News of the World in Around the World in 80 Books

Mar 04, 2020 Jim rated it really liked it

Shelves: gr-friend-recommended, fiction, western

This book was a perfect example of why I don't read a lot of fiction. It's a formulaic road trip western where someone under someone else's care is being transported to a destination they may or may not want to go to, escorted by someone who may or may not be wild about taking them. The Homesman and True Grit are two examples of this subgenre. Naturally, they will encounter and overcome dangers along the way. It's a surefire formula for western success and this book is no exception. Jiles has cr This book was a perfect example of why I don't read a lot of fiction. It's a formulaic road trip western where someone under someone else's care is being transported to a destination they may or may not want to go to, escorted by someone who may or may not be wild about taking them. The Homesman and True Grit are two examples of this subgenre. Naturally, they will encounter and overcome dangers along the way. It's a surefire formula for western success and this book is no exception. Jiles has created a couple of believable and likeable characters thrust together for a legitimate purpose. Just the type of book I sink right into, normally, but....

Here's the thing: If you are going to include real historical figures and specific items in your book, get your facts straight! I hate being totally engrossed in a book and come across a bit of info that causes me to think; "whoa now, that can't be right!" It will immediately cause me to drop the book and hit the reference books instead. And if you're wrong, I'm going to research every damn thing you put in the book, and let's hope it's a short book.

Look, I'm no hard guy...I'm perfectly willing to have you make up a name for a bad guy and tell me he's bad...I want to believe...just don't tell me Billy the Kid shot someone in 1855 with a Colt Peacemaker...the Kid wasn't born yet and neither was the peacemaker. I'm content to know that your fictional badman shot someone with a revolver, let me provide the details.

But no, Paulette did a bunch of research and wanted to impress us with her knowledge and made me run to do research again and again and again, and I'm calling her out on it. Bear in mind the events in this book occur in 1870. I'm going to give her a pass on two things: The Captain is loaned a Smith & Wesson revolver. This just came out in a major caliber in 1870, so the chances of one getting into his hands are less than zero, but it's close enough to pass on. A single shot bolt-action 20 gauge shotgun? In 1870? I guess just because I don't know of one and can find no reference to such a critter, it doesn't preclude the possibility of its existence. But stuffing the shells with dimes to get a 200 yard range from the projectiles? Not happening. To begin with, 20 gauge shell has a diameter of .615", and the seated Liberty dime of 1870 is .704 " in diameter. It won't fit. And if it did fit, 200 yards is a laughably ambitious range; you're lucky to get that range out of a rifled slug.

On page 106 she refers to a bad guy wearing a heavy leather glove on his left hand because his Henry rifle had no "floor stock". I assume she meant forestock, and she's right: the 1860 Henry had none, but no glove was needed due to the tubular magazine running under the length of the barrel; I've frequently fired 10 rounds rapid from mine with full loads of FFFG and, while the barrel warms up some, it certainly doesn't require a glove. Then on page 114 she mentions that "he stank of cordite", a substance that wouldn't be in existence for almost 20 years and wasn't a component of black powder. She also anticipated the invention of the .45 "Long Colt" by two years.

Want more anachronisms? On page 124 she mentions that returned captives Cynthia Parker and Temple Friend had starved themselves to death after being returned to white society. Trouble is, both were still alive in 1870. She also alludes to the Horrell-Higgins feud, which wouldn't properly get under way for another three years.

I was going to rate this book a little lower, 3 stars maybe, but Jiles has crafted her main characters with such care that the story was able to hold my interest even though I knew half of what I was reading was questionable. A likeable western that even misinformation couldn't kill. ...more

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May 17, 2017 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 100-best-of-21st-c, historical-fiction, literary-schmiterary, wouldnt-normally-read, era-mid-late-1800s, western, era-civil-war, coming-of-age, why-no-quotation-marks

He had thought he was done raising daughters. As for protecting this feral child he was all for it in principle but wished he could find somebody else to do it.

I was surprised by how much I liked this. It is completely enchanting. The writing style took a little bit of getting used to, but once I did, I was fully immersed in the story and I cared deeply for the characters (including his horses, Pasha and Fancy), even for characters we meet for just a few pages.

Not much of a review, I know. ...more

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Mar 26, 2017 Katie rated it really liked it

Shelves: female-author, historical-fiction, native-american

This book takes place in Texas during Reconstruction. A veteran of multiple wars who now travels around Texas reading newspapers to crowds agrees to return a young girl, Johanna, to her family after she was rescued from the Kiowa, who had captured her as a very young child. Johanna remembers nothing of her life before being captured by the Kiowa. The customs and language of the Kiowa have become her own. The book follows the two as they travel through Texas on the way back to Johanna's family. T ...more

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