Uncharted

Arcane America #1

by Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah A. Hoyt

Dragon Award winning new Alternate History Fantasy series created by New York Times best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt.

Arcane America

A new world. New magic. New history.

After Halley’s Comet was destroyed in a magical battle in 1759, the backlash separated the entire New World from the Old in an event known as The Sundering. Now isolated from the rest of the globe, America has become a very different place, where magic works and history has been changed forever.

It is 1803—a new 1803. Young Meriwether Lewis, footloose and intrigued, goes to hear a lecture in St. Louis by the venerated old wizard Benjamin Franklin. Franklin’s talk is disrupted by the attack of a winged fire-breathing beast, much like legends from Lewis’s own Welsh heritage. In the aftermath, Franklin tells the young man that he knows of a great, growing evil that lurks in the uncharted Arcane Territories west of the Mississippi.

Using his own vast fortune, Franklin commissions Lewis and his own talented partner William Clark to embark on a remarkable voyage of exploration, to meet and document the indigenous tribes, to find a route all the way to the Pacific Ocean—and perhaps beyond the magical veil to Europe again—and to stop the growing evil that is filling the American West. For while the Sundering separated the rest of the world and granted the original colonists unexpected magical gifts, sorcery inspired by native legends has also been ignited. And the Arcane Territories may hold unparalleled dangers for the expedition, both natural and magical.

Accompanied by the brilliant shape-shifting sorceress Sacajawea, Lewis and Clark set off on an unparalleled adventure across a landscape that no European has ever seen.

About
"History and mythology meld admirably, leading to a satisfying conclusion. This hardy adventure establishes a world ripe for many more rousing stories."— Publishers Weekly

"With a light and brisk narrative that propels its heroes through a number of increasingly dangerous situations, this combination of alternate history and fantasy should appeal to fans of Eric Flint, Harry Turtledove, and historical fantasy in general."— Booklist

“While delivering plenty of action that approximates the best of cinematic fantasy, Hoyt and Anderson also strive for—and achieve—a kind of gravitas that suitably reflects the majesty of an untrammeled continent. Their descriptions of raw nature and its emotional repercussions on the humans are subtly poetic without being overblown. The native tribes are depicted in authentic ways, especially the people of Sacagawea. . . .The characterization of all the cast members is deep and revelatory of human nature. . . .There is also humor amidst the seriousness . . . [Anderson and Hoyt’s] prose is a clear-eyed, sturdy naturalism meshed with flights of vivid unreality . . . filled with not only slambang adventures but also a kind of rational optimism that has become rare in genre works these days. . . Hoyt and Anderson, a kind of de Camp and Pratt for the twenty-first century, convey these ideals without lectures or sermons, embodying them in principled people doing exciting things.”— Locus

About Kevin J.

"Anderson delivers action, engaging characters and credible fantastic worlds in spades . . . not to be missed."— Publishers Weekly

"Wickedly funny, deviously twisted and enormously satisfying."—Jonathan Maberry

"Anderson has become the literary equivalent of Quentin Tarantino in the fantasy adventure genre."— The Daily Rotation

"Prepare to be entertained." —Charlaine Harris

“Delivers solid action and will certainly satisfy.”— Booklist on The Winds of Dune

About Sarah A.

“[Three Musketeers creator] Alexandre Dumas would give [Sarah A. Hoyt] a thumbs up.” — Steve Forbes

“[F]anciful and charming.” — Library Journal

"First-rate space opera with a moral lesson. You won't be disappointed."— Glenn Reynolds , Instapundit.com

“[A] tour de logical, built from assumptions with no contradictions . . . gripping.” — Jerry Pournelle

“Exceptional, wonderful, and enormously entertaining.” — Booklist

Genres: Fantasy, Alternate History, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction, Historical Fantasy

262 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Yes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.

I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.

I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.

My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncharted is an alternative history. One of the great things about alternative histories is that the author is not imprisoned by reality, by facts, by history. He can let his imagination run completely wild. Here, Anderson gives us a story of a different America, one that was sundered from the Old World by Halley's Comet and the magical battle to contain it in 1759, which through up an impenetrable barrier in the Atlantic, separating the New World from the Old World. And, now, in the New World, magic rules the air. There are magicians, evil creatures, zombie creatures, flying dragons, giant river lizards with dozens of heads, and most of that magic is out in the wilderness beyond the colonies. Benjamin Franklin is widely renowned as one of the most powerful wizards and here we have him doing battle with flying dragons and commissioning Lewis and Clark to explore the wilderness and find a path to the Pacific, perhaps to reconnect with the Old World. Of course, Sacagawea joins them and she knows a considerable lot about the evil creatures and the other worlds.

