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Spanish Bit Saga #6
Daughter of the Eagle
Don Coldsmith, voted one of the greatest western writers of the twentieth century by the Western Writers of America, single-handedly revolutionized the Western novel with his acclaimed Spanish Bit Saga. Set in the early sixteenth century, the Spanish Bit re-creates a time, a place, and a people that have been nearly lost to history. In it we see history through the eyes of those who lived it.
The Elk-Dog band has grown and prospered, yet still they cling to old traditions. Eagle Woman, the unmarried daughter of a sub-chief, is as skilled, as fearless, and as strong as most young men of the band. Defying tradition, she applies for warrior status-over the spirited objections of Long Walker, the handsome warrior who wants her for his wife. But the more he opposes Eagle Woman, the more determined she becomes. When a tragedy strikes her family, Eagle Woman sets out on a dangerous mission for vengeance against the treacherous Head-Splitters. And Long Walker rides with her-straight into a trap.
The Elk-Dog band has grown and prospered, yet still they cling to old traditions. Eagle Woman, the unmarried daughter of a sub-chief, is as skilled, as fearless, and as strong as most young men of the band. Defying tradition, she applies for warrior status-over the spirited objections of Long Walker, the handsome warrior who wants her for his wife. But the more he opposes Eagle Woman, the more determined she becomes. When a tragedy strikes her family, Eagle Woman sets out on a dangerous mission for vengeance against the treacherous Head-Splitters. And Long Walker rides with her-straight into a trap.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 11, 1984
About the author
Don Coldsmith
66 books65 followersDon Coldsmith was an American author of primarily Western fiction. A past president of Western Writers of America, Coldsmith wrote more than 40 books, as well as and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. His “Spanish Bit Saga,” a series of related novels, helped to re-define the Western novel by adopting the point of view of the Native Americans, rather than the European immigrants.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 23, 2016
Although it's self-contained enough to be read as a stand-alone, this is actually the sixth novel in Coldsmith's popular Spanish Bit Saga, a multi-generational epic of the history of the Plains Indians after their culture is transformed by the coming of the horse, focusing on a tribe that calls itself (as most of them did) simply "the People." (It's a fictional, composite tribe, but probably modeled most closely on the Cheyenne.) In terms of style and literary vision, it has a lot in common with the series opener, Trail of the Spanish Bit (my review of that volume is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ), and the numerous other series installments I've read. However, it proved to be my favorite (and, I believe, my wife's as well). Re-reading it, and re-experiencing parts I'd forgotten, was a reminder of how much I liked it the first time, and still do!
By now, our chronological setting is the late 1500s; we're focusing on the granddaughter of Juan Garcia, and daughter of his older son Eagle (hence the book title). She's known as Eagle Woman when the book begins, and will become Running Eagle later (in her culture, personal names can be changed with circumstances and status). When we meet her, she's 19 (and the oldest girl in the tribe --or at least in her particular band of the tribe-- still single). Like all children, both male and female, of her people, she grew up being trained in athletic pursuits and the use of weapons; she's stronger and faster than most girls, and recognized as proficient with the bow.
Most men of hunting/fighting age among the People belong to the main warrior society. (The author does his usual excellent job of bringing the culture and its institutions to life here.) This group concerns itself with buffalo hunting --but also with tribal warfare, usually against the People's traditional enemy, the Head-Splitters. (Unlike warfare in the European tradition, this isn't concerned with political conquest, though jockeying for control of hunting territory plays a role in it; it's more a matter of sporadic raiding to bring personal glory to warriors, and for stealing horses and slaves. But like all warfare, it's a grim and ugly pursuit.) Our heroine is a "warrior sister" of the society, one of a few girls who take part in its rituals as priestesses. But for reasons of personal challenge and fulfillment, she makes a momentous decision near the beginning of the book: she'd like to take the unusual --but not culturally prohibited-- step of seeking full warrior status in the society. This won't necessarily require her to be involved as a member of actual war parties, and that isn't her intended object in wanting to join. But the ways that circumstances develop are often not at all what people originally intend and expect....
One of my Goodreads friends who read this book wrote that she "couldn't get into it." That's probably a result of Coldsmith's writing style, which won't be every reader's cup of tea. He prefers straight narration to development of plot and characters through dialogue; so the latter takes a back seat to the former here. And where we have dialogue --and we have it, as needed-- it tends to be terse and laconic, realistically reflecting the norm of a culture that devalued chatter and cultivated terse simplicity in everyday speech. Our three main characters are developed very well, IMO, but mainly by the author allowing us inside their heads, so we're privy to their thoughts and feelings. This didn't bother me; but if it would bother you, you may not "get into" the book either. Otherwise, the style is made to order for a quick read, with short chapters in 178 pages of text overall, and prose that doesn't call attention to itself but carries you along on a white-water ride. The plot is exciting and increasingly suspenseful, and the literary craftsmanship first-rate (I considered the ending perfect!). There's a good, clean romantic element; Long Walker is a fine leading male character, and the book has no issues of bad language or overly graphic content.
