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Book Reviews of The Haunted Mesa

The Haunted Mesa
The Haunted Mesa
Author: Louis L'Amour
ISBN-13: 9780553270228
ISBN-10: 0553270222
Publication Date: 5/1/1988
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 112

3.9 stars, based on 112 ratings
Publisher: Bantam
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

29 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is the the only book written by Louis L'amour I have ever read, and undoubtedly the strangest while at the same very intriguing.

His writing technique here is not sophisticated. In this book L'amour repeats facts too frequently, as though the reader is stupid. The main character's thoughts are prominent, which isn't necessarily a drawback, but tends to become redundent while other characters, some important to the plot, remain two-dimensional.
yooper14 avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is one of my favorite L'Amour books. (A close second to "Last of the Breed") I've never been much of a sci-fi fan, but this book nearly got me hooked to that genre. It has a definite western flair, with time travel, mystery, history, and suspense all wrapped into one. This is a must for any L'Amour fan!
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on
Helpful Score: 2
Suspenseful and ties in with at least one other Louis L'Amour book, The Lonesome Gods.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Very good story, if you like mysteries you will enjoy this book.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 407 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was a good mix of western and science fiction as it looked at southwest Native American culture and offered a parallel world explanation on the disappearance of the Anasazi people. I liked the characters and the story, but I sometimes found the plot repetitive, especially Mike's indecision about what he should do. I also would have liked more storyline set in the other world.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I found this book to be disappointing as a Louis L'Amour book. There were numerous repetitions of the same statements and the plot dragged to the point of almost becoming boring. It also was not anything like any of the many other L'Amour novels that I've read. It is a science fiction thriller. The idea was was appealing in that since, but again, the story moved way too slow and the cast of characters were confusing with their unusual names.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 3352 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Another good story frm our foremost storyteller of the authentic west.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 7 more book reviews
UFOs, alternate realities, and other dimensions in the Old West? You'd better believe it.
dbs avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 329 more book reviews
Unusual L'Amour in that it is contemporary rather than historical, but, of course, set in the west. I enjoyed it.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 38 more book reviews
Wow. Where to begin? Louis L'Amour has NO BUSINESS whatsoever writing a lame-duck "western" with some sci-fi flavor thrown into the mix. I'll admit it, they got me with the premise-- Mike Raglan, a man with experience debunking fraudsters, is contacted by an old friend who goes missing in an alternate world, but because they're talking Native American history and Arizona, I'm thinking it'll be a little more western/spiritual than most of the claptrap masquerading as science-fiction.

Nope. Same old stereotypes:- tech geek in trouble- gorgeous and/or frigid and/or angry women- "Let's go in there guns blazing!"- red herrings that are only red herrings if you're a total idiot- figuring your culture/time has to be more advanced than the one you're visiting, thereby making you WAY smarter (er, no)- allies who are probably from The Dark Side, Luke, so watch yourself.
emeraldfire avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on
The Navajo called them the Anasazi, an enigmatic tribe of southwestern cliff dwellers that disappeared many centuries ago. Their sudden disappearance baffled historians. Summoned to a dark, desolate desert plateau by a letter from an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is drawn in to a world of mystery, violence and mysticism. He will eventually learn the astonishing legacy of the Anasazi, but not without a high cost to himself and his friends.

I did enjoy this book because it definitely started out very mysteriously and strange. However, as I read through it, it began to rely more and more on science fictional elements that I didn't really like all that much. Mareena said that she bought this book for me for Christmas because she thought I might like the mystery and ghostly horror of it. I had never read Louis L'Amour before and I'm certainly glad that I read this book but I generally thought of him more as an author of Westerns. I think that he has a wonderful writing style though. I give this book a strong A!
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 3 more book reviews
A little too mythical for me. I much prefer the standard western stories by the late, talented Louis L'Amour.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 7 more book reviews
A departure for L'amour this is more of a sci-fi novel than a western.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 6 more book reviews
Louis Lamour takes a total different turn with this western mixed in with sci-fi.
Quixotic1 avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 14 more book reviews
If you are a western fan and love L'Amour you will love this one.
Chesara avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 153 more book reviews
The Navajo called them the Anasazi: an enigmatic race of southwestern cliff dwellers. For centuries, the sudden disappearance of this proud and noble people has baffled historians. Summoned to a dark desert plateau by a desperate letter form an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is drawn into a world of mystery, violence, and explosive revaltion. Crossing the border beyond the laws of man and nature, he will learn the astonishing legacy of the Anasazi but not without a price. Set in the contemporary Southwest, The Haunted Mesa draws on Louis L'Amour's extensive knowledge of Indian lore and mysticism. In this extraordinary book L'Amour tells a tale of epic adventure that takes his readers across the most extraordinary frontier they have ever encountered.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 16 more book reviews
This is a hard cover book.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 28 more book reviews
The Haunted Mesa is a centuries old enigma that has baffled historians; the sudden disappearance off the face of the earth of a race of Southwestern cliff dwellers the Navajos called the Anasazi. Summoned to a dark desert plateau by the desperate letter of an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is slowly drawn into a world of mystery and violence, where he will ultimately learn the astonishing legacy of the Anasazi.
CAJUN avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 339 more book reviews
I READ THIS BOOK YEARS AGO. AND JUST HAD TO RED-READ IT. THE MESA IS REALLY A PORTAL TO ANOTHER TIME. READ THIS ONE AND NEVER REGRET IT.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 142 more book reviews
The Navajo called them the Anasazi; an enigmatic race of southwestern cliffdwellers. For centuries, the sudden disappearance of this proud and noble people has baffled historians. In this book is a tale of epic adventure that takes the reader across the most extraordinary frontier they have ever encountered. Draws on L'Amour's extensive knowledge of Indian lore and mysticism. Really good read.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 12 more book reviews
I loved this book as it was not the usual L'amour type Western.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 224 more book reviews
Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Indian lore and mysticism, as well as his love for the Southwest's Four Corners country, Louis L'Amour has written an authentically detailed epic adventure that takes his readers across the most extraordinary frontier they have ever experienced.
ffagirl15 avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 3 more book reviews
Interesting book. Varies from L'Amours typical book setting. I really liked the mixture of western and mystery in this book.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 135 more book reviews
Western. Autographed by the author
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 711 more book reviews
L'Amour's inspiration for this book is a centuries-old enigma that has baffled historians: the sudden disppearance off the face of the earth of a race of Southweestern cliff dwellers the Navajos called the Anasazi.
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 404 more book reviews
"The Navajo called them the Anasazi: an enigmatic race of southwestern cliff dwellers. For centuries, the sudden disappearance of this proud and noble people has baffled historians. Summoned to a dark desert plateau by a desperate letter form an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is drawn into a world of mystery, violence, and explosive revaltion. Crossing the border beyond the laws of man and nature, he will learn the astonishing legacy of the Anasazi -- but not without a price.

Set in the contemporary Southwest, The Haunted Mesa draws on Louis L'Amour's extensive knowledge of Indian lore and mysticism. In this extraordinary book L'Amour tells a tale of epic adventure that takes his readers across the most extraordinary frontier they have ever encountered."
reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 83 more book reviews
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The Navajo called them the Anasazi: an enigmatic race of southwestern cliff dwellers. For centuries, the sudden disappearance of this proud and noble people has baffled historians. Summoned to a dark desert plateau by a desperate letter form an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is drawn into a world of mystery, violence, and explosive revaltion. Crossing the border beyond the laws of man and nature, he will learn the astonishing legacy of the Anasazi -- but not without a price. Set in the contemporary Southwest, The Haunted Mesa draws on Louis L'Amour's extensive knowledge of Indian lore and mysticism. In this extraordinary book L'Amour tells a tale of epic adventure that takes his readers across the most extraordinary frontier they have ever encountered.
dnhowarth avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 174 more book reviews
Not being a Louis L'Amour fan and having read only one other novel of his ("Hondo"), I picked up this one for its reputation as L'Amour's only fantasy-plot story -- a fantasy-explanation of the disappearance of the Anasazi -- and was not disappointed. A modern Western, somewhat a mystery, mostly a fantasy, a fun story to read but not much afterwards to ponder unless one is inclined to give credence to the "Portal to a Parallel World" theme.
nccorthu avatar reviewed The Haunted Mesa on + 569 more book reviews
a very fun read. Different from his usual fare. sure not a cowboy book.