Publication
New York : Viking, [2022]
Collection
Call number
Fiction J
Status
Available
Call number
Description
Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Western. HTML:A new novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series. What if you woke up lying in the middle of the street in the infamous town of Fort Pratt, Montana, where thirty young Native boys perished in a tragic 1896 boarding-school fire? What if every person you encountered in that endless night was dead? What if you were covered in blood and missing a bullet from the gun holstered on your hip? What if there was something out there in the yellowed skies, along with the deceased and the smell of ash and dust, something the Northern Cheyenne refer to as the �?veohtsé-heóm�?se, the Wandering Without, the Taker of Souls? What if the only way you know who you are is because your name is printed in the leather sweatband of your cowboy hat, and what if it says your name is Walt Longmire . . . but you don�??t remember him? In Hell and Back, the eighteenth installment of the Longmire series, author Craig Johnson takes the beloved sheriff to the very limits of his sanity to do battle with the most dangerous adversary he�??s ever f… (more)
Series
Genres
User reviews
LibraryThing member rosalita
The 18th entry in this series about Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire continues the author's recent experimentation with structures outside of the standard mystery genre. The whole series has been steeped in Native American culture, particularly of the Cheyenne and Crow tribes, and individual books
Hell and Back goes even further, going so far as to create a sort of parallel universe where Walt — who wakes up lying in the middle of a Montana highway with no memory of how he got there or who he is — encounters people from his forgotten past who regular series readers know (but amnesiac Walt does not) are no longer alive. The answers are bound up in a tragic 19th-century fire that occurred at an infamous Indian boarding school in the town, and it seems that Walt may need to solve that mystery before he can resume his previous life.
I think people familiar with the series who enjoyed the previous forays into Indian spirituality will find this one intriguing and enjoyable. If those aspects of previous books were a little too "woo-woo" for you, this may not be your favorite of Walt's many adventures. I'm in the former camp, and above all I appreciate how Johnson has been willing to explore storytelling techniques that raise this series a cut above most mysteries that I read.
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have dabbled in the mysticism that these cultures embrace.Hell and Back goes even further, going so far as to create a sort of parallel universe where Walt — who wakes up lying in the middle of a Montana highway with no memory of how he got there or who he is — encounters people from his forgotten past who regular series readers know (but amnesiac Walt does not) are no longer alive. The answers are bound up in a tragic 19th-century fire that occurred at an infamous Indian boarding school in the town, and it seems that Walt may need to solve that mystery before he can resume his previous life.
I think people familiar with the series who enjoyed the previous forays into Indian spirituality will find this one intriguing and enjoyable. If those aspects of previous books were a little too "woo-woo" for you, this may not be your favorite of Walt's many adventures. I'm in the former camp, and above all I appreciate how Johnson has been willing to explore storytelling techniques that raise this series a cut above most mysteries that I read.
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LibraryThing member hcnewton
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
“Something wrong?”
“I'm not sure, but I'm thinking I might’ve screwed things up.”
“How?”
“The way you always do, by doing a good deed.”
WHAT'S HELL AND BACK ABOUT?
Recently, Walt has across repeated references to Fort
And now...Walt wakes up in the middle of the street in that town. He doesn't know who he is, or what he's doing there, and keeps running into people he vaguely recognizes (or thinks he should) and readers do. Then he finds himself witnessing events surrounding that school's destruction by fire—which killed the 31 boys living there.
Meanwhile, Henry Standing Bear and Vic are trying to track down Walt. He's been on the hunt for a suspect in a murder and hasn't checked in for a while—they get to the area he was last known to be and find some disturbing signs, but no Walt.
While they look for Walt, our favorite sheriff and the reader have to figure out where he is and why—and does it have anything to do with the Éveohtsé-heómėse, the Wandering Without, that Walt encountered in the last book?
HMMM...
I wanted to give a section focusing on each of our main trio of characters—or at least the two main storylines. And I can't. Anything I say would divulge so much of the plot/mechanics of the novel that I'd ruin something.
