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The Sacketts #3
The Warrior's Path
Filled with exciting tales of the frontier, the chronicle of the Sackett family is perhaps the crowning achievement of one of our greatest storytellers.In The Warrior’s Path, Louis L’Amour tells the story of Yance and Kin Sackett, two brothers who are the last hope of a young woman who faces a fate worse than death.
When Yance Sackett’s sister-in-law is kidnapped, he and Kin race north from Carolina to find her. They arrive at a superstitious town rife with rumors—and learn that someone very powerful was behind Diana’s disappearance. To bring the culprit to justice, one brother must sail to the exotic West Indies.
There, among pirates, cutthroats, and ruthless “businessmen,� he will apply the skills he learned as a frontiersman to an unfamiliar world—a world
When Yance Sackett’s sister-in-law is kidnapped, he and Kin race north from Carolina to find her. They arrive at a superstitious town rife with rumors—and learn that someone very powerful was behind Diana’s disappearance. To bring the culprit to justice, one brother must sail to the exotic West Indies.
There, among pirates, cutthroats, and ruthless “businessmen,� he will apply the skills he learned as a frontiersman to an unfamiliar world—a world
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
521 people are currently reading
1,994 people want to read
About the author
Louis L'Amour
892books3,266followersLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews
November 23, 2021
Louis L’Amour returns to his Sackett’s storytelling in this 1983 publication. The third in the chronological series of the Sackett family, this tells of an adventure primarily by Kin Sackett after his brother Yance’s sister-in-law is kidnapped.
Stories of kidnappings are ubiquitous in the old (here really old) west and when three young women go missing, our frontier heroes travel to Plymouth to investigate. The local Native American tribe, the Pequots, are initially blamed. But the young Sacketts live close to the land and know many tribes and the clues are not adding up. Kin suspects foul play, even amongst the Pilgrims and travels to the West Indies to take on the slave trade, picking up a friend, a freed Ashanti warrior on the way.
L'Amour explores the evils of the slave trade and examines just how insidious are its practitioners in 1600s society. He also describes social hierarchies, hypocritical religious mores, gender roles and there’s also a more than generous supply of swashbuckling good times as our woodsman hero dons some pirate gear and fights some buccaneers and slavers.
For L’Amour fans and for those looking for a different angle at this period genre.
Stories of kidnappings are ubiquitous in the old (here really old) west and when three young women go missing, our frontier heroes travel to Plymouth to investigate. The local Native American tribe, the Pequots, are initially blamed. But the young Sacketts live close to the land and know many tribes and the clues are not adding up. Kin suspects foul play, even amongst the Pilgrims and travels to the West Indies to take on the slave trade, picking up a friend, a freed Ashanti warrior on the way.
L'Amour explores the evils of the slave trade and examines just how insidious are its practitioners in 1600s society. He also describes social hierarchies, hypocritical religious mores, gender roles and there’s also a more than generous supply of swashbuckling good times as our woodsman hero dons some pirate gear and fights some buccaneers and slavers.
For L’Amour fans and for those looking for a different angle at this period genre.
February 7, 2015
Barnabas Sackett is no more and the story transitions to the next generation. Word comes from the small colonies in distant New England that Kin and Yance Sackett's sister-in-law, Diana, has been kidnapped. To a Sackett blood is truly thicker than water and the two frontiersmen race up the coast, crossing nearly a thousand miles of wilderness to rescue their kinsman.
The two young women who were taken did not quite fit in with the strict code of the Puritans. They walked the fields and gathered herbs. One stayed out at night and admired the moon. And why were some of the town elders reluctant to search for the young women? Why were they so quick to blame the natives when there were no real signs that the natives were involved? And wasn't it odd that these were not the first women to disappear?
Using their tracking skills Kin and Yance discover that there is far more involved than native attacks on the new settlement. The quest to recover the young women leads from the wild New England coast to distant Jamaica. Unscrupulous elders are abducting the young women that don't quite meet their expectations - the young women who make eyes at men, the women who question their fathers or mothers - and selling them in a secretive Jamaican slave market.
Four and a half stars rounded down to five. The book was great; lots of fun. I had low expectations with this one (why?) and it started off slow, but once it got going it was fantastic. The action was quick and engaging. A minor quibble with these books to date is that the women all seem to be very minor characters, which is disappointing. And, when they do show up in any meaningful way they are invariably damsels in distress. Not so big a problem for me, but it might drive some people nuts. Of course, that speaks, I guess, to the other thought about these books. They are reflective of a different America - not just the setting of the book but when the books were written.
The two young women who were taken did not quite fit in with the strict code of the Puritans. They walked the fields and gathered herbs. One stayed out at night and admired the moon. And why were some of the town elders reluctant to search for the young women? Why were they so quick to blame the natives when there were no real signs that the natives were involved? And wasn't it odd that these were not the first women to disappear?
