Reviews

Readers of L'Amour's Westerns and his recent medieval saga The Walking Drum will not be disappointed by this contemporary epic. Proving that he is above all a great raconteur, the prolific L'Amour sets his latest in Siberia where a downed American test pilot, Joseph ``Joe Mack'' Makatozi, has been taken after his capture by the Russians. Part Sioux, Joe Mack escapes prison only to face the seemingly impossible odds of getting across Siberia to the Bering Strait, where like his ancestors, he can cross into North America. Joe Mack is a classic American hero, thrown back into the wilderness and forced to rely on his wits and his ancestral skills to survive the deadly cold and elude his Soviet pursuers, including his nemesis, a Siberian tracker. L'Amour brings the same colorful realism to this sweeping adventure that has made his Westerns so beloved. 350,000 copy first printing; Literary Guild main selection. ( July)

Once again demonstrating his versatility, the prolific L'Amour has written a contemporary adventure novel set in the ``Wild East'' of Siberia. U.S. Air Force Major Joseph Makatozi``Joe Mack''is shot down by the Russians, who intend to wring secret information from him before executing him. The catch in their plans is that Rambo-like Joe Mack is part Sioux, part Cheyenne, and a nearly Olympic-caliber athlete. Still, it takes all his native skills and endurance to survive and overcome Soviet Colonel Arkady Zamatev and his Yakut henchman Alekhin as they track the American across the Siberian wilderness. L'Amour's latest novel will be requested in most public libraries. Literary Guild main selection. William C. McCully, Park Ridge P.L., Ill.