Lure of the Wild

Wilderness #2

by David Robbins

In 1828, although the United States had only been in existence for fifty years, some cities were already bustling metropolises. Beyond the Mississippi River, however, lay a vast region unexplored by white men. There nineteen-year-old Nathaniel King and a rugged mountain man named Shakespeare McNair headed fro a rendezvous of trappers and fur traders in the Rocky Mountains. But hostile Utes and Blackfeet Indians pursued them relentlessly, determined to have their scalps. Despite the protection of a friendly band of Shoshone, Nathaniel and his companion faced a peril that might mean not the end of the quest for freedom, but the end of their lives.

Genres: Westerns, Adventure, Action

Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1990

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L....

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the events of book one in the Wilderness series, King of the Mountain, 19-year-old Nate King now finds himself way out west in the Rocky Mountain wilderness, learning the ins and outs of how to survive in the wilds. His tutor is a man who goes by the name of “Shakespeare” due to his penchant for always quoting the bard as a way to illustrate sparks of wisdom. Nate, however, is torn between his new, temporary life and his prior expectations from back east where he planned to become an accountant and marry a rich society girl.

Nate and Shakespeare spend the entirety of this novel making their way to the Rendezvous where they plan to meet up with numerous other trappers and fur traders in the region. Their path is complicated by numerous Indian encounters, especially among the friendly Shoshone and the vicious Blackfeet. There is a lot of fighting action in these encounters and Nate is able to prove himself a pretty good warrior despite his lack of experience. Further complications arise when Nate saves a pretty Shoshone maiden and earns her respect as well as her father, the tribe's chief. All along the journey, Shakespeare teaches Nate about Indian culture and honor, emphasizing the myriad differences to be found among different tribes. While Nate is horrified at some of what he learns, he also realizes he is gradually coming to appreciate a life lived in that way. Freedom is a treasure beyond gold and riches.

This series is shaping up to be a fun read all the way through. The relationship between Nate and Shakespeare is great to watch unfold. I don’t know if the quality will remain as good or if the series will peter out at some point, but I am very pleased with these first two entries. I have read other David Robbins (the real name behind the David Thompson pseudonym) novels before and have always enjoyed them, so I have high hopes for future entries in this series as well. So far, at least, it’s important to read them in order. We’ll see if that hold true later on or if they become more episodic.

[Tom Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review — Wilderness #2: Lure of the Wild by David Thompson (David Robbins)

The second installment of the Wilderness series is another road show in which our hero, former NYC accountant Nate King continues his lessons in frontier life while traveling on a horseback journey with a different mountain man mentor.

In this installment, Nate’s teacher is a bard-quoting experienced frontiersman nicknamed Shakespeare. They are on their way to an annual rendezvous of trappers and mountain men when they encounter several varieties of Indian - both hostile and friendly.

In fact, the whole novel is a series of violent, gory battles with Indians separated by a masterclass in 1800s Native American culture and norms taught by Shakespeare. Not knowing much about American Indian ways, I can only assume that the author did his homework and got it mostly right. In any case, there were plenty of interesting Indian factoids shoehorned in between the scalpings and the gunplay.

Along the way, Nate also meets an Indian girl named Winona who has her eyes on Nate as possible husband material despite a vast cultural chasm. The possibility of feelings and romance between the two seemed unbelievable by modern standards, but I guess that was the whole point of the storyline.

Wilderness #2 is a great action novel, and the battle scenes are sufficiently violent and bloody to keep the reader hooked. The interpersonal drama between Nate and the Indians he encounters is never dull and the newly-introduced characters are compelling and nuanced.

The only criticism is that the author seems to be taking his time in telling the overarching story of Nate’s evolution from dandy urban bookkeeper to master of the wilderness. I was excited to see what happens at the Mountain Man Rendezvous, but it seems I’ll have to wait until Book #3 to enjoy that story.

[HornFan2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I owe my love of reading Mountain Man novels, a niche in the Western genre to the late Terry C. Johnston and his beloved Titus Bass character.

This was a series published under the now defunct Leisure Westerns, part of Dorchester Publishing, written by David Robbins using a pseudo name David Thompson. Being a former club member, glad to have part of the Wilderness series, and excited to see that it's back in print as ebooks. Since I've found, finding the editions of the Wilderness Series that I lacked, extremely hard to find used and still in decent shape.

It's 1828, Nate King's a greenhorn, being mentored by Shakespeare McNair, they are headed to the rendezvous for trapper's and fur traders held in the Rocky Mountains. The two are carrying a years worth of trappings with them, which they trade for supplies, they'll do a little drinking and socializing before they head back into the mountains.

Along the way they come to the aid of Shoshone Indians, being led by Black Kettle, who are fighting another rival tribe the Blackfeet and they ultimately defeat their rivals at a great loss.

Shakespeare teaches Nate the way of Indians, who ends up coming to the aid of a maiden, which enables the other women and children to escape and she'll ends up being Black Kettle's daughter.

Nate ends up promising Black Kettle he'll marry Winona, they get hitched and continue onto the rendezvous. Can't wait to see how their relationship grows in the coming editions, definitely a worth author to read and this is a great series, if you ever wanted to give the Western genre a try.

[*Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lure of the Wild
#2 Wilderness
4*

I alternated between the paperback copy and listening to an audio version narrated by Rusty Nelson produced by Books in Motion out of Spokane, WA. (Rusty's voice was made for westerns, by the way.)

Despite experiencing some underlying guilt about how we continue to romanticize the colonization of the West and ignoring what that meant for its original inhabitants, as well as the pseudo-masculine glee surrounding endless battles with and between the Shoshone and Blackfoot tribes, I still got caught up in the story and with the memories it stirred of watching westerns with my (now deceased) dad.

Although this is written for adults and has mature themes (mainly bloodshed), it still maintains a simple and wholesome feel. If this series had been written in the late 70s, even as a young girl I would have enjoyed it much more than the standard Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys type of books which were standard back then for younger readers. I know there shouldn't be any real delight in celebrating Manifest Destiny and all its resulting carnage, but these stories are still fun to read when you experience them as they were meant--simply as adventure stories. This is entertaining western fiction.

[sarg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a continuation of "The king of the mountain " Nate kings initiation into mountain man life. With his first battle with an Indian tribe. These are short quick reads that I use in between my longer more complex books. Maybe 125 pages and an easy read

[Garth Mailman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilderness #2
Lure Of The Wild
David Thompson, Rusty Nelson (Illustrator)

Westward migration of the sort Nate King indulged in was about escaping the constrictions of Eastern Society. The lack of laws and taxes, police and military meant that protecting your life and possessions was a personal matter and ruffians and thieves ranged widespread. Indians resenting the incursion on their ancestral lands considered the only good migrant a dead one and the migrants returned the compliment.

Hence this account involves violence and death on a regular basis.

We learn of the fate of Nate’s uncle and the exploits of Shakespeare. Nate’s meeting with Winona and their unusual nuptials.

[Lisbeth Zabihi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dette er en lidt sjov serie om en ung mands rejse fra det civiliserede New York til det vilde Rocky Mountains.

På mange måder virker Nate King utrolig barnlig, men når fjenden banker på, viser hans indre vildmand sig.

Jeg ved ikke om jeg får læst alle 50+ bøger i serien, men foreløbig hænger jeg ved.

[pollymuz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Love where this series is going.

[Mgsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of the era (Mountain Men)this book was a fun read. Although I actually read the book out of sequence, I have not read book #1 I enjoyed reading the story; it does stand alone as a story.
I definitely will read the rest!

[Larry Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, and series

[Scott Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first, but it's still a fun series so far. On to book 3!