Review: Chamberlain Does It Again!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2013
I read Dan Chamberlain's first book, The Long Shooters, on the recommendation of a friend and he has made a Western fan out of me. I have no doubt his quality works are drawing new fans into the genre.Chamberlain excels at developing his characters and seamlessly wrapping the plot around them. When his latest protagonist, Tomas Killain, enters the story you know something is different about him, but Chamberlain has the literary discipline to keep it under wraps until just the right time. Killain is an expert fighter, intelligent and looking for a new life, but not sure where to find it. The crisis on the frontier unexpectedly brings him to the only thing that can really change him, despite his best efforts to screw it all up.Chamberlain breathes a fierce, smoldering hatred into Killain's enemy, a fearsome and defiant Comanche chief. A powerful and visionary leader, the chief commands his braves with skill, fearlessness and savagery. You know that one of them isn't getting out of this alive, and it was a surprise as to how the conflict is resolved.Supporting the main characters is a cast of colorful personalities that bring balance to the story. Chamberlain puts the reader into the minds of his characters in such a way that the plot unfolds naturally and believably. He also honorably brings in the viewpoint of the Native Americans during the violent clash between European and native cultures on the frontier of the American West.The author is a student of the Old West and it shows in how the defenders develop tactics to suit the weapons available at the time - black powder guns, single shot Army carbines and Winchester repeating rifles. This made everything else all the more believable.Excellent writing, great plot, well-rounded characters and plenty of surprises kept me engaged and elevated The Battle of Fortune Wells to the top of my reading stack every evening. As an author, I have learned much from Chamberlain's technique and feel lucky to have discovered his books, as they have helped make me better at the craft of writing. People who want to hitch onto the next rising literary star would do well to begin reading Chamberlain's works now, as I suspect there are more to follow and playing catch-up is no fun!