The Searchers

By: Alan Le May

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

Alan Le May’s Western novels are widely considered classics in the genre, and the movie adaptation of The Searchers was named AFI’s Greatest Western Movie of All Time. When Martin Pauley and Amos Edwards return to their Texas homestead to find a burning ruin, they set out to find Amos’ missing daughter - and exact revenge on the Comanche responsible for the attack.

©2009 Andrew J. Fenady (P)2013 Recorded Books

A Mortal (Me) Writes of a Classic

This familiar and tragic tale epitomizes Western motif writing: a prairie family is massacred by Comanches and a young girl is kidnapped. Men track the Comanche, but struggle to find the band responsible for the deed.

The story morphs into a quest (the Holy Grail of sorts) for the girl. Years in the saddle and transformations within the main characters tell the reader that a quest, fruitless or not, is more destiny than circumstance. This book is a road trip (albeit on horseback), through landscape harsh and spectacular. If the High Plains do not kill a man (man in this case), it will redeem him.

This is a sure-fire listen for those appreciating a realistic Western novel. It could have happened and probably did many times just the way Alan LeMay said.

One of the very best westerns ever!

Incredible, timeless love story with a completely different ending than the movie. A masterpiece of western folklore.

Old fashioned story telling fun!

This is just a compelling story, with great character development and a grand and sweeping plot. I loved this book!

Excellent

If you want to skip an hour of John Wayne worship skip to 1.06. Then this book truly begins. It’s without a doubt the best western I’ve listened to. Highly recommend.

A Great Western

The West like no western ever presented, a history of a lost time and people.

A Classic

Great writing, great narration, great story. Historically accurate, beautifully rendered descriptions. Strong character development. Outstanding.

The best historical fiction and the best narrator performance on Audible

I am not in any way one of these people that gives four and five stars to everything, if you can see my reviews you’ll see that. I can be a harsh critic, especially when it comes to the choice of the narrator:

This is such a fantastic work I can’t believe I went this long without reading it. This is a serious and direct novel, it has a pall of sadness throughout and yet there’s not a boring moment in the entire book.

I’m a long time fan of Patrick O’Brien’s Master and Commander series, hailed by many historical fiction aficionados as the best of the genre, and competing against 21 books of that series I would put The Searchers at number one.

If you’re looking for an easy listen like a Louis L’Amour book this isn’t for you. If you think all Native Americans were Wood Fairies, this isn’t for you. This book isn’t a happy, little western action novel, there’s no obvious hero, Everybody is flawed just like real life.
This book is western literature.

This blows anything by Larry McMurtry away like a 10 gauge shotgun.

It’s nothing like McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, but it’s every bit as good if not better, and that’s something I thought I would never say about another book set in the 19th century west.

Also this is one of the few narrator performances that I am telling friends to listen to rather than to read.

Cardboard characters...

I tried to finish this book but could not get into the characters. I could not relate, empathize, or feel their pain. The characters had no soul, no human quality, they were plastic, superficial... The movie was better!!! do not recommend.

dated story

and a 1 hr and 10 minute intro/worship review of John Wayne. Not worth the listen.