Uncharted is billed as the start of a new fantasy series and with the limits of imagination thrown open to Anderson there is no telling where we will end up on our uncharted journey. The most fascinating thing about this book is the juxtaposition of historically recognizable figures in a new fantasy world where they come to life. At times, the pace could be quicker, but overall a pretty decent and fascinating read.

[Hannah DCamp · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was minding my own business, wandering through the library with too many books already in hand, when I spotted this thing on the shelf. I pulled it down, assuming it to be a novelization of the videogame of the same name. Instead, I was confronted by Sacagawea's buttcheeks, a magic eagle spirit, and a giant dragon. I knew what this would be based on the cover alone. I put it back on the shelf, and went on with my browsing.

I picked up like five other books, told myself I needed to leave, and then grabbed it on the way out. I had to know what it was like I guess?

I don't know what I was expecting, but this was exactly what I was expecting.

Benjamin Franklin is a lightning mage (of course). Lewis can turn into a dragon. Clark is confused 75% of the time. There's a dog with a name that doesn't read-aloud well 😬 They do the whole "Lewis and Clark" thing, right down to letter-writing, specimen-collecting, and map-drawing. They make traversing the North American continent sound downright easy - I mean, once you eliminate zombies, dinosaurs, and evil dragon mages, what else is there to get in your way? A bear? You're scared of a bear? How about a VELOCIRAPTOR, HUH?? HOW'S THAT FOR SCARY? The Wild West suddenly doesn't seem so wild when you think about how few antediluvian beasts you're likely to run into. Maybe I should try walking across the US with nothing but primitive medicine and an air-rifle.

This did raise some interesting questions. The entire basis of the quest (finding an alternate route to Europe) was fascinating - in this story America has been completely cut off from the rest of the world. They speculate some about how Europe is doing, or if it's even still in existence. There were several weird references to "papists" who are still Catholic; apparently this is a mystifying thing. It did make it interesting to think about, but I think it just would have ended up pushing the formation of the USCCB much earlier. We didn't have a nuncio at the time, but maybe we would've appointed one, again much earlier than as it actually happened. I think I'd be surprised if they'd believed Rome to be a total loss, but we would've still had to function on our own. Basically this would have really interesting ramifications for Church history, but I doubt Anderson really cared about that; he just had to deal with Catholics because we were there I guess.

There were some historical truths in here, but for the most part it was just names and places, maybe a couple of scenarios (obviously with dinos added for suspense). Easily the weirdest addition to the story (yes, weirder than the dinos) is the romance subplot between Lewis and Sacagawea.

Wasn't a fan of that. Also I think she was like 15. I know, I know, "product of their time," but this whole entire romance was a product of whenever this book was written. I did a google to be sure I wasn't forgetting something key, and one thing I read said that Lewis didn't seem to even like her much 😂 She's just a victim of "only woman for miles, so we have to ship her with one of the men." This is the book's worst crime by far. Sure, we skirt the edge of "magic indians," which is rough enough (I'm pretty sure I don't get a say in this, but I think we avoid it). But Sacagawea was one of my favorite historical figures growing up - she was so cool! She was a mom! She was an adventurer! She was the only name I remembered from the crew aside from Lewis and Clark themselves! All my tooth fairy dollar coins had her on them! She deserves so much better than a weird romance subplot "just because."

Anyway, there's two more of these I guess 😂 my curiosity has been sated. I can move on with my life *phew*


*guys, buttcheeks isn't a word?? I thought it was a compound noun 🤣 I'm not changing it

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncharted is a pretty good alternate history fantasy, and is the first book in a series called Arcane America created by a consortium of Baen writers. The North American continent has been cut off from Europe by a barrier across the Atlantic, which seems to be a magical by-blow of Halley's comet. Benjamin Franklin enlists Meriwether Lewis, whom he has met in a dragon battle, to go to the Western side of the continent to see if things are similarly shut down there, as well. Lewis is joined by his friend Clark, who assists him in mounting the expedition, and they're later joined by Sacajawea. They have several adventures and battles influenced by Native American and European mythology and folk tales before they reach the Pacific. Some of the middle section seemed to drag a bit, and there was really nothing new in the conflicts, but it was a pleasant read. It's a nice mix of historical figures with otherworldly tropes, not terribly memorable but interesting and fun.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad premise, and if it is indeed the first of an Arcane America series, well, we'll see.

This is easy to read, and if you're skimming a bit you'll get away with it, because information is often repeated or restated.

There's a bit of a nod to real-world history, and a dragon, and revenants. What's going on?

Our lads progress bravely, and seem to have an infinite supply of ammunition and just enough redshirts to have the bad guys kill one occasionally. Clark is a cipher whose entire role appear to be to say "Lewis, are you OK?" Sacagawea is good, though.

And then it fell apart for me. They decided to confront the much-stronger enemy (of course, that's what heroes do, but OK, the authors set it up well so that it was the least bad of their options).

They consult a shaman, who brings in Coyote, who tells us that the dragon is his good bud Raven under a curse (oh, really? WHOSE curse?). So we proceed to the Showdown, in which our vastly-shrunk-for-plot-purposes heroes meet the little Canoti (think Nac Mac Feegles) and swing them around as if our heroes were still full-sized, tsk.

How's it going to end? The tension! Well, not really, because Coyote is, like, cool, man and he's got this, like, plan, and just chill, OK? And they follow his plan and it works, and the great showdown is about as exciting as outwitting a kitten with a piece of string. Bah.

And then ... they chop off the dragon's seven heads, and there's a puff of smoke (OK, there isn't, but there should have been) and there stands Prince Charming/Aladdin/Raven, unharmed and totally handsome and the nicest man, Ethel, you wouldn't believe. .. to the authors' credit at least he didn't ask, "How long was I out?"

And then we wrap it up in about three pages, leaving us to wonder, "what was the point of that?" The answer, I'm sure, is "you'll have to read the next book to find out." Sorry, I won't.

[Ions · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool premise, but I lost interest about half way through and near the end I just wanted it to be over with.

[Pat Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018 Dragon Award WINNER in 'Best Alternate History' category
A slightly more extensive treatment may be found on my blog, Papa Pat Rambles.
I obtained this book directly from the Baen website.
I selected it because it is a finalist for the 2018 Dragon Award in the 'Best Alternate History' category; even if it weren't, I would have grabbed it because these authors do great work.

Halley's Comet was destroyed in a massive battle of wizards. This resulted in some bizarre outbreaks of magic in North America; as far as the rest of the world, we just don't know, because there is an impenetrable barrier in the Atlantic Ocean, and thus no communication with any place in Europe.

In this timeline, Thomas Jefferson lives as a wealthy planter, but has no role to play in government. Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, has magically had his aging process arrested at about a vigorous 70, and is the most prominent wizard on the continent. He is quite famous, and fabulously wealthy, and at least as inquisitive as he was in real life.

He has been considering sponsoring a trip to explore the land west of the Mississippi, both to see what lies out there in that great undiscovered territory, as well as to determine if there is a possible route to Europe by crossing the Pacific. Following a serendipitous introduction to Meriwether Lewis, during a dragon attack of all things, he proposes that Lewis head up the expedition.

A pleasing bit of research & writing: the names of the members of the fictional L&C expedition are the same as those of the real expedition. I wouldn't have noticed that, had I not been jotting the names of the characters down. In fact, even the original expedition dog Seaman is included in the book. That's nicely done, don't you think?
The 'Uncharted' expedition encounters the same environmental challenges that the original trip did: rivers, mountains, hostile natives, bugs, weather. And, just as happened on the original trip, Sacagawea appears to serve as a guide. However, her motivation in the book is that she is looking for the magical dragon warrior who can protect her and her child, and rescue her husband, along with the rest of the country, from the depredations of the evil wizard. Nasty, nasty person, this evil wizard: raises up long extinct predator animals (which we recognize as dinosaurs), who have a devastating impact on the buffalo herds; kills people an reanimates their bodies. Nasty guy.

