''Comanche Moon'' (1997) is a

western novel Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

by American writer

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

. It is the fourth and final book he published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series. In terms of chronology, it is the second installment of the narrative. A Comanche Moon in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

history was a full moon in autumn which permitted Comanche warriors to ride by night journeying southward to raid

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for livestock and captives. The novel was adapted as a three-part television miniseries of the same name, first aired in January 2008.

Plot introduction

In this bridge novel between McMurtry's '' Dead Man's Walk'' and ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...

'', Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae are in their middle years, still serving as respected Texas Rangers.

Plot summary

Texas Governor Elisha Pease sends a small troop of Texas Rangers, under the leadership of Captain Inish Scull, to the Llano Estacado in pursuit of Kicking Wolf, a celebrated Comanche horse thief. The Comanche steals Scull's horse Hector and takes it to the Sierra Perdida as a gift for Mexican bandit Ahumado. Scull promotes McCrae and Call to captains and orders them to lead the Ranger troop back to Austin. He sets off on foot after Kicking Wolf and his horse, accompanied only by Famous Shoes, a Kickapoo tracker. Ahumado captures Kicking Wolf and his companion, Three Birds. The latter man leaps off a cliff to avoid Ahumado's plans for his death. Scull finds Kicking Wolf being dragged by the horse, and cuts the Comanche's bonds. Kicking Wolf survives to return to his tribe. Scull is captured by Ahumado, and placed in a cage for a slow death. Having returned to Austin, McCrae learns that his beloved Clara Forsythe intends to marry his rival, horse trader Bob Allen. Call learns that his lover, Maggie Tilton, is pregnant with his child. Governor Pease sends Call and McCrae out with a typically small Ranger troop to rescue Captain Scull. While they are on this mission, Comanche chief

Buffalo Hump Buffalo Hump (Comanche ''Potsʉnakwahipʉ'' "Buffalo Bull's Back") (born c. 1800 — died post 1861 / ante 1867) was a War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians. He came to prominence after the Council House Fight when he led the C ...

takes his warriors on the warpath. They attack Austin. Prepared by Call, Maggie hides under a

smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.

and escapes their notice. The Rangers turn back to Austin as soon as they hear of the raid there. Scull handles the cage so well that Ahumado has him taken down, and inflicts more pain. Ahumado sends word to Austin that he will return Scull for a ransom of one thousand cattle. Governor Pease sends the Rangers out again, to collect the cattle and exchange the herd for Scull. The Rangers go to

in search of cattleman Captain King. Realizing they won't be able to collect that many cattle nor persuade King to sell them, Call and McCrae try to rescue Scull on their own terms. Bitten by a poisonous spider, Ahumado goes South to die. Call and McCrae find Scull going insane in a pit, but they rescue him in time for his nearly total recovery. Scull returns to Austin and later becomes a general with the

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. Meanwhile, Buffalo Hump banishes his half-Mexican son Blue Duck. Blue Duck goes East and acquires wealth and notoriety as the leader of a gang of bandits. The novel moves more quickly, covering the period leading up to the sequel, ''

''. Maggie gives birth to Call's son Newt, but Call refuses to acknowledge the boy. Maggie goes to work at the general store, and Jake Spoon moves in with her. The

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

takes most of the soldiers away from the frontier, enabling the Comanche to push back the white settlers. After the Civil War, Call and McCrae are sent in pursuit of Blue Duck and his band of renegades. Buffalo Hump has gone off to die. When Blue Duck learns of this he pursues his father. The Rangers attack his band, but Blue Duck has already left. He finds his father at his chosen place of death and kills him there. Maggie dies while the Rangers are on this expedition.

Characters

* Woodrow Call — Texas Ranger * Gus McCrae — Texas Ranger * Clara Allen — Gus's former lover, a storekeeper's daughter * Maggie Tilton — Woodrow's lover *Inish Scull — Captain, Texas Ranger *Inez Scull — wife of Inish Scull *Long Bill Coleman — Texas Ranger * Jake Spoon — Texas Ranger * Pea Eye Parker — Texas Ranger * Josh Deets — Texas Ranger * Famous Shoes — the Rangers' Kickapoo tracker *

— Comanche war-chief *Kicking Wolf — Comanche horse thief *

Blue Duck The blue duck or whio (''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus ''Hymenolaimus''. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, b ...

— son of Buffalo Hump *Ahumado — Mexican bandit and murderer *Goyeto — Ahumado's henchman and skinner (humans, not animals) *Tana — member of Buffalo Hump's tribe

Miniseries

A television adaptation of the novel first aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

January 13, January 15, and January 16, 2008. It features actors

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film '' Ghost Ship''. Since ...

Woodrow F. Call The ''Lonesome Dove'' series is a series of four western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them. Overview The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several member ...

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...

Augustus McCrae The ''Lonesome Dove'' series is a series of four western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them. Overview The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several members ...

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

as Inish Scull (often given top billing),

Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perf ...

as Maggie,

Wes Studi Wesley Studi ( chr, ᏪᏌ ᏍᏚᏗ; born December 17, 1947) is a Native American ( Cherokee Nation) actor and film producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and awards throughout his career, particularly for his portrayal of Native American ...

as Buffalo Hump, Adam Beach as Blue Duck, and

Jake Busey William Jacob Busey is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in 1996's ''The Frighteners'', Ace Levy in 1997's ''Starship Troopers'', Kyle Brenner in 2001's '' Tomcats'', Aiden Tanner in the 20 ...

as Tudwal. Other stars include Linda Cardellini as Clara Forsythe,

Rachel Griffiths Rachel Anne Griffiths (born in 1968) is an Australian actress. Raised primarily in Melbourne, she began her acting career appearing on the Australian series ''Secrets'' before being cast in a supporting role in the comedy ''Muriel's Wedding'' ...

as Inez Scull, and

James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...

as Elisha Pease. {{Lonesome Dove series 1997 American novels Western (genre) novels Lonesome Dove series Novels by Larry McMurtry Novels set in Texas Novels set in Austin, Texas American novels adapted into television shows Books with cover art by Chip Kidd English-language books Texas Ranger Division in fiction