Rating: 
Summary: A fine piece of storytelling.
Review: Reading and hearing the criticism of this book, it seems obvious that the naysayers read Lonesome Dove with a romantic's eye. Don't.As other well-written works repeatedly demonstrate -- contemporary novels, such as The Last Picture Show, and historical ones such as Buffalo Girls and Anything for Billy -- McMurtry is anything but rosy-eyed about his characters. Like George Bernard Shaw, McMurtry creates stories that are interesting and valuable, but also realistic. People seem to disappointed with the content of Streets of Laredo, but the reality of the West is that it was a brutal, violent place. Viewed through the eyes of an aging denizen like Woodrow F. Call, it would naturally seem even more so, particularly viewed against the rather cold backdrop of encroaching modern civilization. The actions and reactions of a Call, Lorena, even PeaEye Parker, all make perfect sense in this book. Would you expect the practical Woodrow to suddenly become a dashing hero with a sunset in the background? Of course not. Thus, an old Call finds himself bedeviled by a young, clever, ruthless killer. It wouldn't happen any other way. Would a mature Lorena do anything that wasn't practical, or at least deeply personal? Not in the least. So she's married to someone who is predictable, but also extremely reliable. And so on. The new characters introduced in the Streets of Laredo are as well developed and interesting as we've come to expect from McMurtry. He even manages to make a Brooklyn accountant seem intriguing -- no mean feat, if you think about it. And for all of the complaints about the graphic nature of some of the action in Laredo, no one can reasonably argue that McMurtry has lost his facility with words. As always with McMurtry, the prose flows lyrically; he remains one of the most underrated craftsmen of the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book that I wish I hadn't read
Review: Streets of Laredo, set in Texas and Mexico in more or less the 1890's, is the sequel to Lonesome Dove. Anyone who's read the author's other work will know that his novels are a progression of character deaths, often pointless and cruel. This one was even more depressing than that. Use of language in this book is generally evocative, but occasionally, particularly in the section from Doobie's perspective, becomes downright simple-minded and annoying. There are a lot of repeated phrases. Characterization is excellent, sort of. The reader gets to know the characters. The reader gets to care about the characters. Then the characters mostly die, or worse. It's a bummer. The plot involves a manhunt for various different brutal outlaws. It's about the end of Captain Call's career, and the ongoing story of Pea Eye and Lorena, now married with a large family. Secondary characters include the return of Mox Mox, the various men involved in Call's manhunt, the outlaw Garza's downtrodden yet plucky mother Maria, and fictionalized versions of John Wesley Hardin and Charles Goodnight. Mostly it's exciting and fast-moving, but there are some annoying tangents -- Maria running off to deliver a baby right at a climactic moment especially frustrated me. One unbelievable element of the plot was the amateur amputations and terrible wounds suffered by the characters -- without cauterization, ligature, tourniquets, or anything else. Realistically, the amputee in particular should have bled to death in minutes. The end, however, I did not enjoy. The whole thing with the little blind girl was sentimental and frankly creepy. The main character's downfall seemed like an act of pointless cruelty on the author's fault -- I wondered if it was meant to be fate, some kind of karmic punishment for deeds done (or more, not done) in earlier volumes. I still didn't enjoy reading it. The title, taken from a sad traditional ballad about a dying cowboy, seems appropriate here. In many ways this is a well-written book, but there are things in it I wish I hadn't read. Take your chances.
Rating:
Summary: Caution: Read this review before you read the others!!!
Review: There are several reviews regarding this book that follow, which actually gives the plot away, not only for Streets of Loredo-but for Lonesome Dove as well!! REVIEWERS TAKE NOTE: IT IS INAPPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS THE KEY PLOTS IN A REVIEW! PERIOD!
As far as Streets is concerned it is a good book-although not up to the Lonesome Dove, in my opinion. McMurtry is still a great writer, and this book proves not to be an exception.
Rating: 
Summary: Good ending to a great series
Review: The fourth book in the series (Lonesome Dove was written first, but is actually third), Streets of Laredo is the most reflective and least adventurous story. There is still plenty of adventure, but the focus is on one character, the aging Call on a quest to find a killer. As usual, McMurtry writes a story that goes nowhere and everywhere at the same time. His stories are realistic and detailed, almost prosaic, but they are also universal and compelling. Some reviewers say that McMurtry is not a great writer. But by what standards are they judging, and what difference does it make? It's hard to beat McMurtry at sheer story-telling power.
Rating:
Summary: 547 pages and two audible gasps later, I'm satisfied
Review: I first read the original, Lonesome Dove, and followed those up with the immensely disappointing Dead Man's Walk and the better but still not entirely worthy Comanche Moon, so by the time I began to prepare to approach Streets of Laredo, I was cautious (well obviously, I dragged out the approach pretty good there). I wondered if McMurtry was up to the task of revisiting the characters that have become so dear to me, or if he'd falter like he had in the prequels. And now, barely post-reading, I can say that I think he did a fine job, though I did have a few problems. Throughout the story I grew more and more suspicious that McMurtry took his story in wild directions, either killing or maiming central characters without a second thought, simply to spite Return to Lonesome Dove, the miniseries sequel that was written and produced without his involvement (and aired prior to the release of this "official" sequel). Certainly, he may have done the unheard of with his characters just to be unpredictable, but I felt a little cheated of closure with characters who I began to consider friends, and the thought that it may have been for no other reason that to set the story apart from the black sheep miniseries, well, it kinda hurt. But whenever I'd begin to feel angry with McMurtry and his murderous ways (he was killing off my friends, man!), I'd get caught up in the story again and endeared with new or expanded characters and begrudgingly forgive him. So while Streets of Laredo may not do with the Lonesome Dove characters what you hope it will, just trust Larry McMurtry. He knows his characters, he knows what he's doing, and wouldn't we be just as angry with him, or more, if he gave us a pacifying, milquetoast resolution that we'd have seen coming anyway?
Rating:
Summary: Good story, but not great writing---there is a difference
Review: First, am I mistaken or is Famous Shoes really heading north to find the place ducks and geese breed in the winter? The book seems to clearly state that fall had come, along with the snows, and the birds were flying north above him when he was forced to turn back because of the cold. He was apparently still making his way back home (south) in the spring when he saw the ducks and birds flying south. Have I misunderstood something? I read the 4 volumes of Lonesome Dove because a writer I like very much, Thomas McGuane, was said to be reminiscent of McMurtry on the back of one of McGuane's books----an effort to sell more books apparently. In addition to being angered by a rather insulting "compliment" to Mr. McGuane (no matter whom he was being compared to), I suspected that the two writers couldn't be more different just from what I had heard about Mr. McMurtry and I had to see for myself. I have to admit that I became hooked on the Lonesome Dove tetralogy (sp)---it was a good story from an entertainment point of view, perhaps something like "Gone with the Wind" is. It was like watching an entertaining TV show. McMurtry (these are the only books of his I have read), is far from being a master in the use of language, however. Events in the story are not necessarily predictable, but the language certainly is. The behavior of the characters is inexplicable and they are one-, or at most two-, dimensional. They just are the way they are. I think that telling a good tale is something worth doing and these volumes make up a pretty good tale. But telling a good tale is not the same as being a great writer and there are people who can do both.
Rating:
Summary: Good Final Book to the Lonesome Dove Series
Review: Call is old. Only a few characters remain from the past. Life has taken it toll, but Call continues to persevere, alone, without Gus. Life is not what we want it to be. But we continue on, doing the best we can. Excellent book. Teaches the aging process, the endurance and plotting forward movement to the end. Many exciting moments, touching, heart-warming, brutal and grim. Life before our eyes as it is. At the end, it's time to begin reading the series of books all over again!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book One - Four
Rating:
Summary: Ok, but after Lonesome Dove, a bit of a let down
Review: This book was ok. I enjoyed the story. It was nice to find out what happened after Lonesome Dove. But this story doesn't nearly live up to the standard set in Lonesome Dove. I think Call without Gus just doesn't work quite as well. I probably would have liked this better if I hadn't read it right after Lonesome Dove.
Rating:
Summary: If you can get past the first chapter.
Review: Though not a normal fan of 'westerns', Lonesome Dove was the kind of book that had me up-all-night turning pages. In fact, as I neared the end, I was so unwilling to finish the experience that I only allowed myself small 'doses' as reward for doing things I normally find unpleasant. Having said that, 'Streets of Laredo' was a book I eagerly awaited and bought in hard cover on it's first day on the shelf. I put it down, furious after reading only a small part of the first chapter and wrote immediately to Mr. McMurtry in protest because Pea-Eye and Lorena were together. There was nothing in 'Lonesome Dove' to give it validity. About three years later, I again picked up the book and read it. (Only because it was there and I was looking for something to read.) This time around I was no less irritated with the start, but I was glad to have continued past it. Mr. McMurtry is an outstanding storyteller and his characters are incredibly real. I highly recommend that you read this particular series.
Rating:
Summary: Stands Well On Its Own
Review: I was fortunate enough to read STREETS OF LAREDO before I read LD. I didn't have that built-in "bias" of hoping beyond hope that McMurtry would offer a sequel as mesmerizing as his Pulitizer-prize winning masterpiece--a bias that seems to have disappointed so many of the reviewers on this site who can't help but compare the two books. Fact is, this is a gripping, brutal Western. STREETS OF LAREDO gives the reader a vast array of complex, interesting characters: Woodrow F. Call, the aging former lawman turned bounty hunter, who realizes he is well past his prime...Pea Eye Parker, torn between his devotion to his family and his undying loyalty to Call...Lorena Parker, once a prostitute, now a wife, mother, and schoolteacher, who sets out in the face of overwhelming danger to find her husband...Mr. Brookshire, a railroad accountant from New York and traveling companion of Call, who is appalled at the brutality of the West...Maria, whose hatred of Call and concern for her killer son cannot overcome a true heart of gold. Throw in two chilling, ruthless killers--Joey Garza and Mox Mox, the "manburner"--and you've got a story that keeps the reader busily turning pages. This is a hardhitting, well-written account of the Old West in the last gasp of the 19th century. The book stands alone on its own merits.
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