Savage Wilderness

by Harold Coyle

In the New World in the 1750s, British forces and American colonial militias wage battles against French troops and Indian tribes

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, War, 18th Century, American History, Novels

519 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 2, 1997

About the author

Harold Coyle is an American author of historical, speculative fiction and war novels including Team Yankee, a New York Times best-seller.He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1974 and spent seventeen years on active duty with the U.S. Army.He lives in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical fiction about the French and Indian War by Harold Coyle, who is excellent at depicting soldiers and describing battles. The story is told mainly from the viewpoints of four men. The most interesting character for me is the Frenchman, Ensign Anton de Chevalier. The others are a Scotsman, who settles in Virginia and joins the militia under a young colonial colonel (George Washington), a British officer, and an American Native warrior. There are two major woman characters--an Irish indentured servant and the daughter of a wealthy colonial merchant.
I have to say I had some sympathy for the French side, mainly because most of the Native people supported the French. I actually think it's too bad that the French lost their whole empire in North America. It wouldn't have been so bad if they could have kept Louisiana or at least a part of present-day Canada...

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly had me thinking about a period of American history often ignored by novelists, The French and Indian War. I can honestly say that I have only read two novels about that epic struggle and that includes The Last of the Mohicans.
There were certain problems with this book that kept me from rating it higher. First, I really did not get the motivation of the Scotsman fighting in the service of the English crown. Sure, I know that he was a Jacobite and a veteran of the Battle of Culloden, but why he would even consider killing English officers; I did not understand.
Second, the Englishman Thomas struck me as a bit shallow and arrogant, although he did have his moments of comedic bravery. The only character I really enjoyed was the thoughtful French artillery officer Anton de Chevalier. I also wish we would have gotten more insight into the historical personages of the time such as Marquis De Montcalm, General Braddock and Colonel George Washington of the Royal American Militia.
I have read Harold Coyle writes terrific battle accounts and I really cannot dispute this. He balanced a single soldier's point of view with a broader picture of the movements of men and horse that a reader really can follow.
What I found particularly surprising in this book was a very dark and negative portrayal of Native Americans. I had to check to make sure that this book was written in 1997 because it seemed more like something from the 1950's. Drums Along the Mohawk comes to mind. I understand and feel that I am less gullible than the average readers to the atrocities of frontier warfare. I know the tribes could torture and butcher beyond what the modern sensibilities of political correctness would allow; but this book failed to present one single Native American in a sympathetic light. I would hope for a more scholarly look at the cultures and races in this day and age.
The novel gives a great overview of the time period and the geography of the continent from the European point of view. The maps were well drawn and helpful. From what I could tell, the history was accurate and chronological. I would encourage anyone to read this book; but advise them to take be wary of the sweeping generalities of the tribesmen of the North American frontier.

[Sarthak Parashar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was just going to give a 5 star rating and be on my way but when I saw how few reviews it has, I thought about doing this book some justice.
This novel has one of the most realistic portrayals of war and that is what got me hooked to it from the very beginning. But of course, that is not the only good thing about this wonderful story by Harold Coyle. You know how some stories have multiple protagonists and how everything that happens around them is all in an effort to bring them together in a forced, larger than life climax. Well, that is not the case here. The story has some beautifully crafted characters, all leading their own lives with their own ambitions and fears and when their paths cross it's in the most subtle and yet profound way. Grab a copy and read one of the most underrated novels out there.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Coyle worked long and hard to create fictional characters for this novel about what we in America normally call the French and Indian Wars. Unfortunately, with only one or two exceptions, his characters are of little note and don't really launch the reader properly into the conflict. In fact, Coyle glosses over the actual causes of the conflict so quickly that unless the reader is a bit more familiar with the historical overview, he might even miss what the conflict was really about. Instead, Coyle tries to focus on the Ohio Valley theater of the conflict and though his battle scenes are well-written, his characters have no real reason to be devoted to the conflict other than seeking glory or getting paid for serving in the military. Having so little invested (at least until the end of the book) Coyle is unable to convince the reader that the characters would really go and fight, and stay, and fight some more. Towards the end of the novel, Coyle feels the need to introduce some additional romantic interests for several of the characters, but he leaves the reader feeling like, "who cares if these guys find love or not."

While I complain about Coyle's character development, the one character he does develop, Ian MacPherson, is an interesting character and the reader gain actually become interested in his fight for survival and his feelings about the conflict.

There were several times I felt like chucking this book in the trash and giving up. I carried on, like a good soldier, hoping to be rewarded with a big climactic ending.. Instead, the war was just suddenly over in an epilogue. I felt cheated.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's "Team Yankee." Perhaps the author should remain grounded in fictional war settings and leave the historical novels to those who can make them come alive. this one turned out to be a waste of time.

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harold Coyle should have changed his name to James Coyle because he was trying to be of the saga James (Michner or Clavell), but he just doesn't quite have the writing chops to do it. Not that I am a huge fan of Michner or Clavell, but they do tell fairly interesting stories. Coyle's Savage Wilderness bored me. There were way too many narrative voices, but I was never anxious to get back to any of them. I was excited to read a novel about the French and Indian War, but this was not terrible informative and certainly not terribly interesting. I will say the battle scenes were done fairly well.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical fiction.

[David Haddon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical novel giving solid military history background to the French and Indian War in North America south of the St. Lawrence River.

Harold Coyle has been one of my favorite authors for 30+ years, and this book reminded me why. Great insights into a period that has generally been skimmed over in American/Canadian fiction.

If you enjoyed the movie "Last of the Mohicans", with Daniel Day Lewis from the 1990s, this book will be a good fit for you.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a historical fiction novel that covers the colonial war in America known as The French and Indian War. The time is the 1750s and 1760s. America was a colony of England at that time. France had colonized much of present day Canada. England and France competed against each other as they each wanted to dominate the North American colonies. This competition became a full scale war in 1754. During this war, each side had Indian allies. This novel covers a personal story about a member of each ally. So, there is, a French Army Lieutenant, an English Army Lieutenant, a Virginian militia member and an Indian warrior allied with the French in this story. The author’s characters are well developed and realistically portrayed. They have genuine human characteristics and personalities. How this war impacts their individual lives is the nuts and bolts of this novel. Because this historical novel is primarily a human story it is very interesting. How and why these characters react to the situations they are placed in is intriguing as the reader cannot help but speculate how they would have reacted to if they were in the character’s shoes. The author’s descriptions of places, events and human emotions are thoroughly detailed and well done. The combat scenes are very detailed, and the brutality of this war is made abundantly clear.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started and stopped this book a couple of times. It was a really long and boring listen. In addition, the script reader never learned to pronounce the letter "R" and should be forced to watch that episode of Sesame Street 100 times. The plot was long and boring and consisted of many battle scenes...well, duh, it was about the seven years war between Britain and France (maybe others); it played out in what is now the Eastern USA through the eyes of several on both sides of the conflict. The story was plodding and plodding. Don't know if more Coyle is in my future?

[David Cuatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good description of the French and Indian war as seen through the eyes
of soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Descriptions of campaigns and battles
are realistic and exciting. I didn't find the personal dramas and romances of
the characters as engaging as I did the action scenes, but that is rather typical
of the genre. Overall, a very good read whether you are knowledgeable of the time
period or not.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story. Misspelled words are a problem.

I would have given this book five stars, but there were to many misspelled words that took you out of story. Example "comer" was I believe to be "corner" and some words I just had to guess the word.
It was a good story, but the misspelled words were a big distraction.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a fabulous story. I never understood what happened with the French-Indian War till I read this and I am a history buff. I love the characters on all 3 sides, the Scotsman, the Frenchman and the English. It ends as if the next book will be about the Revolution but I could not find one as I searched. Disappointed on that score.

[Wes F · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Harold Coyle book--trying to read through all the books on our current shelves before we depart on/around Dec 15, 2025. This was a very interesting read--historical fiction--on the years of the French & Indian War in pre-revolutionary America. Well-developed characters with some very gritty (& grisly, at times), well-narrated battle scenes.

[Christina M. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of Harold's novels and found how amazing he ties actual historical facts into

A great storyline. I can't for Amazon to get more of his novels in the kindle format. I am a great fan of his writing.

[Daleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savage Wilderness is a well written historical fiction about the French and Indian war. It follows four people as they fight this war. It is not a pretty as it depicts the graphic violence of war in a time of muskets, tomahawks, and just pure hatred of war. It was very well written.

[Greg Hollingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Own Kindle ed.

[Brian Steppens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful! I had to check to see if I'd downloaded a mills and boon by mistake. It was plodding, farfetched and predictable. The spelling/grammatical mistakes on almost every page became a distraction.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Carl Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical fiction. Overall, the book was a good real with several storylines/plots weaved throughout. It was a little slow at times but believable.

[Leonardo Munoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book was great. A battle near the end had me sobbing. Great characters and awesome battles

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written fictional account of American history before the Revolutionary war. The time period covered is the war between the French and the English over the New York and Virginia territories. It seemed to me that the book moved somewhat slowly, however that being a small criticism, this is a very interesting read about American history.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite book based in the French and Indian War. Much more enjoyable then Last of the Mohicans.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book tossed into the "recyle" bin while sorting donations at my Library-yellowed pages, bent cover-but it called to be read, at least once more.

This is a story of The French and Indian War, which I have read little of. Also Harold Coyle is a new author for me. I enjoyed his story-telling immensely, in a way it reminded me of Herman Wouk's War and Remembrance.

There are multiple characters(protagonists) in the story, but they blend so well together it never got confusing and it was always believable that these people would cross each others landscapes in the world. You have the British colonies fighting New France colonies with each side having support from the mother country and the Native Americans. (Actually the Native Americans were only fighting for themselves-but they did join forces with the colonists-they just wanted everyone gone, and who could blame them?) All for owner ship of the the forks of the Ohio River.

This man can write war and battle! So descriptive it could make the squeamish shutter, yet you know in your heart that these awful acts of men, during this period in American history, did occur. However, the story has a bit of romance tossed in to even things out and the characters are so well written!

This was a a great find and a great read!