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Medicine Woman
Levi: mountain man, wanderer, Indian fighter. He haunts the wide open places of a newly opened West. His only companions… a reluctant coydog and a Hawken rifle.
When he is ambushed by Ute warriors, Levi takes shelter in a sacred burial ground. Convinced he has caught a curse, he must seek out a Blackfoot Medicine Woman, the young and beautiful Apaniaki, daughter of Chief Black Crow to help lift it. But what starts out as a simple-enough quest devolves into a fight for his life and an unexpected love as Levi finds himself caught in the middle of warring tribes.
When he is ambushed by Ute warriors, Levi takes shelter in a sacred burial ground. Convinced he has caught a curse, he must seek out a Blackfoot Medicine Woman, the young and beautiful Apaniaki, daughter of Chief Black Crow to help lift it. But what starts out as a simple-enough quest devolves into a fight for his life and an unexpected love as Levi finds himself caught in the middle of warring tribes.
262 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 3, 2025
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 8, 2025
A fantastic novel.
Simple, compelling and beautifully written with some real poetry to it in moments. Very much in the old Western tradition. You'd never believe it was a debut.
(Full disclosure, I bought this on release day because the author is a pal. But then I found myself staying up late to finish it. So this be an honest rating.)
P.s. just don't go looking for Frank's other books on here yet. Goodreads can't tell the difference between this Frank Kidd and some random medic writing about male anatomy...
Simple, compelling and beautifully written with some real poetry to it in moments. Very much in the old Western tradition. You'd never believe it was a debut.
(Full disclosure, I bought this on release day because the author is a pal. But then I found myself staying up late to finish it. So this be an honest rating.)
P.s. just don't go looking for Frank's other books on here yet. Goodreads can't tell the difference between this Frank Kidd and some random medic writing about male anatomy...
September 30, 2025
A wild ride.
Levi Thurston is a hardened mountain man, born under a dark star. Apaniaki, Butterfly Woman, the daughter of a Blackfoot chief, has the medicine he needs to release him from his curse.
This is a very well researched western, with some trippy adventures through indigenous lore that brings in some fantastical elements to a tale of tribal warfare and a strong love affair. There's violence, there's blood, there's survival, and there's magic.
I really enjoyed it. Anyone who likes westerns should give this one a read.
Levi Thurston is a hardened mountain man, born under a dark star. Apaniaki, Butterfly Woman, the daughter of a Blackfoot chief, has the medicine he needs to release him from his curse.
This is a very well researched western, with some trippy adventures through indigenous lore that brings in some fantastical elements to a tale of tribal warfare and a strong love affair. There's violence, there's blood, there's survival, and there's magic.
I really enjoyed it. Anyone who likes westerns should give this one a read.
June 14, 2025
For a simple premise, this book delivered the good stuff every step of the way and there wasn’t any part of it that left me feeling unsatisfied. From the setting and characters, to the action and romance, all the way to the prose and structure of the novel itself, Medicine Woman deserves nothing less than the five stars I’m giving it.
In an age that is getting a bit thirsty for new solid Men’s Fiction, Medicine Woman shines. It’s a true rough-and-tumble adventure set in a time when men were men, and you can tell that Kidd did his research while writing it. He puts you right there on the frontier; ranging through the wilds, where the old magic still held sway in what the White Man called the new world. Levi’s a man of true grit; raised hard to be independent, capable, and adaptable, someone who walks tall through the world and is sure of himself. Apaniaki is the perfect pairing to the gruff Levi. Soft yet headstrong, graceful yet sturdy, quick-witted yet humble. And easy on the eyes, which is a cause of the lot of her problems but not something she can be faulted for. She is sure of who she is, of her purpose in the world, and knows exactly what she does not want.
The pair sit together at the center of the conflict, driving the plot in one way or another that keeps you devouring pages. Medicine Woman is a fantastic action-adventure spiced with political intrigue, subterfuge, romance, and brute violence, written in a way that is breathtaking in two ways. Sometimes for the beautiful and almost poetic descriptions of landscapes, people, or philosophical ideas; but other times for the visceral reaction it evokes in the reader, something deep and animalistic that lurks just below ourselves, buried under generations of societal advancement. It’s quite remarkable.
For a full in-depth review, check out my Substack: The Word Dump.
In an age that is getting a bit thirsty for new solid Men’s Fiction, Medicine Woman shines. It’s a true rough-and-tumble adventure set in a time when men were men, and you can tell that Kidd did his research while writing it. He puts you right there on the frontier; ranging through the wilds, where the old magic still held sway in what the White Man called the new world. Levi’s a man of true grit; raised hard to be independent, capable, and adaptable, someone who walks tall through the world and is sure of himself. Apaniaki is the perfect pairing to the gruff Levi. Soft yet headstrong, graceful yet sturdy, quick-witted yet humble. And easy on the eyes, which is a cause of the lot of her problems but not something she can be faulted for. She is sure of who she is, of her purpose in the world, and knows exactly what she does not want.
The pair sit together at the center of the conflict, driving the plot in one way or another that keeps you devouring pages. Medicine Woman is a fantastic action-adventure spiced with political intrigue, subterfuge, romance, and brute violence, written in a way that is breathtaking in two ways. Sometimes for the beautiful and almost poetic descriptions of landscapes, people, or philosophical ideas; but other times for the visceral reaction it evokes in the reader, something deep and animalistic that lurks just below ourselves, buried under generations of societal advancement. It’s quite remarkable.
For a full in-depth review, check out my Substack: The Word Dump.
May 5, 2025
Hard to believe this is a debut novel. Louis L’Amour ranks among my top three authors of all time and Mr. Kidd has every bit the skill of the former man, if sadly (for us readers) not yet the catalogue.
The prose is fantastic and downright poetry in some passages. I was moved several times nearly to tears. I loved the incorporation of the Native point of view, and obviously an extensive amount of research went into making the Blackfoot perspective feel authentic. Kidd paints the tribe and their worldview vividly without a trace of condescension, or conversely, lionization. The Indians are just people, wonderfully drawn and imminently relatable, albeit inhabiting a different world from mine or the novel’s excellent protagonist, Levi.
The action is exciting, the combat visceral, the romance compelling and passionate, the political intrigue of the plot engrossing, the magic real and significant.
I didn’t want this book to end. It was a joy to read from the intriguing first page to the incredibly satisfying last.
Here’s hoping Kidd launches a one man western revival. I’ll be first in line to purchase if he does.
4.5/5 stars and the second best book I’ve read in about two years, bested only by Poul Anderson’s absolutely majestic Broken Sword. Not sure what higher praise I can give this tremendous novel. Get yourself a copy post haste.
The prose is fantastic and downright poetry in some passages. I was moved several times nearly to tears. I loved the incorporation of the Native point of view, and obviously an extensive amount of research went into making the Blackfoot perspective feel authentic. Kidd paints the tribe and their worldview vividly without a trace of condescension, or conversely, lionization. The Indians are just people, wonderfully drawn and imminently relatable, albeit inhabiting a different world from mine or the novel’s excellent protagonist, Levi.
The action is exciting, the combat visceral, the romance compelling and passionate, the political intrigue of the plot engrossing, the magic real and significant.
I didn’t want this book to end. It was a joy to read from the intriguing first page to the incredibly satisfying last.
Here’s hoping Kidd launches a one man western revival. I’ll be first in line to purchase if he does.
4.5/5 stars and the second best book I’ve read in about two years, bested only by Poul Anderson’s absolutely majestic Broken Sword. Not sure what higher praise I can give this tremendous novel. Get yourself a copy post haste.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews