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White Indian #19
Fallen Timbers
A battlefield where a nation will be lost or won . . . A Seneca warrior who risks his honor to keep a country free . . . in a bigger bolder novel of the American Frontier. — THE DEATH - The sunlit days when America's forests and bountiful waters belonged to the Seneca have become a long, dark night of war. Death songs pierce the heart and war who... more »ops chill the blood as the fiercest fighters ever born meet for one last council to decide the fate of the five Iroquois nations and the new United States. And when the die is cast, RENNO, namesake of the legendary White Indian, will begin his long, perilous journey toward Fallen Timbers . . . a place of glorious dreams, bloody reckoning - and consummate evil.
THE BIRTH - Strong in his prime, invincible with his weapons, Renno has one vulnerable spot; his heart. At his side are the sacred manitous and a beautiful warrior woman, but in his soul is a new darkness. Now, an evil shaman hides behind the cowl of the wolverine, deadly enemies gather at his longhouse's door, and only the cry of a newborn child - and the singing of the war ax - can save the White Indian and all he loves.
THE BIRTH - Strong in his prime, invincible with his weapons, Renno has one vulnerable spot; his heart. At his side are the sacred manitous and a beautiful warrior woman, but in his soul is a new darkness. Now, an evil shaman hides behind the cowl of the wolverine, deadly enemies gather at his longhouse's door, and only the cry of a newborn child - and the singing of the war ax - can save the White Indian and all he loves.
342 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
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118 people want to read
About the author
Donald Clayton Porter
54 books61 followersThe Colonization of America series was renamed to The White Indian Series with Book V, Renno.
1914-1988.
Noel B. Gerson
aka
Anne Marie Burgess, Samuel Edwards, Leon Phillips, Donald Clayton Porter, Dana Fuller Ross (with James Reasoner)
1914-1988.
Noel B. Gerson
aka
Anne Marie Burgess, Samuel Edwards, Leon Phillips, Donald Clayton Porter, Dana Fuller Ross (with James Reasoner)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 11, 2021
I wanted to read this book primarily because of its setting: America in the 1700s, soon after the Revolution. The aspect of an Indian perspective was also intriguing. Unfortunately, though I really enjoyed the historical facts and figures littering the story, I did not enjoy the negative content--sexual, violent, and demonic.
Setting: Yes, I loved the setting, and it wouldn't have been hard for the book to earn at least four stars. A map in the beginning of the book shows Ohio in 1794, the year of the battle of Fallen Timbers. The prologue shows an early American government, presenting Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson. National issues are immediately presented, which I always love. Then the reader meets Renno and the rest of the Indian community. Their culture, vastly different from European culture, is well presented. The different opinions of the Indians, their perspectives and traditional way of life, was nicely shown, eliciting a good amount of empathy.
The setting in terms of the series, the White Indian family, etc., was much harder to unravel. Conclusion? You cannot drop in the middle of the White Indian series and expect to understand all the relationships of the characters. Many aspects of this book made me want to pick up the previous books--but many other aspects made me decide this author isn't the most edifying to read.
Aspects, for example, like Renno's and the other Indians' spirituality. I of course understand the the native Americans were not Christians, and that they engaged in heathen practices. Therefore I did not begrudge Porter for including that aspect, although I couldn't fully like El-i-chi, the shaman. My dislike grew as the book went on, and the twisted spiritual aspect grows more prominent, showing the spiritual battle between the presented "good" and "evil." The author tried to convince me that the God of Renno's past Christian wife and that the god (or gods, an ancestors, or whatever) Renno serves are one and the same. The author failed, and also fell in my estimation. Meanwhile, the evil powers of Hodano are contrasted with the "good" powers of El-i-chi, and I'm supposed to urge on El-i-chi's powers when they are in reality from the same source as Hodano's? I don't appreciate the lowering of God's character to the gods of the Seneca.
Characters: Renno is a fine character, but again, I didn't sympathize with him to a great extent, especially as he took a biblical passage out of its scriptural setting, conversed with his dead ancestors, and achieved feats that amounted to unrealistic as they repeated themselves multiple times. An-da is a somewhat irritating clingy woman whose adulterous acts didn't even need to exist in the book, much less be so detailed.
El-i-chi, as I said, isn't the most relatable character to a Christian like me. His conflict with the tribe was too bad, but I didn't have a great amount of sympathy for either side, because neither side had a decent basis for their opinions. Little Turtle is also a pretty well written character, and I empathized with him. How pleased I was to realize he's one of the historical figures. Hodano was actually an excellent character, in terms of more accurately showing the spiritual aspect of earthly battles. His gruesome wickedness is at times shown a bit too graphically for my taste, but it does present the horrific dangers of the evil one.
