This was a superb western novel that was much more than a western. Along with the horses and guns, there are layers of philosophical underpinnings and emotions brought to life through fantastic character development. We get several points of view of life in the American west of the 1880s, which broadens the book’s appeal.
I can understand how some wouldn’t take to the slow pace of the first half of the book, but I relished in the great writing and the atmosphere that Eidson created. This is not just a great western, but a great book. I tip my hat to Mr. Eidson for creating such a beautiful story.
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On the face of it, Thomas Eidson's The Last Ride is a straightforward Western story, right down to its generic title. It follows Maggie, a young frontierswoman with grit, who reconnects with her estranged father in order to rescue her daughter, who has been kidnapped by a band of ruthless Apaches. To get her back, they must travel in hot pursuit across the Western landscape, overcoming the terrain, their savage enemies and, of course, their differences.

All rather unremarkable, you would agree – though for fans of the genre it's not an unappealing prospect either. But there are two things which help The Last Ride stand somewhat apart from its formula. The first is that Eidson laces it throughout with a tension between the Christianity believed in by Maggie and the mystic paganism of Samuel Jones, her estranged father who left when she was young to live amongst the Indians. This tension is quite well done throughout, and while some readers will be put off by the lack of ambiguity in the mysticism – Eidson is quite happy for characters to have prophetic dreams which resolve an impasse in their adventure, for example – it works because Eidson engages with it. The juxtaposition of the Christianity and the Indian mysticism is reasonably nourishing brain food and gives a hint of literary weight to this otherwise standard Western. Deus may be ex in Eidson's machina, but He rooms there comfortably.

The second reason The Last Ride stands apart from many of its peers is that Eidson can actually write. Though routine in its course, the book isn't actually formulaic. The difference between those two adjectives might not immediately be apparent, but essentially boils down to how well a writer can freshen things up. Eidson's 'frontierswoman with grit' character has less sass and more vulnerability than writers usually grant such characters, whilst the half-wild, estranged father character has more to him than a grunt or a grizzled line of dialogue, and his regrets at what he has abandoned are raw. Eidson's dialogue is just a little bit keener and more real; his plot pivots a bit more artfully disguised. Consequently, a routine story feels rather refreshed when you're reading it, and while it doesn't make The Last Ride an essential read, the book is a good bridge between the pot-boiler Westerns and the weightier, literary ones. ( )

The year is 1886 and old Samuel Jones, broken in body and soul, has ridden hard to reach his daughter’s remote New Mexico ranch—ridden hard so that he can die there. But Maggie Baldwin, grown and with children of her own, wants nothing to do with this man who abandoned her and her mother thirty years earlier to live with the Indians. Nothing, that is, until renegade Apaches shoot Maggie’s husband and kidnap her oldest daughter. Then she has no choice but to ride with the dying father she detests in a desperate attempt to rescue her child before the girl disappears forever into the vast twilight land of old Mexico.

Good western novel. The Missing, Ron Howard's film with Tommy Lee Jones, is based on it. ( )

This is the second part of the St Agnes trilogy, although after reading both books I can't really see any direct link besides the western theme and point in time. This book was also released under the title 'The Missing' and I believe made into a film of the same name.

The Last Ride follows a dying man's (Samuel Jones) return to a daughter (Maggie) that he abandoned many years ago in the hope of making, if not amends, then a friendship going forward. However, this is not any ordinary return as Samuel has lived his life as an Apache warrior/Indian Shamen and seemingly has many of their powers. Invited into the family home by the husband of Maggie she is initially hostile to allowing Jones into her and her children's lives. This changes when an attack by a crippled Apache sees her daughter kidnapped and husband severely injured. Coupled with her youngest daughter Dot, she must grudgingly follow her ailing parent across the vast desert plains in the hope of finding Lily alive and bringing her home.

There were many parts of this novel I absolutely loved. The descriptions of the surroundings really made you feel as if you were there and I assume Eidson must have spent a portion of his life in this environment to allow such a connection to come across the page. I enjoyed the characterisation of Jones, but even more so that of the animals involved, his old horse trudging loyally with her master through whatever danger shows itself, you really feel sorry and proud at the same time, rarely for me I actually hated turning the page at times to see if she would survive. The other point that draws me to Eidson as a writer is that he isn't afraid to show the violence on both sides of the coin, whether it is Indians massacring the white man or vice versa. These were not the one sided slaughter of innocents that many people would have you believe today, with atrocities committed from all angles.

So what issues did I have? Well firstly I am not entirely sure what genre of book the author is trying to write? The blurb makes it seem a pretty straight forward western, but at times it seemed almost fantasy with magic and second sight guiding Jones. This is ok, but could sometimes be a little bit of a turnoff, especially when you are lost in the reality of the tale. I can see why maybe lovers of books like True Grit may be disgruntled if they read and expect a more straightforward rough and tumble wild west plot.

All in all I really enjoyed the read, and will be buying the third in the trilogy. As previously mentioned, there is no real tangible link to the first book so can be read as a stand alone novel. ( )