Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour (Audiobook Review)

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Title: Sackett’s Land

Series: The Sacketts, book 1

Author: Louis L’Amour

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Books

Narrator: John Curless

Duration: 5 hours, 15 minutes

Copyright: 1998

Genres: adventure, exploration

Filed in: Audiobook reviews

Review copy provided by Kearney Public Library.



THE GIST: Barnabas Sackett was a simple farmer from the English countryside. After discovering some old-looking gold coins buried in the mud, he visits a nearby village to see if they might be worth something. He receives a sizeable amount for the coins, but that’s where his good fortune ends. On his way out of the village, Barnabas runs afoul of a local nobleman over an imagined slight. With the weight of the local authorities on the side of the nobleman, Barnabas knows he must leave his home.



The adventure thus begun, Barnabas soon finds himself traveling to London, being waylaid by pirates, and sailing to the new world. It doesn't take Barnabas long to realize that this is where he belongs, a whole world for him to explore and settle and start a family in.



MY THOUGHTS: “Sackett’s Land" was not at all what I expected. Instead of a tale of the old west, I found a story of sword fights, pirates, and exploration. I have nothing against sword fights and pirates and, in fact, I found the historical aspects of the audio book interesting, but honestly, Louis L’Amour does a much better job on cowboys than he does on pirates. Nonetheless, this is an important piece of the puzzle for lovers of L'Amour's Sackett series, as it recounts the tale of the very first Sackett to come to America.



NARRATOR: Since I was expecting cowboys in the old west, I was very surprised to hear John Curless’ mild British accent. My surprise turned to puzzlement as “Sackett’s Land" began and Curless switched to something that sounded Scottish. Of course, once I realized the audio book was set in Great Britain, it made more sense. I didn’t particularly enjoy the narration of this audio book, however. Curless is adequate, but ultimately uninspired; I found my attention wavering at times.



FINAL WORD: Not finding the western that I expected, I had to switch gears fast on "Sackett's Land", and I never quite made the transition. There are some decent action scenes in “Sackett's Land", but this is not Louis L'Amour at his best. Couple that with mediocre narration and this becomes an audio book I would probably not recommend to my friends.



CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:

To the Far Blue Mountains by Louis L’Amour (Audiobook Review)

The Warrior’s Path by Louis L’Amour (Audiobook Review)

The Daybreakers by Louis L’Amour (audiobook Review)





If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:

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This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.

Audiobook review by Steven Brandt

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