Using their tracking skills Kin and Yance discover that there is far more involved than native attacks on the new settlement. The quest to recover the young women leads from the wild New England coast to distant Jamaica. Unscrupulous elders are abducting the young women that don't quite meet their expectations - the young women who make eyes at men, the women who question their fathers or mothers - and selling them in a secretive Jamaican slave market.
Four and a half stars rounded down to five. The book was great; lots of fun. I had low expectations with this one (why?) and it started off slow, but once it got going it was fantastic. The action was quick and engaging. A minor quibble with these books to date is that the women all seem to be very minor characters, which is disappointing. And, when they do show up in any meaningful way they are invariably damsels in distress. Not so big a problem for me, but it might drive some people nuts. Of course, that speaks, I guess, to the other thought about these books. They are reflective of a different America - not just the setting of the book but when the books were written.
February 3, 2015
Now that was a lot better than the last one (). A tight story with great pacing and the hero you'd expect from L'Amour. I liked Kin Sackett, though haring off to the Caribbean was a bit of an odd start. I liked Diana even better, though, and find it a relief that L'Amour's women are capable and strong in their own right. She's no warrior, but she's no fainting ninny, either, and when the time comes, she takes decisive action.
One of the things that becomes crystal clear in this one is how much of a radical egalitarian L'Amour is. His heroes are (anachronistically?) very even handed, taking each man as he comes and giving all a chance to earn trust and self-determination. We've seen the veneration of Sakim (a Moslem of Arabian descent) before, but that could have been a fluke. In this book, we have a number of African-descended warriors and Kin treats them with respect right from the start, evaluating them by their actions rather than anything so trivial as skin color. I find this fascinating as it sets L'Amour's core virtues as deliberately universal, even though his protagonists are (generally? mostly? all?) Anglo-descended white men.
Anyway, this bodes well for future Sackett novels and I hope the strong story continues and that Blue Mountains proves to be a rare exception.
One of the things that becomes crystal clear in this one is how much of a radical egalitarian L'Amour is. His heroes are (anachronistically?) very even handed, taking each man as he comes and giving all a chance to earn trust and self-determination. We've seen the veneration of Sakim (a Moslem of Arabian descent) before, but that could have been a fluke. In this book, we have a number of African-descended warriors and Kin treats them with respect right from the start, evaluating them by their actions rather than anything so trivial as skin color. I find this fascinating as it sets L'Amour's core virtues as deliberately universal, even though his protagonists are (generally? mostly? all?) Anglo-descended white men.
Anyway, this bodes well for future Sackett novels and I hope the strong story continues and that Blue Mountains proves to be a rare exception.
March 23, 2024
4.75 stars ...
This is an iconic historical fiction series for a reason ...
and I'm all in! 👍😁👍
This is an iconic historical fiction series for a reason ...
and I'm all in! 👍😁👍
June 8, 2019
A good, but not great, entry into the Sackett series. The story was exciting, but quite cliched. There was never any doubt about what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the excursion to Port Royal. This was not the best written story by L'Amour. He actually repeated one paragraph in two separate places. Recommended to L'Amour fans only.
July 15, 2024
Been on a Louis L’Amour reading bender. Enjoyed this story of Kin Sackett and Diana. White slavery, piracy, West Indies and Indians all feature. Ok the coincidences are far fetched but for escapism literature Amour is a master. As I recall Kin only featured in this story. On to Jubal Sackett the next story.
It’s amazing how the descriptions of what is now Boston and its environs come alive in this story set 400 years ago.
It’s amazing how the descriptions of what is now Boston and its environs come alive in this story set 400 years ago.
December 8, 2017
I'd forgotten much of the plot of this book in the years since I first read it. But stepping back into a Louis L'amour book reminded me once again why I spent much of my teen years reading these books.
One thing Louis L'amour does really well is the descriptions of land. He's accurate, with the eye of someone who has physically walked the same trails as his characters. He's specific, so much so that one stretch of mountain rarely feels like the same stretch of mountains, each with their own creeks and gullys and trees and taste to them. Yet he manages to tell such gorgeous descriptions without cluttering up the action or weighing down the book, and that is the true mastery of it.
He is also one of the few male authors who consistently wrote good, strong female characters. Not all of them could hunt or shoot. A lot of times they still need saving, but it isn't in a weak, helpless sort of way. The main girl in this book gets captured by the bad guy twice, yet she somehow manages to be dignified and strong while she's at it (and one of the times she saves herself, the other she's ready for action when the guy arrives to give aid). The main guy falls in love with her not only because she's beautiful but mostly because she faces hardships with strength.
One thing Louis L'amour does really well is the descriptions of land. He's accurate, with the eye of someone who has physically walked the same trails as his characters. He's specific, so much so that one stretch of mountain rarely feels like the same stretch of mountains, each with their own creeks and gullys and trees and taste to them. Yet he manages to tell such gorgeous descriptions without cluttering up the action or weighing down the book, and that is the true mastery of it.
He is also one of the few male authors who consistently wrote good, strong female characters. Not all of them could hunt or shoot. A lot of times they still need saving, but it isn't in a weak, helpless sort of way. The main girl in this book gets captured by the bad guy twice, yet she somehow manages to be dignified and strong while she's at it (and one of the times she saves herself, the other she's ready for action when the guy arrives to give aid). The main guy falls in love with her not only because she's beautiful but mostly because she faces hardships with strength.
March 11, 2013
It's a strange experience for a Wyoming girl, raised on Wyoming history but not so much U.S. history, to read historical fiction in which the east coast is the frontier. Strange and pretty fascinating. I know that later Sackett novels will bring me to more familiar territory, but right now, right now the most settled part of the United States feels downright exotic, even romantic, in this third novel, The Warrior's Path.
Man, is there a lot going on in this little book.
As we rejoin the Sackett family, its first American-born generation has reached adulthood and started getting married. Founding patriarch Barnabas, he of the antique coin find in the English Fens of Cambridgeshire who started it all, is now dead, cut down in his late prime in an honorable fight with some Seneca warriors. Wife Abigail, she of the wild seafaring life until Barnabas convinced her to go pioneering with him, has taken their son Brian (who would be a law student) and daughter Noelle back to England to get some civilizin', but their other sons, Yance and Kin-Ring*, ah, that's who we're following for this here novel (they had another son, Jubal, but we'll get his story in some other book. I have a feeling he's more of a full-on Grizzly Adams type than his brothers, who just refer to him from time to time as a wanderer).
The Sacketts and their friends have established a nice little mini-colony in the Carolinas, befriended some natives, be-foed others, and are enjoying their lives of hunting and fishing and farming. Yance has married a nice young lady from the Plymouth colony up north, somewhat against those Puritans' wishes, and its through the circumstances of his wedding that the story gets started -- though the story is really Kin-Ring's.
Word comes via a dying native that Yance's 12-year-old sister-in-law, Carrie, and another woman, Diana Macklin, have been kidnapped by some bad natives and Yance's in-laws aren't satisfied with their community's half-hearted efforts to get the girls back. Diana is a bit of a wild one, it seems -- whip-smart, independent, outdoorsy, knowledgeable about herbs and animals, literate, skeptical, all those things good Puritan girls aren't -- and no one seems too concerned at her loss. As for the little girl, ah, well, she shouldn't have been hanging out with Diana anyway.
Well, of course our Sackett boys spring into action. And quickly determine that 1. Diana and Carrie are not the first young ladies to disappear from their settlement, 2. The other disappeared girls have also been uppity types like Diana is and Carrie is likely to grow up to be and 3. It wasn't actually Indians what took 'em.
I love that L'Amour loves strong female characters almost as much as he loves subtly skewering the people who don't appreciate them. His princesses aren't entirely self-rescuing, but they come awfully close, really just needing to borrow masculine brawn on occasion to make their brainy schemes go (and satisfy some confining social norms). Such is Diana, who has already taken her fate into her own hands by the time the Sacketts locate her, and especially Adele, whom Kin-Ring meets in Jamaica (see, I said there's a lot going on in this little novel) as he tracks down the white slavers who are the real culprits in these abductions -- slavers who are not only profiting from the trade in pretty white girls, but are also doing their hometowns a favor by getting rid of uppity women that can't quite successfully be persecuted as witches. At least not yet.** Diana and Adele are never quite fleshed out as whole characters, and are definitely seen wholly through male eyes, but these male eyes appreciate the ladies for more than just their looks and their cooking and their ability to make more male with eyes. Sackett men want brainy, educated, can-do women, and if they're pretty, that's just a bonus.
So of the Sackett novels I've read so far, this one is my favorite, but I suspect they'll keep getting better. I'm pretty sure L'Amour's small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri would be real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.
Really, the only flaw here is some weird narrative switcheroos that L'amour made earlier in the novel. About 90% of the story is told in the first person with Kin-Ring as narrator, but a few scenes from which he is absent are told from Diana's third person perspective, which is fine if a bit sloppy. When they first meet up, though, L'Amour inexplicably switches from one narration to the other in the middle of a scene, just for a few paragraphs, which is jarring and came across as downright amateurish. Since this book dates back to the days when major publishing houses generally made an effort at editing, it's all the more surprising to encounter here. But hey, even the greats screw up sometimes. And L'Amour is great.
*I do not understand the naming of this character at all. Anyone who knows WTS this guy's name is supposed to refer to, enlighten me, please!
**This story takes place a little while before the Great Witch Craze really caught on in North America.
Man, is there a lot going on in this little book.
