If you enjoy a charater driven story that just happens to happen in the old west, this is your best bet. The author constructs his people with care and empathy. One is truly sad when misfortunes occur and can revel in the humor and humanity of those who overcome their adversities.
The sexual content is relevent without being puriant or gratuitous. It just all rings true.
It took me a little while to get used to the narrator's voice and chararcterizations. I thought that at the very beginning he moved a little too fast. But once he did slow down the pace was perfect.
Complaints about Gus' voice are understandable. But because Gus is so outrageous, his voice needs to be outrageous as well. After a while, it just made me smile when he spoke.
This book is wonderful and tragic all at the same time. If you have ancestors who lived in some of the places that this story covers at the time this this story takes place, it may give you a new respect for the lives they may have led and the times that they lived in. I look forward to listening other books by L.M.

McMurtry is a genius with characters, and Horsley's reading of Gus MacRae, Woodrow Call, and Clara Allen are outstanding. This epic novel is a gritty, realistic portrait of the west as it teetered on the cusp of being settled (or as Gus would have said, "Ruint"). Lonesome Dove's west is populated by adventurers, pirates, sociopaths, and extraordinarily strong women. The novel is thoroughly entertaining and lends itself well to being read.

A brilliant audio transcript of a superbly written story. Easily one of the best selections at Audible.

This book, and "the Stand," by Stephen King, go back and forth in my mind as far as being the best book ever. Mr. Horsley brings this book to life as only a Texan can do, even better than the skilled narrator who did the audio for the Library of Congress. He was good--Horsley is exceptional. He captures the brashness of Gus, the savagery of Blue Duck, the timid nature of July Johnson, and so much more. With such an epic to work with, many potential narrators would be overwhelmed. This reading lends an added dimension to an amazing book--more realistic than anything John Ford ever put on the screen. In this real Wild West, the good guys certainly don't always win, and even the good guys show the character flaws that make them seem more real than any hero John Wayne ever portrayed. McMurtry only wrote two other books worth bothering with--Streets of Laredo, the sequel to this book, and "Last Picture Show." Other than that, don't even bother. Forget the two prequels, they're worthless. This is easily my favorite western, and as i stated at the outset, one of my two favorite books of all.

This book is nothing short of spectacular. Not only is it a fantastic book, it is by far and away the best job of reading of any book I've listened to, and I have listened to plenty. This is not a Western in any traditional sense, but an unabashed story of life, by an author with an incredible sense for the rhythms of life, and a reader of great sensitivity who brings every character into his own. I guaranty you will not regret getting this book.

I've been downloading two Audible titles a month for almost two years, and so far Lonesome Dove is the most memorable: an exciting and moving story populated with brilliantly created characters, brought to life by a fine narration.

It's huge. I listened to all forty some odd discs on my trip to Alaska and back.

I don't know how the narrator kept all his characters straight, but he did and had a different voice for all of them. He kept the story interesting, on track voice positive.

It's long, but if you have the time, it is a must

It was a real marathon to listen to all 37 hours but well worth it and I could not get enough. I had not seen the TV mini-series before reading the book but went out a purchased the mini-series on DVD after listening to the book. As usual, the book is better.

Mr. McMurtry's depiction of Lonesome Dove is simply wonderful. The characters seem so simple, so matter of fact, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The book is long, however, once I was 20 minutes into it, it never dragged. I repeat, it never dragged. For a book this size not to lag anywhere is quite a feat. The plot has a couple sub-plots that are interlocked, but these sub-plots are clear and concise. One of the best stories I've read in the past several years. My hat goes off to Larry McMurtry.
Cheers!

I read the reviews before starting this book and was wondering what all of the fuss was about. Upon finishing it and reflecting back on the story as a whole, I found myself actually feeling the characters. I was sad when bad things happened in the book, and happy other occasions. I NEVER usually feel this way about characters in a book. So I've got no choice but to give in and go with the majority on this one. Try it out, but make sure you finish it...then reflect on your experience reading this. That's when you'll realize how much you enjoyed this book.