My book review of The Warrior’s Path: Thumping good adventure tale. Great historical detail and storytelling style.
Note: Secular author.
My rating: ★★★★★
Thumping good adventure tale! 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.
What you may enjoy about The Warrior’s Path
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 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.
This classic 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.
You should also know . . .
As usual, there was some language and a good amount of violence, as well as some unbiblical religious beliefs, but as noted, The Warrior’s Path is a clean read in the style of many classics. There is some reference to fear of witchcraft, but it is handled well without delving into darkness.
Is this book for you?
Do you enjoy adventure, history, and strong heroes with distinct voices? If you do and are not sensitive to violence and occasional profanity, you’ll probably find that The Warrior’s Path is worth reading. Excellent history, excellent storytelling, a fun and exciting read with plenty of action.
If you enjoyed this book review of The Warrior’s Path by Louis L’Amour, you might also enjoy my book review of L’Amour’s The Ferguson Rifle. Read here on Goodreads, or join my newsletter list for book recommendations, a free short story, author updates, and more.
Happy reading!
Jayna Baas is the author of Preacher on the Run and director of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network. Learn more about Jayna here or join her email list for more recommendations.