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Hemlock County #4
Thunder on the Mountain
A strike against an abusive oil company in Depression-era Pennsylvania threatens to lead to violence when there's a confrontation between strike leader W. T. Halvorson and company owner Daniel Thunner as professional strikebreaker Pearl Deatherage and CIO organizer Doris Golden arrive on the scene. Read by Norman Dietz. Book available.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
Audio Cassette
First published March 1, 1999
5 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
David Poyer
82 books241 followersAka D.C. Poyer.
DAVID C. POYER was born in DuBois, PA in 1949. He grew up in Brockway, Emlenton, and Bradford, in western Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1967. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1971, and later received a master's degree from George Washington University.
Poyer's active and reserve naval service included sea duty in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, Caribbean, and Pacific, and shore duty at the Pentagon, Surface Warfare Development Group, Joint Forces Command, and in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He retired in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976, and is the author of nearly fifty books, including THE MED, THE GULF, THE CIRCLE, THE PASSAGE, TOMAHAWK, CHINA SEA, BLACK STORM, THE COMMAND, THE THREAT, KOREA STRAIT, THE WEAPON, THE CRISIS, THE CRUISER, TIPPING POINT, HUNTER KILLER, DEEP WAR, OVERTHROW, VIOLENT PEACE, ARCTIC SEA, and THE ACADEMY, best-selling Navy novels; THE DEAD OF WINTER, WINTER IN THE HEART, AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER, THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN, and THE HILL, set in Western Pennsylvania; and HATTERAS BLUE, BAHAMAS BLUE, LOUISIANA BLUE, and DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA, underwater diving adventure.
Other noteworthy books are THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, a historical thriller, THE RETURN OF PHILO T. McGIFFIN, a comic novel of Annapolis, and the three volumes of The Civil War at Sea, FIRE ON THE WATERS, A COUNTRY OF OUR OWN, and THAT ANVIL OF OUR SOULS. He's also written two sailing thrillers, GHOSTING and THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE. His work has been published in Britain, translated into Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Hugarian, and Serbo-Croatian; recorded for audiobooks, iPod downloads, and Kindle, and selected by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and other book clubs. Rights to several properties have been sold or optioned for films, and two novellas appeared in the Night Bazaar series of fantasy anthologies.
Poyer has taught or lectured at Annapolis, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. He has been a guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America, and has appeared at the Southern Festival of Books and many other literary events. He taught in the MA/MFA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes University for sixteen years. He is currently core faculty at the Ossabaw Writers Retreat, a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a board member of the Northern Appalachia Review.
He lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore with novelist Lenore Hart.
DAVID C. POYER was born in DuBois, PA in 1949. He grew up in Brockway, Emlenton, and Bradford, in western Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1967. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1971, and later received a master's degree from George Washington University.
Poyer's active and reserve naval service included sea duty in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, Caribbean, and Pacific, and shore duty at the Pentagon, Surface Warfare Development Group, Joint Forces Command, and in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He retired in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976, and is the author of nearly fifty books, including THE MED, THE GULF, THE CIRCLE, THE PASSAGE, TOMAHAWK, CHINA SEA, BLACK STORM, THE COMMAND, THE THREAT, KOREA STRAIT, THE WEAPON, THE CRISIS, THE CRUISER, TIPPING POINT, HUNTER KILLER, DEEP WAR, OVERTHROW, VIOLENT PEACE, ARCTIC SEA, and THE ACADEMY, best-selling Navy novels; THE DEAD OF WINTER, WINTER IN THE HEART, AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER, THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN, and THE HILL, set in Western Pennsylvania; and HATTERAS BLUE, BAHAMAS BLUE, LOUISIANA BLUE, and DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA, underwater diving adventure.
Other noteworthy books are THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, a historical thriller, THE RETURN OF PHILO T. McGIFFIN, a comic novel of Annapolis, and the three volumes of The Civil War at Sea, FIRE ON THE WATERS, A COUNTRY OF OUR OWN, and THAT ANVIL OF OUR SOULS. He's also written two sailing thrillers, GHOSTING and THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE. His work has been published in Britain, translated into Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Hugarian, and Serbo-Croatian; recorded for audiobooks, iPod downloads, and Kindle, and selected by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and other book clubs. Rights to several properties have been sold or optioned for films, and two novellas appeared in the Night Bazaar series of fantasy anthologies.
Poyer has taught or lectured at Annapolis, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. He has been a guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America, and has appeared at the Southern Festival of Books and many other literary events. He taught in the MA/MFA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes University for sixteen years. He is currently core faculty at the Ossabaw Writers Retreat, a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a board member of the Northern Appalachia Review.
He lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore with novelist Lenore Hart.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 10, 2025
This was an interesting way to turn a historical fiction novel into a period drama. It was about the strike, but at the same time less about the strike than about what was happening around the characters. It really touched on alot of the issues positive and negative, personal and national. The boxing was an i teresting dynamic, but it seemed to maybe take on an oversized role. It did up the stakes and drama though. Overall, a solid historical drama.
April 17, 2021
Wonderful series. This one may be the best of the lot. Looking forward to reading more from Mr. Poyer.
August 25, 2014
This is not the first of Poyer's "Hemlock County" novels, but the fourth. Some might think it the best, though, as it takes on some major themes of American life and literature--labor history, masculinity and wilderness and violence, wealth and poverty, power and powerlessness and how a community reacts to economic pressure. Our grandparents fought through the union/unionbusting/labor violence of the 1930s, and this book brings that era to life in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania.
The prose vividly brings the era to life. It's a world of immigrants, hard work, and a lot of questions about what is right. You become immersed in the place and the people. The characters and the themes---so relevant still, today---will stay with you.
Each character has a social and psychological "place" in the Hemlock County community, producing a distinctive outlook and posing distinctive moral questions. As the old union song asks, "Which Side Are You On?" THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN puts us in the time, not so long ago, when answering that question was a life-and-death decision.
A grim story, but also a hopeful one. If you like historical novels, well-written and complex plots, political and economic history, regional novels, and/or serious literature about what happened in our past that created modern America, this is for you.
The prose vividly brings the era to life. It's a world of immigrants, hard work, and a lot of questions about what is right. You become immersed in the place and the people. The characters and the themes---so relevant still, today---will stay with you.
Each character has a social and psychological "place" in the Hemlock County community, producing a distinctive outlook and posing distinctive moral questions. As the old union song asks, "Which Side Are You On?" THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN puts us in the time, not so long ago, when answering that question was a life-and-death decision.
A grim story, but also a hopeful one. If you like historical novels, well-written and complex plots, political and economic history, regional novels, and/or serious literature about what happened in our past that created modern America, this is for you.
January 8, 2014
I am a lifelong resident of McKean County, PA…which when combined with Potter County is the setting of the Hemlock County series by David Poyer who lived in the area in his youth. The story follows Bill Holleran a young oil field worker and his involvement in the attempt to unionize the oil patch in 1936.
I believe that this novel is filled with many truths of those times. It is still whispered about town that there was a time of trouble for the local refinery that resulted in division of neighbors and families in the community that never healed.
The winter of 1936 was a brutal, a terrible time to be without paychecks for the families of striking workers in need of food and coal to heat their homes. Outsiders were hired by both sides of the conflict.
Poyer’s distinct descriptions of 1930’s oil patch equipment , the inhabitants and their clothing, food, and housing and the town are exceptional. He sprinkles in references state and national events and to the pop culture of the times.
A very good read…..just a bit long
I believe that this novel is filled with many truths of those times. It is still whispered about town that there was a time of trouble for the local refinery that resulted in division of neighbors and families in the community that never healed.
The winter of 1936 was a brutal, a terrible time to be without paychecks for the families of striking workers in need of food and coal to heat their homes. Outsiders were hired by both sides of the conflict.
Poyer’s distinct descriptions of 1930’s oil patch equipment , the inhabitants and their clothing, food, and housing and the town are exceptional. He sprinkles in references state and national events and to the pop culture of the times.
A very good read…..just a bit long
March 11, 2016
#4 in the Hemlock County series.
Hemlock County novels - W.T.Halvorsen, an oilfield worker in western PA, gets caught up with radical union organizer Doris Gurley Golden in a strike against the Thunder Oil Company. Owner Daniel Thunner brings in strikebreaker Pearl Deatherage.
Hemlock County novels - W.T.Halvorsen, an oilfield worker in western PA, gets caught up with radical union organizer Doris Gurley Golden in a strike against the Thunder Oil Company. Owner Daniel Thunner brings in strikebreaker Pearl Deatherage.
May 28, 2013
The first if his hemlock county books and it was very enjoyable.
November 18, 2014
great historical novel
April 15, 2017
Considering the subject matter it is disappointing that the characters never develop into real people that are sympathetic. Poyer's powers as a writer seem to be used to better effect in relating the workings of oil drilling, explosives or the descriptions of the mountainous terrain or snowy woods in the dead of winter. So in the end it all seems so soulless.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews