Kazuo Ishiguro was interviewed in the New York Times recently since the Buried Giant just came out and he said, surprise, that he likes Westerns. He mentioned a few of the greatest and this one that I hadn't read. It's pretty good. Westerns can be very direct, almost like poetry, and if there is anything that you find slightly out of place or unbelievable, there is no place for it to hide. ( )

Fleeing through the territory of New Mexico, Nat Swanson tries to stay ahead of the three riders who want to hang him for killing their friend in a Texas fight that Nat feels was fair. Passing by two overturned wagons surrounded by about 30 Apaches, he feels compelled to help the elderly woman he sees hiding behind one of the wagons. Told by Sister St. Agnes that he has been sent by God to save them, Nat quickly wishes he were continuing on to California, especially when he realizes there are a total of three nuns and seven children to be rescued. The sister's absolute belief that this man will save them places a burden on Nat that he's never before felt; it also forces him to act beyond his normal expectations as he attempts to pull off a miracle. While the Apache warrior Locan dreams that everyone's fate lies with water, the lifeblood of the desert, the besieged group seems doomed to die of dehydration. In a chilling, turnabout ending, Locan's dreams come true. Nat, a nonstereotypical loner, is juxtaposed against curmudgeonly old Sister St. Agnes, who is filled with love and faith

Read terrifically by Rob Campbell. Somehow the calm monotone reflects the vast landscape in which the drama plays out. Big landscape and sky, small cast of characters in the empty wastes, and the slow turning of day into night and back again over 5 days. ( )

I had never heard of the author, and I had never heard of the book but the blurb sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I am really glad I did, and after finishing went an bought the next 2 books in the series.

Nat Swanson is your typical tough cowboy, a man who knows how to look after himself and survive in the desert wilderness. He has killed a man in a fight in Texas and has left with a band of the deceased friends hot on his trail with revenge on their mind, slowed up with a bullet wound in his leg he heads towards a new life. As he makes his way across the burning desert he spies a caravan than has been attacked by Apachee, he decides to quickly help and shoots one of the indians. However, he spots a woman still alive but feels the situation is hopeless and he moves on, but it plays on his mind and soon finds himself returning to help. What he finds though are 7 orphans and three nuns, can he use all his wits and knowledge of both Indians and the surrounding environment to save them and himself? The nuns, led by Sister Agnes, believe Swanson has been sent by God to save them... Swanson is not so sure.

Okay, so here's the crunch... the ending was about as probable as me winning the lottery 3 weeks in a row, and just seemed so over the top that even a James Bond film would think twice about using it. But that doesn't matter because the quality of the writing and the fullness of the characters is more than enough to make the reader overlook it. If you can sit back and persuade yourself that that the last chapter could really happen then you are in for a stormer of a read.

The descriptions of the landscapes are second to none and you really feel as if you are there. For fans of Westerns and also those that enjoy the hard boiled noir style books. ( )

A cowboy riding west for a fresh start comes across wagons being attacked by red indians. He could ride on or be foolhardy & try to help.

Not for a long time have I felt so invested in a novel’s characters as I did with this small well-drawn cast, willing Nat, the nuns & the children on.

Edison brings the harsh terrain & story to life. He appalled me with descriptions of shocking torture & made me cry more than once, wringing my emotions. Great characterisations of both the westerners & their tormentors. And a novel that in its few pages shows the worst of being human, but also huge-heartedly the power of the human spirit (oh, and the bond between man & dog).

I couldn’t guess the outcome, and read throughout with equal measures of hope and dread. ( )