Antler Dust

Excellent...the last 20 pages or so are like skiing downhill with only one pole, your binding coming off and the path keeps on twisting...can't stop now. Mark Stevens has created a completely believable character in Allison Coil, a strong woman you care about and can't help but like. For those of us in the flatlands, Antler Dust is a cheap way to drop yourself in the wilderness of Colorado.

First, a disclosure: I happen to be pretty familiar with the Colorado Flattops and, somewhat like protagonist Alison Coil, I've spent a few years working as a mountaineering and whitewater river guide. I also happen to know the author personally and I don't think I'm spoiling anything by revealing that Mark Stevens is actually a man, and an urban one at that. I can't remember the last time I saw Mark with real mud on his shoes and I highly doubt he's ever gutted an elk. He might skin a chicken now and then when he's whipping up a gourmet meal for his hip friends (of which he has many), but an elk, never. When he told me he had cooked up this tale told from the point of view of woman, I nearly coughed up the seafood bouillabaise he was serving at the time. So it was with some trepidation that I sat down to read Antler Dust. I don't mind admitting: I was pleasantly surprised. Make that downright blown away! It's a page turner and, with Stevens' vivid descriptions, I could easily visualize every scene. Despite knowing who killed whom (that much is revealed early in the story), Antler Dust remains suspenseful right up to the unexpected end. Stevens also interweaves several complex plot lines, bouncing between characters with grace and ease. So, if you've ever wondered what happens when you mix animal rights activists, elk hunters, and government agents, add a pinch of greed and lust, throw in a healthy portion of money, and let rise against the backdrop of the Colorado high country, Antler Dust is your answer!

A really good friend of mine suggested that I read this book. He thought I would like the Colorado setting and all the "horsey" stuff that is in the story. He was right. I love the area of Colorado around Glenwood Springs. It is a wonderful place to go when one doesn't want to deal with the crowds in the Summit area. I also got the feeling from the book that the Flattops Wilderness area is a place where you could easily get lost, if you want to, and often when you don't. At first, I was a little worried about the hunting aspect of the book. I grew up in a family of males in Minnesota and hunting was something that my brothers and Dad did every fall but I never went along (I was probably never invited). I didn't really like the idea of it anyway. After the first few pages of Antler Dust, where most of the killing occurs (I don't think that gives anything away), the book really becomes about Alison Coil and her efforts to reconcile what she saw on the mountain, and what she had experienced in her past. What really surprised me was how much I liked her as a character--especially one written by a man. I would like to hang out with this woman. Go horseback riding with her, have a picnic, and have her tell me a story. I like women who can hold their own with men--and more. Alison Coil is tough and venerable at the same time. She infuses the story with this duality. She moves with ease through the wilderness and the male-dominated world of wranglers, ranchers and hunters. All around her is the threat and outcome of violence, and until she is forced to, she doesn't use violent measures. Life, and the many moments that comprise it, are way too valuable for her. It's an interesting way to portray this character. It would have been much easier to make her more like the men in the book: ruthless and macho. Stevens resisted the temptation to make her into a Xena warrior of the Flattops, and for that I am grateful. As for other aspects of the book, I thought the story galloped along (sorry!) and kept my interest. I also liked the animal rights issues brought up in the plot. I do wish, however, that the animal rights activist, Dawn Ellenberg, came across as being a little bit less of a nut case. Over all, I thought Antler Dust was a great read!

I wrote the review below and stand by every word ... Allyn Harvey Aspen Times Bookshelf By Allyn Harvey March 10, 2007 Comment Comments (0) Print Friendly Print Email Email A female hunting guide, a "reformed" hunter, an earnest ranger and a greedy outfitter are at the center of "Antler Dust", Mark Stevens' debut novel. The story, set in Glenwood Springs and the nearby Flattop Mountains, revolves around two deaths that occur within a few minutes of each other on a snowy day at the outset of elk hunting season. The protagonist, guide Alison Coil, hears a shot and sees someone struggling to drag a particularly heavy load - a human body, it turns out - at the top of a nearby ridge. What she finds later at the scene - the abandoned carcass of a trophy-sized elk - only adds to the mystery. Meanwhile, Dean Applegate, a hunter in a group outfitted by George Grumley, accidentally shoots a protester with the environmental group FATE, or Fighting Animal Torture Everywhere. The supposedly "reformed" Applegate spends the rest of the novel in a state of denial, spinning tales to keep the beautiful leader of FATE happy, the press writing stories and the Garfield County sheriff and his deputies at bay. But a much more brutal killer lurks, one who, in a particularly stark moment, recounts to the reader and himself both his crime and his victim, wishing "he could kill him all over again." Stevens, a Colorado resident and former Denver Post reporter and news producer for the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, has crafted a page-turner with all the makings of a great mystery: two deaths and a variety of characters who aren't really what they appear to be. Stevens' knowledge of the region is evident in the setting he creates - a perfectly believable locale in the central Rockies. His experience as a reporter is reflected in his portrayal of the bumbling sheriff and his lazy deputies. The story moves along through peaks and valleys of plot and circumstance, the same as any news story that draws local, state and national media attention - all of which cover the protester's death in force. The book is well-written from start to finish. Stevens' skill as a writer occasionally shines with the occasional gold coin, where prose and plot sing in perfect harmony.

Antler Dust is a tremendous thriller crafted ingeniously by first time author Mark Stevens. The world of hunters in the Rockies clashes with the world of animal rights activist and the collision is compelling, intriguing and ultimately deadly. The book's heroine is strong, tough, smart and alluring and a great source of inspiration. I was drawn into the action in the book, the characters came alive and the ending was a total surprise. Antler Dust is a wonderful gift!