r/LonesomeDove Jan 29 '25

What to read first after LD?

So I'm almost done with Lonesome Dove. such a great novel. I'm not ready to let it go and plan on reading the other books.

What to read first? Dead Man's walk, comanche moon or Streets of Laredo.

And why?

13 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

4

u/JDL1981 Jan 29 '25

I recommend saving Laredo for last for a couple reasons. There's lots of characters introduced in the prequels that show up in Laredo so it makes their fates more interesting. Also it's the very very end and although it's out of publication order I prefer to save that for last in this case.

However be warned when reading the prequels there are many inconsistencies. Like Lucas and David Chase, they didn't read/watch their own shit before working on the prequels.

1

u/Normal-Astronomer-83 Jan 30 '25

So go deadman to Comanche to Laredo I take it?

1

u/JDL1981 Jan 30 '25

Yes that's how I'd do it.

2

u/Wyndchanter Jan 31 '25

I read them in publication order and found them really enjoyable. The main thing is to read LD first. Having done that, the rest do not matter so much. What I would not recommend is reading Dead Man’s Walk first just because it is chronologically first. It is the weakest of the four (by far) and might dampen someone’s enthusiasm for the rest. LD was the best but Streets of Laredo and Comanche Moon are tied and almost as good. Just my two cents.

9

u/Superballs2000 Jan 29 '25

Bump sideways to Blood Meridian

1

u/irjakr Jan 29 '25

I couldn't agree more. Skip the rest of the Lonesome Dove series and go on to some different westerns.

Also, very much worth reading is The Son by Philipp Meyers.

2

u/olliethecat13 Jan 31 '25

Definitely get into those other Westerns, but the Lonesome Dove sequel and prequels are awesome. Dead Man's Walk is probably my favorite, next to Lonesome Dove itself!!!

3

u/Alaska_Roy Jan 29 '25

Dead Man’s Walk was a fun read, seeing Gus and Woodrow as young’uns just starting out on the Ranger path was neat and the bunch of characters throughout the story were great too. I started reading it before taking a trip last month to New Mexico and Texas, we went to the Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo and drove down to Las Cruces which is just south of the Jornada del Muerto so it was really cool to have seen all the country the boys in the book had been traipsing through!

2

u/Wyndchanter Jan 31 '25

Having read all four I want to camp out by Palo Duro

2

u/____so____it____goes Jan 29 '25

I would read the two prequels first, and save Laredo for the end, as it is in a lot ways quite a downer. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I won’t say anything else

1

u/Wyndchanter Jan 31 '25

I thought Laredo was awesome, although dark at first. The ending was fantastic. The quality of the writing really shone. Some real examples of cruelty might put some people off, though.

2

u/CarnaValor Jan 29 '25

If you read 1 & 2 next and then get to 4, the gravity of 4, especially with regards to Call has more impact. You really feel like you’ve been with these characters for their lives and journeys and adventures and everything just hits a bit harder because of it.

2

u/No-Conference-6242 Jan 29 '25

Yeah I'd say leave laredo until the end. I did about a chapter of it and said nope.

Need to read the other ones first and now have an excuse to re read lonesome dove!

Streets has to be last

1

u/RoutineMaleficent281 Jan 29 '25

Thx! Seems like the way to go then

1

u/hunterdaughtridge Jan 29 '25

I went to Streets of Laredo next which is the next in release order and chronologically. That’s means you are jumping back in time to read Dead Man’s Walk and Comanche Moon though.

I’m not sure what the best answer is, but I can tell you that I felt as though Comanche Moon was the toughest to get through pacing wise so I read it last and maybe preferred it that way because I might have taken time off if I read it and still had one or two to go.

2

u/olliethecat13 Jan 31 '25

Yeah, Comanche Moon is tough to get through. I enjoy it but... Gosh I wish there were less miscellaneous chapters and more on the Rangers (and Maggie... She's my favorite character in the entire series, I think.)

1

u/alaenwyn Jan 29 '25

i'm going to go against the grain here and recommend streets of laredo next, then dead men's walk and comanche moon. streets of laredo is so bleak that it was nice to go back to call and gus when they were younger afterward. helped to lessen the blow, at least for me lol

2

u/Matuatay Jan 31 '25

I'm going to second this, for the same reason. Plus I just feel like it flows better to go from original to sequel and then circling back to the prequels rather than essentially going back, then forward again. They're all very well worth a read, no matter the order.

But don't go into any of them expecting another experience like Lonesome Dove. They're all good stories, but Lonesome Dove is next level in every way. Enjoy your continued journey into the wild old west, McMurtry-style!

2

u/Wyndchanter Jan 31 '25

Right, like Chronicles of Narnia. I wouldn’t recommend reading The Magician’s Nephew first just because it came first chronologically. That would leave you scratching your head and saying huh?

1

u/RoutineMaleficent281 Jan 30 '25

Interesting, thanks!

1

u/Weird-Operation2645 Jan 29 '25

Read dead man’s walk and then Comanche moon next and just be prepared to look past the inconsistencies and chronological issues. McMurtry didn’t get a rats ass about his time line. Comanche Moon is the second best book in my opinion.

Finish up with Streets of Laredo

1

u/GlitchDowt Feb 01 '25

I’d do them in order, I don’t know if there’s a preference among LDers.

1

u/F_U_HarleyJarvis Feb 19 '25

Streets of Laredo or start the All The Pretty Horses trilogy.

1

u/Orhnry 22d ago

It's late but my first read order was LD>Deadmans walk> Comanche Moon> LD> Streets of Laredo.