Because people die and when you love characters you don't want that but that is life for real, life in books and life in movies and tv. Pea Eye was so used to seeing Newt stand on one leg to clean his boot that he couldn't figure out what it was Gus thought he couldn't do. This is without a doubt the best book I've read in years - a huge cast of characters that are all memorable in their own way, this book is just bursting with story and ideas.

It seems fitting that I began his definitive work, Pulitzer winning Lonesome Dove, on his birthday, June 3.

The sound drowned out the quiet of sunset, which annoyed Augustus so much that at times he was tempted to go up and shoot the old man, just to teach him a lesson. Into this picture, Dishwater Boggett, a local cowhand, rides in and falls head over heels with Lorena, who barely notices his existence. It meant they had to walk down the Brazos for nearly two hundred miles, worrying constantly about what would happen if the Comanches discovered they were afoot. It contains memorable characters whose adventures are narrated in a deceptively straightforward style. It is a western, based in the late 1800’s and has a stellar cast of diverse characters, but the two main men are Augustus Macrae and Captain Woodrow F.

I have not seen the series and don’t think I ever shall… it would be impossible to accurately portray these incredibly interesting characters on film. In Fort Smith, the young and inexperienced sheriff, July Johnson, reluctantly departs town on the trail of Jake Spoon, taking his 12-year-old stepson Joe with him, and leaving the inept deputy sheriff Roscoe Brown in charge.Besieged in a makeshift dugout in the bank of the Musselshell River for several days, Gus' wounds become infected, and his health declines. This was such a surprisingly wonderful read, well beyond the traditional stereotypes of westerns with realistic, lovable (and hateful) characters and an incredible scenario. The large cast of characters carry their hopes, fears and limitations with them out onto the vast plains of the American Midwest, and the drive turns out to be dangerous in ways they couldn’t even imagine. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen. This is a lengthy novel and on face value a western doesn’t sound as if it would be very interesting considering we live in Scotland, but rest assured… this book is one of the most engrossing books you will ever have the pleasure of reading.

It had been a dry year, even by the standards of Lonesome Dove, and the spring was just springing enough to make a nice mud puddle. Long experience had taught him that there was no winning arguments with Augustus, even in cases where there was a simple right and wrong at issue.Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae – A co-owner of the Hat Creek outfit and former Texas Ranger, he is a lazy, loquacious, and charismatic rake with a fondness for alcohol, gambling, and whores; he is nonetheless a brave and competent fighter when required.

Augustus took the jug back to the porch and placed his rope-bottomed chair so as to utilize the smidgin of shade he had to work with. When the sky had pinked up nicely over the western flats, Augustus went around to the back of the house and kicked the kitchen door a time or two. It is accepted by you that Daunt Books has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. The sun had finally set, and it was so still along the river that they could hear the horses swishing their tails, down in the lots -- or they could until Bolivar laid into the bell. The argument was entirely about coon dogs, and Augustus had kept it up all night, though most of the Rangers were so scared they couldn't pass water.McMurtry's descriptions of the vast plains, rugged landscapes, and gritty towns transport readers to a bygone era. Fifty weeks out of the year Hat Creek was nothing but a sandy ditch, and the fact that the two pigs didn't regard it as a fit wallow was a credit to their intelligence. This is the third novel in the Lonesome Dove quartet, following on from Comanche Moon and prequels Streets of Laredo. Atrociously wicked and remorseless, he is feared across the plains as a ruthless murderer, rapist, and slaver.