Longhorn IV: The Family

Longhorn Series, Book 4

By: Dusty Rhodes

Narrated by: Gene Engene

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Fate has brought about a reunion with a brother Buck Cordell thought was dead. Hard work and perseverance brought both of them success beyond their wildest expectations.

But the loss of Buck’s best friend and partner caused him to re-examine his priorities and decide “Family” was the highest priority of all.

©2010 Dusty Rhodes (P)2010 Books In Motion

First book in series I haven't rated five stars

STORY (western) - I have totally loved this series -- good writing, well-developed characters, lots of action and a great story line -- but this book was my least favorite. The series is about two brothers (Cody and Buck) who are separated by the Civil War and the murder of their parents by Indians. They are reunited in this book, which is kind of a spoiler but they mention it in the synopsis so I'm not giving away anything new. The reuinion is unexpected and totally awesome, but it's in the beginning of this book, and in my opinion everything that happens after that is anticlimactic. Heartwarming and enjoyable, but kind of just filler stuff.

PERFORMANCE - Mr. Engene is a great narrator. He has so many different cowboy character voices that he could read the phone book and make you feel like you're in the wild, wild west!

OVERALL - I'd recommend this series for family listening, as there's something for everyone to enjoy. Men and kids will enjoy the cowboy action, but I'm an adult female and I loved the story of the two brothers. There's no sex or cursing, and the only violence is Indian raids and cowboy shootouts. You should start with Book 1 and listen in order. Once you become acquainted with the brothers and hear their individual stories, you will want to continue until they're reunited.

Glad the series continues

Read first 3 books in order and enjoyed them very much, especially the descriptions of the times, places, and lives of ordinary people. Was a bit disappointed in the 3rd book ending just as the 2 brothers found each other.

Very glad to see book 4 come out to continue the story of these 2 men and their lives together.

Gene Engene is the perfect reader for any western. His voice characterisations and delivery are perfect.

the best

this is the best series I have ever read in my life. I have read and listened to hundreds of books. I have never shed a tear while reading or listening to a book. But on the last book in the last chapter i shed a few tears excellent narration and excellent story.

Longhorn Series

Where does Longhorn IV: The Family rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This longhorn series got me into audiobooks

What about Gene Engene’s performance did you like?

Gene Engene was really good at the western voices

Any additional comments?

I agree with what Jean from Santa Cruz said in his review, hope there is a book 5

A Bit Too Sappy Ending

Overall this is a nice story. However it can be surprisingly graphic in describing some of the violent conflicts and then the ending of this one just got a bit too sappy for me. Some of the terminology gets tediously redundant. If you can overlook these flaws, it is nice to read about strong relationships and family bonds without the sordid and baser side of humanity being explored.

Awesome story

great story, great series of books. loved listening to it always had my attention

From Rags To Riches!

I have enjoyed the Longhorn series immensely, having read them in sequence. This fourth book has a lot of feeling and action but more in-depth detail than the others. In my opinion it could have been told in about 8 hours Vs 12 without missing anything important.

Sometimes descriptions of the mundane became tedious and I felt like fast forwarding but was afraid I'd miss something important. You can almost see the writer picturing the various scenes in his head as he tells the story. For example, instead of saying they met at the cafe for a cup of coffee, each person entered the cafe in detail, with description of the cook and the pouring of each cup of coffee or like when Buck thinks of Rebecca, its more like an "ode to Rebecca".

It is still a 5 Star story and definitely worth a credit.

Gene Engene gave a great performance throughout the series.

The story of Cody Cordell (Hondo Kid) and Buck Cordell's family reunion is touching.

I miss my friends.

Any additional comments?

I listened to the whole series back to back, and enjoyed Rhode's homey stories filled with action plus the details of cowboy life. There are some slow parts, but the story jumps from one action scene to another--often with realistic brutality. Gory scenes are short but to the point. No sex, no swearing. Magically, the characters have money and can pay their staff a healthy wage without balancing a budget, like the rest of us. The books are idealistic without the details of quarrels with staff, nit picky daily irritations and marriage quibbles, but I liked them all. I love the financial details of how much things cost in the 1860's and how a business and town grew. The characters all have difficult life problems that they work through. They show kindness to each other and strangers. The crooks and thieves of the era are dealt with quick cowboy justice.

When I first heard the reader, I hated his slow pace. On the second try, I got used to it and was impressed by the range of characters he played. The women weren't perfect, but the men and dumb crooks were great.

All in all, I enjoyed the series and miss my friends. I'd like to check out Cody's house, and sit on the porch and rock while I listen to their stories, watch the mining town process gold and enjoy the beauty of the waterfall.

Good book

I listened to the prior three books and was excited to listen to the last one of the series. I really enjoy the narrator however on this book the smacking of the lips, the mouth noises in between sentences and the occasional deep inhale while listening with earbuds drove me nuts! I don't recall him doing it on the previous three books. Maybe it was how it was recorded. But it did take away from the enjoyment of the book.

Longhorn IV

I have read the series in order and book IV brings it all together nicely. The importance of family comes through loud and clear in this book. Lots of action, cattle drives, travel by horse back, buggy, stagecoach, ship, river boat and train give a wide view of the west. This book covers the cattle drives, people moving into the west and the building of the railroad. I hope that this in not the last book in the series. Gene Engene narrated the entire series. His voice goes well with the wild frontier.