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A review by jmatkinson1
The Blood of Heaven by Kent Wascom
5.0
Angel Woolsack is the son of an itinerant Baptist preacher. Thrown off a riverboat without their belongings they pitch up in a scattered community of poor folk and minister to them. However Angel gets a girl pregnant and, when she is killed by her parents, his father turns on him so Angel escapes in the company of Sam Kemper becoming his adopted 'brother'. The Kemper brothers live outside the law in the frontier lands of West Florida until the Louisiana Purchase makes their land part of America but they have made enemies. Whilst Angel becomes rich and successful his life is not as straightforward as it could be.
The story of the Louisiana Purchase and life in the frontiers during the early 19th Century is not one which is often visited, for this reason I found the historical setting fascinating. However the quality of the writing of this book is what lifts it beyond mere historical fiction. This is Wascom's debut novel but it reads as though the author is an experienced hand who knows instinctively how to balance narrative, fantasy and fact with a very individual voice.
The story of the Louisiana Purchase and life in the frontiers during the early 19th Century is not one which is often visited, for this reason I found the historical setting fascinating. However the quality of the writing of this book is what lifts it beyond mere historical fiction. This is Wascom's debut novel but it reads as though the author is an experienced hand who knows instinctively how to balance narrative, fantasy and fact with a very individual voice.