Hayduke Lives!

By: Edward Abbey

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

George Washington Hayduke III was last seen clinging to a rock face in the wilds of Utah as an armed posse hunted him down for his eco-radicalist crimes. Now he is back with a fiery need for vengeance.

In this sequel to the enormously popular and entertaining The Monkey Wrench Gang, Hayduke teams up with his old pals Doc Sarvis, Seldom Seen Smith, and Bonnie Abbzug in a battle against the world's biggest earth-moving machine. Fundamentalist preacher Dudley Love, the mastermind behind "G O L I A T H", wants to turn the Grand Canyon into a uranium mine, but not if eco-warrior Hayduke and his group of committed environmentalist friends have anything to say about it.

Hayduke Lives! is full of noisy politics and seemingly improbable situations (yet all too real) that showcase Abbey's energetic prose and his infectious comic genius as a writer.

©1990 the Estate of Edward Abbey (P)2018 Tantor

A very good part 2!

This was a very good follow up to The Monkey Wrench Gang! It was a bit more rough with lots of cussing. I enjoyed how the characters waffle from action to being settled with life to action. The reader was good. The voice was great for Doc Sarvis! Time for another Edward Abbey!

Great fun

Fun book. Really love this kind of story. thanks for the great read, i needed it.

Not as good.

The first book was fantastic- this one not so much-too much rambling on and over elaboration.

Meh

I'm generally a fan of Abbey's work and the story line seems like a good one, but the narrator's performance definitely took me out of the story here. His tone seemed more sarcastic (or just negative, maybe) than I would have liked. His pace is also varied poorly, dragging in some places where I felt things would have moved faster and rushed in some places that I felt would have gone more slowly. It gave the whole book a very awkward feeling for me. After a couple of chapters, I seriously considered asking for a refund on this title. If you can find it voiced by someone else, I'd recommend that.

A Fun Ride with the Gang...

Abbey's descriptions of the landscape of the west is always beautiful even when he is being snarky. This novel brings us up to date on the gang and moves the story forward. It's a fun read but it's not nearly as much fun as the Monkey Wrench Gang.

I like it better than Monkey Wrench Gang.

A lot of people seem dissappointed upon reading this book after having read the Monkey Wrench Gang, but I think that has to do with people's expectation that Hayduke Lives will provide more of the same. I think you need to treat the two books as separate animals. They are very different in nature although they use the same characters and premises. Hayduke lives is far more "jazzier", almost psychedelic, full of wit and stunning wordplay which I find immensely entertaining if not downright genius. As a story, sure, maybe it lacks some of the cohesion and narrative arc of MWG. Nevertheless, this book amuses me to no end. It's Abbey at his rawest and most devious. He'd DEFINITELY be "cancelled" if he were alive today, but that's not a bad thing. He is incredibly honest, fearless, emotionally naked, and truthful. He pulls no punches. I believe this was his last book, and to me it feels almost a celebration, a full unfolding of his "peacock tail" with intent to lay it all out and display the full breadth of his insight and wit. Don't be discouraged if others say it pales compared to MWG. This book is a creative gem of the finest quality. And Danny Campbell as a narrator is the PERFECT fit for Abbey's work. Absolutely amazing.

Follow up

Good beginning and the last few chapters were great. The narrator was also awesome. Felt like the book dragged on through a lot of the middle but was a worthwhile listen if you enjoyed the monkey wrench game.

Not his best

I’ve read all but this. Maybe it was the listening. But this is not his strong writing. In fact- it’s not really strong. Loooooove many others. Liked it. Didn’t love it.

Abbey’s work excellent, narrator terrible

It’s a crime to hear the important and fantastic work of the immortal Ed Abbey nearly ruined by terrible narration. Campbell’s voice is well-suited to portray old-timers and desert curmudgeons, but he does young people and women poorly and his accents are simply awful. But hearing the final chapters in the epic of the Monkey Wrench Gang is worth it.

another turn of the wrench 🔧

the comparison to monkey wrench, abbey is freezer with his commentary. so many excellent sections of writing. presently I'm reading the brave cowboy his first book speaking about a form of slavery. his ability to protest is just beautiful!