Roy Johnson, on the other hand, is a great character. Older and wiser, brave but cautious, and just plain real. I eventually realized his relationship to Renno. Would have been nicer if he were a better Christian witness to Renno, though.
I loved the appearances of the true historical characters, not the least of whom was Anthony Wayne, despite his *cough* terrible language--not completely sanitized in the book, but at least not so minutely detailed as the violence. I also enjoyed learning about James Wilkinson--a man whose traitorous spirit seems to live on.
Plot: By the end, it was clear that this story revolves around the spiritual battle--which would have been great if said spiritual battle was properly presented. The national intrigue, spying tactics, and general adventure is exciting and great to read, and the climax of the physical battle is written well. The battle scenes are written likewise in an intense and exciting manner, but are entirely too detailed in their frank descriptions. Throughout the book there is an emphasis put on the prolonging torture tactics of the Indians, which makes it worse. These are executed by both good and bad characters.
Had it not been for the impure content sprinkled through many scenes of the book, whether sexual, violent, or demonic, I would have greatly enjoyed the story and adventures. It is a generally well-written book, fast-paced and exciting, and I would definitely read others in this series if I could be assured of a cleaner read.
Setting: Yes, I loved the setting, and it wouldn't have been hard for the book to earn at least four stars. A map in the beginning of the book shows Ohio in 1794, the year of the battle of Fallen Timbers. The prologue shows an early American government, presenting Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson. National issues are immediately presented, which I always love. Then the reader meets Renno and the rest of the Indian community. Their culture, vastly different from European culture, is well presented. The different opinions of the Indians, their perspectives and traditional way of life, was nicely shown, eliciting a good amount of empathy.
The setting in terms of the series, the White Indian family, etc., was much harder to unravel. Conclusion? You cannot drop in the middle of the White Indian series and expect to understand all the relationships of the characters. Many aspects of this book made me want to pick up the previous books--but many other aspects made me decide this author isn't the most edifying to read.
Aspects, for example, like Renno's and the other Indians' spirituality. I of course understand the the native Americans were not Christians, and that they engaged in heathen practices. Therefore I did not begrudge Porter for including that aspect, although I couldn't fully like El-i-chi, the shaman. My dislike grew as the book went on, and the twisted spiritual aspect grows more prominent, showing the spiritual battle between the presented "good" and "evil." The author tried to convince me that the God of Renno's past Christian wife and that the god (or gods, an ancestors, or whatever) Renno serves are one and the same. The author failed, and also fell in my estimation. Meanwhile, the evil powers of Hodano are contrasted with the "good" powers of El-i-chi, and I'm supposed to urge on El-i-chi's powers when they are in reality from the same source as Hodano's? I don't appreciate the lowering of God's character to the gods of the Seneca.
Characters: Renno is a fine character, but again, I didn't sympathize with him to a great extent, especially as he took a biblical passage out of its scriptural setting, conversed with his dead ancestors, and achieved feats that amounted to unrealistic as they repeated themselves multiple times. An-da is a somewhat irritating clingy woman whose adulterous acts didn't even need to exist in the book, much less be so detailed.
El-i-chi, as I said, isn't the most relatable character to a Christian like me. His conflict with the tribe was too bad, but I didn't have a great amount of sympathy for either side, because neither side had a decent basis for their opinions. Little Turtle is also a pretty well written character, and I empathized with him. How pleased I was to realize he's one of the historical figures. Hodano was actually an excellent character, in terms of more accurately showing the spiritual aspect of earthly battles. His gruesome wickedness is at times shown a bit too graphically for my taste, but it does present the horrific dangers of the evil one.
Roy Johnson, on the other hand, is a great character. Older and wiser, brave but cautious, and just plain real. I eventually realized his relationship to Renno. Would have been nicer if he were a better Christian witness to Renno, though.
I loved the appearances of the true historical characters, not the least of whom was Anthony Wayne, despite his *cough* terrible language--not completely sanitized in the book, but at least not so minutely detailed as the violence. I also enjoyed learning about James Wilkinson--a man whose traitorous spirit seems to live on.
Plot: By the end, it was clear that this story revolves around the spiritual battle--which would have been great if said spiritual battle was properly presented. The national intrigue, spying tactics, and general adventure is exciting and great to read, and the climax of the physical battle is written well. The battle scenes are written likewise in an intense and exciting manner, but are entirely too detailed in their frank descriptions. Throughout the book there is an emphasis put on the prolonging torture tactics of the Indians, which makes it worse. These are executed by both good and bad characters.
Had it not been for the impure content sprinkled through many scenes of the book, whether sexual, violent, or demonic, I would have greatly enjoyed the story and adventures. It is a generally well-written book, fast-paced and exciting, and I would definitely read others in this series if I could be assured of a cleaner read.
November 6, 2019
Great story, love the whole series.
November 6, 2012
Good Book really enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews