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snarlet319's review against another edition
4.0
I am really enjoying all of the Longmire books, and able to see them as different from the TV series, which I also really like.
ericwelch's review against another edition
3.0
I saw a variation of this story on the excellent Longmire TV series (well, it has sort of jumped the shark recently), so I was prepared for having a basic idea of what was going to happen. Wrong. Very different. No problem, the books are always good.
Walt takes off after a gang of escaped convicts in the middle of a snowstorm. There’s a marvelous scene up in the mountains where Virgil White Buffalo, the huge Indian and Vietnam veteran from a previous book, and Walt hunker down during a snowstorm and discuss the Aeneid and play chess using some pebbles and rocks. The question is, did it happen?
I questioned the motivations of the bad guy and certainly the apparitions, but Johnson always delivers a good story.
Walt takes off after a gang of escaped convicts in the middle of a snowstorm. There’s a marvelous scene up in the mountains where Virgil White Buffalo, the huge Indian and Vietnam veteran from a previous book, and Walt hunker down during a snowstorm and discuss the Aeneid and play chess using some pebbles and rocks. The question is, did it happen?
I questioned the motivations of the bad guy and certainly the apparitions, but Johnson always delivers a good story.
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Mini-Review:
My initial response was to give this 3 stars but there's something that makes me want to give it 4. I will think about it and make up my mind tomorrow.
Alright. My general response to the story was that nothing new was happening and that this was a new situation that covered familiar ground. The Native American stories really stood out and made more of an impact than the chase. The ending seemed like a vague meandering that didn't manage to actually go anywhere. But all of the responses I had to the story made me look back at what happened, and I thought about how well the story expressed Walt's state of mind & being from the start to finish. I am reminded that a large part of what I like about this series are the characters and how real they are.
A friend's review made all of the key points that I thought & felt when I read the book. Yet I came away from the ending and thought that the book was exactly as it should be. It would have been nice if there had been more concrete parts to balance the abstract. Yet, I'm not sure if more clarity would have made the same impact of actions taken in the present and all the visions that kept Walt from the final steps to death.
I am left wondering if a part of all the events that have happened in Walt's life is due to him not realizing or acknowledging a shaman's path. A warrior shaman is not that weird of a mix. The story was a spiritual journey and it was quite excellent in that regard.
My initial response was to give this 3 stars but there's something that makes me want to give it 4. I will think about it and make up my mind tomorrow.
Alright. My general response to the story was that nothing new was happening and that this was a new situation that covered familiar ground. The Native American stories really stood out and made more of an impact than the chase. The ending seemed like a vague meandering that didn't manage to actually go anywhere. But all of the responses I had to the story made me look back at what happened, and I thought about how well the story expressed Walt's state of mind & being from the start to finish. I am reminded that a large part of what I like about this series are the characters and how real they are.
A friend's review made all of the key points that I thought & felt when I read the book. Yet I came away from the ending and thought that the book was exactly as it should be. It would have been nice if there had been more concrete parts to balance the abstract. Yet, I'm not sure if more clarity would have made the same impact of actions taken in the present and all the visions that kept Walt from the final steps to death.
I am left wondering if a part of all the events that have happened in Walt's life is due to him not realizing or acknowledging a shaman's path. A warrior shaman is not that weird of a mix. The story was a spiritual journey and it was quite excellent in that regard.
blueberry's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked [b:Hell Is Empty|9794605|Hell Is Empty (Walt Longmire, #7)|Craig Johnson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388459227s/9794605.jpg|14684712] so I have found a new series to read. It is #7 in the Walt Longmire series. This was the first I have read in the series and chose it because I needed a serial killer for a group challenge.
Walt Longmire delivers 3 criminals including a psychotic schizophrenic killer to federal law officers. The prisoners escape into the Bighorn Mountains wilderness area with an impending blizzard. The story was very intense, building until the very ending. But it has even more....Native American spiritualism, literary references (Dante's Inferno) both play a big part in this story.
I had some confusion with characters because the author using multiple names and nicknames for each character. So if you are new to the series I would start with #1 to build the character's histories.
Walt Longmire delivers 3 criminals including a psychotic schizophrenic killer to federal law officers. The prisoners escape into the Bighorn Mountains wilderness area with an impending blizzard. The story was very intense, building until the very ending. But it has even more....Native American spiritualism, literary references (Dante's Inferno) both play a big part in this story.
I had some confusion with characters because the author using multiple names and nicknames for each character. So if you are new to the series I would start with #1 to build the character's histories.
sophiebillekens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
angielisle's review against another edition
4.0
I complained about the previous two books in this series. I was worried this one would disappoint too but Johnson's back on track - I read this book in two sittings.
