A soft man in a harsh land, trying his best to survive the extreme conditions and to keep his family alive in the famous wild west that was wilder than expected. An interesting and gripping start of a novel indeed.
William, a hardworking man, with a hardworking family, sees his spirit break on the toils of life and on the unfortunate events that such toil brings, until a small break blesses its way towards them.
I like the way the story is told, fast-paced, simple and yet, with enough detail to keep the plot going. And then there are some lines that make you go: Damn! That’s deep. Wow. Lines such as:
“A man that can think first… well, that’s a dangerous man. Any fool can draw a gun. It takes a smart man to think of a reason not to.”
Now THAT is a well put line. THAT is the stuff of legends, and it tells a lot about the quality of the author in question. Wow. Impressive. And once you consider the amount of manhood themes that this book has, the sacrifice, honour, courage and determination, ah, it just keeps getting better.
I think that many men should read this to get some of their masculinity back, because its being lost fast. These characters are what men should be like! Not overly emotional snowflakes that we see, nowadays in both books and day to day life.
As you read our young MCs going their way to the dreamland of his father, Sacramento, you can see that the lads paths start to diverge in their hearts and how two people can have the same education and be totally different, how their lives can be completely changed by a single set of words, and how much their experiences can mould them. It’s interesting.
To choose between having an honest life or out-winning everyone in everything and having it all for oneself and only oneself. Honesty and contempt, or the never-ending greed of more. What ruins the soul first? We shall see.
The twists of fate and choices, both on oneself and on others and how the choices of others affect us is a permanent theme on this book that leaves the reader thinking and analysing the plot. There is little mystery on it, but this is a western book, so it fits and it’s expected, but what is surprising is how much the plot diverges between our MCs as they grow. This makes you really stop and think, like how much a single moment can change two people forever. Great book!
When you think you are going to ease on the ride of the book, the author throws you not one, not two, but three dilemmas at you (and the MCs) and these aren’t choices they can take without heavy consequence or peril, and regardless of what they do, they are going to have to fight their way out of it, even if the situation is not their entire faul, so you will have a boost in interest that will carry you the rest of the book. NICE!
OK! Contrast time. This might seem like a novel that turns out just OK for the MC regardless of what he does, at first, but bear with me that shit does go down and he has quite the ruffles, and I want you to understand and remember two things as you read this book, the first is that Colt puts a mighty effort and sacrifice and is brave, the second is that I wouldn’t be recommending you to read this book if it was “too goody-goody” with the MCs, *laughs*. Having that said, lets carry on, hahahahha.
This book makes a really good point when it comes to taking the opportunities when they come and make decisions that are wise, while living your life and building it like a man of worth. Staying one thought, one plan ahead and moving with life’s swings, but above all, to choose great friends that will help you out when you need the most.
This is some excellent reading material for young boys and teens right here, just excellent. If you are reading this and you have a son, a younger brother or a younger cousin, do them a favour and buy this book in paperback for them. Incredible stuff! If I had a son, he would be reading this with me, hahhahahahahh.
There are lessons here that many readers will be glad they read, and I’m one of them, because of the way they offer certain perspectives on life and how to deal with certain situations, specially when it comes to morals and business.
This is just one of those books that the end is totally worth every page read, and the author throttles down on the consequences, the action, the danger, the will, the suspense and the realization of a journey that was long and hard, but without spoiling the book, and without making or giving a magical ending where everything is simply dandy because it is simply dandy. Great stuff right here. WE NEED MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS TO OUR YOUNG BOYS! HA! INCREDIBLE!
Pros:
- Excellent plot with everything well-placed
- Excellent narrative that is easy to follow and understand
- Great descriptions both on the characters and on the scenery, which is really important for a western
- The motivations behind the characters were in line with their personalities, which was a nice detail
- Great lines around the book
- Overall great story
Cons:
None
Scribble's Worth 
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