Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Things We Tossed by the Fire, 1 Feb 2008
For roughly the first two thirds this is a pretty engaging frontier survival story, with an unsettling dash of the super-naturals and some economic but unflinching gore thrown in. A good deal of time is spent ratcheting up the tension as sightings of the Wendigo (the beast of Native American folklore) increase, culminating in an attack on the main settlement, at which the general populace actually does the sensible thing in upping sticks and legging it - except for protagonist Cole Seavey (who since his arrival has acquired a transparent plot device in the shape of his dead brother's wife to whom he has dutifully proposed) and chums, who think it makes much more sense to return to their isolated shacks IN THE WOODS to give themselves the chance of being picked off one by one. Things devolve from hereon. What was a passable attempt at recreating the language of the time lapses into something distinctly present-day (the dreaded 'ironical' makes several appearances) and the narrative is mangled as Cole and the lads set off into the wilds in order to run round and round in circles, losing each other and achieving not much really. It is at this juncture that the one thing the novel has left going for it - the Wendigo as deliciously malevolent, seemingly unstoppable aberration of Nature - is pulled from under us via a jawdroppingly casual, breathtakingly bizarre (there are shades of an S & M relationship here that I still can't quite get me head round) and ludicrous twist that'd make even Hanna-Barbera blush.
The final third ascends into farce as Cole is faced with a series of obstacles, each one presenting itself as a means for him to FINALLY step up and prove himself if not exactly a hero, then at least not totally inept. Like the trooper he is he manages to balls up every one. If there's a hole he'll fall into it, a tunnel to get lost in he'll get lost in it, the slightest chance of knocking himself unconscious he'll bang his head against it like billio, while author Jensen, oddly oblivious, continues to push the increasingly irritating notion he is some kind of relentless, cool-headed, 18th century he-man (aka "Cold-blooded Cole") when you will have long since come to the conclusion he is, well, a bit of a muppet. It's left to a protracted race through dark places and a convenient, explosive underground oil slick to save the day. There is a final suggestion of supernatural involvement, but by that point I was downing cough medicine and smearing my face with Alphabetti Spaghetti. The relationship between Cole and the Delaware Pakim - and by extension any exploration of attitudes among frontier folk and of the indigenous population towards same-sex relationships - remains largely underdeveloped (save for a couple of fireside hand jobs), and still only at the tentative stage come the novel's close. Throw in some heavy-handed metaphors about ice versus fire, and an attempt to draw parallels between Cole's life of solitary self-sufficiency and awakening to his emotional needs, with the frozen Ohio landscapes and promise of a new life in the far-off Firelands (mentioned almost in passing) and that's your lot. If I've been hard on it it's because it could have been so much better. Though it's still more entertaining than Larry Fessenden's Wendigo movie (from entirely different source material), but anyone who's seen it knows that ain't saying a lot.
I'll be sticking to Algernon Blackwood's Wendigo in future.
Pardon the pun.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting and innovative page-turner, 7 Dec 2004
This book isn't like anything I've read before. Part historical fiction with large chunks of gory horror thriller, it's also a seriously HOT romance and, just to make things really interesting, a twist on that staple of gay fiction, the coming out story. I hesitate to mention that the love in this book is gay because some readers might decide that means this isn't a book for them. Well I'm a straight, happily married, middle-aged woman, and I loved it. Put any preconceptions away, open your heart and mind, and let Jensen transport you to his beautifully realised world.Set on the American frontier at the close of the 19th C., Jensen takes popular characters from immensely readable first novel, FRONTIERS, John Chapman and Palmer Baxter, and their faithful friend, Gwennie the Indian woman, and spins an entirely new tale featuring brash young Cole Seavey, who takes over narrative duties. 20 year-old Cole, a hunter, arrives in Ohio Territory in November 1799 looking for his rapscallion older brother Gerard, really to escape an unwanted marriage back east. But he finds the dangers of the frontier aren't what he'd expected. Cole is attacked, then rescued from near-death by a tattooed Delaware brave, Pakim, who takes him to a nearby settlement, where he meets John and Palmer. Horror lurks in the dark woods, and soon a terrifying predator from Native American legend, a wendingo, is picking off the inhabitants of Hugh's Lick, like the creature from the Alien movies, with similar fright factor. I simply couldn't put the book down until I was done, reading late into the night and terrifying myself silly so restful sleep did not follow. This is one powerfully suspenseful novel. With blood and guts spilled freely. Cole is on a personal journey. At the beginning he's tough, Cold Hearted Cole, a man emotionally detached from men & women around him. By the end he's come through the fire to free the man inside he always wanted to be, warm and loving, even if that makes him vulnerable. You don't have to be familiar with the earlier book to enjoy the novel, but I guarantee you'll want to get hold of it if you haven't. Jensen is a master story-teller with the power to create memorable characters who stay in your mind. This book has wide appeal. It's the perfect example of an historical novel for those who don't like the genre. It wears its history lightly yet with authentic period feel to satisfy the purist. Action & adventure, thrills & spills, love & sex, it's all here, and more. Do yourself a favour and give this book a slice of your time. You won't regret it. I hope there's more where it came from.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Confused feelings for and Indian brave, 19 Jan 2007
November 1799 hunter and trapper Cole Seavey, at twenty years old, escapes New York and his fiancé and heads for the Ohio frontier settlement of Hugh's Lick, in search of his brother Gerard. Before he reaches his destination he is caught in a ferocious storm and is attacked by a gruesome and mysterious creature. He is rescued by Pakim, a Delaware Indian, and as the Indian massages his body in an attempt to warm him, he is shocked to find himself becoming aroused, and even more shocked to notice that Pakim too is aroused, then through exhaustion he drifts asleep. He awakes three days later to find that Pakim has delivered him to the home of some friendly settlers, John and Palmer, living near Hugh's Lick.
How much should Cole reveal to his saviours about the mysterious monster; and what should he make of his confusing feelings for Pakim? What too is behind the settlers' ostracism of John and Palmer? To complicate matters, he learns that his brother, considered a scoundrel by the settlers, is dead, and he feels obliged to take on Gerard's surviving wife and daughter and so proposes marriage. Then the strange activities begin; with mysterious and horrific killings the entire settlement is in terror, at the mercy of a monster believed to be a virtually unstoppable hellish creature the Delaware Indians call the wendingo.
As Cole and his new found friends battle against the monster, and not to mention the freak early cold and snow and the resulting food shortages, they also have to deal with the settlers' antagonism. Cole too struggles with his emotions over his feelings for Pakim, complicated by his commitment of marriage to his sister-in-law; after all didn't he leave home in the first place to avoid marriage?
We share Cole's worries, doubts and concerns as he narrates his story, along with the uncertainty and confusion of his feelings for Pakim, There is a certain wit and a touch of humour in Cole's narration, which doesn't elude him even as the drama and tension builds.
By the end of the tale there have been some tragic and not so tragic loses, but also some heart warming discoveries. Altogether Firelands is a very pleasurable worthwhile read.
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