As we rejoin the Sackett family, its first American-born generation has reached adulthood and started getting married. Founding patriarch Barnabas, he of the antique coin find in the English Fens of Cambridgeshire who started it all, is now dead, cut down in his late prime in an honorable fight with some Seneca warriors. Wife Abigail, she of the wild seafaring life until Barnabas convinced her to go pioneering with him, has taken their son Brian (who would be a law student) and daughter Noelle back to England to get some civilizin', but their other sons, Yance and Kin-Ring*, ah, that's who we're following for this here novel (they had another son, Jubal, but we'll get his story in some other book. I have a feeling he's more of a full-on Grizzly Adams type than his brothers, who just refer to him from time to time as a wanderer).
The Sacketts and their friends have established a nice little mini-colony in the Carolinas, befriended some natives, be-foed others, and are enjoying their lives of hunting and fishing and farming. Yance has married a nice young lady from the Plymouth colony up north, somewhat against those Puritans' wishes, and its through the circumstances of his wedding that the story gets started -- though the story is really Kin-Ring's.
Word comes via a dying native that Yance's 12-year-old sister-in-law, Carrie, and another woman, Diana Macklin, have been kidnapped by some bad natives and Yance's in-laws aren't satisfied with their community's half-hearted efforts to get the girls back. Diana is a bit of a wild one, it seems -- whip-smart, independent, outdoorsy, knowledgeable about herbs and animals, literate, skeptical, all those things good Puritan girls aren't -- and no one seems too concerned at her loss. As for the little girl, ah, well, she shouldn't have been hanging out with Diana anyway.
Well, of course our Sackett boys spring into action. And quickly determine that 1. Diana and Carrie are not the first young ladies to disappear from their settlement, 2. The other disappeared girls have also been uppity types like Diana is and Carrie is likely to grow up to be and 3. It wasn't actually Indians what took 'em.
I love that L'Amour loves strong female characters almost as much as he loves subtly skewering the people who don't appreciate them. His princesses aren't entirely self-rescuing, but they come awfully close, really just needing to borrow masculine brawn on occasion to make their brainy schemes go (and satisfy some confining social norms). Such is Diana, who has already taken her fate into her own hands by the time the Sacketts locate her, and especially Adele, whom Kin-Ring meets in Jamaica (see, I said there's a lot going on in this little novel) as he tracks down the white slavers who are the real culprits in these abductions -- slavers who are not only profiting from the trade in pretty white girls, but are also doing their hometowns a favor by getting rid of uppity women that can't quite successfully be persecuted as witches. At least not yet.** Diana and Adele are never quite fleshed out as whole characters, and are definitely seen wholly through male eyes, but these male eyes appreciate the ladies for more than just their looks and their cooking and their ability to make more male with eyes. Sackett men want brainy, educated, can-do women, and if they're pretty, that's just a bonus.
So of the Sackett novels I've read so far, this one is my favorite, but I suspect they'll keep getting better. I'm pretty sure L'Amour's small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri would be real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.
Really, the only flaw here is some weird narrative switcheroos that L'amour made earlier in the novel. About 90% of the story is told in the first person with Kin-Ring as narrator, but a few scenes from which he is absent are told from Diana's third person perspective, which is fine if a bit sloppy. When they first meet up, though, L'Amour inexplicably switches from one narration to the other in the middle of a scene, just for a few paragraphs, which is jarring and came across as downright amateurish. Since this book dates back to the days when major publishing houses generally made an effort at editing, it's all the more surprising to encounter here. But hey, even the greats screw up sometimes. And L'Amour is great.
*I do not understand the naming of this character at all. Anyone who knows WTS this guy's name is supposed to refer to, enlighten me, please!
**This story takes place a little while before the Great Witch Craze really caught on in North America.
February 9, 2023
Thumping good adventure tale! Kin’s storytelling voice is strong and unique, really giving a feel for the era and culture. I love the get-it-done attitude he shows toward stopping a truly heinous evil that’s happening in the midst of supposedly righteous people. His interactions with Yance are fun to read as well. I think I liked this one even better than Sackett’s Land. It was easy to follow and had some great characters and movie-worthy moments. Nothing felt historically off or out of place. As usual, there was some language and a good amount of violence, as well as some unbiblical religious beliefs, but this classic also demonstrates how completely possible it is to write about topics like romance, superstition, immoral choices, and human trafficking without delving into sordid details. Honestly, language aside, this book was a lot cleaner than some Christian fiction I’ve read lately. And that in no way detracted from the attraction Kin and Diana felt for each other, the danger the girls were in, or the difficult choices made by other women in their situation. Nor did the narrative feel detached, as if Kin were deliberately glossing over hard things.
I truly enjoyed the adventurous feel of this story and its touch of romance. L’Amour does an excellent job portraying realistic frontier women—strong, caring, not afraid to partner with their men in doing hard things, yet clearly taking pride in their womanhood and their unique role. He also handles the politics of settlers and Native Americans with finesse and accuracy. Excellent history, excellent storytelling, a fun and exciting read with plenty of action.
I truly enjoyed the adventurous feel of this story and its touch of romance. L’Amour does an excellent job portraying realistic frontier women—strong, caring, not afraid to partner with their men in doing hard things, yet clearly taking pride in their womanhood and their unique role. He also handles the politics of settlers and Native Americans with finesse and accuracy. Excellent history, excellent storytelling, a fun and exciting read with plenty of action.
October 16, 2017
Sackett novels are always great. Or at least all that I have read so far. This novel features Kin Sackett. He seems most like Barnabas (the patriarch of the Sackett family).
I found the pace of this novel to be ideal. It moved along without stalling out or jumping ahead. Per usual, L'Amour has a magnificent way of detailing locations and characters.
I'm curious which books in the future will be about him.
I found the pace of this novel to be ideal. It moved along without stalling out or jumping ahead. Per usual, L'Amour has a magnificent way of detailing locations and characters.
I'm curious which books in the future will be about him.
May 6, 2023
"Strong blew the wind, dark the angry clouds, vivid the lightning. Upon the deck, near the mainmast shrouds I stood, one hand upon them to steady me, my eyes out upon the sea, its dark huge waves lifting like great upthrusts of black glass, ragged along the breaking edge...There was a challenge in the storm, a magnificence in the power of the sea, and I rode the deck like a gull upon the wind and confessed inside me that while afraid, I was also drunk with it."
This is the kind of writing that makes Louis L'Amour America's storyteller. In this, the third book of the Sackett series, Kin Sackett discovers an outrage that must be addressed. Lowlife pirates are capturing girls along the seacoast and taking them to the Indies to be sold as slaves - or worse, if there can be worse than a slave. When the disappearances strike close to home, Kin determines to find and recapture a kidnapped girl, and then find a way to destroy the trade in female flesh.
Exciting adventure taking place in the early days of our fledgling country.
This is the kind of writing that makes Louis L'Amour America's storyteller. In this, the third book of the Sackett series, Kin Sackett discovers an outrage that must be addressed. Lowlife pirates are capturing girls along the seacoast and taking them to the Indies to be sold as slaves - or worse, if there can be worse than a slave. When the disappearances strike close to home, Kin determines to find and recapture a kidnapped girl, and then find a way to destroy the trade in female flesh.
Exciting adventure taking place in the early days of our fledgling country.
June 24, 2020
Did you know that there was human trafficking involving white colonist girls in the 1600's? Louis L'Amour chronicles this in "The Warrior's Path". Until I read this book, I also didn't realize that L'Amour wrote books other than Westerns. "The Warrior's Path" is the 3rd novel in the 17-book "The Sacketts" series, actually his biggest series. These stories take place during colonial times. In this iteration, Kin Ring Sackett and his brother Yance are recruited from their Carolina home by the inhabitants of the Massachusetts settlement where Yance's eleven year old sister-in-law Carrie lives. She and 17 year old Diana Macklin have been kidnapped. The locals believe they were snatched by Pequot Indians, but Sackett and others fear they were grabbed to be sold in the Caribbean Islands.
The first half of the book takes place in the woods along the Atlantic Seaboard, as the Sacketts journey northward to literally pick up the trail of the kidnappers. I learned that the tribe indigenous to the Chesapeake Bay Area, my childhood homeland, is the Catawba. Part 2 finds Sackett sailing to Jamaica in search of another kidnapped girl, taking him into the heart of the dark side. Just in case the reader thinks the worst is behind him when he lands in Jamaica, we hear this warning from the captain as Sackett leaves the ship: "It is a jungle yon, and the men... are savages. Port Royal is no place for the good or the weak. Killings happen by day and by night, fights are many, and rum is the greatest evil of all."
In this book, the hero Sackett expresses what surely must have been a linchpin of L'Amour's stories: "... there must be law, for without it man descends to less than he is...".
The first half of the book takes place in the woods along the Atlantic Seaboard, as the Sacketts journey northward to literally pick up the trail of the kidnappers. I learned that the tribe indigenous to the Chesapeake Bay Area, my childhood homeland, is the Catawba. Part 2 finds Sackett sailing to Jamaica in search of another kidnapped girl, taking him into the heart of the dark side. Just in case the reader thinks the worst is behind him when he lands in Jamaica, we hear this warning from the captain as Sackett leaves the ship: "It is a jungle yon, and the men... are savages. Port Royal is no place for the good or the weak. Killings happen by day and by night, fights are many, and rum is the greatest evil of all."
In this book, the hero Sackett expresses what surely must have been a linchpin of L'Amour's stories: "... there must be law, for without it man descends to less than he is...".
March 26, 2018
Great reading. I’ve read most of the Sackett’s books growing up some 40 years ago. I’ve never read this book, nor the 2 before. Fun to read and learn the who’s, how’s and why’s of the Sackett Family.
