Historical Fiction Reads

It's been a while since I posted anything, so I'll try to catch up on what I've read the past several weeks!


Flight of the Hawk: The Plains by W. Michael Gear

The second book in the series, Where Tylor leaves the Missouri River to set off into the plains, still running from the bounty on his head. I didn't like this one as much. It was a lot of descriptions of grass, and not the actual story didn't pick up until the very end. The introduction of Native American characters made it feel more like the Gears' People books, which is not what I was looking for in this one. Still, I enjoyed the return of McKeever.

281 pages




People of the Fire by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear

I've been enjoying these books. They are a bit predictable, but I enjoy reading about the way Native Americans lived. I love the fact that this series is written by an archaeologist couple, and you can definitely tell they've done the research and been on the digs. The final scene with the wildfire is excellent! This is a fun escapist read to America's distant past.

480 pages




The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

More of an alternative history novel, as the main characters use magic conduction, but still a solid depiction of the bigotry of southern aristocracy and injustice of slavery. Definitely check out the audiobook of this one, because the reader is amazing! He even sings the work songs, which saves me the trouble of looking them up on Youtube. I love historical fiction, because it leads me to look up and learn about history I didn't know about.

403 pages

Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener

I remember reading this one in middle school, but I did NOT pick up on half the history or the adult references as I did this time around. This book is so good, I felt like I was actually touring around the Pacific Islands alongside these men. Michener does a great job at depicting the boredom of officers, the interactions with islanders, and of course, the horrors of war-which makes sense, I suppose, since he lived it. I feel like too many novels about WWII focus on the European theater, so it's nice to get the other perspective. A true masterpiece!

384 pages



P.S. Did you know atabrine (the yellow malaria tablets passed out by Atabrine Benny) is closely related to chloroquine?