Savage Wilderness

While I enjoyed this book much more than Coyle's Civil War books - perhaps because I knew less of this history so was not as critical - I still feel that he is not totally comfortable with historical fiction. Apart from some obvious anachronisms, what seems most strained in this book is Coyle's effort to present fully rounded and believable native American characters. Unfortunately, as drawn, these characters have the stilted 'noble redman' quality that American Indians are frequently stereotyped with - even the 'bad' ones. Still, Coyle's story is entertaining and his characters are, for the most part, engaging. I would have preferred more follow through - a more clear rounding out of the story so that one had some sense of what had happened to all the main characters. It seemed like a lot was left unresolved (so there can be a sequel?).In any event, as Coyle continues down the path of historical fiction, each book seems to be better than the one before.

Mr. Coyle captured my heart and mind with this book. From the start I was totally unable to put this book down. It took me three days to read it, the only time I was able to put it down was to eat and sleep. He, as no other author is able to do, stood the hair on the back of my neck up and sent cold chills down my spine. Thank you Mr. Coyle for your great novel!

If you are a history fan and know little of the French and Indian War, you will love this book. Masterfully written, with vivid characters and great battles.

As a native of Pittsburgh and a very distant relative of British General John Forbes, I'm fascinated by the French and Indian War. Coyle sure makes the period come alive. The only better account is Eckert's "Wilderness Empire". For all you non-Pittsburghers, did you know that the field of Braddock's Defeat is thought to be where the Edgar Thompson Steel Works are today? That Three Rivers Stadium is the site where the Indians had such intense sport with their British and Colonial prisoners? Thanks Harold for making this often neglected period come alive. Keep up the great writing and I'll keep buying. Paperback, of course.

American history books devote little space and attention to the Frech and Indian war. Coyle's panoramic backdrop for relating the story of this war along the colonial frontier from Lake George, NY to Ft. Dusquene (the eventual site of Pittsburg, PA) captures the historic essence of this, the last of the great colonial wars. Coyle deftly intertwines the exploits of four main characters - a French army officer, a colonial soldier of the Virginia militia, an Indian ally of the French, and a British army officer - to show: the basic French motive to simply lay claim to all of the unsettled areas of North America; the inept effort by ill-equipped and ill-trained colonial militia to oust the French and their Indian allies from their western frontier; the major role of the Indians in inflicting the worst rout ever experienced by a white force in the new world; and the ill-suited battle tactics of the regular English army in the dense forests of the frontier. Only the French decision not to continue