December 23, 2022
started slow, finished okay
November 8, 2016
Kin Sackett (yes, that is his name) is a woodsman who is hunting, farming, and fighting Indians in 1600's America. It is a land that is just starting to get colonized and very wild. Kin is called for help when two women go missing from a village. It's believed that they're taken by Indians. As Kin and his brother Yance (cause why not?) investigate, they discover that it's not Indians, but rather the most powerful man in the village who takes women and sells them as slaves in the West Indies.
The nice thing about L'Amour's books is that you are never in the dark. Good guys are always good and you know who the bad guys are immediately. Kin took an instant dislike to Joseph and so the audience wasn't surprised when it turns out that he's running the slave ring and kidnapping women. Not a lot of women mind you, just one here or one there and usually "godless" women who won't be missed. Why is Joseph doing this when he is running a slavery ring from Africa? It never really says. I think we're just supposed to believe that he's mean and that's what mean people do.
My biggest pet peeve is the constant repetition. If L'Amour tells you a fact, such as Kin learned how to use a sword from Jeremy, then he will repeat the fact at every sword fight that Kin has. And Kin has a lot. Sackett heroes always spend a lot of time fighting people. They never look for trouble, it just seems that no one can resist having a go at a Sackett. Which is surprising considering their reputation. You'd think a person here or there would go "No! This is the family that I've heard so much about and are really good at defending themselves. Think I'll just buy him a drink instead." But no, EVERYONE is convinced that they are the ONE person who is going to kill the Sackett. And they never are.
I do like the time period as it is after the Mayflower but before the land was really settled so there are a lot of colorful people. L'Amour did his research and there are tribes of Indians that I've never heard of and lots of description about the seafaring traders and potash. (Look it up, I did.) And if you don't understand something, keep reading. L'Amour will explain it again. And again. And, oh look, again!
The nice thing about L'Amour's books is that you are never in the dark. Good guys are always good and you know who the bad guys are immediately. Kin took an instant dislike to Joseph and so the audience wasn't surprised when it turns out that he's running the slave ring and kidnapping women. Not a lot of women mind you, just one here or one there and usually "godless" women who won't be missed. Why is Joseph doing this when he is running a slavery ring from Africa? It never really says. I think we're just supposed to believe that he's mean and that's what mean people do.
My biggest pet peeve is the constant repetition. If L'Amour tells you a fact, such as Kin learned how to use a sword from Jeremy, then he will repeat the fact at every sword fight that Kin has. And Kin has a lot. Sackett heroes always spend a lot of time fighting people. They never look for trouble, it just seems that no one can resist having a go at a Sackett. Which is surprising considering their reputation. You'd think a person here or there would go "No! This is the family that I've heard so much about and are really good at defending themselves. Think I'll just buy him a drink instead." But no, EVERYONE is convinced that they are the ONE person who is going to kill the Sackett. And they never are.
I do like the time period as it is after the Mayflower but before the land was really settled so there are a lot of colorful people. L'Amour did his research and there are tribes of Indians that I've never heard of and lots of description about the seafaring traders and potash. (Look it up, I did.) And if you don't understand something, keep reading. L'Amour will explain it again. And again. And, oh look, again!
September 26, 2013
This was not the best Louis L'Amour book. It felt rushed and a little sloppy. Sometimes Louis L'Amour repeats himself (and apparently the editor doesn't catch it) within a book and I generally forgive the repeat because I can absolutely see why he would want to use that turn of phrase again. It's generally good writing. That said, there was a bit more of that than usual here and in a short book.
The transitions between pieces of this book make it feel almost as if short stories were stitched together. At one point Kin is in an epic sword fight where he nearly loses his life. He resolves that he should leave Jamaica and, boom, when the next chapter opens he's aboard ship. This wouldn't be so awkward if it wasn't so clear that Kin is in constant danger and if right before the sword fight he hadn't paid a man to keep a weather eye out for his ship to come in. Meaning we were told the ship wasn't in port so he couldn't just walk onto the ship after the battle without there being further action. Also, why did we have this encounter with this old seaman if naught is to come of it?
In a major oversight, one of our characters, Henry, an Ashanti warrior... Oh Henry. It's really great that there is a strong, powerful Ashanti warrior in this book but then - then his existence gets forgotten by our author! Henry clearly states his intention to continue on with our main character, Kin, but Henry never appears again after that conversation. Less than great.
Also, the women in this book are less well written than in others. They really are just props in this book which is severely disappointing since I have praised Louis L'Amour in the past for avoiding such behavior.
In summary, read another Louis L'Amour book. Any other in my experience.
The transitions between pieces of this book make it feel almost as if short stories were stitched together. At one point Kin is in an epic sword fight where he nearly loses his life. He resolves that he should leave Jamaica and, boom, when the next chapter opens he's aboard ship. This wouldn't be so awkward if it wasn't so clear that Kin is in constant danger and if right before the sword fight he hadn't paid a man to keep a weather eye out for his ship to come in. Meaning we were told the ship wasn't in port so he couldn't just walk onto the ship after the battle without there being further action. Also, why did we have this encounter with this old seaman if naught is to come of it?
In a major oversight, one of our characters, Henry, an Ashanti warrior... Oh Henry. It's really great that there is a strong, powerful Ashanti warrior in this book but then - then his existence gets forgotten by our author! Henry clearly states his intention to continue on with our main character, Kin, but Henry never appears again after that conversation. Less than great.
Also, the women in this book are less well written than in others. They really are just props in this book which is severely disappointing since I have praised Louis L'Amour in the past for avoiding such behavior.
In summary, read another Louis L'Amour book. Any other in my experience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2018
Early Sacketts
I love the Sackett stories, but this one was so so. For one, there were characters who just disappeared and I never learned what happened to them. Also, there seemed to be too many shortcuts. With that said, I still enjoyed the quick read and it pulled me into dreamland for a short time.
I love the Sackett stories, but this one was so so. For one, there were characters who just disappeared and I never learned what happened to them. Also, there seemed to be too many shortcuts. With that said, I still enjoyed the quick read and it pulled me into dreamland for a short time.
April 24, 2017
The Sackett brothers, Yance and Kin, battle through the early American frontier in search of their sister-in-law who's been kidnapped. They're forced to split forces in their search. Fortunately, they've inherited their father's survival skills.
December 23, 2008
Very good, although not the best Sackett book.
July 11, 2009
I really like this series, probably one of my favorite series of any genre.
October 11, 2009
Listening to these on tape can be really addicting. So much wisdom in here.
December 31, 2013
Another Sackett down. I thought the ending dragged on a bit to long, but I still enjoyed the book.
September 10, 2017
The Warrior’s Path by Louis L’amour was published in 1980, and L’amour is already known for his instant success from his first published book, a Western-novel called Hondo. L’amour’s style is focused on modern Western writing, and the preservation of America’s heritage and local history. The genre of this book is Western Historical.
This novel is about a family living in the Carolinas before they were even settled in by the Europeans. The younger brother’s sister-in- law was kidnapped, along with one of her friends, by the settlers to use them as part of a slave trade. Kin and Yance put their lives on the line to help rescue them. Once they found the kidnapped girls, the four of them, along with another slave who helped the girls escape from their captors, started on their journey back to the Carolinas. But on their journey back home, the kidnappers encountered the escaped, and had groups of men out to get them again. The characterization is very well done, all the characters were well-developed, and very authentic. The main character, Kin Sackett, is a native of the Carolinas in the 1600s, but is not an indian. He wears the typical buckskin outfit for the time era, and carries his personal tomahawk and hand-made bow. The character’s are easy to relate too, saying they grow up with their families and communities having a tight bond, and the way the Sackett brothers act, resemble a lot like normal siblings. There isn’t anything that I believe would make them any better than they already were. The plot of this novel is very intriguing. There is never a dull moment, something is always happening. It is very hard to try and predict what will happen next, because the story keeps you on your toes through the whole novel. The geography is a big part of this story. Every town, village, mountain, forest, and indian tribes mentioned is the actual place from the 1600s, the tribes are also from the correct regions. It starts in the Carolinas, and tells about the journey up the east coast towards Jamestown, and makes it way future up to Maryland, and then all the way back down.
The theme of this book is to do what you believe is right. After Diana and her friend was kidnapped, the village told the Sackett brothers it was useless to try and find them, and they should just go home. Kin and Yance wouldn’t have that, they knew they had to look for the girls, and bring them back to safety. A life lesson that readers will discover is that everything happens for a reason. While on the journey to find the girls, Yance was joking with Kin, that he should marry Diana after they rescue her. Kin brushed the comment off, but found himself thinking about her even though he doesn’t know her, and after she was rescued, Kin tried to just talk with Diana to figure her out, and he fell in love with her. This novel is similar to the book It is similar to many other novels that Louis L’amour wrote, like the novel To The Far Blue Mountains. Both of these novels have a great deal of history from the 1600s. The whole Sackett series are all linked together with the same family, same heritage, and lots of history of the frontiers life.
Within the story, the major issue someone might want to be aware of is talk about women’s slave trade (the whole reason the girls were taken in the first place). I would recommend this book to everybody. You don’t have to be big in history to enjoy this series of novels. I believe it is aimed for middle school, early high school ages. Their a few words that someone might need to look up, but everything is very understandable and easy to follow. This book is very easy to read, and probably would not be aimed for an advanced reader. An advanced reader may still enjoy this as a quick read.
