Sun River: Skye's West

Wheeler's writing makes the Montana prairies sing with life. Every time I read him, I'm taken aback by his ability to make his words a reality. The group Mister Skye leads into Blackfeet country is an interesting mix, teetering on the edge of implosion, but somehow managing to not fall completely apart. The characters James and Silas stand out. Both of these men get what they earn. Sun River, the first entry in the Skye's West series, is just as good as any of the others written after it.

I first read this book 10 years ago, but never went on with the series. I decided to go back and reread this one. This book is an epic journey. Not having read other books in the western genre, I can't compare this other such authors, but this novel stands very well on its own. It's very gritty: characters, and not just the 'bad' guys, are killed, tortured, and kidnapped. Parts of this sickened me. But there are interspersed moments of real joy, and Wheeler's descriptions of the vast open wilderness is amazing. My only criticism is some of the characters come close to being 2D cardboard cutouts, but there is a lot of character development here to balance it out. Also, this is a book about the journey, not the destination, so don't expect all loose ends to be tied up. Recommended.

I like Mr. Wheeler's prequels better. I'm a devout Christian, who enjoys westerns and stories about the Mountain Men and Indians. Silas Potter to me represents the fanatics who ruin everything, whether it is religion, politics and culture. I'm glad he got what he deserved. Unfortonately in reality it was the Silas Potters of the world who ruined it for Christianity when they went out to west to preach to the Indians. In my opinion there are way too many Silas Potters and not enough Cecil Rathbones and Duncan Rileys. The Bible says it will only get worst. However this book was still a good read and I enjoyed it very much.

This is an excellent book. To braid together Plains Indians, Methodists, Catholics and at least one free thinker (Skye himself) as skillfully as this, a person has to be more than well-read. It takes a touch as delicate as cat whiskers to show the sources of heroism and weakness in their beliefs. I didn't see any blunders here.I particularly liked the Methodists, who were highly assorted, and that their madman -- who could easily have become totally unlikeable -- was revealed as a man who ached and yearned for Love, but went about seeking it in all the wrong ways. The priest is a little unreal, but maybe that just sticks out because priests aren't what they used to be. In this book he is the one who pays the highest price, but that torture becomes a gift.Probably the most moving core of the book is about marriage, which is also about commitment and ceremony. Skye's happily polygamous marriage and the Reverend Cecil's ever-renewing marriage are purely inspirational. I don't often cry when reading Westerns, but when Cecil's Esmeralda was returned from captivity, her welcome was so exquisitely described that I yearned to believe it could be true.As always, the poetry of land and weather, now so sweet and then so deadly, penetrates the story, giving it new meanings and levels.