The characters are depicted with sympathy. Sacagawea is presented as such a resolute and courageous figure, based STRICTLY on her human qualities. William Clark pours out his heart to his young fiance in Virginia, knowing his letters may never reach her; he strives to find the right words to tell his story, without bringing the horrors into her living room.

Alas, tragedy does strike others not a part of the expedition. One luckless trader/trapper, not very good at his work, is brought low by the pinpricks of a tribe of pygmies. Poor fellow, he was at one point forced to boil and eat his boots during a particularly bad winter, and was ever after known as Barefoot Johnny.

Even the deities of the natives are treated with respect. The two principals here are Coyote and Raven, and the writers do an excellent job, in my opinion, of demonstrating that whatever standard they think they might be judged by, it's doubtful that the opinions of the rapscallion explorers will be a factor in any way.

The historical character of Meriwether Lewis just couldn't get a decent break, after coming back from the expedition. He died alone, not many years after returning, and there is controversy to this day as to whether or not that was a result of murder or suicide. In THIS book, however, Anderson and Hoyt manage to put into his character some resiliency factors. It's a nice thing they did for him.

To the extent of my knowledge, the authors are ruthlessly faithful to historical accuracy other than at the points in which magic intrudes into the story. For example, the air rifle carried by the team is exactly as represented in the book; the actual rifle used on the expedition is on display today at the National Firearms Museum.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange book. Magic in the new world , and Haley’s comet cut off the new from the old worlds. It was okay but not too great. I may read book 2 but I am in no rush to do so. I think the scenes were often cut short and just felt incomplete.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, the summary nails it. Except to add that mayhem ensues.

[Darren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea behind this book was interesting, but the writing was pedestrian and the story was boring. Not recommended.

[Peter Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

America was sundered from the rest of the world when Halley's Comet was destroyed in 1759. This also brought magic to the land.

Merriweather Lewis works as a healer for Thomas Jefferson. He was in St. Louis gathering healing plants when a dragon attacked the city. Benjamin Franklin, who is a powerful sorcerer, enlisted him to lead an expedition into the territories west of the Mississippi River for two purposes, to investigate some strange rumors about Native tribes becoming hostile towards the settlers, and also to find passage to the Pacific Ocean, in hopes that there is not a barrier to the Old World on the West like there is on the East. Lewis enlisted his friend William Clark to help lead the expedition. They quickly found that the same power that caused the dragon to attack St. Louis opposed their expedition.

I thoroughly enjoyed Uncharted. Most of the High Fantasy books I've read are set in fictional worlds. It was enjoyable to see a blend of High Fantasy and Alternate History in the American Frontier. The plot was well written and entertaining.

However, relativism strongly influenced the plot as themes about truth and the afterlife were a part of the story. In Uncharted, no absolute truth that guided these principles, but they were relevant to the characters' culture, and weren't based on God's Word. Merriweather Lewis also fell in love with Sacagawea while she was still married, which was a large part of the plot, and was very uncomfortable. However, the most uncomfortable part of the book, was a small section toward the end, where the protagonists had to fight and kill zombie toddlers. That was unnecessary.

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story. I like history. I like alternate history. I like adventure and exploration stories. This story has all of that, plus fantasy. Not only that, but being from ND and having had the Lewis and Clark Expedition pass through here twice makes it extra special.

The story was very well paced, quite fast. There wasn't much character depth outside of Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea. But there didn't need to be either as those were characters that most every event centered around.

The convergence of European and American Indian myths was nicely done. The clash of cultures between the expedition and the Indians was only barely touched on, but there was enough mentioned that you could see some of the characters had moral issues with the way others did things at times. Little of the actual expedition's accomplishments were covered here, but that's not unexpected in an alternate history tale, especially since it wouldn't necessarily drive the storyline. I would highly recommend that anyone remotely interested seek out one of the numerous books on the real expedition and its remarkable journey. In some ways the real thing was as fantastical as this story.

I'm curious to see the next installment in the series. It appears to be a completely different take on the Sundering in another part of the continent rather than a continuation of this story with these characters.

The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling or grammatical mistakes.

[Leigh Kimmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. When I first heard about it on Sarah Hoyt's blog, I immediately went to our library's website and put a copy on hold. As soon as I got it, I started reading it -- and the only reason I didn't go through the whole thing in a day or two was the sheer necessity to get through a business trip and focus on work.