I've mentioned in previous reviews that the show is true to the books in the same way that Midsomer Murders was true to Caroline Graham's books: the show captures the essence of the characters but takes liberties with plots, which keeps both formats fresh for viewers. I've also noted that the deviations between the show and the series grow with each book.
This is one of the books that was turned into an episode. Up until this episode, the show only hints at Walt's spiritual nature so this episode was one that tried to touch base with the series. I appreciate that, I really do, but the show doesn't depict the depth of Walt's spiritual side as shown in the books. I don't know that the show can, it can't give us the inner workings of Walt's mind without changing format; we'd lose something of the supporting characters and they are big part of the books too. So it's one of those things that the show mediates. Shrug. I take that with a grain of salt. Some people will be annoyed by the deviation. The books make me think better of Walt on the television.
One of the strong draws of this book series is the romantic plot threads - I love how Johnson draws out these relationships over several books; there's no drowning in pages of characters staring into each other's eyes. When they talk to each other, it's real conversation, not endless dialogue promising sweet-nothings. I prefer romances written by men and targeted at men; they feel more real to me than bodice-ripper romances. This series, taken as a whole, is a superb example of how romances should be done.
I've mentioned in previous reviews that the show is true to the books in the same way that Midsomer Murders was true to Caroline Graham's books: the show captures the essence of the characters but takes liberties with plots, which keeps both formats fresh for viewers. I've also noted that the deviations between the show and the series grow with each book.
This is one of the books that was turned into an episode. Up until this episode, the show only hints at Walt's spiritual nature so this episode was one that tried to touch base with the series. I appreciate that, I really do, but the show doesn't depict the depth of Walt's spiritual side as shown in the books. I don't know that the show can, it can't give us the inner workings of Walt's mind without changing format; we'd lose something of the supporting characters and they are big part of the books too. So it's one of those things that the show mediates. Shrug. I take that with a grain of salt. Some people will be annoyed by the deviation. The books make me think better of Walt on the television.
One of the strong draws of this book series is the romantic plot threads - I love how Johnson draws out these relationships over several books; there's no drowning in pages of characters staring into each other's eyes. When they talk to each other, it's real conversation, not endless dialogue promising sweet-nothings. I prefer romances written by men and targeted at men; they feel more real to me than bodice-ripper romances. This series, taken as a whole, is a superb example of how romances should be done.
lindaj's review against another edition
5.0
Mr. Johnson's best to date. A wonderful yarn - with Walt receiving visions from One who has gone Beyond - and marvelous moments of humor, exquisitely timed.
I hope Walt's body holds out for more books in this series but if he keeps sustaining injuries at the same pace I think Mr. Johnson will have to have him join the likes of Nick and Nora Charles.
Oh, and the audio edition of this series is the only way to experience it.
Boy Howdy....
I hope Walt's body holds out for more books in this series but if he keeps sustaining injuries at the same pace I think Mr. Johnson will have to have him join the likes of Nick and Nora Charles.
Oh, and the audio edition of this series is the only way to experience it.
Boy Howdy....
catmum's review against another edition
5.0
A prisoner hand-off goes wrong and Walt must go up the highest peak of the Bighorn Mountains in a snowstorm to track an escaped killer and his hostages.
carol26388's review against another edition
2.0
Current self says, "Self, don't read this book. Skip it and go to the next Walt Longmire."
Past self says, "Self, it really bothers me to read a book out of order. What if I miss something? I have to complete them."
Current self: "Stop being so obsessive compulsive."
Past self: "I breathe, therefore I am."
Current self: "Just for that, I'm gonna slap you into next week."
Johnson tried, he really did. But there's no mystery here, only Walt chasing down escaped prisoners in the middle of a Wyoming snowstorm in May. One of the prisoners--the important one--is a sociopath who has played a trump card of identifying the burial site of a murdered Native American boy. The prisoners escape shortly after Walt drops them off with the Feds, but Walt gets an inkling something ain't right, and he's on their tail in two shakes of a dog's wet fur. So despite ice-slick roads, snowdrifts and fallen trees, Walt tracks them down to a lodge and then up into the Big Horn Mountain. Along the way he has a mystical journey, encounters lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) and Virgil White Buffalo.
Forget the plot. There isn't much; it's a straight-out Fugitive, with a mysticism bonus. I could forgive the wild coincidences and forced scenarios, but what I can't forgive is Walt's feeble reasons for the chase in the first place: "it's my job." No, it isn't. Secondary reasons are flimsy (perhaps there are hostages, although they may be helping the fugitives) and flat-out stupid, particularly in light of prior life-and-death experiences when Walt was motivated by family and love. There's not enough pretense to hang my hat on here.