However, because Coldsmith is a male author, and he's dealing with a plot in which rape occurs, some readers will find the latter fact problematical; it may be suggested that the only reason a male author could have to treat the subject at all is because of a morbid fascination with it, and/or that he's "trivializing" it here. In the context of thousands of years of history in which women have repeatedly been victims of sexual violence, and a large percentage of present-day women have or can expect to be, sensitivity on this subject is completely understandable. My honest response to the concern here would be that I think Coldsmith includes that component in his plot because in the historical setting it was a realistic danger that couldn't be ignored, not because of any fascination with it (it's glossed over too quickly to see it as being milked for any particular fascination); that he views it, and encourages the reader to view it, as evil and disgusting, and that he correctly sees it as being about power, not about normal sexual desire; and that the kind of female response to rape we have here doesn't "trivialize" it so much as view it from a perspective of personal strength, in which a woman doesn't choose to be self-marked or self-defined for the rest of her life by anything an enemy might do to her. Obviously, not all women, or all men, have that kind of inner strength; and anyone who's left horribly psychologically scarred by traumatic abuse (of whatever sort) deserves our fullest compassion. But I personally think a response of personal strength provides a better role model for women in this situation than they get from, say, a writer like Thomas Dixon, with his advice to "defiled" rape victims that they commit suicide over it.
By now, our chronological setting is the late 1500s; we're focusing on the granddaughter of Juan Garcia, and daughter of his older son Eagle (hence the book title). She's known as Eagle Woman when the book begins, and will become Running Eagle later (in her culture, personal names can be changed with circumstances and status). When we meet her, she's 19 (and the oldest girl in the tribe --or at least in her particular band of the tribe-- still single). Like all children, both male and female, of her people, she grew up being trained in athletic pursuits and the use of weapons; she's stronger and faster than most girls, and recognized as proficient with the bow.
Most men of hunting/fighting age among the People belong to the main warrior society. (The author does his usual excellent job of bringing the culture and its institutions to life here.) This group concerns itself with buffalo hunting --but also with tribal warfare, usually against the People's traditional enemy, the Head-Splitters. (Unlike warfare in the European tradition, this isn't concerned with political conquest, though jockeying for control of hunting territory plays a role in it; it's more a matter of sporadic raiding to bring personal glory to warriors, and for stealing horses and slaves. But like all warfare, it's a grim and ugly pursuit.) Our heroine is a "warrior sister" of the society, one of a few girls who take part in its rituals as priestesses. But for reasons of personal challenge and fulfillment, she makes a momentous decision near the beginning of the book: she'd like to take the unusual --but not culturally prohibited-- step of seeking full warrior status in the society. This won't necessarily require her to be involved as a member of actual war parties, and that isn't her intended object in wanting to join. But the ways that circumstances develop are often not at all what people originally intend and expect....
One of my Goodreads friends who read this book wrote that she "couldn't get into it." That's probably a result of Coldsmith's writing style, which won't be every reader's cup of tea. He prefers straight narration to development of plot and characters through dialogue; so the latter takes a back seat to the former here. And where we have dialogue --and we have it, as needed-- it tends to be terse and laconic, realistically reflecting the norm of a culture that devalued chatter and cultivated terse simplicity in everyday speech. Our three main characters are developed very well, IMO, but mainly by the author allowing us inside their heads, so we're privy to their thoughts and feelings. This didn't bother me; but if it would bother you, you may not "get into" the book either. Otherwise, the style is made to order for a quick read, with short chapters in 178 pages of text overall, and prose that doesn't call attention to itself but carries you along on a white-water ride. The plot is exciting and increasingly suspenseful, and the literary craftsmanship first-rate (I considered the ending perfect!). There's a good, clean romantic element; Long Walker is a fine leading male character, and the book has no issues of bad language or overly graphic content.
However, because Coldsmith is a male author, and he's dealing with a plot in which rape occurs, some readers will find the latter fact problematical; it may be suggested that the only reason a male author could have to treat the subject at all is because of a morbid fascination with it, and/or that he's "trivializing" it here. In the context of thousands of years of history in which women have repeatedly been victims of sexual violence, and a large percentage of present-day women have or can expect to be, sensitivity on this subject is completely understandable. My honest response to the concern here would be that I think Coldsmith includes that component in his plot because in the historical setting it was a realistic danger that couldn't be ignored, not because of any fascination with it (it's glossed over too quickly to see it as being milked for any particular fascination); that he views it, and encourages the reader to view it, as evil and disgusting, and that he correctly sees it as being about power, not about normal sexual desire; and that the kind of female response to rape we have here doesn't "trivialize" it so much as view it from a perspective of personal strength, in which a woman doesn't choose to be self-marked or self-defined for the rest of her life by anything an enemy might do to her. Obviously, not all women, or all men, have that kind of inner strength; and anyone who's left horribly psychologically scarred by traumatic abuse (of whatever sort) deserves our fullest compassion. But I personally think a response of personal strength provides a better role model for women in this situation than they get from, say, a writer like Thomas Dixon, with his advice to "defiled" rape victims that they commit suicide over it.
August 25, 2016
couldn't get into this book
November 8, 2017
A squaw that wanted to join a Warrior band. Tries to prove herself and succeeds. But in the end returned to the traditional roll for the female Indian. An introduction preface indicates that this has happened numerous times. In many tribes the females were the most cruel.
August 13, 2020
Another badass part of the Spanish Bit Saga. Eagle’s daughter as a fearless stealth warrior? So amazing. I loved it.
February 18, 2023
Loved this book. Great story. Intricate plot and twists. Excellent
September 29, 2020
If the Western genre didn't exist I would have called this historical fiction. And that's probably why I enjoyed it as much as I did.
Set in the Great Plains in the 1600s, this is the 6th book in a series about the early adoption of the horse by Native Americans. The story is told from the POV of a young woman, Running Eagle (let's use her chosen gender-free name) who challenges her band to accept her into a man's role. A skilled rider, runner, swimmer, marksman and battle strategist, she lacks only the physical strength of her male peers for hand-to-hand combat.
The book brings early NA culture to life and showcases the author's knowledge of horses, referred to by the People as Elk-dogs (delightful image, eh?). I was particularly impressed by the complete lack of white voices.
On the downside, the book picked up and dropped several threads. The silver bit - the piece of Spanish technology that enabled the People to understand how horses could be controlled - is raised almost as an afterthought. Oh, yeah, right, this is the silver bit series. Better work it in somehow.
And - maybe I'd get it if I had read the previous 5 books in the series - Running Eagle's grandfather is referred to by a rival tribe as "the hair-faced chief." While the term is descriptive, I have no idea why he has facial hair. Is he part Spanish? Is it natural for his people to grow facial hair? Don't know: never explained; doesn't add to the story.
Set in the Great Plains in the 1600s, this is the 6th book in a series about the early adoption of the horse by Native Americans. The story is told from the POV of a young woman, Running Eagle (let's use her chosen gender-free name) who challenges her band to accept her into a man's role. A skilled rider, runner, swimmer, marksman and battle strategist, she lacks only the physical strength of her male peers for hand-to-hand combat.
The book brings early NA culture to life and showcases the author's knowledge of horses, referred to by the People as Elk-dogs (delightful image, eh?). I was particularly impressed by the complete lack of white voices.
On the downside, the book picked up and dropped several threads. The silver bit - the piece of Spanish technology that enabled the People to understand how horses could be controlled - is raised almost as an afterthought. Oh, yeah, right, this is the silver bit series. Better work it in somehow.
And - maybe I'd get it if I had read the previous 5 books in the series - Running Eagle's grandfather is referred to by a rival tribe as "the hair-faced chief." While the term is descriptive, I have no idea why he has facial hair. Is he part Spanish? Is it natural for his people to grow facial hair? Don't know: never explained; doesn't add to the story.
May 23, 2015
Adrian handed me these books after telling me that this is his favorite series. I'm not too familiar with the western book genre, so I gave it a try.
Already a bit biased after Adrian's praises, this book is just what I needed. It was a quick read with 2-3 page chapters; perfect for breaks in between wrangling a one year old. The epitome of what I'd call a light read: entertaining plot, nothing too thought provoking, and with a tidy little end. Looking forward to breezing through the rest of the series.
Already a bit biased after Adrian's praises, this book is just what I needed. It was a quick read with 2-3 page chapters; perfect for breaks in between wrangling a one year old. The epitome of what I'd call a light read: entertaining plot, nothing too thought provoking, and with a tidy little end. Looking forward to breezing through the rest of the series.
October 26, 2011
still overwritten by about 50 pages, but a much better plot than the last installment of this series. and despite being about a woman warrior, it was pretty realistic and not annoyingly proto-feminist.
of course it ends predictably, which is kinda too bad, but you can't expect much from these, i suppose.
of course it ends predictably, which is kinda too bad, but you can't expect much from these, i suppose.
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November 26, 2007Coldsmith, Don
July 22, 2014
Can not wait to see what happens in the next book
January 29, 2016
Very good "Western" story. It's actually not like your normal American Western tale. Lots of nicely developed characters and a nice continuing storyline. Recommended
August 18, 2016
A different take on the normal Native American fiction books.
December 14, 2013
she was a prisoner, but she became their inspiration
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews