A review by random_spider
The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke

adventurous challenging dark informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

 ------Stat Score------

Plot/Content: 6/10
Characters/POVs: 7/10
Prose/Style: 6/10
Themes/Messages: 7/10
Enjoyability/Impact: 6/10

OVERALL RATING: 7/10 (good)

Good Western, and a pretty quick read as well. Nothing extraordinary and still is recommended, though I have some doubts about it.

"...Murdered him, except he would not die. Would not die, he vowed, because he would live to kill his killers."

Synopsis and/or Premise:
A tale of obsessive revenge defying human limitations. We follow the critically injured Hugh Glass setting out to venture into dangerous wilderness full of hostile inhabitants and the unforgiving nature, being fueled only by his sheer determination to let his betrayers pay.

The Good and The Bad:
The book had good themes that were unsurprisingly dark 🖤. I'm talking about Revenge, Obsession, Survival, Morality and Conscience, and The Fear of Unknown. They were handled competently and granted the book some delicious substance to supplement its simplistic narrative.

Being part Historical Fiction (HF) ⏳, it was successful in shedding life to various events within the early 19th century American West fur trade. Of courses the author took some creative liberty to a point, but was overall true to real life events (evident of the historical note behind the book — though I'm not an historian, so I can't scrutinize its accuracy.)

The characters, especially the major players, were nicely written. I believe most (if not all) were just mere two dimensional. But there's something complex about Hugh Glass, Captain Henry, and Jim Bridger that made them more human than the rest. It might be because of their backstory and their current to internal conflicts that made them relatable, or at least, human 👤.

Aside from not being afraid to exhibit nerve-wracking scenes, my favorite parts of the book were the gorgeous imageries (even worthy of being cinematographic.) If chunks of your plot included a motivated protagonist adventuring through the American woods, rivers, and plains, your book has got to have some epic sceneries that reflect both the beauty of the character and setting. The book accomplished it! There are two particular scene that were my favorite (MINOR SPOILER 🚨: The Wolf Standoff & The Winter Reunion) because they delivered with powerful dramatic/emotional tension for the character as well as giving a scenic ambiance. LOVE THEM ♥️.

Here are its major issues:

1. Dependent on expositions 📝- What I mean was that there's a lot of them...LIKE A LOT OF THEM. All of the backgrounds of major characters were delivered this way (paragraphs after paragraphs), and it slowed the plot as it does little to forward the narrative. There's also this annoying tendency of the author to detour from the story because he wanted to over explain some minor matters (like the process of some Indian crafts.)

2. Plot armor 🛡️- Honestly, I couldn't think of a book I've read where the main character had more plot armor than Hugh Glass himself. He defies reality as if some kind of a superhuman. But I guess the book kinda needed it to deliver the major themes (lessening my gripe.) However, I noticed an unpleasant consequence. Because Hugh Glass needs to NOT die, other characters around him requires to do so for some threatening events to have value. It could work well as an interesting take to the 'Plot-Armored Protagonist' if the characters around Hugh Glass were those that readers care about (examples are Captain Henry and Jim Bridger). But since the crucial plot consisted of him being separated to them, the best the author could do to remain realistic was to throw in some fodders to perish.

Final Thoughts:
The Revenant by Michael Punke is an adventurous HF and Western novel about a man coursing through the North American wilderness in order to get revenge on his betrayers. It's a bit anticlimactic at the end, though I think it's the correct move. I believe many of its flaws were stemmed to the fundamental dilemma of HF novels. They need to be respective of true historical events...but they also need to deliver a compelling story (which demands a creative plotline, conflicting with the purpose of authenticity.) So, attempting authors of HF novels were always on this fragile balance that necessitates finesse writing skills. Granted, this book wasn't that bad. And I think I need to watch the 2015 movie, hoping if my favorite scenes are present because they deserved some magnificent cinematography (please don't spoil in the comments.)

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Links to my ratings and reviews:
Goodreads reviews
The StoryGraph