What do you think?
Rate this book
Woods Runner: Massacre at Schenectady, 1690
Hatchets swung up and down. Blood spattered across the snow. Flames shot up from the burning buildings, sending sparks spiraling up into the darkness. Indian war cries split the night, sending shivers up the spines of attackers and victims.One man, Jean Baptiste Giguere, stood in the middle of the chaos, questioning his role in the mayhem, his loyalties torn between the country who claimed this land, and his attachment to the new land itself.Before there was Canada or America, there was New France and New England. In the late 17th century the French and British fought for territory and riches in the new lands of North America.On the French side, among the soldiers and the Indians fighting for their country were men called the Woods Runners. Coureur de Bois, the men who became known as Voyageurs - tough, hard-bitten adventurers who shaped the course of two countries.
258 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2015
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 5, 2022
I would have given it a 3.5 if I could be more precise.
It is an interesting fictional account of a “woods runner” or coureurs des bois (explorer-trader) in early European-settled North America.
What works is the sense of excitement of exploring the New World, the description of day-to-day life of early adventurers and what a sympathetic view of indigenous characters. Having said this, I am not qualified to comment about the historical accuracy of the book nor whether the depictions of First Nations people are accurate.
The book includes some explicit sex and plenty of gruesome violence, something that while exciting for readers, may keep it off school reading lists which is a shame.
My only challenges with the book is that the author’s approach to time can be a bit confusing.
Each chapter is labelled with a day, month, and year from the late 1600’s. Since the author jumps back and forth in time (within a period of a few years, not time travel) and since the majority of the book focuses on canoe trips and battles with little to distinguish themselves from each other, it can take several sentences to figure out which year we are in for each chapter. If you don’t pay close attention to the year listed, it can be a little confusing.
The other issue is the author’s habit of providing great detail for some scenes (e.g. meeting a new tribe) and then immediately compressing the entire following winter or year into a single sentence. It contributed to me not being able to tell exactly where I was in the timeline of the book.
But these are minor issues. Overall, a good read.
It is an interesting fictional account of a “woods runner” or coureurs des bois (explorer-trader) in early European-settled North America.
What works is the sense of excitement of exploring the New World, the description of day-to-day life of early adventurers and what a sympathetic view of indigenous characters. Having said this, I am not qualified to comment about the historical accuracy of the book nor whether the depictions of First Nations people are accurate.
The book includes some explicit sex and plenty of gruesome violence, something that while exciting for readers, may keep it off school reading lists which is a shame.
My only challenges with the book is that the author’s approach to time can be a bit confusing.
Each chapter is labelled with a day, month, and year from the late 1600’s. Since the author jumps back and forth in time (within a period of a few years, not time travel) and since the majority of the book focuses on canoe trips and battles with little to distinguish themselves from each other, it can take several sentences to figure out which year we are in for each chapter. If you don’t pay close attention to the year listed, it can be a little confusing.
The other issue is the author’s habit of providing great detail for some scenes (e.g. meeting a new tribe) and then immediately compressing the entire following winter or year into a single sentence. It contributed to me not being able to tell exactly where I was in the timeline of the book.
But these are minor issues. Overall, a good read.
May 7, 2020
This book came to me after I published my own novel, Crucible Along the Mohawk, about the Schenectady Massacre. I was shocked at some of the similarities and greatly impressed by the level of historical accuracy the author put into it. The only drawback I found was the constant time jumps. They were a little tiresome. Beyond that it was a great novel.
May 8, 2017
Excellent Story
This story contains the excitement and history of the men who opened the western area of French Canada. The descriptions and dialogue are well-written. The action was all-in-one. I liked the characters.
This story contains the excitement and history of the men who opened the western area of French Canada. The descriptions and dialogue are well-written. The action was all-in-one. I liked the characters.
April 21, 2015
I was contacted by the author and asked to read this book in order to give it a fair and honest review. Needless to say, his email intrigued me when he included a passage about the novel's inspiration being his research into his family tree. Combining two of my favorite ways to pass time into one book, I was hooked by the time I finished the end of the first chapter. I needed to know more about Jean Baptiste and why he was with a large column of people marching through winter to enact revenge. It seemed a stiff penalty for whatever the English had done to the French - which wasn't revealed until the end of the book.
