One Down, Fifty-one To Go!

Seven days in, and I have completed my first book, "No Country For Old Men," by Cormac McCarthy. Set in Texas, this is a gritty tale of the futility of good in the face of unrelenting evil. There aren't really any heroes in this book, just survivors, and very few of those at that.

LLewellyn Moss is a welder who happens on a drug deal gone bad and makes off with 2.4 million dollars of cash, prompting both parties to the transaction to try to kill him. Wendell Bell is the sheriff who is largely powerless to protect his constituency against escalating violence from the drug trade. Anton Chigurgh, the psychopathic hitman, whose weapon of choice is a cattle gun powered by compressed air, is a grim reaper, killing almost everybody he comes in contact with.

The chase roars through Texas and Mexico, leaving a trail of death in it's wake. Chigurgh pursues his prey relentlessly, with a single minded philosophy and a physical discipline that makes him an almost unstoppable force. McCarthy has a terse writing style that complements the barren Tex/Mex landscape, and propels the action ever forward.

All-in-all, a very good book. I highly recommend it!