The Morning River

I absolutely LOVED this book. I was transfixed, spellbound, couldnt put it down and felt like I was living the story as I read it. The characters are incredible and the story was wonderful. I bought the sequal "Coyote Summer" the instant it was available and have since been in correspondence with Mr Gear begging him to write a 3rd sequel. I cant stand not knowing where life took his characters. If you even slightly enjoy historical type novels set in the early American frontier this is MUST reading.

Michael Gear's Indians, Mountain men, entrepreneurs, and even effete New Englanders ring of faithful to their time and place. This is not only a good story with finely etched characters, but good history as well

YOU JUST CAN'T FIND ANYTHING BETTER TO READ. FROM THE FIRST LINE I AM ALWAYS CAPTIVATED BY THE PROSPECT OF MEETING OLD FRIENDS INTRODUCED IN PREVIOUS WORKS. BOTH MICHAEL AND HIS WONDERFUL WIFE KATHLEEN HAVE A WAY OF TRANSPORTING THE READER TO THE TIME IN HISTORY YOU ARE READING ABOUT. I NEVER READ MORE THAN A FEW PAGES AT A TIME TO TRY TO PUT OFF THE END FOR AS LONG AS POSSIABLE. I KEEP ALL OF THIER BOOKS SO THAT I MAY READ THEM OVER AGAIN. I HOPE THEY KEEP THEM COMMING FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

Gear fans will enjoy this authentic recreation of the American Frontier. If your not familiar with the Gear's work (he also co-authors early American novels with his wife), you can compare them to Jean Auel, William Sarabande, and Terry C. Johnston for their descriptions, historical accuracy, and believable charaters. His scholastic philisophical theories are put to the test as Richard "Dick" Hamilton ventures into the western portion of North America. Aboard a traders boat bound for a land far from civilization, Dick encounters lively individuals that will cause him to analyze all that he thought to be true. A companion named Travis teaches him through mountain logic, commom sense, and a few hard knocks. An entertaining novel with an ending that will make you want to go out and get the sequel!

Far too many novels of this type make the mistake of following a fairly maudlin love-story plot. W. Michael Gear has managed to avoid this trap. The tale is told through two sets of eyes: those of Richard, the son of a Boston Brahmin and an ardent student of Philosophy and those of Heals Like A Willow, a woman of the Shoshoni tribe. Gear manages to give us the disparate views of the world that each of these characters perceives while maintaining the sense of believability which contributes mightily to good narrative. Unlike so many novels of this genre, these two characters go to great lengths to AVOID becoming intimate because of the inevitable cultural clash each forsees for the other. I found this approach to be far more realistic than the apparent standard of hormones triumphing over all. As an historical work, all sides are treated with a great deal of empathy and neither side is portrayed as having any sort of "divine right". The native Americans are not portrayed as noble savages, nor are the easterners portrayed as conquering heroes. Instead Gear weaves a complex tapestry of motivation which illustrates the clash of cultures in a remarkably realistic fashion. Life is short and hard and failure is far more frequent than success in a story which seems to portray life beyond the frontier quite accurately. You might remember Gear from the "People of the __________" series which he coauthored with Kathleen O'Neal Gear. These are quite good, but I found that the actual historical background used in "The Morning River" was a significant improvement over these earlier efforts. After ten books in that series, Gear is an extremely mature writer whose grasp of the value of detail has produced a fine work. I feel obliged to point out that Richard and Willow will get together in the sequel to this book, "Coyote Summer". Although I haven't read it yet, I feel confident that the relationship will be handled in the same thoughtful manner as in this first book of the series.