Reading this book now, and cannot put it down. It was described to me as "the next Lonesome Dove." I'll reserve judgment on that, but several chapters in, it is outstanding.

If you've spent any time in the Texas hill country and points NW of there, it will hit home with you, even down to plant and animal details that you previously thought not a lot of people paid attention to.

I read it a few months ago. Damn fine book.

Excellent book. Maybe not Lonesome Dove, but still a great read. Best book I've read in a long while.

I did find it annoying to read on Kindle because of how often I had to "flip" back to the family tree in the beginning.

AggieT,

I'm about to put a sticky note on the family tree. Been flipping back there every chapter!

I liked The Son so much that I bought his first book- American Rust. I would not recommend it. Very disappointing.

^
Ha!
I actually found The Son because of American Rust. It was being hyped on some news channel so I checked it out at the library. I saw The Son sitting next to it on the shelf when I checked it out and picked it up at the same time. I couldn't get more than 70 or so pages into American Rust. But I read The Son cover to cover in just a few days.

Man I started it a couple weeks ago and I can't get into it. I'm only 60 or so pages in but it's been incredibly slow.

Hopefully it'll pick up soon.

Someone fill me in on the plot. Western I assume? What time period?

The story follows a Texas family from the mid 1800's through present day (hence the need to constantly refer to the family tree). It covers most of the common Texas themes over those years- Rangers, Indians, Mexicans, war, gun fights, oil, cattle, money, land, etc. Throw in kidnapping, rape, murder, sex, love and lust and you have one great read.

http://www.amazon.com/Son-Philipp-Meyer-ebook/dp/B009NF6YLM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389797136&sr=8-1&keywords=the+son

The young Indian-raised boy likes to 'rut' with the white women.

sounds like some of y'all might enjoy Country of the Bad Wolfes

http://www.amazon.com/Country-Wolfes-James-Carlos-Blake/dp/1935955039

I will give the Son a try

[This message has been edited by Thunder18 (edited 1/15/2014 2:56p).]

Not Between Brothers by David Wilkinson and the Sons of Texas trilogy by Elmer Kelton are also incredible Texas books. I read all four books in a matter of days

The sons of texas trilogy is great.

Kelton's masterpiece, though, is The Time it Never Rained. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

I read it as well. Unfortunately, I found it to be boring and no real point in the end. I strongly disliked the book. One of my least favorite books to read. I had the feeling of watching a bad movie, wanting to walk out the whole time, but just gritting my teeth and sticking it out just to see how it ends. And the ending still lets you down haha.

Clearly my personal opinion and not in the majority on it.

If you are talking about The Son, then I think I may end up agreeing with you.

I am fighting my way through it right now but it is hard. I'm hoping it picks up soon.

I find that a lot of great books are either love it/hate it. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" comes to mind. I thought it was one of the best books I've read, and my wife hated it. We usually agree on most books.

Took me a little while to get into this book (about 6 chapters) but now I'm half way through and can't put it down.

"The Time it Never Rained" is a great book, but don't read it during a drought. It's just too depressing when it's dry.

I got 50 pages into "Son" but just couldn't keep going. I'll try again.

quote:

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Kelton's masterpiece, though, is The Time it Never Rained. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

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Eta: my Grandpa ranched through the 50's and had to sell out and move three times from 1950-55... he's not around anymore, so I'll say it for him: "days like today are how droughts get started".

[This message has been edited by swcbonfire (edited 5/28/2014 11:10p).]

quote:

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Kelton's masterpiece, though, is The Time it Never Rained. It's one of the best books I've ever read

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+1 and I think I would put "The Man Who Rode Midnight" pretty high on my list as well.

Good post bump. I picked up "The Son" again the other day and tried to give it another shot. I really want to like this book after reading so many positive reviews.

Its slowly getting better, but I still have trouble giving it my attention for more than short spans at a time. Its just not that interesting yet.

Agree with the above poster about "the Man Who Rode Midnight."

I've read over 40 of Kelton's books and I love most of them. He is by far my favorite author.

Another outstanding book that some of you might like is called:

"Comanche Dawn" by Michael Blakely.

Its up there in my top 5 for sure.

Once I understood the family tree, it made the story much more enjoyable.

It takes some time to really get to know the characters.

I'm still not through The Son. I got tired of trying and put it down for a few more months. Just picked it up a couple weeks ago for one last shot and it has gotten a lot better. I will finish it this week.

I won't say its a favorite, but it's gotten interesting at least.

Any other book recommendations? I'm going on vacation pretty soon and need a good book.

For another Texas saga: "not between brothers" as has been recommended here dozens of times.

I just read "Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods" and thought it was really good / suspenseful.