The Walking Drum is a historical novel that is very different from the westerns that made Louis L’Amour famous. The book is a stand-alone only because Louis L’Amour never write the sequel he hinted at at the end of the book. Even so, it does have an ending and I found the book very enjoyable.
This 12th century adventure focuses on the Frankish Kerboucharrd, son of a famous missing Cousiar as he has just lost everything. We meet him in the ruin castles of his home where his mother had been killed. He decides that he must go and find his father, or at least discover if he is still alive. From there he is made a slave on a ship in which he escapes in Moorish Spain. From there, he begins a transformation in the scholarship of the Arabs, a few adventures with various love interests. He proves himself a physician and a warrior as he joins a merchant caravan traveling on foot across Europe. Even as a merchant he has many adventures with and separated from them. Then he ventures to Constantinople before going to the conclusion of the book. The conclusion was satisfying, but is left open for a sequel.
At first, I struggled to understand what to expect from this novel. I was expecting something with a smaller scope like his westerns, but this novel is epic. The vast amount of research is displayed in the multitude of land and cultures he covers. He talks about a massive amount of books know in that time as well as historical people. Even so, the story does not get bogged down. It is very interested and pulls you along.
My only complaint is the main characters view on woman and the quantity of women he builds romantic relationships with. Even so, the women are not the cookie cutter objects of the masculine imagination as id typical in many male focused book of that generation. Each of the women have different personalities and various levels of independence that must be won over.
I do highly recommend this book to high school and above readers with the same warning I always give: pay attention to the world view of the main character and don’t accept everything he says as truth. This main character has a worldview that I would have ethical problems with if he were a real person. The way he uses people and deceives and even his priorities on what a good life is. All of these things fit the character and his choices, but are not the path to a really happy life.
Even so, I did enjoy the main character, but even more so, I enjoyed the world he immersed me in. I have read many historical fiction books, but none had the world feel so big and lived in. I was given a picture of the entire known world of the 12th century in comparison and contrast with itself. I know from experience (I am currently trying to write a novel in the 13th century) that this time is not very easy to research.
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