David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "canadian-setting"
The Outlander
First off, Gil Adamson is a woman, which might explain the feistiness of Mary Boulton, the hero of THE OUTLANDER. The term “outlander” may refer to a person who prefers the wilderness to human contact, as does “The Ridgerunner” Mary's lover in the story.
At the beginning of the novel Mary is running for her life after murdering her husband. We don't know why, but eventually it becomes clear that he was a philandering creep who treated her like a slave. Mary is only twenty and she had no say so in the marriage. This is 1903 Canada after all. There's no such thing as romantic love, at least not when the parents are involved in selecting a mate. She's just lost her baby which may have contributed to her mental instability.
Anyway, she heads into the mountains, taking solace in a lonely church, where an old lady has pity on her and takes her into her home. Meanwhile her husband's twin brothers are hot on her trail. When they get too close she is forced to steal a horse and head into the hills. She's starving when she meets “The Ridgerunner”; he's been on his own for eight years. He says he'll never leave, but he eventually does anyway, regretting it almost immediately.
Mary meets Henry, a Crow Indian, whose wife recommends she head for the coal mining town of Frank where she should search out Reverend Bonnycastle who will take care of her. Reverend “Bonny” is only one of the many eccentrics who appear in this novel which will remind you more than a little of Charles Frazier's COLD MOUNTAIN. There's a dwarf named McEchern who owns the general store in Frank. There's a human bloodhound who's helping the brothers track Mary. There's a lunatic who attended the same military school as Bonny. For some reason he's still in the RCMP, but he's allowed to leave whenever he feels the need to be rejuvenated by going to see his friend Bonny.
The brothers are bearing down on Mary when the novel explodes, literally, and we lose one of the novel's most lovable characters. Now we need to know if the brothers will ultimately track Mary down, and if “The Ridgerunner” and Mary will ever find each other again.
At the beginning of the novel Mary is running for her life after murdering her husband. We don't know why, but eventually it becomes clear that he was a philandering creep who treated her like a slave. Mary is only twenty and she had no say so in the marriage. This is 1903 Canada after all. There's no such thing as romantic love, at least not when the parents are involved in selecting a mate. She's just lost her baby which may have contributed to her mental instability.
Anyway, she heads into the mountains, taking solace in a lonely church, where an old lady has pity on her and takes her into her home. Meanwhile her husband's twin brothers are hot on her trail. When they get too close she is forced to steal a horse and head into the hills. She's starving when she meets “The Ridgerunner”; he's been on his own for eight years. He says he'll never leave, but he eventually does anyway, regretting it almost immediately.
Mary meets Henry, a Crow Indian, whose wife recommends she head for the coal mining town of Frank where she should search out Reverend Bonnycastle who will take care of her. Reverend “Bonny” is only one of the many eccentrics who appear in this novel which will remind you more than a little of Charles Frazier's COLD MOUNTAIN. There's a dwarf named McEchern who owns the general store in Frank. There's a human bloodhound who's helping the brothers track Mary. There's a lunatic who attended the same military school as Bonny. For some reason he's still in the RCMP, but he's allowed to leave whenever he feels the need to be rejuvenated by going to see his friend Bonny.
The brothers are bearing down on Mary when the novel explodes, literally, and we lose one of the novel's most lovable characters. Now we need to know if the brothers will ultimately track Mary down, and if “The Ridgerunner” and Mary will ever find each other again.
Bones Are Forever
I've been a long-time fan of “Bones” on TV. I've seen Kathy Reichs mentioned as the author of the books on which the series was based. I hadn't realized she also writes some of the scripts.
The Temperance of the TV series is as different from the original as night and day. In the books she's also a forensic anthropologist, but she works in Canada and North Carolina. She also has several ex-boyfriends. One of them, Detective Ryan, is a major player in BONES ARE FOREVER. The TV Temperance would never let a man know she cares about him, unless he's Booth. The original can't seem to help herself. She's also not as vain and conceited. Some might say Temperance, the TV character, is only stating a fact, but she is somewhat off-putting.
Unforgivably there are no “Squints” in BONES ARE FOREVER. Love them. The original character is also more willing to get out into the field on her own. I don't remember her being in the field without Booth, the FBI agent, in the TV series.
This book is about dead babies. A woman turns up at a hospital, bleeding from her nether regions. She's obviously just had a baby, but when Temperance has been called in to offer her expertise on a dead baby, and she and the detective identify the woman, who has several aliases, as the mother. A forensic test reveals she may be Native America. During the investigation they find two more dead babies traced to the same woman. She has a record as a prostitute.
The story then moves to Edmonton, where Ryan and Temperance team up with a sergeant in the RCMP; there's sexual tension between Temperance and Ollie, too. And they find another dead baby.
The plot then takes a twist. Adults are turning up dead, including relatives of the prostitute. And the whole thing involves diamond mining. I didn't even know there were diamonds in Canada, the Northwest Territory, specifically.
There's no doubt there's more characterization in the TV series, and minor characters “The Squints” and other lab technicians play a much larger role. The Reichs series is much more traditional mystery series, except for the main character's occupation, which Reichs also claims.
The Temperance of the TV series is as different from the original as night and day. In the books she's also a forensic anthropologist, but she works in Canada and North Carolina. She also has several ex-boyfriends. One of them, Detective Ryan, is a major player in BONES ARE FOREVER. The TV Temperance would never let a man know she cares about him, unless he's Booth. The original can't seem to help herself. She's also not as vain and conceited. Some might say Temperance, the TV character, is only stating a fact, but she is somewhat off-putting.
Unforgivably there are no “Squints” in BONES ARE FOREVER. Love them. The original character is also more willing to get out into the field on her own. I don't remember her being in the field without Booth, the FBI agent, in the TV series.
This book is about dead babies. A woman turns up at a hospital, bleeding from her nether regions. She's obviously just had a baby, but when Temperance has been called in to offer her expertise on a dead baby, and she and the detective identify the woman, who has several aliases, as the mother. A forensic test reveals she may be Native America. During the investigation they find two more dead babies traced to the same woman. She has a record as a prostitute.
The story then moves to Edmonton, where Ryan and Temperance team up with a sergeant in the RCMP; there's sexual tension between Temperance and Ollie, too. And they find another dead baby.
The plot then takes a twist. Adults are turning up dead, including relatives of the prostitute. And the whole thing involves diamond mining. I didn't even know there were diamonds in Canada, the Northwest Territory, specifically.
There's no doubt there's more characterization in the TV series, and minor characters “The Squints” and other lab technicians play a much larger role. The Reichs series is much more traditional mystery series, except for the main character's occupation, which Reichs also claims.
