Book Review: Rhino Ranch

Last night I stopped by the book store and picked up the newest Larry McMurtry book, Rhino Ranch. I started reading it a little after ten, found a few things in it that irritated me, and then all of the sudden it wad two in the morning and I'd just finished it.

Rhino Ranch is the fifth and final book about Duane Moore. That claim seemed a little familiar, so I went back and checked. Turns out that the cover of the third book also calls it the final story. So did the fourth. This time I'm pretty sure they mean it though.

First, the good. McMurtry once again keeps things interesting. Bobby Lee is back as Duane's eccentric sidekick, plus we meet Boyd Cotton and Hondo Honda. Also involved is K.K. Slater, who has opened a rhino ranch outside of Thalia, Texas to save the black rhino from extinction. Hi jinks ensue, and once again Duane finds himself forced into the role of ring leader in a circus of lunatics. As crazy as the people and events are, McMurtry manages to keep it believable. Bobby Lee may be a little crazy, but he's really not very far beyond several people I know. Sort of like a non animated Dale Gribble to Duane's Hank Hill.

Now for the bad. This is good McMurtry. It seems like a book he wanted to write, as opposed to one he was obligated to. But like every other series the man has done, there are a lot of inconsistencies. Things from this book contradict events in Texasville. For that matter there's a big one in here that contradicts a statement from two chapters before. Maybe I'm just a dork, but it does irritate me a little. Not enough to put the book down, obviously, but enough to notice.

Having said that, I liked the book and would recomend it, especcially to anybody who has read Texasville and Duane's Depressed.