Alone on the Shield

by Kirk Landers

I hope you get drafted, I hope you go to Vietnam, I hope you get shot, and I hope you die there. Those words, spoken in the anger of youth, marked the end of the torrid 1960s college romance of Annette DuBose and Gabe Pender. She would marry a fellow antiwar activist and end up immigrating to Canada. He would fight in Vietnam and come home to build an American dream kind of life—a great career, a trophy wife, and a life of wealth and privilege. Forty years later, they have reconnected and discovered a shared passion: solo canoeing in Ontario’s raw Quetico wilderness. They decide to meet again to get caught up on old times, but not in a restaurant or coffee shop—they agree to meet on an island deep in the Quetico wilds. Though they try to control their expectations for the rendezvous, they both approach the island with a growing realization of the emotional void in their lives and wonder how different everything might have been if they had spent their lives together. They must overcome challenges just to reach the island, then encounter the greatest challenges of all—each other, and a weather event for the ages. Alone on the Shield is a story about the Vietnam war and the things that connect us. It is the story of aging Baby Boomers, of the rare kinds of people who paddle alone into the wilderness, and of the kind of adventure that comes only to the bold and the brave.

Genres: Fiction, Travel, Nature, Contemporary, Adventure

384 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2017

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I have long been fascinated by the boundary Waters, between the USA and Canada. Know many people, family members who have taken canoe/camping trips there, and have had a wonderful time. Most of this book takes place there, as Pender and Annette plan to meet, after not seeing each other for forty years, a an island Annette loves. There is so much to like about this book, for one it features two adults in their sixties, college sweethearts, torn apart by their different views on the Vietnam War. I'm a firm believer in second chances, so I was rooting for them all the way. Refreshing to read about older adults, with different parts behind them, daring to reach out.

Pender has anger issues, and the books starts out with just such an incident. He is an interesting character, and I was curious to see where this would end up, how it would feature in the story. It does, but he is by no means one sided and that too is shown. Armchair traveling, the descriptions gorgeous, and definitely the easiest and safest way to travel nowadays. Liked Annette too and how she manages to run an canoe expedition site and takes on jobs women half her age could not. Yet, there was something missing, it started strong, but the middle dragged for me, a good novel but missing a spark, the vavavoom that keeps one interested and sets the book slightly above others in ones reading repertoire.

The end is filled with happenings but also goes a little over the top, emotion wise. So a mixed read for me, definitely a solid, good read, oh and I forgot to mention Chaos, this dog was the star of the show in my book, added some much needed humor,and I quite fell for him. Upped the book an extra .5 just in his honor.

ARC from Edelweiss.

[Angela M · Rating 3 out of 5]

We've all read or seen on the news, the heartwarming stories of people who in later life connect with someone from their past, someone they loved once and after years gone by find that they still love each other. I have to admit that this is what appealed to me - wanting to know if these characters could reignite their love. I was also interested because the characters were familiar- in college during the Vietnam war era as I was. Gabe Pender has just been fired from his job, was recently divorced and is estranged from his daughter. He’s trying to figure out where’s he going, what to do with the rest of his life, dealing with his anger issues and pent up emotions going back to his time in Vietnam. Annette Blain, his college girlfriend of forty years ago is also divorced, living in Canada, facing some decisions about whether to sell her business - running cabins, outfitting people to take canoe trips in her beloved Quetico. They plan to meet each traveling solo by canoe.

The narrative moves back and forth between their solo voyages to meet each other . I enjoyed the introspective flashbacks on their time together years before and their lives since. Even though I found these sections moved slowly, it was this part of the book that I found meaningful. It was when the more adventurous and dangerous part of their journey begins that I lost interest. Maybe it’s just me, not being the outdoors type that couldn’t connect with their time in the Canadian wilderness. I admit that I skimmed a little through these sections.

The ending was predictable but I didn't mind that . I'm just not the audience for this book and if I could , I would have given it 2.5 stars , but I'm giving it 3 stars because I liked that it was a baby boomer find your old love story. This has multiple high ratings so I would recommend that you read those before deciding if this book is for you. If you are the adventurous type, this may be for you.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Chicago Review Press from Edelweiss and NetGalley

[Dorine · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALONE ON THE SHIELD by Kirk Landers is a high-tension, Canadian wilderness adventure novel with the added bonus of some romance.

I love living vicariously through others as they take risks in their travel ventures. The main character is off the hinge and ready to do something he may regret, which gave the novel an unexpected edginess.

Award winning magazine editor Gabe Pender gets divorced and loses his job at sixty. He can’t resist punching his irritating boss on his way out the door, which lands Gabe in therapy for PTSD. His aggressive behavior is linked to contained anger as a Vietnam veteran.

Pender decides to travel to his favorite place, Quetico in Canada. He locates a former girlfriend and they plan to meet. Both have been solo canoeists for years, so it seems logical to meet at Annette’s favorite secret island in Quetico.

As a wilderness guide, Annette DuBose is more than capable of taking care of herself. But her daughter is worried because this old friend seems to be a powder keg about to blow. Her daughter’s instincts are good, but Annette ignores them and does what she always does, braves the elements.

We follow Pender and Annette separately as they canoe through the waterways to their meet. Neither expect the obstacles they’ll face alone or together. Will re-uniting after all these years be a once in a lifetime collision, or will they take on forever?

Some repetitive thoughts bugged me in this novel. I would have preferred less internal dialogue rehashing their feelings. The adventure was exceptional, and the personalities were hilarious at times, so I easily ignored my minor quibbles.

Author Kirk Landers knows how to write an adventure that’s gripping, propelling the reader forward with curiosity. I didn’t expect the romance, so it was a pleasant surprise. I love well-seasoned characters who celebrate life, and these two impressed me with their vitality. Their accomplishments and perseverance influence a life lived to the fullest expectations. I envied their abilities, so it was especially fun to arm-chair-travel with them.

I’d love more books set in the Canadian wilderness like this one. It’s exactly what I love to read. ALONE ON THE SHIELD by Kirk Landers is the perfect way to experience an imaginative travel adventure with some exciting anticipation to rile things up a bit. I’m anxious for the author’s next novel.

Review by Dorine, courtesy of The Zest Quest. Digital copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Retired Teacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens after you master the skills to survive and thrive in what has become the modern American Society? You are at the top of your game and then you must retire. You can no longer play in the game you dominated during your career. You have become the modern version of Moses who led his people through out the wilderness years but in the end his people's future in the promised land was not his. What happens when we retire? It is a conundrum. In so many ways we are almost as strong as before we retired. And we have hard won insight. We have pain., yet we are not feeble. The reality is that life as we know it, is a young man's game. The future of that life we built is not our future. When we can not go forward, we return the roots of our being, and sometimes to the roots of our problems. The main character Gabe Pender finds himself at this cross roads.
This is a good good book. The plot is exciting and the setting --The Canadian wilderness in Ontario known as The Shield is a vehicle for Pender to sort out the end of his life. The author gives the reader more than a passing relationship with the waterways and islands of the region. The reader will experience much more than a few photo ops in pretty settings with the familiarity of McDonalds a mile away.
This is the love story of two outdoor experts, college sweet hearts 40 years in the past, now transitioning to empty nests, willing to meet up in the depths of the wilderness. As a bonus there is one of the most entertaining dog characters I've ever encountered.
Technically the writer is skilled. The style is fluent and the vocabulary is rewarding.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 60, American Gabe Pender has just lost his job and burned all his bridges by punching his boss in the gut. Annette Blain is an American ex-pat in Canada and owner of an Outfitters store in Quetico National Park, providing supplies and guides to tourists to the park. The two were university sweethearts forty years ago but broke up after his decision to enlist for the Viet Nam war. She was opposed to the war and headed for Canada with her new boyfriend whom she eventually married and had a daughter. However, the marriage had fallen apart and her ex headed back to the US as soon as amnesty was offered. But Annette remained, having fallen in love with Canada and the area. Pender and Annette haven't seen each other since the breakup so many years ago but decide to meet up in the park for a reunion, as both are experienced canoeists, Pender, from the United States side and Annette from Canada.

Alone on the Shield is the debut novel by Kirk Landers and, for the most part, I loved it. Part of this may be because I live not far from the park, have even canoed there a long long time ago although nowhere near the extent of the book. I really enjoyed reading about their adventures as the two paddle towards their reunion but especially after, when they are heading home.

I did, however, find the romance somewhat off-putting. For such a strong woman, Annette seems awfully needy and Pender seemed to have a severe attitude problem. In fact, of all the characters in the book, the only one that seemed genuinely likeable was Chaos, a dog Annette finds abandoned in the park. Fortunately, romance took up very little of the book and I found the rest of the story completely engrossing and would recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys stories of adventures in the wild.

Thanks to Edelweiss+ & Academy Chicago Publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabe Pender is looking to rekindle a decades-old romance, to renew himself, to discover how far his limits extend. He isn't looking for trouble or a battle to the death with Nature, but when they cross his path, he doesn't back down. Though fiction, Landers' description of the majestic beauty of Quetico steps into the realm of a textual cinéma vérité, taking the reader on an epic journey of discovery and renewal.

With AOTS, Kirk Landers joins the short list of outstanding outdoor-adventure writers such as London and Hemingway. Like "the man" in London's "To Build a Fire," Pender faces an ultimate test of survival. Unlike "the man," Pender is no idiot. Like Santiago in Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea," Pender demonstrates that a strength of will can match a force of nature, that man can be destroyed but can't be defeated.

[Sue Putnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book!
OMG!!!
What a great story!

[Polly Krize · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a dedicated kayaker, this was a hard book for me to resist, and I surely was not disappointed. Besides the beautiful descriptions of Quetico and the Boundary Waters area, the story is well written and compelling. With Gabe Pender as almost an anti-hero, with his own values being questioned, the struggle for survival in this wilderness paradise becomes a life and death proposition. I recommend this book highly.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pender is pissed. He has a lot to be angry about. He has been robbed of everything and his crust is about as thick as the Canadian Shield where he flees to unburden himself of worldly woes. Wherever he goes, there he is, so his quest is marked by belligerence and denial.

Pender doesn’t want to deal with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). He doesn’t trust shrinks but PTSD has burst through the cracks left by losses and protruded into his ordered life. The painful shards poke and stab but he is not one to yield to pain. He knows, like an animal seeking a safe place to die, that the lakes of Quetico will heal him.

On the wild dash into the Boundary Canoe Area, Pender has no patience with those lacking wilderness skills or the honed values of a nature-lover. At home seated in his tripper canoe, he is ready to judge and punish, to police if need be, and to be the steward of the vast wilderness, which seems so in need of defense. Consumed with anger accumulated over a lifetime, he is a derecho waiting to happen.

Pender has another objective, a desire to reconnect with a long-lost love, Annette, a sweetheart frozen in time. It is an impulse to come full circle but he does not completely trust his desires. Life has taught him to be wary. He trusts motion, the placing of the paddle in the water and the thrusting forward. Nature does calm the beast but there are too many irritating humans around, despoilers of the wilderness he loves. It will be a hard journey.

Both Pender and his former lover are no longer young. They harbor concerns about the passage of time and the changes that come with aging. Both, fearful of rejection and disappointment, must summon courage and surrender control. With obstacles in the path, it is clear that the reunion is iffy. One of the delights of Alone On the Shield is that Landers allows the reader into Annette’s thoughts as well as Pender’s. They both have time to reflect and worry.

Landers transports the reader to the pristine lakes of Quetico so skillfully that silence abounds, the call of the loons slices through quiet with stark precision, and the dust and sweat of the portages fall from the pages. It is an armchair traveler’s delight, no black flies, no mosquitos, no wet bedding but, alas, there are irksome intruders.

There are other trespassers, equally stupid, equally dangerous. It is as if Pender is a magnet for ill-prepared recreational canoeist. And then there’s the dog, Chaos. His name says it all.

Once the journey begins, Alone On the Shield does not let up. There is adventure at every turn as the much-sought reunion keeps slipping into the distance and Nature matches Pender’s anger with a few twists of Her own. Pender is fueled by anger but it is his heart that longs to be freed of the prison he has fashioned for it. It is an adventure story but it is equally a romance, the threads beautifully interwoven.

[LInda L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book -- I knew NOTHING about the Shield or the Boundary waters, and found it just fascinating. The descriptions of the storms and weather changes, the preparation for camping, cooking over an open fire -- all new to me. And scary. My experiences with canoeing are few and certainly nothing like what happened in this book. I loved Pender and Annette and was so happy when there was a good ending. The descriptions of the fat fishermen were wonderful and made you hate them, then love them. Landers can WRITE. Hope he does more.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I found that this book was a non-fiction book with a sense of reality. It made me feel like i was on an adventure/rekindling romance. I like how it started off on this trip with no sense of direction except for going north trying to find himself and finished with a totally different angle.

I liked the fact that the lakes and locations are real. I was able to look them up. It gave me a sense of direction.

I really loved this book and will highly recommend it to other (not just my paddling friends :) )

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I found that this book was a non-fiction book with a sense of reality. It made me feel like i was on an adventure/rekindling romance. I like how it started off on this trip with no sense of direction except for going north trying to find himself and finished with a totally different angle.

I liked the fact that the lakes and locations are real. I was able to look them up. It gave me a sense of direction.

I really loved this book and will highly recommend it to other (not just my paddling friends :) )

[Rebecca I · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a first novel for this author, and I found it very satisfying. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of "what is this about?" or where the plot would go at various junctures. He has good, believable characters and this is a sort of adventure tale in a literal and emotional sense. I hope he writes more books.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing hearing an author speak is that when you later a book you often hear it in the author’s voice. Since I’d heard the author read portions of the book, the voice added an extra dimension to the experience of reading.

Alone on the Shield is a bit of a misnomer, as the “alone” part only lasts a few days, maybe hours at a time in reality, for either of the heroes of the story. The book is part man against nature and a lot of man against himself. It’s an adventure of the wildest sort about reclaiming a part of who you are and realizing you really do have a chance to do life over, and all the mistakes you made happened for the right reasons.

Gabe Pender is everyone’s anti-hero, fed up with the corporate system and everyone else’s understanding of success, while Annette DuBoise is a woman who achieved success despite a bucketload of ice chips she enjoys wearing on her shoulders as an outfitter in a man’s world of adventure tripping in one of the wildest places in North America. Quetico, the Boundary Waters, fall. Both of them seek the thrill of pitting themselves against nature from the opposite sides of the border. They’re former lovers who chose vastly different paths in life, and are reconnecting forty years later maybe for old times’ sake, maybe more.

Pender left his high-tower publishing world with a whimper and a bang, and anger management seems to only fuel his long-held rage leftover from helplessness during the turbulence of the seventies and Vietnam. He decides to take on the wilderness and his past as a step toward a hazy no-cares retirement. Annette took on Canada with both arms and made a life for herself and her daughters after realizing she didn’t want to support a philandering husband. When Gabe connects with her after decades of wondering what might have been, they agree to rendezvous in the Canadian Shield.

The setting is lush; the journey is filled with high-stakes adventure, adventurers, high-jinx, and treachery both man-made and natural. I’m not a hundred percent crazy about the end, but you’ll have to judge for yourself. Those who love outdoor adventure and particularly the Boundary Waters will love Alone on the Shield. The story is not for the faint of heart or soul and uses colorful language.

[tonya_with_an_o · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a very dedicated couch potato. Exercise is a dirty word. Very rarely, I can be persuaded to don my swimsuit and go for a dip in the ocean, or the sound. That comprises the extent of my "outdoorsy-ness". (Can't you tell I'm much better with words? lol) In spite of all that, I love wilderness adventure/survival type books. Alaska! Antarctica! Appalachia! A......remote island in the wilds of....Ontario?? I admit that Canada doesn't feature prominently in the wilderness adventure books that I've personally read, and I think my ignorance of the landscape was a good thing when embarking on my journey through this book. (See what I did there?) I was able to fully rely on the detailed descriptions featured within, and use my imagination to fill in the rest. I loved that the protagonists are middle aged adults, who have lived incredibly full lives, with both accomplishments, accolades, and anguish. I felt deeply for Gabe, who was struggling with constantly simmering rage, and coming a little unhinged, as a result of PTSD. I'm a former military spouse, and I have firsthand knowledge of the way that post traumatic stress can systematically dismantle a life; either slowly, piece by piece, or all at once. The author drew a beautiful comparison between the navigation of the rugged wilderness, and the emotional turmoil involved, for both Gabe and Annette to come together. There was sometimes an issue with pace, and some repetitious phrasing, but my gripes were few, and my enjoyment was not. Great book for older folks, like myself, and everyone who has been missing travel. It's a missive on hope, and the perfect clarity that can only be found in nature.
3 stars

[Doreen Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having canoed and camped in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota once, I was intrigued by this tale of a couple of veteran canoeists who were college sweethearts and have agreed to meet on a specific island in Quetico to catch up with each other's lives. He is a Vietnam veteran, divorced and estranged from his daughter, and recently let go from his job as a magazine journalist (a "dying field".) She had followed her draft-dodger husband to Canada years ago, and when he left, she stayed. She is now an canoe trip outfitter and guide with two adult daughters and one granddaughter. What I liked about this book was how the author made the experiences so real --- the challenges of bad weather, rugged terrain, and ignorant other campers, but also the beauty of the clouds, trees, and even rocks along with surprise interactions with various kinds of wildlife. The relationship stuff he didn't write as convincingly, but the rest of it made me want to be there and experience that kind of wild adventure all over again.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabe Pender is looking to rekindle a decades-old romance, to renew himself, to discover how far his limits extend. He isn't looking for trouble or a battle to the death with Nature, but when they cross his path, he doesn't back down. Though fiction, Landers' description of the majestic beauty of Quetico steps into the realm of a textual cinéma vérité, taking the reader on an epic journey of discovery and renewal.

With AOTS, Kirk Landers joins the short list of outstanding outdoor-adventure writers such as London and Hemingway. Like "the man" in London's "To Build a Fire," Pender faces an ultimate test of survival. Unlike "the man," Pender is no idiot. Like Santiago in Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea," Pender demonstrates that a strength of will can match a force of nature, that man can be destroyed but can't be defeated.

[Kathleen Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet love story set in the Canadian lakes region (called the"Shield" because of geologic formations there). Features a worthy look-back to the Vietnam era through the eyes of the two main characters, one of whom went to war, and the other who defected to Canada with her husband. They meet again 40 years later and . . . .

One of the great strengths of the book is Lander's vivid description of the lakes and landscape. Though I've never been there, I could follow the action and found it easy to visualize the setting. I never knew about the fishing and kayaking there, which are also well explored.

The only drawback is that the dialog and interaction between the characters is sometimes a bit too smooth, or a bit stilted. This does not detract from the fast pace of the novel. It was an easy and enjoyable read.

[Thomas Benz · Rating 5 out of 5]

KIrk Landers' latest novel authentically takes us into a fateful rendezvous the Canadian wilderness, with echoes of the dislocations and terrors of the Vietnam War. His prose is assured and he has a wonderful story to tell about momentous choices, life's forks in the road and whether pieces of one's past can be recovered. Pender, the main character, is a beguiling mix of cynicism, endurance and pursuit of redemption. Annette, the long deferred love of his life, also comes alive in her pristine yet ever dangerous setting, as the story moves to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. This is a tale where an outward journey is beautifully woven with an inner one.

[Adam Merrifield · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a backcountry, boundary waters paddler, or even have a dream of being so, the accuracy of this book will please you. The events may not keep the average person on the edge of their seat because they have no notion of how perilous it is to be a tripper living in the elements. A simple storm to most is a matter of life and death to someone in the wilderness with only the items they can pack in a canoe. For those who've experienced canoe tripping, this book is a pure joy. The experience of the park, the portages, the paddling, take a front seat as any main character would. Thanks to Kirk for trying his hand at novel writing.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabe Pender is looking to rekindle a decades-old romance, to renew himself, to discover how far his limits extend. He isn't looking for trouble or a battle to the death with Nature, but when they cross his path, he doesn't back down. Though fiction, Landers' description of the majestic beauty of Quetico steps into the realm of a textual cinéma vérité, taking the reader on an epic journey of discovery and renewal.

With AOTS, Kirk Landers joins the short list of outstanding outdoor-adventure writers such as London and Hemingway. Like "the man" in London's "To Build a Fire," Pender faces an ultimate test of survival. Unlike "the man," Pender is no idiot. Like Santiago in Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea," Pender demonstrates that a strength of will can match a force of nature, that man can be destroyed but can't be defeated.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful novel. A story of lives and loves, lived and lost. And perhaps a story of adventure and redemption. A 40 year-ago college romance is revisited. We follow Pender and Annette separately as they canoe through the waterways to their meet. Neither expect the obstacles they’ll face alone or together. Will re-uniting after all these years be a once in a lifetime collision, or will they take on forever? Great character development.

[Cheryl Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good thriller with 60-year-old protagonists dealing with the meaning of life and their choice of a future. It's a chase story as well as a wilderness survival story. The women characters are more knowledgeable and just as skilled if not more skilled than the men, which I enjoyed. Set in the wilderness of the Canadian Shield, there is a great sense of place. The story is very well put together.

[Lina2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It transported me to a world I knew little about. It was engaging, funny, heartwarming, believable and exciting. I don’t often find all that in one book.

[David Rank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A taut story of personal discovery and rekindled hope set in the tangle of rivers and lakes in the Quetico Wilderness of Canada. Great character development, gritty with moments of sheer poetry. An excellent read.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really hard for me to get into. I found there was too much back story and the descriptions of the lakes and portage’s seemed repetitive. However, I couldn’t put it down during the last quarter! It got so good 😊

[Susan Cerbone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read; good story

You’ll enjoy this book if you’re into serious wilderness activities, romance and Canada. Characters (60 y o) were interesting so I’d hoped for a more complex ending.

[Augastas Kozinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend. It has its flaw but superb nonetheless.

[Deb Nowack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dangerous and lovely book.

[Joe Geronimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book which made it hard for me to put down. So let's just keep it at that so no spoilers. I definitely recommend the read!