Longhorn IV: The Family

Longhorn Series, Book 4

By: Dusty Rhodes

Narrated by: Gene Engene

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

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.

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.

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 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.

The Longhorn Series

Book 4 of the Longhorn Series is the conclusion of this story. It mainly focuses the families. With death of the older brother's best he contradicts his younger brother for a visit in Colorado. Which is quite a trip by horseback in 1873-1874 from Southern Texas. This book deals with the adventures of trip. I would like to see Dusty Rhodes write an updated version of this series. I would recommend this series to anyone who is a western fan. A very good read.

Outstanding; heart-tugging

Very human and believable story; narrator voice variations for each character amazing; adventure, romance, insight into history and the way people lived.

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.