Last Of The Breed- Book Review

Reviewed by: Shanea Rinn

Author: Louis L'amour

Readability Age Range: Adult Fiction

Book Summary

"The compelling story of U.S. Air Force Major Joe Mack, a man born out of time. When his experimental aircraft is forced down in Russia and he escapes a Soviet prison camp, he must call upon the ancient skills of his Indian forebears to survive the vast Siberian wilderness. Only one route lies open to Mack: the path of his ancestors, overland to the Bering Strait and across the sea to America. But in pursuit is a legendary tracker, the Yakut native Alekhin, who knows every square foot of the icy frontier—and who knows that to trap his quarry he must think like a Sioux.."

My Review

If you are a fan of books that are driven by action plots, then this book is for you. This book is a "one man against the odds" drama, but avoids the typical clichés. It ties back to the historical skills of the Sioux to survive in the wild, the Soviet government corruption, and the lifestyle of the few living in the remote area of the Siberian wilderness.

Christian / Religious theme / Moral

This is not Christian Fiction. It is historical fiction written with a mainly secular world view. It is remarkably clean. Themes are based mostly on survival, and justice.

Character/s Quality

Our main protagonist in this novel is not a Christian man. He is a military man who will not hesitate if needed to take action, even violent, against his enemies if needed. But he does not take life needlessly or carelessly, and his whole desire is to escape those who want his life. He is masculine, and honorable.

He does desire revenge and retribution with the men hunting him.

Violence / Fear / Gore / Horror

Being that this is a novel dealing with government corruption, Soviet oppression, prison camps, man hunts, torture, etc...there is violence in this novel. Anything read can be rated at the level of a war novel or less.

Fantasy / Magic

There is no fantasy or magic in this series.

Romance

There is romance in this novel at a minimum. It is a subplot rather than the main plot. It is clean and non descript.

There is one instance in the book where one of the unmarried antagonists is with another unmarried woman in a room having spent the night together and the description is lightly suggestive. The conversation between the two however, remains mostly on the main plot.

Language

There are a few instances of the "D" word. The author also indicates swearing without writing the actual cuss word. Example: "He swore suddenly."

(As much as we try to be thorough with our book reviews, it is possible that we may miss something from time to time. So if you happen to find something we didn't mention, we apologize ahead of time.)

Drugs / Alcohol / Substance Abuse

There are mentions of drinking alcohol, and some drunken guards.

Final Thoughts

Louis L'amour is known for his Westerns. I can enjoy a few of them before Westerns began to all feel the same to me. So when I came across his "Last of the Breed" I was intrigued, and hooked. It is different from his typical work and I found it very enjoyable as I love survival stories. For a secular story, it is pretty clean, as are most of Louis Lamour's books.

Where can I find these books?

This series is available individually across many different book stores. It is available as a softcover, kindle edition, e-book, and audiobook. A few of the book stores include Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Did you find this book review helpful? Wouldn't it be great to have book reviews like this sent straight to your email without having to search them out?

We have set up an email subscriber list for parents like you, who are looking for clean fiction for their young adults.

It's an awesome resource for those of you who are on the lookout for great literature, for the next homeschool year!

So what are you waiting for? Subscribe for free, and we will send everything new and exciting straight to your inbox!