Lonesome Dove Saga - Read in published order or in chronological order?

This is the second time today I’ve seen someone say lonesome dove is their favorite book ever. I guess I will have to read that one next.

Great question that I went back and forth on.
Ended up reading:
1. Lonesome Dove
2. Dead Man’s Walk
3. Comanche Moon
Have not read yet:
Streets of Laredo

I read Lonesome Dove first. Then the rest in chronological order.

I would recommend that way.

I would suggest reading Lonesome Dove first. The others are good books, Lonesome Dove is a masterpiece. You should experience it with a fresh palette.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read any of these except Lonesome Dove. But I would revise my prior comment to agree with you on your proposed order and criticism of Streets of Laredo now that you have refreshed my recollection. I forgot how disappointed I was in that book.

I only read LD based off the amazingly high praise from this forum.

It is a little slow at first but after you get into it the book is one that is so difficult to put down.

It is also my favorite book ever. I have 3 friends I finally convinced to read it and we all still talk about how great it is. There is no other book like it, including the others in the saga.

I didn’t read SOL because my friend found it disappointing and said not really worth it.

I thought DMW was a bit simplistic, but did provide some LD nostalgia as I read it. It is also much shorter. I would say that if you read this first you may not be as willing to commit to Comanche Moon or LD as they are much longer to read.

Comanche Moon is a great book but I found it to be a little bit repetitive in parts which was unnecessary. I mainly am referring to Indian internal dialogue and communications. It has more of a LD feel than DMW. I waited years to read it bc I heard it was really good and I wanted to savor it a bit.

I would say rankings are this:
LD 6 stars out of 5
CM 4/5
DMW 3.5/5

I am not going to read sol based on my friend’s assessment.

I would 100% read LD first.

Don't sleep on other McMurtry books, if you haven't read any of them. In particular All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers, Texasville and The Last Picture show. I've read everything he's ever written, and most of it is high quality. But the above are really fantastic.

Just to add another vote that Lonesome Dove is the best book I’ve ever read.

I've read them all and i recommend reading Lonesome Dove four times instead of the others.

Seriously, McMurtry caught lightning in a bottle with that one. I've read probably seven or eight of his books and they're all pretty mediocre except for LD which is my favorite book of all time.