So why am I spending time talking about this? 1. I don't want it to look like I'm harping on just one point (see the next section) and 2. to make a point—these threads are so tightly woven in this book that to look at any of them, you have to look at how it all plays out—from beginning to ending. Don't decide—or try to decide—what you think of anything until the ending—you'll be wasting time and effort.
IS CRAIG JOHNSON TAKING A STAND?
A mixture of native Spirituality (beliefs, practices, and possible occurrences) have been around since the beginning of this series as a constant, but emphasized in books like Hell is Empty and last year's Daughter of the Morning Star. But the novels have never really taken a stand on whether a spiritual entity/entities or powers are interacting with Walt and others or whether that's one possible interpretation—and maybe Walt was hallucinating/dreaming due to physical injury, mental exhaustion, hypothermia, etc.
It really seems like Walt believes it's true in the moment (sometimes he has to be convinced), but then brushes it away. Although a couple of times, I thought it was Henry who suggests an alternate explanation—Vic never seems to give a mystical idea any precedence.
If only for the amount of this book that appears not to transpire in our world, I think that Johnson's not really pretending to be neutral anymore. Even Walt's "but maybe..." take seemed halfhearted.
I think I'm fine with it—if only so we don't have to have this discussion so often within the books. As long as Johnson isn't trying to veer into Urban Fantasy or anything (and I don't think he is), go for it. Let Walt be convinced by his experience, embrace them, and move forward that way. At least let him wrestle with it, not just brush it away.
Now, if Vic starts seeing Virgil White Buffalo or something like him...that might be a problem.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT HELL AND BACK?
In his Acknowledgements, Johnson says he attempted to create "a Western, gothic-romance with traces of horror." "Traces" is a good word—it's just a hint, like the hint of whatever fruit a particular can of La Croix tells you it has (maybe a little heavier). The rest seems like a good description of the result—I guess I'm not sold on "if" he should've tried, or at least tried in this way. I don't want this series to turn into a bunch of cookie-cutter novels about Walt and the gang solving mysteries at home or in a nearby county. But...not all experiments are successful.
I'm torn. I enjoyed this, I like that Johnson is constantly trying to keep each novel from being a duplicate of a previous one and trying to do new things with well-established characters. I thought the ideas were great, I appreciate that Johnson wants to discuss things like the horrible conditions and events in "Indian schools."
But I think this was a lousy Walt Longmire book. There were some strong character moments for Vic and Henry (and a moment or two that I'm not so sure about for each). I don't think it was a good use of the character of Walt Longmire or the kind of story that's good for the series. There are a couple of things that could spring from this for future books, but I think Johnson probably could've gotten there a different way.
Yes, I'm prepared to eat my words in that last sentence, but I feel pretty safe about it.
This was a good follow-up to the previous book, but it's also a wholly unnecessary follow-up. It ended so well, and yet so ambiguously on one point that I thought was very effective. This book takes away that ambiguity and takes away the power/mystery from the conclusion.
Long-time fans will find enough to justify their time (there's a moment where Vic reveals a lot of herself to another character that's one of the most honest moments in the series for her, for example), but I expect most will be unsatisfied by the book as a whole. I think I was. Still, while this might not have been the most successful Walt Longmire book, I tip my cap to Johnson for giving it a shot.
---
“Something wrong?”
“I'm not sure, but I'm thinking I might’ve screwed things up.”
“How?”
“The way you always do, by doing a good deed.”
WHAT'S HELL AND BACK ABOUT?
Recently, Walt has across repeated references to Fort
Show More
Pratt—a military base and a school for natives there. Neither Walt nor Henry had heard of this place before, and it made him curious—he did a little looking and asking around about it and found one person who knew something.And now...Walt wakes up in the middle of the street in that town. He doesn't know who he is, or what he's doing there, and keeps running into people he vaguely recognizes (or thinks he should) and readers do. Then he finds himself witnessing events surrounding that school's destruction by fire—which killed the 31 boys living there.
Meanwhile, Henry Standing Bear and Vic are trying to track down Walt. He's been on the hunt for a suspect in a murder and hasn't checked in for a while—they get to the area he was last known to be and find some disturbing signs, but no Walt.
While they look for Walt, our favorite sheriff and the reader have to figure out where he is and why—and does it have anything to do with the Éveohtsé-heómėse, the Wandering Without, that Walt encountered in the last book?
HMMM...
I wanted to give a section focusing on each of our main trio of characters—or at least the two main storylines. And I can't. Anything I say would divulge so much of the plot/mechanics of the novel that I'd ruin something.
So why am I spending time talking about this? 1. I don't want it to look like I'm harping on just one point (see the next section) and 2. to make a point—these threads are so tightly woven in this book that to look at any of them, you have to look at how it all plays out—from beginning to ending. Don't decide—or try to decide—what you think of anything until the ending—you'll be wasting time and effort.
IS CRAIG JOHNSON TAKING A STAND?
A mixture of native Spirituality (beliefs, practices, and possible occurrences) have been around since the beginning of this series as a constant, but emphasized in books like Hell is Empty and last year's Daughter of the Morning Star. But the novels have never really taken a stand on whether a spiritual entity/entities or powers are interacting with Walt and others or whether that's one possible interpretation—and maybe Walt was hallucinating/dreaming due to physical injury, mental exhaustion, hypothermia, etc.
It really seems like Walt believes it's true in the moment (sometimes he has to be convinced), but then brushes it away. Although a couple of times, I thought it was Henry who suggests an alternate explanation—Vic never seems to give a mystical idea any precedence.
If only for the amount of this book that appears not to transpire in our world, I think that Johnson's not really pretending to be neutral anymore. Even Walt's "but maybe..." take seemed halfhearted.
I think I'm fine with it—if only so we don't have to have this discussion so often within the books. As long as Johnson isn't trying to veer into Urban Fantasy or anything (and I don't think he is), go for it. Let Walt be convinced by his experience, embrace them, and move forward that way. At least let him wrestle with it, not just brush it away.
Now, if Vic starts seeing Virgil White Buffalo or something like him...that might be a problem.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT HELL AND BACK?
In his Acknowledgements, Johnson says he attempted to create "a Western, gothic-romance with traces of horror." "Traces" is a good word—it's just a hint, like the hint of whatever fruit a particular can of La Croix tells you it has (maybe a little heavier). The rest seems like a good description of the result—I guess I'm not sold on "if" he should've tried, or at least tried in this way. I don't want this series to turn into a bunch of cookie-cutter novels about Walt and the gang solving mysteries at home or in a nearby county. But...not all experiments are successful.
I'm torn. I enjoyed this, I like that Johnson is constantly trying to keep each novel from being a duplicate of a previous one and trying to do new things with well-established characters. I thought the ideas were great, I appreciate that Johnson wants to discuss things like the horrible conditions and events in "Indian schools."
But I think this was a lousy Walt Longmire book. There were some strong character moments for Vic and Henry (and a moment or two that I'm not so sure about for each). I don't think it was a good use of the character of Walt Longmire or the kind of story that's good for the series. There are a couple of things that could spring from this for future books, but I think Johnson probably could've gotten there a different way.
Yes, I'm prepared to eat my words in that last sentence, but I feel pretty safe about it.
This was a good follow-up to the previous book, but it's also a wholly unnecessary follow-up. It ended so well, and yet so ambiguously on one point that I thought was very effective. This book takes away that ambiguity and takes away the power/mystery from the conclusion.
Long-time fans will find enough to justify their time (there's a moment where Vic reveals a lot of herself to another character that's one of the most honest moments in the series for her, for example), but I expect most will be unsatisfied by the book as a whole. I think I was. Still, while this might not have been the most successful Walt Longmire book, I tip my cap to Johnson for giving it a shot.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ethel55
Haunting. Walt is just over the border in Montana, where mystery and the timely story of an old Indian Boarding School intersect.
LibraryThing member cathyskye
If you pick up Hell and Back and think you're about to enjoy the usual Walt Longmire mystery, think again. Open this book, and you're in the Twilight Zone.
I found Hell and Back to be perfect reading for the Halloween season because as Walt roams the streets of Fort Pratt in order to find answers
This is a very different Longmire novel, and I liked exploring this departure. I also admire Johnson for his bravery because something tells me he has a lot of fans who are not going to be happy-- to the point where they get their flaming torches and sharpened pitchforks and head to Ucross, Wyoming.
What's going to be very interesting is finding out where Craig Johnson takes Walt next. I look forward to finding out.
I found Hell and Back to be perfect reading for the Halloween season because as Walt roams the streets of Fort Pratt in order to find answers
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to all the questions swimming around in his head, I was getting creeped out. This is the type of book that a reviewer can't say much about without giving things away. Still, I will say this: (1) if you haven't read all the books in the series, you're going to be confused, and (2) if you're not a fan of Native American mysticism, dream sequences, and the fact that Henry Standing Bear and Vic Moretti only make cameo appearances, you might want to give this one a miss.This is a very different Longmire novel, and I liked exploring this departure. I also admire Johnson for his bravery because something tells me he has a lot of fans who are not going to be happy-- to the point where they get their flaming torches and sharpened pitchforks and head to Ucross, Wyoming.
What's going to be very interesting is finding out where Craig Johnson takes Walt next. I look forward to finding out.
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LibraryThing member jamespurcell
Walt is on a mission and although he quickly figures out where; the when remains part of the mystery. A trip to the occult fazes him early but he perseveres. An enjoyable detour by Craig Johnson.
LibraryThing member waldhaus1
A riddle wrapped inside a mystery as Churchill once described Russia.
Events are revealed in a way they seem to make no sense and then gradually tie into a believable story. A lot of reprise of old stories.
I am left wondering if this is where the series ends or if pressure will keep Johnson adding
Events are revealed in a way they seem to make no sense and then gradually tie into a believable story. A lot of reprise of old stories.
I am left wondering if this is where the series ends or if pressure will keep Johnson adding
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to the story juat as Connan Doyle was forced to bring Sherlock Holmes back. The door is left ajar for either outcome. Show Less
LibraryThing member ZachMontana
My least favorite of Johnson's 18 books in the Longmire Series. I'm a huge fan and have watched all the movies made from them. I like that he invokes Native American traditions, themes, and people, but they are usually are less dominant in his stories. This book moves from his modern Western story
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telling to more of a horror/fantasy genre, which isn't appealing to me. Show Less
LibraryThing member buffalogr
This book is not about it's namesake by Audie Murphy. I did not enjoy this one as much as the usual Longmire stories because it was just plain weird. Events are revealed in a way they seem to make no sense and then gradually meld into a story. Like it predecessor, this book delves into the
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unnatural and Twilight Zoneish things that are a departure, and not a good one, from the Longmire genre. Please go back to the basics. Humor. Fun. Case solving. Show Less
LibraryThing member AMKitty
Along the way in this series, Johnson has flirted with Indian ghost story figures and supernatural elements. With this novel, he incorporates the concept as the central theme. The result is my favorite Longmire book, to date.
There had been a slight gap in my series reading before I picked this one
The series regulars are all there: Standing Bear and Vic, working hard to provide back-up when Walt’s work leads him into danger; Cady to anchor him in the real world; and Lola to provide hope for the future and smiles as only small children can do.
There had been a slight gap in my series reading before I picked this one
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up, so some names were familiar, but hard to place. Johnson does an admirable job of reminding the reader where these characters were first encountered. The series regulars are all there: Standing Bear and Vic, working hard to provide back-up when Walt’s work leads him into danger; Cady to anchor him in the real world; and Lola to provide hope for the future and smiles as only small children can do.
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Awards
High Plains Book Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2023)
Language
Original publication date
2022-09-06
ISBN
9780593297285