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57th out of 72 books
—
24 voters
Bone Rattler: A Mystery of Colonial America (Duncan McCallum #1)
by
Eliot Pattison (Goodreads Author)
Aboard a British convict ship bound for the New World, Duncan McCallum witnesses a series of murders and seeming suicides among his fellow Scottish prisoners that thrusts him into the bloody maw of the French and Indian War. As the only man aboard with any medical training, Duncan is ordered to assemble evidence to hold another prisoner accountable for the deaths — or face...more
Hardcover, 456 pages
Published
December 28th 2007
by Counterpoint
(first published 2007)
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Jun 05, 2011
Alcornell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-novels,
mystery
This guy can really write. That said, this novel was not an easy read. The language was unfamiliar, the ideas even more so. There was too much taken for granted which left me out in the beginning. I had to look up words, re-read passages, go back to figure out who certain people were again, etc. This made it slow, if not tedious. But I was curious...."what the heck happened here??" This made reading the book challenging to say the least. There was no denying the darkness of the tale was compelli...more
Aboard a British convict ship bound for the New World, Scottish prisoner, Duncan McCallum witnesses a series of murders and seeming suicides among his fellow Scottish prisoners that thrusts him into the bloody French and Indian War. As the only man aboard with any medical training, Duncan is ordered to assemble evidence to hold another prisoner accountable for the deaths — or face punishment.
Following a strange trail of clues that seem half Iroquois and half Highland Scot, and mesmerized by th...more
Following a strange trail of clues that seem half Iroquois and half Highland Scot, and mesmerized by th...more
When one man decides to help his family he is penalized quite harshly. Even though he studied to become a doctor he would never see the light of day to complete his schooling. Because of his actions in trying to hide a family member from harm Duncan McCallum a High Scot, is placed in a prison, beaten at times that his skin is rare, and then sent on a voyage to Colonial America as an Indentured Servant to the Ramsey Company. But, there is much to tell before this as many of his comrades or fellow...more
Bone Rattler is a book about the early settlement of the United States. It invokes a time when Native Americans were mysterious and feared, New World settlers were often killed by enemy tribes, the French were out to get the English with alliance tribes, and Scotland natives were persecuted and forced to hide their heritage if they wanted to survive. Pattison does a remarkable job at painting the picture of this world and contrasting the relationships between the Scots and the Native Americans-...more
I read this because I recently read all of Eliot Pattison Inspector Shan novels and had fallen in love with Pattison's writing.
Bone Rattler is the first of a new series of historical novels set in 1759. The main character is Duncan McCallum, a Scottish prisoner on his way to America, who soon finds himself in the middle of the battle between the English, the French and the Native Americans - all while he has to try to find a way to clear his friend from a murder charge.
I didn't like this as muc...more
Bone Rattler is the first of a new series of historical novels set in 1759. The main character is Duncan McCallum, a Scottish prisoner on his way to America, who soon finds himself in the middle of the battle between the English, the French and the Native Americans - all while he has to try to find a way to clear his friend from a murder charge.
I didn't like this as muc...more
I really desperately wanted to like this book, but it was just too convoluted, overwrought, and nearly boring. I have never in my life read all but the last 50 pages of a book and then quit! Till this one, that is. Here is the Publisher's Weekly review so you know what it is about:
"It's the mid-18th century, and young Highland Scot Duncan McCallum is on a convict ship bound for the New World. Most of his family has been slaughtered, and he's having a hard time with the yoke of British oppression...more
"It's the mid-18th century, and young Highland Scot Duncan McCallum is on a convict ship bound for the New World. Most of his family has been slaughtered, and he's having a hard time with the yoke of British oppression...more
Dec 04, 2011
Cheryl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kindle-edition,
favorites
Wow. Did I say Wow? Wow. This was an amazing read. Duncan McCallum, an indentured prisoner headed to the New World gets embroiled in a shipboard murder and the politics surrounding the war between the native tribes of America and the white settlers. I did not find it a difficult read at all - but it is deep and detailed and skimming is forbidden. The tale continues to unfold as more and more and more layers are added to the story as one mystery is solved and another is revealed. The intertwining...more
WOW. This was such an engaging book. The subject and setting was different to other historical mysteries I have read. It's so welcoming to find a fresh idea!
As another reviewer said, it's not an easy book to follow - you have to pay close attention. If I was reading an actual book I would have turned down the corners of pages where clues were discovered so that I coud go back and reread passages. I read this on my Kindle and I am sure it has the capability to mark passages but I was too far in t...more
As another reviewer said, it's not an easy book to follow - you have to pay close attention. If I was reading an actual book I would have turned down the corners of pages where clues were discovered so that I coud go back and reread passages. I read this on my Kindle and I am sure it has the capability to mark passages but I was too far in t...more
Apr 13, 2011
Liz
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
historical fiction lovers
Recommended to Liz by:
barnes and nobles free nookbook
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
nook-book
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The story line is convoluted, the characters are hard to keep track of and are not fully realized, the subject matter (the war between the English and the French using Indians as warrior allies against each other, and Scots convicts as indentured soldiers) is depressing. The Indian raids in which small English children are stolen and used as slaves or adopted into Indian culture is unspeakable. The destruction of the Indian nations is equally unspeakable. As are the English crimes against the Sc...more
ebook I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable. It is set first of all at sea, on the way to the New World, and then in New York state some time after the battle of Ticonderoga. The main character is Duncan McCallum, one of two remaining members of his clan. As a prisoner, he is destined to join the forces of a wealthy landowner, Ramsey, whose daughter he saves on shipboard when she jumps overboard. Sarah Ramsey is an enigmatic character who was o...more
A deeply mysterious mystery novel, set in 1759 colonial America, a time and place when the "New World" and its "savage" inhabitants also seemed inpenetrably mysterious to those who want to settle and conquer this land. A series of murders on a ship traveling to America and later, in America itself, lead Duncan McCallum, head (and possibly only surviving member of) a Scottish clan and indentured servant previously trained as a doctor, to question everything about his present and future, and even...more
This is American colonial history combined with the Scottish-English history of the same time. If you've seen the movie 'Rob Roy,' you'll recall that the English treated the defeated Scots very harshly. The reader runs into the consequences of this treatment from the first page of the book - we're introduced to Scottish prisoners being transported to the colonies to work for a specific English lord on his property in the western New York colony.
There are all kinds of plots - two people, who aren...more
There are all kinds of plots - two people, who aren...more
While the story was interesting, I didn't like the author's style of writing. Until midway through the book, I felt like I'd somehow missed some important plot detail.
Duncan McCallum is aboard a ship bound for America (as a Scottish prisoner and indentured servant for his involvement in the Jacobean Uprising) where he witnesses a murder. He eventually is thrust into the French/Indian War in the young America. This takes place in the uncharted New York woodlands. I felt I was there in this wild t...more
Duncan McCallum is aboard a ship bound for America (as a Scottish prisoner and indentured servant for his involvement in the Jacobean Uprising) where he witnesses a murder. He eventually is thrust into the French/Indian War in the young America. This takes place in the uncharted New York woodlands. I felt I was there in this wild t...more
I started this book because it was free for the Kindle from Amazon, it said "Bone" in the title, and it is historical fiction. I stayed up all night finishing it last night because it was AWESOME! If you decide to read this, just be prepared to spend the first 1/3 of the book totally lost (as is your narrator), the second 1/3 of the book only mostly lost (as the narrator starts to figure out what is going on but doesn't completely clue you in), and the last 1/3 of the book thinking you know what...more
This was the story of a Scot named Duncan McCallum who has been sent to the Colonies as a prisoner of the English. His clan was decimated at Culloden while he was away at school and he and his younger brother Jamie are the only surviving members of Clan McCallum. Jamie is a soldier in the English army and already in America. Duncan plans to meet up with his at some point in the future and hopes to start over in America after his prison sentence is over. Things change radically for Duncan while a...more
In mid 18th century, indentured Scottish prisoner Duncan McCallum is witness to a series of mysterious deaths on the ship carrying him to the New World. Duncan, who has medical training, is coerced by the captain into investigating. The shipboard mysteries remain unresolved when they arrive in New York, and his investigation leads him to perilous encounters on the colonial frontier. In Pattison’s previous series set in contemporary Tibet, the characters suffered a great deal. Although unpleasant...more
I'm finished with it about halfway through. Typos are minimal considering the book is twice as long as it should be.
I finally just had it with everybody giving varying degrees of sideways glances, frightened expressions, frowning mouths. Can't anybody just give Duncan a f**ing straight answer. This obfuscation begins to grate as Pattison dribbles information as slow as possible thinking he's cleverly building the plot. Maybe for some, but I just can't stand it any longer.
Finally, I'm too fed up...more
I finally just had it with everybody giving varying degrees of sideways glances, frightened expressions, frowning mouths. Can't anybody just give Duncan a f**ing straight answer. This obfuscation begins to grate as Pattison dribbles information as slow as possible thinking he's cleverly building the plot. Maybe for some, but I just can't stand it any longer.
Finally, I'm too fed up...more
There was so much going in this book! There is so much information crammed into the story without really developing the characters or giving enough backtory on important events that affect the plot. A main part of the story revolves around Indian rituals and communications. The author did not describe and explain them enough for me. I felt like it was a secret that the reader wasn't allowed to know. Which is fine since it's a mystery.... But eventually the mystery needs to be solved. At the end...more
Apr 12, 2012
Miriam
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who loves historical fiction
Recommended to Miriam by:
my sister
This was a fabulous book, extremely well written. (So I don't read much adult fiction anymore because I'm a children's librarian, but I was impressed!) This book is a mystery set in colonial America during the French and Indian war. It follows the fate of Duncan McCallum, last of his clan, whose family was slaughtered by the English after the Battle of Culloden.
He is brought to the New World in chains as an indentured slave to work for the Ramsey Company composed of other Scottish Highlander pr...more
He is brought to the New World in chains as an indentured slave to work for the Ramsey Company composed of other Scottish Highlander pr...more
I was excited to find a historical mystery set during the F&I War but this was rather disappointing: too dense with detail to be a pleasant mystery read and it did not give me the feeling of the times & the war that I had hoped for. Did like the info about the Scottish removals and the way the disposessed clansmen had an affinity for Indian ways that made the British uneasy. Also lots of interesting Indian pov and lore. Overall the book seemed scattershot as if the author tried to inclu...more
I'm not typically a mystery reader, but I love historical fiction, and the historical edge to this book intrigued me. Since it was free on Kindle one day, I decided to give it a try.
A part of me wants to give this book a 3, b/c the mystery was simply too complex for me to fully follow, to the point that it felt convoluted. However, like I said, I'm not a mystery reader typically. And since I was reading on my Kindle, I wasn't easily able to flip back and forth to key passages to try to make more...more
A part of me wants to give this book a 3, b/c the mystery was simply too complex for me to fully follow, to the point that it felt convoluted. However, like I said, I'm not a mystery reader typically. And since I was reading on my Kindle, I wasn't easily able to flip back and forth to key passages to try to make more...more
A disappointing historical novel of colonial America from the author of the Inspector Shan (set in Tibet) police procedural series. Pattison has the unfortunate tendency to get overly complicated in the way he presents his plots; the 2nd installment of the Inspector Shan series, Water touching Stone, was so tortuous that by the time I finished the book and got to the actual denouement, I had lost track of characters and situations; I know of at least one reader who simply gave up on the book an...more
#1 Duncan McCallum mystery set in Colonial America, New York state of 1750's. Duncan is a Highland Scot, once training as a doctor, now an indentured servant to the Ramsey Company, plucked from prison (where he was put for supposedly aiding the Highland rebellion) to go to the new world. When the new tutor to the Ramsey children is murdered on board the ship heading to America, Duncan is bullied into taking his place. He does so fearfully, having received a mysterious warning from his friend Ada...more
Set during the French/Indian War. Duncan, a Scotsman,is being transported to America after being ocnvicted of a crime in Scotland. When two murders occur on the ship during the voyage, Duncan feels dutybound to discover the truth. At times the story was hard to follow, but it pulls the reader along with authentic backgrounds and attitudes for the times. The author wrote the story after becoming intrigued with the parallels between the Scots and the Native Americans and the grab for their lands.
Eliot Pattison is a sensitive writer who richly depicts the culture of the American colonial era and takes a good stab at some of the eastern Native American cultures of the times too. His main character is in an almost impossible situation as an indentured servant who is required to inform upon his fellow Scots prisoners.
Downsides to the book: I really wanted to become immersed in the time period that Pattison so richly describes, but the book was often confusing. Questions were evaded and nev...more
Downsides to the book: I really wanted to become immersed in the time period that Pattison so richly describes, but the book was often confusing. Questions were evaded and nev...more
1 like · like · see review
The French and Indian War often gets a short shrift when it comes to fiction. This book, while a mystery at heart, explores the uneasy alliances, the fears, and the dreams of the Europeans and the first Americans. The plotting and characterization is substantial, and while the book's pace isn't exactly speedy, the story is compelling. The Scottish hero of this work also reminds me of another Scottish historical fiction hero, Francis Crawford of Lymond of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond series. Just wha...more
I really enjoyed this book. It was a complicated read, I felt like I had to pay pretty close attention in order to understand what was going on. However, it's very well written and really thought provoking. I love reading about this period in U.S. history--the French and Indian Wars were such an interesting time politically and socially, and I feel like the author really captured that.
I also loved the parallels Pattison drew between the American Indians and the Scottish Highlanders since both w...more
I also loved the parallels Pattison drew between the American Indians and the Scottish Highlanders since both w...more
Aug 06, 2011
Rene Deal
added it
Even though I found "Bone Rattler" hard to read I also found it very engaging. The abstract use of words gave the book a spin that had to be finished? It took me a long time to complete because I had to recollect or figure out what I had just read. if you will have some patience I believe you will find the ending worth the read. There were times when I only read a few pages at a time, I am someone who can read chapters ata time. Take your time and enjoy the read.
An unsettling reading experience. The reader spends perhaps half of the book as much in the dark as the protagonist. There is a great deal of action, much of which seems inexplicable in the context, but which gradually builds toward the solution. At times I felt that I was not reading a historical mystery, but a kind of hybrid mystery-fantasy set in a parallel world, like but not identical to the American colonies around 1760. Good characterization, solid control of sentences and syntax, startli...more
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Edgar Award winning Eliot Pattison has been described as a "writer of faraway mysteries," a label which is particularly apt for someone whose travel and interests span a million miles of global trekking, visiting every continent but Antarctica. An international lawyer by training, Pattison first combined his deep concerns for the people of Tibet with his interest in fiction writing in The Skull Ma...more
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Dec 02, 2011 07:55am