by Loren Estleman
School Library Journal YA-In this elegantly conceived western, Billy the Kid's death haunts his killer until such time as Pat Garrett, the murderer, is assassinated-by Billy's ghost. Estleman presents this tale through the testimonial manuscript of an ancient Spaniard, Francisco de la Zaragoza, of Durango, Mexico, already into his second century when he meets Pat Garrett soon after Billy's death. In spite of these character oddities and plot spins, Estleman's book makes quick and absorbing reading, carrying readers straight into the Southwest of the late 19th century, where men necessarily feared for their lives even in the company of their closest buddies and women were relegated-here quite literally-to the roles of whore or mother. Teens who haven't had the opportunity to become acquainted with this uniquely American genre can get an excellent first taste of it here. However, in keeping with our contemporary mores, Estleman allows his character to be shown in sexual congress, something Zane Grey would never have done.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Library Journal Although he is better known for his mysteries, Estleman (Edsel) has written some elegant Westerns based on actual characters and events. Journey of the Dead is narrated by an alchemist named Francisco de la Zaragoza who has spent his long life searching for the philosopher's stone and is famous as a healer and wise man. Sheriff Pat Garrett, haunted by the specter of Billy the Kid, seeks him out along the fabled Jornada de la Muerta, hoping that Francisco can make his nightmares go away. These two personalities swap their stories and evoke the splendor of the American Southwest. Billy Bonney is not romanticized here, but his story is told in language as polished as a buffalo nickel. Robert Forster's grim, rather flat voice is perfect for Garrett, whose life was so full of blood and death. Estleman's writing style has always been evocative, but this is his best yet. Enthusiastically recommended for all public libraries.DBarbara Perkins, Irving P.L., TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Kirkus As he shows here once more, the prolific Estleman (Billy Gashade, 1997, etc.) has no rival--not even Louis L'Amour--in evoking the American Southwest. With hard-robbed dialogue as bright as a new-minted Indian-head penny, this latest epic is narrated by the alchemist Francisco de la Zaragoza, Viceroy in Absentia, Durango, Mexico--who just happens to be 129 years old. The viceroy's tale chronicles the life of his sometime friend and yam-swapper Sheriff Pat Garrett, who killed Billy Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. The book's title is taken from La Jomada del Muerto, a long, sun-hammered passage of white sand trickling through the New Mexico desert like an alchemist's athanor, where the blood bubbles and human clay might perhaps mm to gold if the spirit were pure enough. Despite that, the invincible Pat Garrett's whole life could be viewed as a kind of sun-baked torture relieved only by whiskey, the warm Spanish blood of his wife Apolinaria, and his six children, while many of the outstanding incidents of his life take place on that blazing white sand of La Jornada, including his eventual murder at age 65. The episodic story is strong together by Garrett's nightmares, during which he's visited time and again by the ghost of the 21-year-old Bonney. Vignettes include Sheriff Pat's tracking of his friend Bonney through territory after territory; Bonney's slaying; Pat's being hired to slaughter buffalo and later to protect the herds of a cattlemen's association; his fruitless tracking of the killers of Colonel Albert Fountain and his young son on La Jomada; his attempt to irrigate the dry land; and his meetings with Governor John Nance Garner and later with President Teddy Roosevelt. Style to bum, talk that haunts. Deserves blue ribbons and rosettes. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. |