It's an alternate Colonial America with magic, along the lines of Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series, or Greg Keyes' Age of Unreason. A titanic magical battle destroyed Halley's comet and cast up a magical barrier that cut the Thirteen Colonies off from England. Since then, the English and other European settlers have muddled along as best they can -- but a strange evil has arisen in the West, a menace that has even the various native tribes afraid.

Lewis and Clark set off on a very different sort of expedition, on behest of the wizard Benjamin Franklin, to find and defeat this evil, and to search for a possible westward route back to the Mother Country. There are fascinating echoes of the world we know, yet oddly changed and remixed.

It's a Baen book, so yes, there is a happy ending. But then there's a reveal at the very end that makes me think of Jerome Bixby's "It's a GOOD Life" writ large, over a continent rather than a small Midwestern town. I sure hope there are further volumes set in this fascinating world that might have been.

[Jonathan Hord · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited for this book and while the writing was good and the overall story fun, I felt it didn't deliver on the thesis it promised.

Sold as a Fantasy Novel transposing North American Native Culture mythology for the typical European mythology found in most Fantasy, Uncharted follows the Lewis and Clark expedition through the unexplored American West complete with revenants, shamans and spirit walks. The problem is the novel focused entirely too much on the main villain that is depicted as a more classic fantasy dragon. There were many new and fresh directions this novel could go but I felt they ended up playing it safe, fearing to fully explore Native Culture in light of continuing to focus on Anglo-Saxon heritage. Due to that, and a softening of Charbonneau who has been recorded as a physically and sexually abusive forced-husband to Sacagawea to the point that by the end of the novel he's literally referred to as a "Hero" I couldn't give this book more than three stars.

The writing is great, the concept is fun and exciting, the book just never fully delivered on what it promised.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be perfectly fair I'd give Uncharted a 3.5.

This was an impulse buy for me, as I've read a lot of Kevin J. Anderson and, in most cases, have enjoyed his work.

The worldbuilding and "setup" for this novel was fascinating and utterly original which, in part, is why I grabbed it. I can honestly say I've not read anything too similar in the past.

"Uncharted" is an interesting mashup of styles and genre - elements of biographical fiction, "second world" story and others.

The writing is solid, if perfunctory. The novel has one of the better openings I've read in some time but sort of baselines from there.

Peril, rising tension and other mechanics are sound as well - just nothing I've not seen before. Good, not great, right?

There were some VERY interesting scenes and twists which kept me turning the pages. I suppose the thing I was missing was a real sense of character. From any of the ensemble, really.

This book would appeal to that presumably small demographic of;
- readers
- who enjoy urban fantasy
- historical fiction
- the book "Undaunted Courage"

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this alternate history book which turned out to be about the Lewis & Clark 1803 expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase lands and to see if they could find a land route to the Pacific Ocean.

Except this time with magic and dragons!

Even readers unfamiliar with the Corps of Discovery (Lewis & Clark's expedition) will enjoy this grand adventure!

To make things even more interesting, not only has magic brought dragons back to the skies but reanimated dinosaurs are decimating the vast buffalo herds on the Great Plains (which causes much hardship to the Native American tribes who depend on the buffalo for, well, everything!).

Even worse, after you kill such a dinosaur, shortly the darned beasts come back to life twice as angry and chase you again!

Highly recommended!

[Chance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in alternate earth where 50 years Prior Halley’s Comet explodes and returns magic to the world lay separating The Americas continent from the rest of the world. Now in this new world where old and new beliefs are invigorated threw magic it leads to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA never be founded but instead multiple groups and cultures form there own lands but with it old forces awaken to stick at them leading to a new version of the historical Lewis and Clark Expedition going to find the source of this evil and if a way to the old world of Europe/Asia still exists from western coast.

The story is a masterpiece that I became a fan of the series can’t wait for the day it’s ever made into a movie or tv series. Has blends historically history and fantasy genre in a way few stories has ever do so sublimely.

[Charlie Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alternate history/fantasy, in which the young America has magic. It starts out well, but never quite lives up to its initial promise. Much better is the Frontier Magic series by Patricia C. Wrede, which covers the same subject matter.

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncharted is set in the same universe as Eric Flint's Council Fire, but although chronologically that book is first in the series, this was released first. Confused? Good, because there's more. Even though the two books are set in the same universe, separated by 45 years, there's practically nothing in common between the two. There are no shared characters, the world-building from the prequel doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the world of Uncharted, and many of the events of Council of Fire seem to have been completely forgotten (for instance, undead revenants feature repeatedly in this book and the heroes initially disbelieve reports of their existence even though the rebellious Jamaican slaves raised zombie armies during Council of Fire, which you'd think would be common knowledge; likewise, when Lewis and Clark hear of the little people in this book, they show no evidence of having ever heard of such even though they played a part in the allied victory in Council of Fire; that's just the two that jumped out at me). I should probably explain a little bit about the universe and story of the book before I go further. In 1759, when Halley's Comet was supposed to pass by the Earth, it instead collided with the Eastern Hemisphere and caused a great tumult which ended with the creation of a barrier in the midst of the Atlantic beyond which no one could travel. It also served to awaken things of legend and magic in the New World, causing socio-political turmoil. This book begins in 1804 when the aged but still hale wizard Benjamin Franklin is visiting St. Louis, the westernmost city of European-American civilization. During his visit, the city is attacked by a dragon from out of the arcane territories to the west. Between this attack and disturbing reports he has heard and his desire to see if a western passage to Eurasia might be practicable, Franklin enlists the aid of a young herbalist and woodsman, Meriwether Lewis to organize an expedition to cross the continent and seek a passage to the Pacific. Lewis forms a company alongside his good friend William Clark and together they lead their expedition across the Great Plains. However, their journey is fraught with more than just the expected magical or physical danger as it soon becomes clear that there is a great evil loose in the west, a power that seeks to dominate and enslave the native peoples and to annihilate the colonists entirely. Thankfully, Lewis and Clark encounter the young Shoshone woman Sacagawea, and with her help, they seek a path through this treacherous land, though as their journey goes on, strange dreams haunt Lewis, dreams of a dragon and of a destiny.

All in all, I liked Uncharted, it wasn't revolutionary by any means, but I found the story intriguing and considering how short the book is (just over 250 pages), I thought it did a decent job of building its story. I can see why others found the book rather dry, but I liked it for what it was, a fantastic take on the (generally underrepresented these days) explorer's story. Frankly, my biggest problems reading this book were the aforementioned confusion caused by its lack of clear connection to its prequel. There's also a lot of poorly developed world-building (for instance, Lewis is a veteran of "the war" and his father apparently died in a previous war but who exactly the Americans were fighting (or even how they're organized, is Kind Edward still around/ruling?) is left completely in the air. The lack of connection with Council of Fire is frustrating if you read the prequel first (as I did) and were curious about how the world developed as it really feels like the two books have very little in common, and one of the big draws of alternate history is seeing how things change and why, and the confusing relationship between Council of Fire and Uncharted does neither book much good, which is a strange thing to say when I enjoyed both books independently.

[Xerxes]

Book/Audiobook Review:

This must be one of the best alternate history books I’ve read and listened too. Baen books have really done a great job here. I listened to the audiobook version and wow. What a FANTASTIC voice. Nick Sullivan put a tremendous amount of effort into the characters and voices. I loved his exhaustive effort and hard work that played into this audiobook. This is the first audiobook I’ve completed, and it took me days. It is a wonderful book.

I loved all the characters from this book. This alternate history series really represents a new breakthrough I believe. Spirits and Gods using western minds to make fearsome creatures of their own thanks to the sundering? I loved Sacagawea and Merriweather, both well drawn, rounded and complete characters. Though I know it bases this on the Lewis and Clark trip across America, Nick and the authors did a fantastic effort of reimagining it. I’m an outsider from this perspective.

The amount of love, attention and detail that went in showing the POV of the native Americans, was well done. It immersed me into their stories, their legends, and their point of view. Which we do not get often in mainstream historical fiction. It sometimes makes me think if this sundering has arrived, then have the Spaniards conquered the Americas? Could the rift have caused the Aztecs to expand upwards? What new possibilities are there?

This is foremost, an adventure story. A story with Gods, magic, evil, goodness. Afterlife? There is so much packed into this story that I couldn’t express all of it. All I say is listen to the audiobook version. It’s fantastic. It’s brilliant.

