There's no reason that I took so long to read this short book, except I didn't like it. I've never cared for Western movies, but thought I would give the Western book genre a try, since I've never read one. Lesson learned: I really don't like Westerns. If there's a strong plot and good writing, setting doesn't matter. Otherwise, Westerns bore me. I get why Louis L'Amour was popular in his time, but I'm spoiled by great writers like Louise Erdrich.