Audiobook Review: The Prophet and the Witch by James W. George

The Prophet and the Witch by James W. George
Book 2 in My Father’s Kingdom series
Unabridged, 11 hr. 18 min.
James W. George
Angus Freathy (narrator)
January 10, 2018
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical fiction

Source: Received download from author for Audiobookworm Promotions tour

Puritans. Quakers. Pirates. Mohawks. Witches. And a brutal war…

If you thought New England was dull in the 1670s, get ready for a history lesson.

In the critically acclaimed “My Father’s Kingdom,” debut author James W. George transported his readers to 1671 New England, and the world of Reverend Israel Brewster. It was a world of faith, virtue, and love, but it was also a world of treachery, hatred, and murder.
Four years later, Brewster is a disgraced outcast, residing in Providence and working as a humble cooper. Despite his best efforts, war could not be averted, and now, “King Philip’s War” has begun.

The rebellion is led by Metacomet, known as “King Philip” to the English colonists. He is the tormented son of the great Massasoit, and leader of the Wampanoag nation. Once the most reliable of Plymouth Colony’s allies, they are now the bitterest of enemies. Meanwhile, Metacomet’s mysterious counselor, Linto, despises this war and will do anything to end the bloodshed.

Meticulously researched, “The Prophet and the Witch” is a tale of hope and brotherhood in the face of evil and violence. It features the remarkable cast of fictional and historical characters from book one, including Josiah Winslow, Linto, Increase Mather, Constance Wilder, and Jeremiah Barron. Additionally, new characters such as America’s first ranger, Captain Benjamin Church, bring this chapter of history to life like never before.

As with the first novel in this series, I really enjoyed that this series takes on the subject matter of King Phillip’s War. This is an event that is very often overlooked, but very important in the history of early America. Whereas the first novel focused on the early events that led up to the start of the war, this novel deals with the actual war itself. We are witness to battles and strategies (and failures) on both sides and it was interesting to see how the two different sides perceived this war. This book picks up essentially where the prior left off and as it has been a little while since I read it, it did take me a little longer to ease my way back in and reacquaint myself with the events (again since this isn’t a period I am familiar with).

I enjoyed being able to see the characters that we were introduced to in the first novel grow here in the second. Brewster has become very different from his earlier incarnation thanks to his fall from his high place and I always enjoy the scenes with Linto as I find him to be a dynamic character. Religion plays a huge role in the decisions of both sides in this war and George does an excellent job in bringing the reader into the mindset of what was going on at the time. This book addresses much more of the brutality and reality of war during this time: surprise attacks, disfigurement, death, loss of children and loss of innocence among others. I feel that George accurately reflects the perspectives and feelings of the time across his cast of characters – some who would feel sympathetic, others who are vindictive, and those who fall somewhere in between.

There is to be a third book in this series, but I’m not sure what direction it will go because this book felt very resolved (whereas the first book felt open ended). I am interested in seeing where the author takes this next.

★★★★☆

Angus Freathy does a very good job narrating this book. His more subtle British accent lends itself well to the personification of the colonial characters. Freathy creates unique voices for all of his characters which lends itself to their uniqueness and how they stand out as individuals in my mind even looking back on it. I loved that Freathy actually sang the songs that make appearance in the novel rather than simply reading them. While not an excellent singer, his attempt at this made the listening experience feel more full and to what the author would have wanted the reader to experience; I know that I tend to sing songs in my head when I encounter them on the page even when I have no point of reference for the tune. I also liked that they had a female singing a song that they were to have overheard in the church, which was a nice touch.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Literary Titan

Buy the Book: Amazon | Audible

You can check out this audio sample of The Prophet and the Witch below:

Also by James W. George:

My Father’s Kingdom (Book 1)
[My Review]

Find James W. George: Goodreads

Tour-Wide Giveaway

As part of this tour there is a tour-wide giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card.  It is open through February 21, 2018 and is open internationally.  If there are questions, please contact the tour coordinator.

The Prophet and the Witch Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card

Follow the Tour!

Feb. 15th:

Dab of Darkness Audiobook Reviews

Feb. 16th:

Loves Great Reads

Feb. 17th:

T's Stuff

Feb. 18th:

Jazzy Book Reviews

Feb. 19th:

Book Lovers Life

Feb. 20th:

The Maiden's Court

Feb. 21st:

The Book Addict's Reviews
Booktalk with Eileen

Copyright © 2018 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: My Father’s Kingdom by James W. George

My Father’s Kingdom by James W. George
Unabridged; 6 hr. 18 min.
James W. George
Angus Freathy (narrator)
May 18, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received download from author for Audiobookworm Promotions tour

Faith. Love. Murder. Prophecy. War...

In 1620 more than one hundred devout men and women crossed the treacherous Atlantic Ocean and established a colony in the New World where they could build a righteous and Godly society. Without the fortuitous friendship of the Wampanoag people and their charismatic leader Massasoit, however, it is doubtful the holy experiment would have survived.

Fifty years later Plimoth Colony has not only survived, it has prospered, and more and more Englishmen are immigrating to New England. The blessed alliance with the Wampanoag, however, is in severe jeopardy. Massasoit has passed away along with most of the original settlers of Plimoth Colony, and their children and grandchildren have very different ideas about their historic friendship.

Thrust into the center of events is Reverend Israel Brewster, an idealistic young minister with a famous grandfather and a tragic past. Meanwhile, Massasoit's son, known as "King Philip" by the English, is tormented by both the present and the past. He is watching the resources and culture of the Wampanoag nation fade away at the hands of the English and desperately wishes to restore hope and security to his people.

In a world of religious fervor, devastating sickness, and incessant greed, can the alliance of their forefathers survive? Or will New England feel the wrath of tragic, bloody war?

The element that was the most interesting draw for me in selecting this book was the subject matter: My Father’s Kingdom focuses on the events in colonial America that lead up to King Phillip’s War. Now this is an area that I have only heard of in passing, did not learn about in any of my American History or Native American classes in school, and hasn’t been the subject of any novels that I have read. I’m always looking for new historical fiction set in America and love finding niche areas to read about and My Father’s Kingdom fits the bill. As the author points out at the end in his Notes section, this event was quite significant in early colonial history however most classes focus on the initial settling at Plymouth and Jamestown and then jump over 100 years to the Revolution, missing this unsettled time period entirely.

In My Father’s Kingdom, James George tells the story through dual narrative of that of a Wampanoag and from the perspective of the Puritan colonists. Through this storytelling method we see the issues resulting from the clash of the two cultures from both sides and it felt fairly even in terms of balance. I never really felt that the author was choosing a side. There were some characters that felt sympathy for the other culture and then those who didn’t care one bit to live peaceably with them – which is likely rather true about perspectives of the time.

There were some elements that bogged me down a little bit, primarily the emphasis on the Puritan ideals and religious belief, but I felt that it was important to get into the mindset of these colonists. At the same time there were some excellent action/drama scenes that kept the story moving; I especially appreciated the court trial scene of a group of Native Americans because of how ridiculous the whole thing was and how it showed the vast difference in the two perspectives.

While the story ends just at the first shots, literally, of King Phillip’s War I thought that George did an excellent job of bringing the reader right up into those events with a solid understanding of the complex web of events that lead to it. You can easily figure out what the end result of the war will be, one of the characters analyzes that and speaks to his people about it, but you can still see why they make that choice to go to war.

I would highly recommend this book for fans of American historical fiction as it will present something that is a fresh idea that has not been overdone.

★★★★☆

Angus Freathy does a very good job narrating this book. His more subtle British accent lends itself well to the personification of the colonial characters. Freathy creates unique voices for all of his characters which lends itself to their uniqueness and how they stand out as individuals in my mind even looking back on it. His voice for one of Brewster’s adversaries is hilariously comical and heightened my enjoyment of the scenes he was in. Having grown up and lived in the area that this book takes place I did recognize some mispronunciations of locations and names, but it wouldn’t have likely been a noticeable issue for non-residents. I give Freathy kudos for actually singing the songs that make appearance in the novel rather than simply reading them. While not an excellent singer, his attempt at this made the listening experience feel more full and to what the author would have wanted the reader to experience; I know that I tend to sing songs in my head when I encounter them on the page even when I have no point of reference for the tune. Freathy asks for us to ignore his poor singing in the Author/Narrator notes, but I give him props for this, no apology needed!

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Dab of Darkness Book Reviews
• Working Mommy Journal

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

You can check out this audio sample of My Father’s Kingdom below:

Find James W. George: Goodreads

Tour Wide Giveaway

There is a tour wide giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card. Giveaway is open through August 6^th and entries can be made on any participating blog in the tour. If you have questions please contact the tour coordinator as I have no role in it. Good luck!

My Father’s Kingdom Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card

Follow the Tour

Audiobookworm Promotions Website

Jul. 30th:
Book Reviews By Jasmine (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Top 10 List, Giveaway)

Jul. 31st:
Dab of Darkness (Review, Author Interview, Giveaway)

Aug. 1st:
Lomeraniel (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)

Aug. 2nd:
CGB Blog Tours (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)

Aug. 3rd:
Working Mommy Journal (Review)

Aug. 4th:
The Maiden's Court (Review, Giveaway)

Aug. 5th:
The Book Addict's Reviews (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
WTF Are You Reading? (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
Unabridged, 15 hrs. 9 mins.
Simon & Schuster Audio
David Drummond (Narrator)
September 20, 2016
★★★½☆☆

 

Genre: Non Fiction

Source: Received audio download from the publisher for review

In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.

S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effective were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon specifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.

The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.

Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a lovely nine-year-old girl with cornflower-blue eyes who was kidnapped by Comanches from the far Texas frontier in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the "White Squaw" who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860. More famous still was her son Quanah, a warrior who was never defeated and whose guerrilla wars in the Texas Panhandle made him a legend.

S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told.

I have been a huge fan of S.C. Gwynne’s since reading Rebel Yell a year or so ago. He took a controversial subject, and someone that I had really no interest in, and made me fascinated with his intelligence and battlefield strategy (something else I am not interested in). When an author can do that for me, they fall into a special category of people whose books I need to pick up ASAP. While Empire of the Summer Moon was released prior to Rebel Yell, when I saw that Simon & Schuster was releasing the audio version, I knew I needed to read/listen to this one.

Empire of the Summer Moon takes an interesting look at the late Comanche culture. It explores the later part of the American westward migration and how they interacted with the native peoples. It also explores how the Comanche, and to a lesser extent other nations, pushed back against these incursions of their land and ways of life. The most interesting part for me was the extensive time spent on the people taken captive by natives during raids and how life was like for them. The most time was spent on the story of Cynthia Parker who was taken captive, bore three children to her native husband, and when reclaimed by her white family, struggled to reacquaint herself with her own culture. A few other capture stories are explored to some extent as well. Cynthia Parker was also the mother of Quanah Parker, who would become one of the last powerful Comanche leaders and would wrap around the time where the Comanche would go from a plains people to a reservation people. He was a fascinating person, but I felt that even though he is a titular figure, much less time was spent on his story than that of his mother or the Comanche people in general, which I think was a missed opportunity.

The structure of the novel was a little divided to me, which felt almost like two separate threads rather than a cohesive thread that spans all the way through the book. Cynthia Parker is technically the element that connects the two: she connects the old style native life with the new style life and she is the mother of Quanah. However, I really felt like these were two separate elements and would have liked them to be better integrated.

Despite my qualms with the structure, I learned A LOT from this book. I had taken classes on native American peoples during college, but none of these elements from this book were explored in them.  I definitely think that Rebel Yell was better executed but this was well done as well. 

★★★★☆

The narration was strong for this book. It was never boring or dry and kept my attention. I can’t say that it was exciting or engaging as some are wont to be, but for a non-fiction book, I felt that it did enough to serve the topic. 

You can check out a sample of the audio production below:

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Book Love Blog
• Accidental Blogger

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by S.C. Gwynne:

Rebel Yell
[My Review]

The Perfect Pass

Find S.C. Gwynne: Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Pairings: For Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

If you are anything like me, sometimes you get hooked on a subject while reading your current book and you can’t let it go upon closing the cover.  Sometimes you want to know more about the real subject involved, while other times you might just want to pick up another novel about the same thing.  Maybe you are even looking for other categories like film or music that might pick up on elements of something you read.  Here is where Book Pairings comes in.  Each installment of Book Pairings will have a theme that pairs up several books with something else that would compliment them beautifully (most often this will be other books).  I’m excited to explore where this will take me!

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I recently finished listening to Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne (review to come this week) and there were so many things that I was fascinated by that would either be interesting for further research or that would make an awesome novel.  Now it was difficult to find novels that strictly focused on the Comanche, but there are many novels that dealt with elements that this book highlighted, just with different tribes.  I imagine some of these things might have been similarly experienced regardless of the tribe.  So this list is some of the interesting novels that have come to my attention (commentary provided for each novel).

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The first 2 novels that I am going to highlight deal with white women who were taken captive by natives and their experiences.  I was interested in this based on the extensive discussions of captives, particularly that of Rachel Parker Plummer.

Flight of the Sparrow: A Novel of Early America by Amy Belding Brown

Book Blurb: She suspects that she has changed too much to ever fit easily into English society again. The wilderness has now become her home. She can interpret the cries of birds. She has seen vistas that have stolen away her breath. She has learned to live in a new, free way....

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1676. Even before Mary Rowlandson is captured by Indians on a winter day of violence and terror, she sometimes found herself in conflict with her rigid Puritan community. Now, her home destroyed, her children lost to her, she has been sold into the service of a powerful woman tribal leader, made a pawn in the on-going bloody struggle between English settlers and native people. Battling cold, hunger, and exhaustion, Mary witnesses harrowing brutality but also unexpected kindness. To her confused surprise, she is drawn to her captors’ open and straightforward way of life, a feeling further complicated by her attraction to a generous, protective English-speaking native known as James Printer. All her life, Mary has been taught to fear God, submit to her husband, and abhor Indians. Now, having lived on the other side of the forest, she begins to question the edicts that have guided her, torn between the life she knew and the wisdom the natives have shown her.

Based on the compelling true narrative of Mary Rowlandson, Flight of the Sparrow is an evocative tale that transports the reader to a little-known time in early America and explores the real meaning of freedom, faith, and acceptance.

Burning Sky by Lori Benton

Book Blurb: Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path. Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence—her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.

When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm? In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against “savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety unsure.

Willa is a woman caught between two worlds. As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage--the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again?

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The next books explore the fates of Native peoples as the American western boundary expanded further west as well as how Native peoples had to sometimes choose which world they belonged to.  Both of these were very important topics in Gwynne’s book.

Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

Book Blurb:  An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west." Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.

Lake in the Clouds by Sara Donati (Book 3 in the Wilderness series)

Book Blurb: In her extraordinary novels Into the Wilderness and Dawn on a Distant Shore, award-winning author Sara Donati deftly captured the vast, untamed wilds of late-eighteenth-century New York and the trials and triumphs of the spirited Bonner family. Now she takes on a new chapter in the life of Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner--as their brave and beautiful oldest daughter comes of age with a challenge that will change her forever. . . .

It is the spring of 1802 and the village of Paradise is still reeling from the typhoid epidemic of the previous summer. But despite a devastating personal loss, the Bonners persevere, with Hannah, Nathaniel's half-Indian daughter, working as a doctor in training. A gifted healer, this striking young woman of two worlds finds herself in peril when a dangerously ill runaway slave is discovered near the family home and Hannah insists on nursing the outlaw. Her determination places both her family and her heart in jeopardy, for a bounty hunter is afoot--and he is none other than Hannah's childhood friend and first love. So begins a journey that will test the strength of the Bonners' love for one another--and bring Hannah to face the decision she has always dreaded: will she make a life for herself in a white world, or among her mother's people?

**Note: I almost selected the first book: Into the Wilderness, but I liked the sound of this woman’s experience as being more directly related to the issue at hand.**

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The last novel that I selected is an alternate fiction, based on a proposal by a Cheyenne chief to have their warriors given one thousand white woman to marry as a way to assimilate into the American culture.  This offer was historically declined, but in the novel it is not.  I thought this was an interested exploration of the differences in perception and understanding between the tribes and the government.

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

Book Blurb: One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.

 

Have you read any of these or are there any titles that you know of that would fit with these recommendations?  I would love to hear them!

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court