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Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eidson seems to have come a cropper with this second book in a trilogy about the American frontier, which follows his widely praised debut, St. Agnes' Stand. Regurgitating a timeworn theme, the story opens in the New Mexico territory of the late 1880s, as the terminally ill Samuel Jones shows up on the doorstep of his daughter Maggie, seeking to make amends. She refuses to acknowledge him, however: 30 years earlier, Jones, a white man, had abandoned his family to live with an Apache squaw. Soon after Jones's appearance, Maggie's daughter Lily is kidnapped by the Lame One, a grotesquely deformed Apache witch. The ensuing-seemingly endless-pursuit across the desert is marked by repetitive clashes between the God-fearing Maggie and her father over his efforts to convert Maggie's younger daughter, Dot, to his pagan Indian sorcery. Numerous Indian spirits, unsurprising brushes with death and a maudlin reconciliation are but a few of the burdensome elements that ultimately swamp this hackneyed effort, which not even Eidson's impressive observations on desert ornithology can rescue. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Another earnest tale in a western setting from the CEO of the PR firm Hill & Knowlton. In this second volume of Eidson's American frontier trilogy (St. Agnes' Stand, p. 160), Christianity and Indian magic are pitted against each other in the rescue of a girl who has been kidnapped by a band of Apaches. When old warrior Samuel Jones appears at the Baldwin ranch, Brake Baldwin's wife, Maggie, is immediately hostile toward him. Although she initially refuses to acknowledge any relationship to Jones, she eventually admits that he is her father, who left her and her mother for an Indian woman when Maggie was still a child. Jones has come to reconcile with his daughter before his death, which looks to be imminent. When Maggie's elder daughter, Lily, is abducted, Jones goes after her with Maggie's younger daughter, Dot, tagging along. After trying to get her daughter to return home, Maggie eventually joins with Dot and Jones in their pursuit of Lily's captors. Although Maggie despises Indians and is devoutly Christian, Jones teaches Dot Indian magic, and together they discover Lily's whereabouts. They follow her trail to the Mexican border, but the lame Indian who is holding her is a pesh-childin, a witch, whose magic is very strong. The only way they can save themselves is with the even stronger magic of true Christian faith. While Christianity is the final victor, Maggie's distrust of Indians and Indian magic is challenged and eventually proven wrong. Eidson presents a system in which all beliefs are valid, if not equally so, and innocence is valued wherever it's found. Because the novel is merely a vehicle for this lesson, the characters are unnuanced puppets, and the plot is solid but uninspired. Eidson also stretches credibility on occasion, as when Maggie's hair shines in the sun after dusty days on the trail or in the seemingly endless depths of Jones's saddlebags. Larry McMurtry lite with a moral twist.
Booklist Review
Samuel Jones, a 76-year-old Indian warrior, is dying. As his last act, he wants to make amends with Maggie Baldwin, the daughter he deserted more than 30 years ago when he left to live with the Indians. But even in 1886, New Mexico life is dangerous. Soon after Samuel arrives at the Baldwin ranch, renegade Apaches severely wound Maggie's husband and kidnap her daughter, Lily. The locals who set out after Lily are caught in an ambush and decimated, forcing Maggie and Samuel to form an alliance to pursue and reclaim Lily. Samuel, despite his age and illness, is still a formidable warrior, but he knows his magic is dwindling rapidly. He must summon all his faith to reunite his daughter's family. Similarly, Maggie must overcome her dogmatic Christian faith and her personal bitterness to forgive and understand this man who abandoned her but is now willing to die for her. An outstanding adventure tale, this second entry in an outstanding western trilogy--St. Agnes' Stand [BKL Ap 1 94] opened the set--offers a thought-provoking take on the enduring if often cliched notion of "family values." Arguing eloquently that love can transcend time and pain and bitterness when strengthened by acceptance and faith, Eidson's epic, like Lonesome Dove, deserves a readership well beyond the boundaries of its genre. --Wes Lukowsky
Library Journal Review
With families belonging to both the Apache and white civilizations, septuagenarian Samuel Jones is dying and wishes to be reunited with his one remaining daughter, Maggie, who is living in New Mexico Territory. Because Maggie's life has already been touched by the violence of earlier Apache raids, she wants nothing to do with the old shaman, whose mystical beliefs run counter to her Christian faith. However, father and daughter must join forces when Maggie's daughter, Lily, is kidnapped by renegade Apaches. Often reading like a fantasy novel, this absorbing work, second in a planned trilogy, solidifies Eidson's status as a new voice of the Old West. Equal in readability to his earlier novel, the acclaimed St. Agnes' Stand (LJ 3/1/94), this is highly recommended for medium to large public libraries.-Robert Jordan, Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.