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rouver's review against another edition
3.0
This felt like a short story that was too long to include in [b:The Voices of Martyrs|29362866|The Voices of Martyrs|Maurice Broaddus|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461082361s/29362866.jpg|49608242]. Unfortunately, I wanted it to be a lot more fleshed out than it was. The setting was a slice of speculative fiction...what if United States was still controlled by England, Texas was an independent nation, and the native Americans were able to unify and prevent the westward expansion of the Europeans? Although, the world wasn't an exact duplicate...it was "Tejas" and England was "Albion", with a steampunk veneer to the whole thing. With an added dollop of futuristic DNA engineering that gave two characters mystical mental abilities. It took a long while to piece together what the setting was, and who the characters were. I'm familiar with authors throwing the reader headlong into the storyline & revealing everything simply through being immersed in the world, but it didn't work for me in this book. It felt like Broaddus was trying to fit a bunch of intriguing ideas into too short a book.
Broaddus always manages to write bits that I love, though:
"One day, all that will be left of us is our stories. When our tribe has become little more than a faded dream with only our tales left to shape our children and our children's children. But a story only needs a teller for it to be remembered. At night, when the road is free of travelers and the villages are silent, the dream of us will fil the land. There is no death, only movement between worlds.
Our stories live on after us."
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"When the powerless seek their own sense of control, 'crime' is what an unjust system produces"
Broaddus always manages to write bits that I love, though:
"One day, all that will be left of us is our stories. When our tribe has become little more than a faded dream with only our tales left to shape our children and our children's children. But a story only needs a teller for it to be remembered. At night, when the road is free of travelers and the villages are silent, the dream of us will fil the land. There is no death, only movement between worlds.
Our stories live on after us."
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"When the powerless seek their own sense of control, 'crime' is what an unjust system produces"
alexiachantel's review
3.0
An impressive short with complicated characters and even more complicated world. The steampunk aspects were a fun touch and I thoroughly enjoyed Desmond and Cayt. At the end I wished it were longer, which is the mark of a good short is it not?
mermahoney's review
3.0
I enjoyed the interesting alt-history steam-punk late-1800s (maybe?) sort-of-United-States that was developed, though I would have loved more details or development of some aspects. I would also have liked some more development of the relationship between the two main characters.
dani_k's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved all the little worldbuilding details in this, but it felt restrained by its format as a novella. I felt like I had missed out on something that had happened before the start of the story. Which is a shame because I wanted to know more about the Five Civilized Tribes and the ways in which this world was transitioning from the steam age to something very different from how technology in the real world developed.
aardwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Steampunky alternate history. Tense politicking. Introspective examinations of social and personal ills. Plus it does that thing where a grumpy old soldier type adopts a weird baby.
eol's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
cpatten89's review
5.0
Lovely novella
With amazing worldbuilding and even more interesting characters, Buffalo Soldier paints an alternate history of the Americas with a steampunk twist. Throw in some western-style action, ancestral stories, and an adorable Father-Son relationship, I wish I had more of this world to dig my teeth into.
With amazing worldbuilding and even more interesting characters, Buffalo Soldier paints an alternate history of the Americas with a steampunk twist. Throw in some western-style action, ancestral stories, and an adorable Father-Son relationship, I wish I had more of this world to dig my teeth into.
murderbot42's review
Book was scattered and all over the place. Couldn't connect to the characters.
notthatlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0