Hunting Badger Low Price CD Audio CD – Unabridged, Audiobook

3.5 stars.My experience reading this book testifies to the fact that one probably shouldn't enter into a fiction series at book 14. I felt the characters were a little thin, and that may well be due to the fact that most people reading the book had already come to know the nuances of Chee and Leaphorn a few times over.I found this story entertaining. I was in for a light read, something quick enough, not work. This delivered. I recommend it if you enjoy good guys looking for bad guys, and not a lot of violence and unnecessary blood or vulgarity. It was refreshing in that way.My hat is off to Mr. Hillerman. An American war hero of my mother's generation. Thank you for your service. Thank you for writing about Native American culture.

With Tony Hillerman's "Hunting Badger," I'm beginning to wonder if this is the onset of the series sailing over the Selachimorpha. There are three things in the book that worry me. First, as a trivial thing near the beginning, we've got this:"The little hatch Chee had cut into the bottom of the trailer door clattered behind him on its rubber hinges, which meant his cat was making an unusually early visit. That told Chee that a coyote was close enough to make Cat nervous...."Chee doesn't have a cat. He sent that cat off to his first ex-girlfriend in the great white north sometime about 10 years ago (book time). He did that because he figured the bilagaana cat couldn't become Navajo enough to survive, and as a traditional Navajo, he couldn't change the cat's nature to protect it. So, not only does Chee not have a cat. He never would. And even if he did have a cat, it certainly wouldn't be "HIS" cat and he certainly wouldn't have presumed to name it "Cat."Second, there are several places where Hillerman seems to forget that he just told us something and tells it to us again. The most obvious of these is someplace after the middle of the book where Leaphorn and Chee are discussing coal mines. After a big discussion on this, they go their merry ways just to have a similar discussion the next day. This isn't just some side discussion. It's central to what they're doing.And finally (and most troubling) is the ending itself: one of the bad guys is still on the loose. This violates everything these books stand for. In every single book up to this point, every single person has gotten exactly what he deserved. To leave a bad guy hanging around loose is not a good thing. So, I'm sorry to say that I can only rate the book at an OK 3 stars out of 5 and note that I'm starting to worry about the series.Hillerman's "Leaphorn & Chee" novels are:1. The Blessing Way2. Dance Hall of the Dead3. Listening Woman4. People of Darkness5. The Dark Wind6. The Ghostway (Jim Chee Novels)7. Skinwalkers8. A Thief of Time9. Talking God10. Coyote Waits11. Sacred Clowns: Novel, A12. The Fallen Man13. The First Eagle14. Hunting Badger15. The Wailing Wind16. The Sinister Pig17. Skeleton Man18. The Shape Shifter

I am a fan of Tony Hillerman. I love his respect for the Navajo culture and his description of the lonely country that is the Navajo Reservation. Lonely, but beautiful and haunting. This one is about a casino robbery on the Ute Reservation. A robbery gone bad with murder thrown in. The characters are well-developed as in all of his books. The suspense builds as Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee hunt for the escaped robbers on their own after the FBI hunt turns up few clues. Most of his books involve history and myths of the Native American culture which make them so interesting.

Beautifully written, very knowledgable about Navajo culture and history, a wonderful series of books. A series of detective stories, detective/ mystery stories set in the huge Navajo reservation, about two Navajo policemen. Read them in order.

Hillerman has once again joined two fine characters into an engrossing mystery that the publisher has managed to hinder its effectiveness by sloppy editing. Hillerman has Jim Chee explaining to Leaphorn the exact same thing twice within a few chapters, page 162 and again on 192, 193; the editor misses the word "never" being leftout in paragraph 5 of page 226 (confirmed as missing on page 227). There are "who"'s used rather than "why"'s. There are commas placed because one had not been used recently and one was sitting idly by; and periods added where none were needed...then negelected where they should have been; I guess to bring the all needed "balance" sought by the Navajo storyline. Other than that...I enjoyed stumbling through a good story. It allows me the pleasure of knowing that I to could possible write.

The land comes to life with pictures in my mind are so clear. I enjoy learning about the Navaho and Hopi history and myths. Makes you want to drive along the same roads and hope to meet Leaphorn and Chee, sit and watch the clouds build over the mountains.

If you love the southwest, and Native American (Navajo) culture mixed with high drama crime solving, you'll love this book and all the Hillerman novels.

A solid 3 stars. At this point Hillman's best work was behind him. Still nice to spend a little time with old friends Chee and Leaphorn. Recommend readers start with earlier books to see the "master" at his best.