Warning! Do not read this review if you plan on reading Lonesome Dove. This is the sequel to the book. I am going to discuss major events from the end of Lonesome Dove, and that will greatly diminish the suspense of the book for those of you who are planning on reading it.
As I mentioned, Streets of Laredo is the sequel to Larry McMurtry's 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning epic..
Many years have passed since the Hat Creek boys lifted their roots and drove their cattle all the way to Montana. If you remember, Deets, Jake and Gus died on the way. Those that were left tried to establish a cattle ranch in then untamed Montana. That was the end of Lonesome Dove.
Fast-forward several years and you arrive at the beginning of Streets of Laredo. Captain Call's ranching venture has failed. Dish Boggett runs a hardware store in New Mexico. Pea Eye and settled in the Texas panhandle with his wife. We find that Pea Eye married former whore Lorena, who had her eyes on Gus for so long. They now have a large family and Lorena is a schoolteacher.
Call has been hired by the Railroad Company to catch the legendary Joey Garza. Trains are now the best means of travel for the elite and Joey knows this. He is known throughout the country for robbing trains and killing those on board. Though Captain Call is older, he is still known as one of the best Texas Rangers there was.
Colonel Terry of the Railroad Company has hired Call to kill Joey. In order to keep track of expenses, the Colonel has ordered his accountant, Brookshire, to accompany Call. Unfortunately, Brookshire is New York City born and bred. He won't do well on this search through the hard country.
Searching for and killing Joey Garza won't be easy, so Call rounds up a group of men with some experience. Deputy Ted Plunkert signs on, bored with slow town life. He just can't resist accompanying the famous Captain.
Also along for one last ride is Pea Eye himself. He didn't want to go, as he is a father with a family and a farm to run. However, he decides to go at the last minute. He just can't let Call down.
Through several coincidental events, a Kickapoo named Famous Shoes joins the bunch. He's a very experienced tracker, known throughout the land.
As the group begins to hunt Joey Garza, they get some startling news. Mox Mox, otherwise known as The-Snake-You-Don't-See is still alive. Old reports of his death were apparently false. Mox Mox is an evil man, who tortures and burns people for pleasure.
Women also play important roles in this story. Lorena has a change of heart, and decides to go find Pea Eye and drag him back home to his responsibilities. She travels alone with her rifle, trying desperately to hide from Mox Mox, who will burn her if he sees her.
Joey's mother, Maria, is also roaming the plains in search of her first born son. She wants to warn him that Call and his men are on the search.
Streets of Laredo follows these characters as they hunt two of the most notorious killers in the land. The West is different than it was back in the days of the Hat Creek outfit, however. Most of the wild frontier has been settled. Transportation via rail has made cross-country travel a reality and the days of the good old cattle drive are extinct. To put it in modern terms vaqueros are out and train robbers are in. Oh sure, the West is still wild, just in other ways.
As they travel through Texas heading toward Mexico, Call separates himself from the group in an attempt to find Joey Garza on his own. Somebody (I won't mention who) has a showdown with Mox Mox. Even Joey himself is surprised at an unexpected turn of events.
Can Call, still legendary in his twilight years, bring down these famous villains of the Old West? Come on now, you know me better than that. You'll find the answer when you read Streets of Laredo.
If I had a chance to meet Larry McMurtry, I would ask him why he wrote this book. Sequels can be very popular because they tie up loose ends and give readers a chance to see how characters developed. However, I don't see much of that here. I don't mean any disrespect to the author, but maybe he should have left Lonesome Dove as it was, because I found Streets of Laredo to be a bit of a downer.
Let me explain. Mr. McMurtry killed off a lot of people in Lonesome Dove. No problem. These things happen in the Wild West, right? However, in the time frame between the two books, more people are written out of the story. It's no secret, since it happens early in the book, but Call's son, Newt was dead before page one. Damn shame, too. I would have like to have seen that father/son storyline developed.
What's also disappointing is the constant mention of Call's obvious aging. He's just not the same Texas Ranger he once was. There is much mention of his arthritic hands and shrinking being. It's so depressing. I'd rather remember Call as a legend, not some geriatric bounty hunter, ya know?
The writing is the same great McMurtry style. The descriptions of the vast plains are vivid and real. True to the author's form, physical relationships are distant. It's the love of the land that is described.
Also to be commended is McMurtry's development of Mox Mox and Joey Garza. Now, I read a lot of books, but these are two of the meanest people I have ever come across between the pages. As I read the story, I couldn't help but root for Call and the boys, because I, too, wanted the villains dead. McMurtry has that power on me, I guess.
Now comes the hard part. Do I recommend this book to others? Yes and no. This book reads like TV drama that should have gone off the air a year ago, but is just holding on to make that extra buck. It was truly difficult to read about Call as an old man. Die-hard fans probably should read the book. However, those devoted to Lonesome Dove might be disappointed. I guess it's just a choice you'll have to make.
