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A review by paperbacksandpines
The Outlander by Gil Adamson
4.0
In 1903 a mysterious young woman flees alone across the West, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At nineteen, Mary Boulton has just become a widow—and her husband's killer. As bloodhounds track her frantic race toward the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and by the knowledge that her two ruthless brothers-in-law are in pursuit, determined to avenge their younger brother's death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, the widow retreats ever deeper into the wilderness—and into the wilds of her own mind—encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.
As I don't normally voluntarily seek out Westerns, I'm not the target audience for Charles Frazier or Cormac McCarthy but I'm glad I took the chance on this one.
I thought this book would be an adventure and it sure lived up to that assumption. But if you go into this one thinking that a knight in shining armor is going to save Mary, you'll be disappointed. Although many people helped out Mary along the way and certainly saved her hide, ultimately Mary saved herself. The antagonists in this story were certainly dangerous and they gave Mary a run for her money.
Adamson's writing is spare and character description and motivation is thorough. Although this novel runs dangerously close to literary fiction, there was enough plot and action to keep me interested.
As I don't normally voluntarily seek out Westerns, I'm not the target audience for Charles Frazier or Cormac McCarthy but I'm glad I took the chance on this one.
I thought this book would be an adventure and it sure lived up to that assumption. But if you go into this one thinking that a knight in shining armor is going to save Mary, you'll be disappointed. Although many people helped out Mary along the way and certainly saved her hide, ultimately Mary saved herself. The antagonists in this story were certainly dangerous and they gave Mary a run for her money.
Adamson's writing is spare and character description and motivation is thorough. Although this novel runs dangerously close to literary fiction, there was enough plot and action to keep me interested.