Jean Baptiste was the main character of the book. He was joined by two Native Americans which he considered brothers. Kitchi was a member of the Algonquin tribe, while Okemos was from the Sault tribe. Jean Baptiste, or Etchemin as he was known by the Saults, came to know both of the tribes as he spent more than half a year with each during his training to become a Woods Runner. The first introductions and the first time Jean Baptiste stayed with the Natives were pretty comical, especially when he stumbled over certain traditions and competitions that the Algonquin held. There were also some funny moments when he joined the Sault tribe, but not as many once he noticed that both tribes shared similar traditions. Many secondary characters filled the ranks of friends, family and enemies. Each group had their own distinct way of working in the fields or taking care of their families based upon their different belief systems. Yet, the strange mix of people worked well together until they were put under the increasing amount of stress during the return home from a long march during the harsh winter storms.
The overall story is broken into three periods of time - becoming a woods runner, heading south and heading north. Each of these periods were mingled throughout the book, but denoted at the beginning of each section along with the date. Although these sections weave in and out of the timeline, the overall story flowed well from past to present and back again. The pace of the story started strong and stayed very steady until the last word. Plenty of action kept the soldiers, Natives and woods runners moving on their trek to the English territory and back home. At times I wasn't sure which of their enemies was the worst - the weather, the warring tribes on their trail or the marching men themselves. Despite the grimness of the march, the author layered scenic descriptions around the action which helped to ease the long walk home. Along with the flashbacks to Jean Baptiste's beginnings as a woods runner, the land and large bodies of water played as much a role in the book as the characters themselves.
I really enjoyed this book for a few reasons. I liked that the inspiration was the author's own ancestor and what that ancestor may have had to endure during his lifetime. From doing research into my own family tree, I know that after a certain point in history that records become scarce. A lot of details were lost when not passed down through oral or written tradition. The author was able to recreate what might have been through research, creating a believable, unexplored world with characters easy to relate to and root for. There were many times that I forgot I was reading fiction because the author did a great job making them come to life. I also thought the balance between action and adventure was near perfect. It was so easy to keep reading whenever I needed to stop because I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters next. I will say one thing about the ending. I'm glad that there were some avenues left open. I'm excited to see what will be in store for Jean Baptiste and his exploration party. If you're looking for some historical fiction with plenty of action and adventure, then this is the book you need to get on your TBR list.
Jean Baptiste was the main character of the book. He was joined by two Native Americans which he considered brothers. Kitchi was a member of the Algonquin tribe, while Okemos was from the Sault tribe. Jean Baptiste, or Etchemin as he was known by the Saults, came to know both of the tribes as he spent more than half a year with each during his training to become a Woods Runner. The first introductions and the first time Jean Baptiste stayed with the Natives were pretty comical, especially when he stumbled over certain traditions and competitions that the Algonquin held. There were also some funny moments when he joined the Sault tribe, but not as many once he noticed that both tribes shared similar traditions. Many secondary characters filled the ranks of friends, family and enemies. Each group had their own distinct way of working in the fields or taking care of their families based upon their different belief systems. Yet, the strange mix of people worked well together until they were put under the increasing amount of stress during the return home from a long march during the harsh winter storms.
The overall story is broken into three periods of time - becoming a woods runner, heading south and heading north. Each of these periods were mingled throughout the book, but denoted at the beginning of each section along with the date. Although these sections weave in and out of the timeline, the overall story flowed well from past to present and back again. The pace of the story started strong and stayed very steady until the last word. Plenty of action kept the soldiers, Natives and woods runners moving on their trek to the English territory and back home. At times I wasn't sure which of their enemies was the worst - the weather, the warring tribes on their trail or the marching men themselves. Despite the grimness of the march, the author layered scenic descriptions around the action which helped to ease the long walk home. Along with the flashbacks to Jean Baptiste's beginnings as a woods runner, the land and large bodies of water played as much a role in the book as the characters themselves.
