Conquering Horse

Buckskin Man Tales #1

by Frederick Manfred, Delbert E. Wylder (Foreword), Charles Woodard (Introduction)

High on a remote butte, a young Sioux waits. Though daring in battle, skillful, and strong, he cannot be a man until his spiritual vision comes. When it appears, he must interpret it correctly to know who he is, and he must deserve it or continue to be called No Name.
No Name has his vision, a glowing white mare who walks among the stars. She tells No Name his destiny and how to achieve it. He must pass through hostile camps, storm, and fire, risking his life many times to become Conquering Horse, chief of the Sioux.


Conquering Horse is the first of Frederick Manfred’s five-volume series, The Buckskin Man Tales.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Native American, Fantasy

382 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1959

About the author

Manfred's novels are very much connected to his native region. His stories involve the American Midlands, and the prairies of the West. He named the area where the borders of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska meet, "Siouxland."
(wikipedia)

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richly detailed and deeply researched. A compelling story.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Lord Grizzly is better.

[Amarjeet Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most compelling aspect of 'Conquering Horse' is that similar to Welch's 'Fools Crow' it offers a comprehensive insight into Native American esoterisms as well as psyche and worldview prior to the advent of Europeanisation. But whereas Welch's treatments often have a labored dimension about them (given he deals with cross-cultural interactions in the mould of alien vs. native), Manfred avoids all such pitfalls to render a simplistic motif of an uninterrupted and flowing life untouched by New World paradigms.

'Conquering Horse' is a relation of a quest. A quest undertaken by the lusty warrior No Name who is the second son of the great chief Redbird and is to prove his mettle to the Yankton nation he has been born in. We witness his sexual foibles with the maiden Leaf, her mysterious vanishing, his vision of a quest and his rescue of Leaf and realization of his vision.

This book, it must be remembered, was first written in 1959 ergo Manfred's antiquated prose in some parts. But the entire narrative structure holds up to the test of time with imagery being the most engrossing bait which lures in the reader.

'Conquering Horse' avoids the otherwise cliched trivialization of the white man vs. the Indian or the eco-friendly woke Native relations we find in similar novels. There is only one reference to the white man in No Name's world and that is the first and final say on the matter.

Ultimately, one is imparted a profound lesson by this entire fable; life is simple, life flows and it will continue to flow and be simple long after we are gone. Make sure you have enough time on your hands after reading this book because it will leave you musing on existentiality.

[John Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first chronologically of Manfred's Buckskin Man series in that it brings out the lives of the Yankton Dakota in pre-European settlement times and brings out the vision quest of a young man of warrior age who has not yet had a vision. He begins the book with the name No Name, but by the end of the book, he has taken on the name mentioned in the title. Like most of Manfred's novels, it takes place in his Siouxland area (an area where MN, SD, IA and NE meet). I found it helped bring out this time in Native American history well, something few books do and tells it in an interesting book. This is a powerful addition to the series and tells Conquering Horse's story well in that time in history.

[Chad A. Pentecost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting

This is my first book by this author. It is very well written and a good story of adventure and courage.

I recommend this to anyone who loves westerns or old west history.

[Adel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would've loved with all my heart to see Michael Cimino make a movie out of this.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Conquering Horse, Frederick Manfred (western, historical fiction)
Jeff Book Review #168

1965's "Conquering Horse" is set in the 1800 western plains of Nebraska before whites came into the area. A Sioux youth named No Name comes of age trying to earn his place as the next chief. He's also trying to earn the hand of his chosen wife, trying to manage a conflict with the Pawnee, having trouble with his spirit quest, dealing with internal tribe politics, and having the standard troubles all young men have growing up.

As with most westerns, the atmosphere is simultaneously damning and hopeful, ugly and beautiful. In Conquering Horse that feeling is all the more intense as we get a first-hand look at the disturbing but tradition-fueled honorable lives led by the native Americans in that era.

I think it is hard to write a story like this without me finding it a bit over-the-top tropey and stereotypically eyerolling, which this one is, unfortunately (hard, but not impossible, as I found with "Slaughter," "Apaches," and the Hillerman novels to name a few). And it seems a hefty third of this book is hallucinations and dreams that might make more sense to me if I was dropping acid while reading it, perhaps.

Going into the final third, young No Name finally begins the adventure he is looking for. I was hoping "Conquering Horse" would finally elevate from being just a TV movie of the week ode to lost innocence, cultural exposition, and hippy psychedelic mind trips, but instead it just fell flatly boring for me. As the end approached, I kept rolling my eyes, yawning, setting the book down, deciding I was finished reading all books forever, then picking it back up to try again and seeing the same meaningless word salad.

Verdict: I'm sorry but I just hated this book, despite serious attempts. I have said.

Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this novel because I was so enthralled with Lord Grizzly. Conquering Horse is part of a series that includes Riders of Judgment, Conquering Horse, Scarlet Plume, and King of Spades. None of the books come up to the level of Lord Grizzly, including Conquering Horse. Still, the story is interesting, and Manfred seems to have researched much of Sioux culture, although I can't know how accurate his portrayal of the Sioux at this time is.

[Cws]

W Man

[Pat Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the world of a Sioux man and what one person can go through for their manhood. Another old book that I found at the Quaker Book Sale.