I would have liked to seen more obstacles, more conflicts put in their path, and more of Raven’s intelligence as a villain, because I felt Coyote was the true winner in this story. But he is a spirit and likewise, he is also a God. In this rift, what means could happen? I would love to see a perspective of the Marathas, as that would massively change the events in India as a possible exploration. You could make so much out of this. Loved it. My rating is a 5/5.

[ReadBecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a bit uneven, but ultimately it delivered on what felt like the explorer stories I grew up with, mixed with pulpy adventure fantasy. By far the last bit once Coyote becomes involved is the strongest.

Halley's comet has been magically destroyed above the earth, creating a barrier to the east, separating the Americas from the rest of the know world for the past 50 years. Meriwether Lewis, the house herbal healer to Thomas Jefferson, is on his way to see sorcerer Benjamin Franklin speak in St. Louis. Just as he's about to arrive, there is a dragon attack, in pure coincidence Lewis & Franklin fight back the dragon together. This chance encounter impresses Franklin sufficiently, that he insists Lewis undertake the enterprise he has been planning - an expedition to the west in hopes there is a way in that direction around the magical barrier, so they can be reconnected with the rest of the world.

Obviously, Lewis recruits Captain Clark, and a band of adventuring men to travel the river from St. Louis, and off into the west. Lewis hasn't shared with his companions that he has had strange dreams his whole life, that are increasing as they journey into the wild. In these dreams he frequently has run ins with a dragon, following one such dream where the dragon warns him of a bird and egg, a native shows up at their camp out of no where, pregnant and in labor, who turns out to be Sacagawea. With Lewis help she delivers, so in thanks for their aid, with the baby in a pack she proves invaluable to helping the men survive. She also helps Lewis learn that they are both spirit walkers, his dreams are more than dreams, and the dragon is an evil that besets the wild land.

Together they face up against powers possessed by control of the dragon and in the end with some help from the trickster god Coyote, they must face the dragon itself or they will never reach the west.

[Gray Mouser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a typical „stuck on a train“ book: ok to kill the time, but not reading-time in front of the fireplace level.

The story paces reasonably well and was entertaining enough. The characters were unsurprising, but well enough developed. There were some genuinely funny twists, such as the „pickled undead whiskey thieves“. The world-building was ok, but more or less limited to what the cover described already.

I might have considered continuing the series for other time-to-kill moments, if it would not have been for the awkward stumbling around race issues. I do not mind reading stories set in an earlier time with a slightly racist attitude of some characters. A good author can criticize that implicitly without preaching. That was not the case here: the protagonist confesses to be uneasy around a freed slave, but it is the author‘s writing about him which feels uneasy. The stoic, noble attitude of the female protagonist would be attractive, if it would not be such a Native American trope. And to add insult to injury: the story just had to contain a glimpse on the real-Life America, described as an Utopia where all people are equal. After the BLM protests, in a book featuring Native Americans, this leaves awkward behind, bypasses ridiculous and ends up squarely in WTF country.

A lot has happened between 2018 and now, thus I do not let this affect my rating. But it is definitely the last book in this series for me.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is books like this that when I read them as a boy made me grow to love reading particularly the broad field we now call "speculative fiction."

This imagines a world changed by Halley's Comet in 1759, sundering with some kind of magical barrier across the Atlantic the New World from the Old. And Merriwether Lewis, finding himself in the frontier town of St. Louis, meets the great wizard Benjamin Franklin while the town is attacked by a dragon.

In this world, the Lewis and Clark expedition is not about exploring the Missouri to learn about the new territories that Mr. Jefferson added to the nation when he purchased Louisiana, but about facing a dragon and righting the magical balance in the nation. And Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt lead us on a series of fun adventures, up the river, into the river, and even down in labyrinthine prairie dog tunnels.

Basically, it's just a lot of fun with a cool twist at the end that warms the heart of a monster-loving student of mythology.

Pure pulpy fun--and a good read.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Birzer of Hillsdale College recommended this to me. It was a fun historical fantasy in a time period I haven't read much fantasy fiction. Obviously the authors put a lot of research into Lewis and Clark and did a good job blending history and magic. They wrote adventure very well and the action scenes were good. It was an easy, fun read.

