The Hawaiians: by Steve Stelle

by Steve Stelle

Author's This recent edition has been extensively edited to remove errors found in the previous edition.Surfing is not a crime, but it was in Old Hawaii when the Calvinist missionaries held power by influencing the royalty. When a group of young Americans jump ship and start the first surf camp in a downtrodden and practically deserted Waikiki, Head Missionary Hiram Bingham becomes apoplectic with rage. A cast of memorable characters fill this novel with many plot twists and ideas that are as relevant today as they were almost two hundred years ago. In 1824 sixteen-year-old, orphaned William Goode was put aboard ship in New Orleans as an apprentice seaman against his will. A young man with unique abilities, he began an adventure that took him to Hawaii, forging friendships and making enemies along the way. Spanning more than a decade, this fast-paced narrative is written in a blend of James Michener and James Patterson, full of accurate history and a rousing ensemble of characters presented in a page turning style. The Calvinist missionaries want to make sure no one is having any fun while William and his friends just want to work their little farm of taro patches and fishponds and go surfing free from religious oppression. From the beaches of early Waikiki to the chilly winters of Boston, this novel moves back and forth, around the Horn and across the vast Pacific, with enterprising surfers, a beautiful Hawaiian princess, runaway slaves, and a renegade priest. You will fall in love with Hawaii, fall in love with the characters, and see Hawaiian history in a whole new way.

Genres: Historical Fiction

411 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2014

Reviews

[Martina Muller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful historic fiction

Historic fiction at its best : entertaining, educational and enchanting . If you are a lover of Hawaii, it’s people and it’s history , you will love this book …

[Gillian Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful and gripping story sadly hampered by a lack of editing or proof reading. Some grammatical mistakes might be explained by a hurried or a non-existent Spell Check. The layout and chapter headings are also very much First Draft. Do find yourself a professional editor; you are a fine narrator.

[Cindy Doro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced

Good book set in New England and Hawaii. Very quickly paced which made it a fast read. Liked the characters and resolutions of their storylines. Loved the descriptions of old Hawaii in the Honolulu/Waikiki area.

[Mary Gilkey]

The book needs someone to do better editing. There were a lot of errors in spelling and repeat phrases. This did not help the flow in reading the book. I don’t know if it was this way in the original book or from going from book to digital Regardless, someone should look into this.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much similarity with Michener's Hawaii. Kind of a condensed version, if you will. The editorial and grammatical errors were off-putting to me, but overall, an enjoyable read with enough Hawaiian history to make it worthwhile.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Interesting at times. I love Hawaii and enjoyed some of the stories and characters. A good history (easy to read and understand) for someone who knows nothing about the Hawaiian culture and history.

[Roberta Kumalaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am Hawaiian

I love stories of Hawaii🌺I enjoy how they mix fiction with what really happen here in Hawaii as a Hawaiian I know its history and its struggles still today affects us.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

It gave me nice story and then history of Hawaii. Need to research to see if any of the characters were real but enjoyed the telling.

[Terry Ikoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable. Love the characters. Am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is very good. I found myself feeling empathy even for the secondary characters. And the way the author puts forth the stripping of the Hawaiian culture by the missionaries and the decimation of the population due to diseases brought by the Haoles is heartfelt.

Unfortunately, the proofreading is horrible - the amount of spelling mistakes, missed words, and grammatical errors undermined my reading enjoyment. For this reason, I am rating this at 3 rather than 4.

[Nancy Satterlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

FAIR BUT LONG

THIS BOOK HAD A GOOD STORY LINE BUT!!! IT HAD TO MUCH DESCRIPTION. IT KEPT GOING OFF IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND REPEATING ITSELF. I FINALLY FOUND MYSELF SCANNING IT JUST TO HURRY TO END. THEN WONDERED WHY I KEPT GOING.

[Nae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pleasant book to read, the plot was interesting, as were the characters. The book itself though is riddled with mispelled words, repeated phrases multiple times, the sorts of things that seriously need to be edited.

[Scott Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Quick. Kind of predicable but fun all the same.

[Janis Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading

Anyone who likes adventure, suspense, and love should be delighted with this book. Hard to put down. What a great book

[Jan Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story but the book needed a thorough proofreading to make it even better!

[Alison]

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