I really enjoyed this book for a few reasons. I liked that the inspiration was the author's own ancestor and what that ancestor may have had to endure during his lifetime. From doing research into my own family tree, I know that after a certain point in history that records become scarce. A lot of details were lost when not passed down through oral or written tradition. The author was able to recreate what might have been through research, creating a believable, unexplored world with characters easy to relate to and root for. There were many times that I forgot I was reading fiction because the author did a great job making them come to life. I also thought the balance between action and adventure was near perfect. It was so easy to keep reading whenever I needed to stop because I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters next. I will say one thing about the ending. I'm glad that there were some avenues left open. I'm excited to see what will be in store for Jean Baptiste and his exploration party. If you're looking for some historical fiction with plenty of action and adventure, then this is the book you need to get on your TBR list.
June 25, 2015
Before there was Canada or America, there was New France and New England. In the late 17th century the French and British fought for territory and riches in the new lands of North America.
On the French side, among the soldiers and the Indians fighting for their country were men called the Woods Runners. Coureur de Bois, the men who became known as Voyageurs - tough, hard-bitten adventurers who shaped the course of two countries.
I never read historical novels. So, clearly, I picked this story because of the author—not too unusual, that’s how 60% of books are chosen. I’d previously read two stories by Mr. Giguere, and they’d both been a lot of fun, but more importantly for this easily bored reader, they’d both been very different from each other and from anything I’d previously read. Woods Runner also hit home on both counts.
The action takes place in the late 1600s on the North American continent before it was named and partitioned into America and Canada and deals with the conflict between the English and French invaders and the Native American tribes that lived and thrived around the Great Lakes.
In an author’s note, Mr. Giguere explains that his family tree originated around this time and one of his ancestors was a scout who was involved in an infamous massacre at Schenectady, New York.
Had the story focused closely on the historical details of the massacre and the politics of the time, I would certainly have nodded off--did I mention I never read historical fiction? Instead, I was given a fascinating glimpse into a fictionalized life of a Woods Runner as he traded ironware for pelts with the native American tribes. When this Woods Runner offered his services as a scout and unwittingly aided in the massacre, I saw the brutality and futility from his viewpoint.
I was particularly struck by how realistically the weather and terrain of what is now southern Canada was portrayed. Ever present, Mother Nature controlled the lives and actions of the humans in the story so ubiquitously that it effectively became another character in the story. I have no idea how accurate the historical details were (and I certainly don’t plan to read a history book to find out), but the authority of the writing gives me confidence that the author truly captured life in the 1600s.
This was an engaging read that kept me involved throughout and taught me some history despite myself. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, I’m certain you will enjoy this novel even more than I did.
Disclaimer: This review was originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. I may have received a free review copy.
On the French side, among the soldiers and the Indians fighting for their country were men called the Woods Runners. Coureur de Bois, the men who became known as Voyageurs - tough, hard-bitten adventurers who shaped the course of two countries.
I never read historical novels. So, clearly, I picked this story because of the author—not too unusual, that’s how 60% of books are chosen. I’d previously read two stories by Mr. Giguere, and they’d both been a lot of fun, but more importantly for this easily bored reader, they’d both been very different from each other and from anything I’d previously read. Woods Runner also hit home on both counts.
The action takes place in the late 1600s on the North American continent before it was named and partitioned into America and Canada and deals with the conflict between the English and French invaders and the Native American tribes that lived and thrived around the Great Lakes.
In an author’s note, Mr. Giguere explains that his family tree originated around this time and one of his ancestors was a scout who was involved in an infamous massacre at Schenectady, New York.
Had the story focused closely on the historical details of the massacre and the politics of the time, I would certainly have nodded off--did I mention I never read historical fiction? Instead, I was given a fascinating glimpse into a fictionalized life of a Woods Runner as he traded ironware for pelts with the native American tribes. When this Woods Runner offered his services as a scout and unwittingly aided in the massacre, I saw the brutality and futility from his viewpoint.
I was particularly struck by how realistically the weather and terrain of what is now southern Canada was portrayed. Ever present, Mother Nature controlled the lives and actions of the humans in the story so ubiquitously that it effectively became another character in the story. I have no idea how accurate the historical details were (and I certainly don’t plan to read a history book to find out), but the authority of the writing gives me confidence that the author truly captured life in the 1600s.
This was an engaging read that kept me involved throughout and taught me some history despite myself. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, I’m certain you will enjoy this novel even more than I did.
Disclaimer: This review was originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. I may have received a free review copy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews