Review: Experience the Wildlife of Gold-Rush-Era Central California
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 23, 2012
The more I read of this book, the more I enjoyed it. I live in Sacramento in Northern California and have traveled extensively through the central valley in which this novel takes place. The story takes place in my stompin' grounds, only 160 or so years ago. The natural beauty of the giant redwoods and Half-Dome reminded me that the power and beauty of nature preceded us and carries on across the span of time.I usually expect characters in Westerns to be caricatures, but I cared about the characters or hated them passionately. I loved viewing some scenes from the bear's point of view (especially when it was feeding time). The author did a good job of building the tension toward a satisfying conclusion. He also reminded us that once our wildlife is gone, it's gone (not that I would want this particularly spectacular animal prowling my neighborhood) but I felt a sadness that the California Grizzly no longer roams the Sierra. For me the book seemed to start slow, but picked up steam as it moved along. I so enjoyed this read that I was sorry when it ended.Connie Neal, author of many books found at [...]