Shingas

by Barry Cole

After six years of bloody conflict the war between France and England was over and Canada had a new ruler, King George the third.But for Shingas the fight against the English was not finished and after witnessing the brutal murder of his warriors by a company of redcoats at Fort Detroit, his desire for revenge burned like a fire in his heart.Meanwhile, two hundred miles to the east on an isolated farmstead, Esther an indentured servant, wooed by the prospect of being released from the shackles of servitude, agrees to marry the farmers eldest son, a simpleton, in exchange for her freedom.Unwittingly, fate was to bring them together and on the day of her wedding Esther is abducted by the savage war-chief and taken as a captive back to his village. Befriended by an old squaw and a young French girl, a captive like herself, Esther accepts her plight and is quickly assimilated into her new life.All this changes when, seeing her bathing, Shingas forces himself on her. Horrified by this violation, when she is given the opportunity to escape she seizes her chance and together with the young French girl she makes her bid for freedom. But her hopes are quickly dashed when pursued by Shingas, she is captured and brought back to the village.Nine months later she gives birth to his child, a boy. With discontent growing amongst the tribes as the English settlements encroach ever deeper into their lands, Shingas leads an attack against an English fort and after killing all inside he burns it to the ground.Roused into action and determined to subdue this uprising and to punish those responsible, the English send an army under the command of Colonel Bouquet against them. And so deep in the wilderness at a place called Bushy Run, redskins and redcoats are joined in battle and in the space of a single day the fate of a nation is decided and so too is the fate of Esther and her child.

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2016

About the author

Barry Cole was born in Yorkshire and after leaving the army he began contributing stories and articles to the monthly magazines of two Native American charities. With a love of film, he then studied for two years at the London Screenwriters Workshop. His first book, The Time Bandit was published in 2016, followed by a historical novel Shingas a few months later. His third book The Conquistadors Horse was published in 2018 and has been optioned as a short film by Looking Window Pictures. His latest book The Letter, which was inspired by the Battle of Stalingrad was published by Michael Terence Publishing in 2021. After living on a narrowboat for several years he has now returned to his roots in North Yorkshire. The idea for his latest book: A New Beginning came from a short screenplay written while studying at the Screenwriters Workshop which he now plans to re-write as a feature. For those who may be interested, the principal character is named after the author's great-uncle, Albert Edward Clemens who died in August 1915 during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. Although the only thing they have in common is that both were soldiers his inclusion in the book is to celebrate the family's ancestral connection with one of America’s greatest writers Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain).

Reviews

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings)]

Won in the Goodreads Giveaways.

[Mary Nee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. King George the third is the new ruler in Canada. The Indian revolt is still going on.Shingas is fighting the redcoats. When he meets Esther ,an indentured servant.He abducted her and she has his son.It climaxes at Bushy Run battle. Must read to find out what happens.

[Billy Buttons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Shingas
Author: Barry Cole

Star Rating: 3.5 Stars
Number of Readers: 17
Stats
Editing: 6/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 7/10
Of the 17 readers:
13 would read another book by this author.
11 thought the cover was good or excellent.
14 felt it was easy to follow.
13 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
10 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
13 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
13 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.

Readers’ Comments
‘This seems to be a well-researched historical novel. The characters were interesting; as was the plot. It needs a little editing to sort out the comma and the overuse of the ‘and’. A sentence tends to run on and on and on in this book. However, I still very much enjoyed it.’ Male reader, aged 54¨
‘Authentically written with a competent pen, this is a bit of a page turner. The author is excellent at balancing historical information with pacey adventure. Not too gory, it reminded me slightly of the Sharpe books.’ Female reader, aged 63
‘This is a very busy novel, and I say that in a good way. Pace-wise, it gets going after page 50 or so. The fighting is well described, and the characters, even the secondary, are well-defined and help to further the superbly plotted storyline.’ Female reader, aged 40
‘Excellent book. Loved every page of this story.’ Female reader, aged 55
‘Superb from the off. Well-written; I was thoroughly engrossed all the way to the exciting end.’ Male reader, aged 39

To Sum It Up:
‘A character-led novel, captivating and vividly written.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

[Helen Styes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty and Good!

I did not want to put this book down, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking of the characters. I savored this story. Now , a year later, I am reading it for the second time. It is THAT GOOD!!