I loved lightning wizard Ben Franklin! I loved the concept of a sundered America. This book had it all- the undead, dinosaurs, dragons, shamans... I loved the journey to the land of the dead. The Whiskey Revenants were a nice touch to show just how strange everything in the land was, how magic intertwined with everything else. I did like how America was cut off from both sides.

The only think I didn't like was the strange semi-romance with Sacajawea. Did Lewis really need to pine for her for half the book and then leave it unresolved? I know it was implied with Clark's letter but meh.

[Roger Tyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable book.
Premise is that Halley's comet exploded in the sky and caused magic to return to the world and causing the American continents to be cut-off from the rest of the world. We follow the tale of Lewis and Clark exploring the lands west of the Mississippi River and battling magical creatures and the undead.
The narration flow was rough in places as point-of-view seemed to shift a bit, but it didn't interfere with me enjoying the book.
Most of my reading is hard science fiction, but I read some fantasy if the story is compelling (Story first folks! Story first.) and this story did keep me interested. There's enough history in the tale to give you a point of reference and enough fantasy to set it sideways that I was hooked and had to find out what was going to happen next.

FYI: I read a pre-release version in hopes of a review.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exploring Arcane America

In 1803, Lewis and Clark set out across North America to chart a path to the Pacific Ocean. On the way, they are guided by the Native American woman Sacagawea. Except... Sacagawea guides them in more than just an overland route. This is Arcane America, where magic is real and the former European colonies have been cut off from the Old World for nearly half a century.

Anderson and Hoyt bring a new New World to life. And as much as I enjoyed the characters and story (which I thoroughly did), what really struck my imagination was the world itself. I'm hoping this book is the start of a long and successful series exploring the facets of this world. There's just so much potential at the start of the 19th century, exploring the continent as well as the politics of the Americas cut off from Europe before the USA came to be.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows Lewis and Clark through a fictional America where an evil sorcery is on a rampage to destroy the New World. It's chock full of adventure and exciting moments. The only slow parts are the letters from Clark to his fiance. They're repetitive of the narrative and slow the pace tremendously. I love Benjamin Franklin in the beginning as a great wizard and only wish there was more of his character in the rest of the story. Though the characters are older than is typical of YA, I put it in that category because the themes and action-adventure nature will appeal to teenage boys more than any other group.

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a very clever alternate history idea and well imagined.

And as a period piece done in the oeuvre of that a compilation of the diaries and first-person narrative of Lewis and Clark's it's very much in line with such a collection of that fictional collection.

In that is very well done, and kept that tonality well.

So separately -
The idea I liked.
The execution (the technical aspect of keeping itself as a period-appropriate collection of writings) - it's done well.

I am wondering if it would have been better to have just written it without that limitation as I think it hindered the retelling of the story.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

On an alternate Earth in 1803 magic is real. Meriweather Lewis is in St Louis when he comes across the great mage Benjamin Franklin fighting off a dragon.
After chasing it off, Franklin recruits Lewis to put together a team to adventure west toward the Pacific Ocean. His job will be to observe the flora and fauna and take samples.
Accompanied by his former captain William Clark they set off. They come across a powerful mage who can take the form of a dragon and is twisting the land itself.
An interesting tale on the Lewis and Clark expedition, including enlisting the help of a young Shoshone woman named Sacagawea.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two powerhouse science fiction/fantasy writers came together to write this alternative history and high fantasy award winner!

I was surprised to learn that the story is historically accurate except for the obvious introduction of magic. Even the names of the Lewis and Clark expedition members (including the dog) were correct. I probably should have mentioned that this is a story of the Lewis and Clark expedition except the party encounters a lot of evil magic on their journey.

I fell in love as soon as I read about Benjamin Franklin fighting a dragon with electricity! Not everyone's cup of tea, but this was just fun!

[Matt Littrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange beast, one I find hard to really explain my feelings about.
It's a serviceable tale, written well enough, with characters that are okay. Maybe that's it. It's just okay. While I find the world extremely interesting, everything else about it was just okay. I didn't hate the story or any of the characters, but I also didn't particularly like or care about them.
In the end, it was good for wiling away an evening. I think it's worth the read to discover the world, but otherwise it's easily skippable.