This novel is about a family living in the Carolinas before they were even settled in by the Europeans. The younger brother’s sister-in- law was kidnapped, along with one of her friends, by the settlers to use them as part of a slave trade. Kin and Yance put their lives on the line to help rescue them. Once they found the kidnapped girls, the four of them, along with another slave who helped the girls escape from their captors, started on their journey back to the Carolinas. But on their journey back home, the kidnappers encountered the escaped, and had groups of men out to get them again. The characterization is very well done, all the characters were well-developed, and very authentic. The main character, Kin Sackett, is a native of the Carolinas in the 1600s, but is not an indian. He wears the typical buckskin outfit for the time era, and carries his personal tomahawk and hand-made bow. The character’s are easy to relate too, saying they grow up with their families and communities having a tight bond, and the way the Sackett brothers act, resemble a lot like normal siblings. There isn’t anything that I believe would make them any better than they already were. The plot of this novel is very intriguing. There is never a dull moment, something is always happening. It is very hard to try and predict what will happen next, because the story keeps you on your toes through the whole novel. The geography is a big part of this story. Every town, village, mountain, forest, and indian tribes mentioned is the actual place from the 1600s, the tribes are also from the correct regions. It starts in the Carolinas, and tells about the journey up the east coast towards Jamestown, and makes it way future up to Maryland, and then all the way back down.
The theme of this book is to do what you believe is right. After Diana and her friend was kidnapped, the village told the Sackett brothers it was useless to try and find them, and they should just go home. Kin and Yance wouldn’t have that, they knew they had to look for the girls, and bring them back to safety. A life lesson that readers will discover is that everything happens for a reason. While on the journey to find the girls, Yance was joking with Kin, that he should marry Diana after they rescue her. Kin brushed the comment off, but found himself thinking about her even though he doesn’t know her, and after she was rescued, Kin tried to just talk with Diana to figure her out, and he fell in love with her. This novel is similar to the book It is similar to many other novels that Louis L’amour wrote, like the novel To The Far Blue Mountains. Both of these novels have a great deal of history from the 1600s. The whole Sackett series are all linked together with the same family, same heritage, and lots of history of the frontiers life.
Within the story, the major issue someone might want to be aware of is talk about women’s slave trade (the whole reason the girls were taken in the first place). I would recommend this book to everybody. You don’t have to be big in history to enjoy this series of novels. I believe it is aimed for middle school, early high school ages. Their a few words that someone might need to look up, but everything is very understandable and easy to follow. This book is very easy to read, and probably would not be aimed for an advanced reader. An advanced reader may still enjoy this as a quick read.
June 18, 2022
3.7 stars, I really liked it and quite possibly might read again.
Louis L'Amour does several things well: he tells a good story; provides a great background with details you can't quite credit, but turn out to be true; and writes interesting characters.
The Warrior's Path continues the tail of the Sackett family, still frontiersmen in the 1600's, and delves into the long and broad history of the slave trade.
Kin Sackett undertakes to rescue girls stolen from a Massachusetts colony, for slavery bound for the West Indies. He's a tough customer in a fight, and an excellent woodsmen, but how will he adapt to different surroundings?
The real negatives in this story are a bit of repetition and just a little too much competence ...
Louis L'Amour does several things well: he tells a good story; provides a great background with details you can't quite credit, but turn out to be true; and writes interesting characters.
The Warrior's Path continues the tail of the Sackett family, still frontiersmen in the 1600's, and delves into the long and broad history of the slave trade.
Kin Sackett undertakes to rescue girls stolen from a Massachusetts colony, for slavery bound for the West Indies. He's a tough customer in a fight, and an excellent woodsmen, but how will he adapt to different surroundings?
The real negatives in this story are a bit of repetition and just a little too much competence ...
June 17, 2022
4.25 stars. Every young person could learn many things from reading this book. L'Amour's themes of reading books, adventure, detailed explanations of nature, and dealing with many different people from various lands here all sustained. There are lots of twists and turns in the storyline told in an even narrative.
December 15, 2020
Kin Sackett, son of Barnabas, goes with his brother to find his sister-in-law's sister in New England. She is reportedly kidnapped by Indians with a women who is a suspected witch. They are actually taken by white slavers with a connection to the local community. Kin takes off to Jamaica to prove the guilt of the slaver and meets an interesting predicament in Jamacia. It is a good adventure and gives us a look at colonial Jamacia.
December 1, 2022
Nice change from Cussler books. A good story and a fun read.
February 26, 2024
I wanted to like this book very much, but I just couldn’t get into it. I’ve been meaning to look into Louis L’amour for a long time, and his stand alone books are fun.. I’ve trudged through the first 3 of the Sackett series and after finishing this one, no more.
October 13, 2024
3.7
Just a very meh entry
I'm ready for the western part of this saga
Just a very meh entry
I'm ready for the western part of this saga
Shelved as 'abandoned'
October 2, 2022Got to page 157
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