I'm the type of reader who is always fascinated by the writing process, so looking at early and unfinished works by a prolific author is something that really interests me. This is the second volume of "Lost Treasures" from the Louis L'Amour and much like the first volume, this contains a wide selection of works in various states - from the first ten chapters or so of a novel, to treatments and outlines, and even two versions of the beginnings of a story. Not everything here is what we might expect of L'Amour (a western), but everything reflects his easy style.

While most of us know the name of Louis L'Amour as the writer of pulp western fiction, Louis wanted to branch out and write in other genres. But Louis was a product of a specific publishing age. The model of cheap pulp paper pumping out exciting fiction helped make him a success, but it also held him back because the publishers felt his readers would only identify with his western fiction.

In addition to the two different beginnings of a novel, I also really enjoyed reading a story or treatment and then Louis L'Amour's notes to himself - asking where the story is headed, who are the characters, what is the motivation, etc. It's as though he had a scene in his head, which he wrote down, but he had no idea what was supposed to happen from this moment.

The Louis L'Amour catalog is now managed by his son Beau L'Amour and Beau sometimes adds his own knowledge to the creation of these unfinished works. These could be overdone, or embellished, but I get the sense that Beau is being quite straightforward - sometimes admitting that he doesn't know the origins of a work, but can make a guess based on places Louis visited, and when.

The proposal for the non-fiction book sounds incredibly fascinating - it is a book I would definitely have read.

This is an unusual book, because not only are these not quite short stories, they truly are unfinished works. You have to really enjoy the writing process, or the works of Louis L'Amour, to enjoy this. Fortunately, I enjoy both.

This book contains:

WHAT IS LOUIS L’AMOUR’S LOST TREASURES?
INTRODUCTION BY BEAU L’AMOUR
1. THE BASTARD OF BRIGNOGAN: Two Beginnings to a Historical Novel
2. MAC ROSS: The Beginning of a Western Novel
3. DAM AND TIMBER: Notes for an Adventure Story
4. THE QUEST FOR THE BEAR: A Complete Adventure Story
5. KILLS BEAR: The First Three Chapters of a Frontier Novel
6. BEN MALLORY: Seventeen Chapters of an Adventure Novel
7. THE DEATH OF PETER TALON: The Beginning of a Western Novel
8. THE JADE EATERS: A Treatment for a Motion Picture
9. THE FREEZE: The Beginning of a Science Fiction Story
10. BEN MILO: The Beginning of a Crime Story
11. IN THE MEASURE OF TIME: A Complete Adventure Story
12. THE PAPAGO KID: The Beginning of a Western Novel
13. KRAK DES CHEVALIERS: A Treatment for an Adventure Story
14. IBN BATUTA: A Proposal for a Nonfiction Book
15. SHANTY: Two Beginnings to a Western Novel
16. KRAG MORAN: The Beginning of a Boxing Story
17. STAN DUVAL: The Beginning of a Crime Story
18. LOWIE: The Beginning of a Western Story
19. SOUTH OF PANAMA: A Treatment for an Adventure Story
20. THE ROCK MAN: Notes for a Television Series
21. BORDEN CHANTRY II: The First Ten Chapters of a Western Novel
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Looking for a good book? <em>Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2,</em> edited by Beau L'Amour, is another great collection of early and unfinished works by one of the great storytellers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

There's nothing better than a solid Western. L'Amour has released in this book not only snippets of some of the stuff that was right in his wheelhouse, but he's included a collection of stuff that is of a different vein. Almost reads like an author's guide to writing. Within lie some of the major principles of the art.

“I am on the verge of becoming a good writer, all I need is time.”

A writer rarely dies with all his or her stories completed. There are fragments, drafts and ideas left behind. Louis L’Amour left behind many pages of writing that his son, Beau, has decided to sort through and release certain well-crafted stories in Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures, Vol. 2. These snippets give readers a view into some of the other ideas L’Amour had been working on. His son, Beau, offers insights into what time periods they were written and how his father’s upbringing or life experiences may have impacted that certain story.

I was able to get an advanced copy of the book through NetGalley. I enjoyed reading Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures, Vol. 1, so I was curious what stories would be in the second volume. I have only read one other L’Amour book – Sitka – but I really liked it. It was set mostly in Alaska’s wilderness.

Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures, Vol. 2, has several Western stories, but also a mystery, a sci-fi story and some movie proposals. Most of them are just a few chapters, but there are two that are more than 15 chapters long. I wasn’t expecting such long sections. However, each and every story had me hooked. One especially was fascinating with a man stumbling upon his childhood home and finding the grave of a sibling. Another one had a man being accused of the murder of a woman he met years and years ago, but hadn’t seen since – yet lived in the town he was happening to visit. The police suspect him so he goes on the run. Of course, the hard part of reading these stories is knowing that you won’t find out how they end.

Fans of L’Amour will really enjoy Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures, Vol. 2. I think readers of good fiction will also enjoy it as the stories are really well written. It could be read slowly, a story at a time.

What do you get the Louis L'Amour fan who has read all his books, seen all the movies and TV series, and read all the poems, short stories and biographies on their favorite author? Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures, of course.

When I saw the blurb on volume one and now, this volume two, in my mind's eye, I imagined this would be like getting the distinct pleasure of sitting at the author's desk, perusing the finished unedited manuscript pages set on one side of the typewriter, the page in the typewriter, and the bundle of notes and clippings in folders and note pages on any available surface close at hand. And, then, getting to pull open the drawers of the desk, nearby filing cabinets, notebooks on shelves, and loose files precariously piled for a good long snoop.
After reading this volume, I think my imagination was just about right except I didn’t take into account that this lovely volume comes complete with lots of candid photos of the author, his family, his travels, and people he encountered as well as photos of original letters and pages.

Lost Treasures Volume Two opens with Beau L'Amour sharing thoughts on growing up with Louis as a father, the history of his dad shifting with the times in the writing industry, and encounters with the people along the way. Beau then introduces each story fragment, movie notes, TV show story, and also follows up with more of his thoughts on where his dad was going with it.

For instance, he provides two opening sets of chapters for the Bastard of Brignogan and then his dad's planning notes for how this would fit in as his earliest, chronologically, Talon novel and where it would intersect with his Chantry and Sackett family series as well as notes for other novels in the series.

Now, I knew Louis wrote some sci-fi and mystical elements into his novels, but it was fun to discover in this batch of intriguing historical adventures, modern adventures, frontier and westerns fragments, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi. So many of these weren't much and Beau had to use his dad's notes to speculate on where it was going, but some had a good chunk of story that was more a big tease to fans who will mourn not getting that complete story.

As to the audience appeal of this book and the earlier volume one? Honestly, I think it's limited. I think huge L'Amour fans will be fascinated by this glimpse inside L'Amour's writing world as well as some who like to study the mechanics of an author's writing process through their raw work and notes. However, someone looking to try L'Amour's books should definitely start elsewhere.

All in all, this Louis L'Amour fan enjoyed flipping through this volume, picking and choosing places to stop and read more, leaping far forward, and jumping back to earlier bits using the well-organized and helpful index to guide me in my non-linear reading of this one. It sure made me wish Louis could have lived longer and kept writing some of these though I further appreciate the amazing written legacy he already has.

I rec'd this book through Net Galley from Penguin Random House to read in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars
I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I expected unpublished short stories. Instead, these are drafts of unfinished stories. Louis L'Amour would get an idea for a story and write it down without completing it. He would come back to it weeks, months or years later. He would often have several unfurnished drafts at the same time.
A few of these unfinished stories are far enough along that you can see the ending.
Pros: If you like Louis L'Amour's writing style, then this will be a treat for you as you can see how he created his stories.
Cons: If you like your stories to have a satisfying conclusion, then you will be disappointed.
Beau L'Amour is Louis' son and edited these stories. He comments at the end of each story, giving some insight into the creation of the story. In some cases, his dad worked at a job that gave him background knowledge to write this story. In others, his dad had traveled to that part of the world. In some cases Louis had talked to Beau about a story/movie/tv proposal that he was writing..
One quote from a man who had his hand cut off by a cruel lord: "You ask me... what is a hand? A hand is a delicate, yet a mighty thing. It can weave and weigh and strike and caress. It can grip a sword or wield a hammer, touch with tenderness or strike a blow that will crush bone. A hand can create a tapestry of silk, carve ivory or jade, create a goddess from raw marble, heal the sick or bless those who have sinned. A hand can lift a savage brute to the heights of creative skill." .
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Bantam for sending me this book through NetGalley.
#LouisLamoursLostTreasuresVolume2 #NetGalley

Louis L’Amour is one of the greatest writers of our time and I dearly miss him. I was so pleased that these stories were put together and released. I am incredibly thankful for the L’Amour family allowing these stories to be released to the fans. I have been a fan for over 40 years and I hope there are more stories still yet to come.

Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2 by Louis L'Amour & Beau L'Amour, a very interesting read. Provides insights into Louis L'Amour's life, history and writing styles. Many of the chapters are unfinished or just ideas which never got fully fleshed out but still an intriguing read.

Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2 is a wonderful read. I highly recommend it for Louis L'Amour fans. Five stars.

I enjoyed this book from the introduction right through to the end. I have been a fan of Mr L'Amour for most of my life, I started reading his stories in boarding school at eight where he taught me about adventure, as a young teen he taught me about honour. As a young adult I learned from him about commitment. As a new father he taught me about seeing thought tough times and as an older man I learned about the long reach of family history. I have always found his writing inspirational and the two Lost Treasure books have brought me an insight in to how he spoke to me for so long. The books are important to me as they are a window into a creative mind that has been so integral to who I have become. I recommend them to both fans and new readers alike. They are a credit to Mr L'Amour and his son, Beau. They will not disappoint you.

As indicated in the title, this is the second in a series of books compiled by Louis L'Amour's son Beau consisting of unpublished manuscripts and lost stories by the father. The son also contributes a running narrative throughout the book on a numbe of subjects which will add to the enjoyment of die hard Louis L'Amour fans. I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not read a number of Louis L'Amour books as they will provide a great deal of insight to the thoughts provided by the son. 

I received a free Kindle ARC courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would provide an honest review and post it on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.

It’s not the same and even Louis L’Amour’s son, Beau, the author of this compendium of L’Amour’s work will concur: nothing will replace the original. But give Beau a big Atta boy for giving it a shot. For those of us who truly miss the iconic author’s flow of great writing we, at least, have a peek at what what’s been going on these years.

A few years ago Beau decided to sift through the remnants of his dad’s immense files (and indeed immense they are) left behind after his death in 1988 in an effort to get them organized and to see what worthwhile information might be found in the collection. Volume 1 of “Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures” was published in 2017 and gave us glimpses of remnants of his notes, false starts, partial stories, and scribblings. Volume 2 has just been released and it’s just as thrilling for me, a die-hard fan. There are glimpses of things I wish had been carried to fruition because the makings of great books were visible.

Beau comments on what he finds, how he interprets the contents, inserts comments about his relationship with his father, and speculates as to the intent of the writings. His comments are insightful and indicative of their close relationship. There is much to learn about the writer’s research, quest for proper language, struggles to develop a plot, and desire to put forth the best his remarkable mind can offer.

It’s all interesting, if a bit heartbreaking, to witness his struggles to keep his prodigious output flowing. I’d like to see someone, probably Beau, take these scraps of thought and try to produce more works under L’Amour’s name. It’s been done before with other late authors with varying results. What a joy it would be to, once again, have works inspired by L’Amour (and hopefully as well done) to enjoy and look forward to. I thought Beau’s job of resurrecting “No Traveller Returns” was very good and deserving of more attempts on his part to bring his father’s works before us again. It might not work but there are those of us that are eager to see it tried.

Incidentally, a visit to L’Amour’s website, louislamour.com, is a visit well envisioned. It’s immense and contains a treasure-trove of information about his life and work. One can spend many hours there reliving the life of this remarkable author.

This is a beautiful collection. It is wonderful for fans both old and new of L'amour. It gives you a look into how ideas became books, it's wonderful..

I've spent many an evening lost in a Louis L'Amour book. I've read so many that is hard for me to find any I have not read. I've read his westerns, of course, but also so many of his books set in another time and country, that I can see in my mind the families of characters he built. Now the Lost Treasures series gives us chance to see how Louis L'Amour pulled the stories from his mind to share with us on the printed page. It was fascinating to have a peek into his writing methods. This book is not just for L'Amour fans. I've often wondered how any author gets a complete story from a random idea. Treat yourself and read this book.

I have a complete leather-bound collection of Westerns on our cabin shelf. They're barely read because we bought paperbacks of the same books so we could dog-ear the corners, flip them upside-down, and take them to the lake without worrying about their condition.

They're Louis L'Amour novels. A friend introduced us to L'Amour as a favorite author - so I started reading. And kept reading. I get lost in the stories, though they can be formulaic.

And here comes another set, introduced by Louis' son Beau - along with a biography of his father's writing career and connections. I learned a lot, enjoyed the stories (and broader genres), and observations of his writing process.

I'll say it - if you're a fan (old or new), get this volume. You'll feel the familiar cadence in L'Amour's writings. He's a great storyteller and entertainer. But you'll also be surprised by the breadth of his observation of life around the world - beyond Westerns. Recommended.