family across a drought-ravaged land with nothing to guide him but his faith.
The gripping title story counts down the final hours of a wounded man struggling to fend off his enemies and certain death. Before time runs out, he must finish the most important task of his life: a letter to his unborn son that will vindicate the family name. Filled with a special brand of passion and drama, From the Listening Hills is an exemplary collection that showcases the enduring talents of one of America’s most beloved authors.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Last year, Bantam published what was then thought to be the fourth and final posthumous collection of short stories by L'Amour (1908 1988), With These Hands. Yet as the author's son explains in an afterword, the family soon discovered a few more stragglers. These 12 stories, a mix of westerns, crime, sports and spy yarns drawn from L'Amour's prolific career as a genre writer for pulp magazines, are every bit as entertaining as those in the last few collections. Typically, the tales of revenge and honor are punctuated with gunfights, fistfights and sports action. In "Sand Trap," a man being framed for robbery and murder leads his tormentors into the inhospitable desert of Death Valley, where he has a few tricks in store for them. "Moran of the Tigers" follows pro football player Flash Moran, who tries to save his disintegrating team from vicious gamblers and inside-the-huddle treachery. WWII spy adventure stories were favorites of L'Amour's, and his hard-boiled soldier-of-fortune pilot, Turk Madden, appears in several of these stories. In "Flight to the North," Turk uncovers an Axis spy and a secret Japanese airbase hidden in the frozen wasteland of Siberia. Best among these yarns is the title story, a western about a wounded outlaw desperately trying to hold off his pursuers until he can finish writing a special letter to his young son. Filled with grit and gun smoke, this collection is a fine coda to the legendary author's achievements.