And the storytelling--good heavens. It stumbles like a drunk cowboy trying to find the gents' room, bouncing off patrons and doorways, spilling beer on the way. It vacillates from a whole lot of telling to forced metaphors about journeys to scenes that sound like Jack London on a bender. We learn the prisoners Longmire is transporting to the feds are awful people through dialogue lifted from Law & Order. Later there's a dream sequence/flashback of the murdered child as he was being abducted (which show is that? Criminal Intent? I can't keep all these devices straight). We have Deputy Santiago reading literature to broaden his mind or something, and while feeding the prisoners at the diner (!) he's reading (!) Dante's Inferno, (I find reading Dante less surprising then stopping at a restaurant to give handcuffed prisoners a meal and reading a book while one does it) which will conveniently be placed in the survival pack Santiago gives Walt. Then we have long landscape-gazing sequences where Walt climbs mountains, travels across icy lakes and gazes at beetle-destroyed pines. Foreshadowing isn't so much heavy as it is crushing as it compares Walt's journey to Dante's and warns him about traitors, death and etc. (although I don't believe sin was discussed).
The ending proved fairly unsatisfying, particularly as Walt persists in failing to discuss the spirits with best friend and Native warrior Henry, and as he persists in failing to acknowledge their influence on his life. I did like Virgil, his stories, and the mountain lion, so I guess that's something. I was also glad for Hector the prisoner and his unselfconscious, sporadic phone calls providing a few laughs, sadly out of tone with the rest of the story.
My favorite paragraph in the book came after Virgil's story about the Long Otters eating the young Thunderbirds and the Crow warrior who helped them:
"I nodded my head. 'And the moral of the story is?'
He raised an eyebrow, and it was as if the dent in his forehead was looking to dig deeper. 'What is it with you white people and morals? Maybe it's just a story about what happened.'"
Now there was a story.
Past self says, "Self, it really bothers me to read a book out of order. What if I miss something? I have to complete them."
Current self: "Stop being so obsessive compulsive."
Past self: "I breathe, therefore I am."
Current self: "Just for that, I'm gonna slap you into next week."
Johnson tried, he really did. But there's no mystery here, only Walt chasing down escaped prisoners in the middle of a Wyoming snowstorm in May. One of the prisoners--the important one--is a sociopath who has played a trump card of identifying the burial site of a murdered Native American boy. The prisoners escape shortly after Walt drops them off with the Feds, but Walt gets an inkling something ain't right, and he's on their tail in two shakes of a dog's wet fur. So despite ice-slick roads, snowdrifts and fallen trees, Walt tracks them down to a lodge and then up into the Big Horn Mountain. Along the way he has a mystical journey, encounters lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) and Virgil White Buffalo.
Forget the plot. There isn't much; it's a straight-out Fugitive, with a mysticism bonus. I could forgive the wild coincidences and forced scenarios, but what I can't forgive is Walt's feeble reasons for the chase in the first place: "it's my job." No, it isn't. Secondary reasons are flimsy (perhaps there are hostages, although they may be helping the fugitives) and flat-out stupid, particularly in light of prior life-and-death experiences when Walt was motivated by family and love. There's not enough pretense to hang my hat on here.
And the storytelling--good heavens. It stumbles like a drunk cowboy trying to find the gents' room, bouncing off patrons and doorways, spilling beer on the way. It vacillates from a whole lot of telling to forced metaphors about journeys to scenes that sound like Jack London on a bender. We learn the prisoners Longmire is transporting to the feds are awful people through dialogue lifted from Law & Order. Later there's a dream sequence/flashback of the murdered child as he was being abducted (which show is that? Criminal Intent? I can't keep all these devices straight). We have Deputy Santiago reading literature to broaden his mind or something, and while feeding the prisoners at the diner (!) he's reading (!) Dante's Inferno, (I find reading Dante less surprising then stopping at a restaurant to give handcuffed prisoners a meal and reading a book while one does it) which will conveniently be placed in the survival pack Santiago gives Walt. Then we have long landscape-gazing sequences where Walt climbs mountains, travels across icy lakes and gazes at beetle-destroyed pines. Foreshadowing isn't so much heavy as it is crushing as it compares Walt's journey to Dante's and warns him about traitors, death and etc. (although I don't believe sin was discussed).
The ending proved fairly unsatisfying, particularly as Walt persists in failing to discuss the spirits with best friend and Native warrior Henry, and as he persists in failing to acknowledge their influence on his life. I did like Virgil, his stories, and the mountain lion, so I guess that's something. I was also glad for Hector the prisoner and his unselfconscious, sporadic phone calls providing a few laughs, sadly out of tone with the rest of the story.
My favorite paragraph in the book came after Virgil's story about the Long Otters eating the young Thunderbirds and the Crow warrior who helped them:
"I nodded my head. 'And the moral of the story is?'
He raised an eyebrow, and it was as if the dent in his forehead was looking to dig deeper. 'What is it with you white people and morals? Maybe it's just a story about what happened.'"
Now there was a story.