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In a sprawling saga that begins in the final days of the Civil War and concludes while the American frontier is still being tamed, author Jaxx tells the story of Captain Alden Zur, his family and friends, and the often unforgettable people they meet on their road to a new life. After enduring four years of war, Captain Zur ventures west in a wagon train with his wife, Edda, and their sons, encountering new friends and menacing enemies, braving the elements, and surviving a disastrous bridge collapse that kills many of their fellow travelers. Eventually, the Zurs settle in Blueland, Colorado, where the savvy and industrious Alden builds one of the largest cattle ranches in the West. After several years, eldest son Levi sets off on his own adventure, a parallel narrative that takes him to San Francisco before returning him to Blueland as a range war threatens to destroy what his family has built.
This is a tale of tough and resilient people in an unforgiving country where violence is pervasive, and death can come suddenly. Frontier justice prevails. Murder insists on revenge. Gunfights replace trial by jury. A lot of territory is covered, beginning in Northern Virginia before making stops in Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada, California, and multiple places in between. There are a lot of characters, as well, but many of them meet untimely ends before one has forgotten their names. The author keeps a firm grip on the rest, moving them and the action-packed plot relentlessly forward. While the verbatim slang that was part of classic western literature may initially slow the reader's pace, once the eye has accommodated, the story moves briskly to a satisfying conclusion with pockets of lovely prose along the way that bring the Old West to life.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review