jeanetterenee's review against another edition
I read a little over half of this long, densely-written book. I wasn't looking forward to continuing, but I kept thinking I should finish because I'd invested so much time in it already. But I told myself I wasn't gonna do that this year. So, permission granted to let it go. It's not a bad book. He just tries to cover too much time and too many characters, such that none of it feels real and the characters are underdeveloped.
stanl's review
5.0
This narrative of family saga, in the vein of Peter Matthiesen's trilogy, Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone, continues James Carlos Blake's attention to the intertwining of crime and violence and the dynamic of family and national histories. Never preachy or overly obvious, Blake's work reminds one of how foundational and inseparable the spilling of human blood appears to be in the quest for wealth and prosperity, particularly when set free from community-ordained government and covenant.Both the conditions and the cost set forth in the acquisition of land, power, and money seamlessly intertwine with his characters, offering an unblinking and unsentimental presentation of how some try to make their way to an unencumbered state of material well-being and protection from life's exigencies.
vkemp's review
5.0
Part family saga, part wild west thriller, this is not your grandfather's Louis L'Amour western novel. James Carlos Blake tells the story of two sets of twins who move through time and focus on the events that define his family history. Born of the pirate, Roger Blake Wolfe, six months after he left their mother, Mary Parham, Samuel and Roger Wolfe have a wanderlust and need for fortune in their blood. Samuel ends up in Mexico, fighting in the Mexican War and Roger attends Dartmouth. Roger and Samuel are befriend by Little, a mysterious business man and meet Porfirio Diaz, the president of Mexico. Duels, lovely ladies and excitement ensue. Alma Rodriquez marries Samuel and another set of twins, Sebastian and John, are born. They end up in Texas after running from the law in Mexico. Samuel also begats a bastard son, Blake Cortez, sealing the fate of the twins. Blake writes in a style that is part epic western and part history, but with pathos and humor. Great characters along with skillful shifts in tone and ambition mark this book as a new development for Blake's writing style.
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