Author of Easy Read YA and Hi/Low MG Books
No Traveler Returns
Description:
Louis L’Amour’s long-lost first novel, faithfully completed by his son, takes readers on a voyage into danger and violence on the high seas.
Fate is a ship.
As the shadows of World War II gather, the SS Lichenfield is westbound across the Pacific carrying eighty thousand barrels of highly explosive naphtha. The cargo alone makes the journey perilous, with the entire crew aware that one careless moment could lead to disaster.
But yet another sort of peril haunts the Lichenfield . Even beyond their day-to-day existence, the lives of the crew are mysteriously intertwined. Though each has his own history, dreams and jealousies, longing and rage, all are connected by a deadly web of chance and circumstance.
Some are desperately fleeing the past; others chase an unknown destiny. A few are driven by the desire for adventure, while their shipmates cling to the Lichenfield as their only true home. In their hearts, these men, as well as the women and children they have left behind, carry the seeds of salvation or destruction. And all of them—kind or cruel, strong or broken—are bound to the fate of the vessel that carries them toward an ever-darkening horizon.
Inspired by Louis L’Amour’s own experiences as a merchant seaman, No Traveller Returns is a revelatory work by a world-renowned author—and a brilliant illustration of a writer discovering his literary voice.
Reader's Review:
** spoiler alert ** “No Traveler Returns” is a book originally drafted by the famous author, Louis L’Amour, and then finished after his death by his son, Beau L’Amour. The story was an interesting one, rather different than I first thought it would be. This story focuses on the lives of the officers and crew of the fictional “SS Lichenfield” tanker ship in the years leading up to WWII. The story interestingly shows the connection that was unknown to the characters with each other until the later part of the story. As the title implies, no traveler returns. I’m not giving away much here, but I was looking for a happier ending than I found. Interestingly, and perhaps why I chose this story to read, is the aspect of the tanker ship. During WWII, my dad served on a tanker (what the US Navy calls an ‘oiler’). His ship, the USS Mississinewa was torpedoed and sunk in November 1944 and I’ve done extensive research on this ship and its sinking. Having heard from nearly 50 of its crew and others at the scene of the sinking, I can say L’Amour’s depiction of the sinking is spot on. He certainly did his research on tankers and even the events surrounding the sinking of this type of ship. Having said all that, I’d say it was well written story that keeps the reader wondering what will happen next, even though the overall inevitability is in the back of the readers’ minds from the start.
