Review: Dissappointing For "Historical" Reasons
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 10, 2014
Perhaps because I read a lot, write a little myself, and publish other authors' work professionally, I dare to speak about writing. I see writing first as an art, and Ms. Evanson has apparently successfully come to grips with that aspect of it. Her story flows and builds and carries us along successfully to it's conclusion, teasing us and intriguing us and satisfying us mostly in the right places. Her story is both readable and enjoyable, and that's no meager accomplishment, though she falls short of being exceptional.But why only three stars? Well, I also see writing as a craft, a process, indeed a responsibility, that goes beyond stringing words together with proper spelling and good grammar. Beyond even the simple spinning of a good yarn. The author, I believe, has a duty to be "true" to the story she is telling. It is not enough to set the story in the old west and call it "historical" -- one must make that "history" believable. And claiming it is "just fiction" is no excuse, though I hear that phrase so very often from writers who, for whatever reason, won't do the necessary work to make their good stories into great books.Ms Evanson misses "history" -- at least historical accuracy -- time after time, starting with her book's cover which depicts large round bales that didn't exist in the period (1850s) in which her book is set. White tags on cows ears didn't exist in that period either. I could go on and on but I won't. Suffice it to say the list is extensive. Most people reading the book, of course, won't know, and many wouldn't care anyway, but, if you are an author and you are going to add specific detail for "believability" then getting it right also helps. A good historical fiction writer goes the extra mile and does their research. Ms Evanson, obviously, did not and her book suffers as a result.I'll mark this one down as easy reading, perhaps even a good read, but neither a great read nor a great book.Rev. Stephen B. Henry PhD.From Website To Wealth.