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Ghost Riders of Cumberland Gap
Colter, a teenage boy with cancer, becomes an action-adventure hero in this novel about a native American Indian tribe known as the Monacans, Clan of the Black Bear. After crossing through a time portal to colonial America, he shares many adventures with them including hunting, fishing, horseback riding, making crafts, exploring the wilderness, and protecting the land from marauding settlers.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
106 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 7, 2019
13 people are currently reading
2964 people want to read
About the author
Ron Chandler
9 books108 followersI am a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and a member of the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. I believe that fiction should be multicultural and family oriented. Most of the events depicted in my writing are based on real experiences or anecdotes told to me by friends and acquaintances. My short stories and poems have been published in over 30 literary magazines including The Aurorean, The Binnacle (University of Maine at Machias), Blueline (SUNY-Potsdam), Capper's, Creative With Words Publications, Pink Chameleon, The Poet's Pen, The Road Not Taken, Storyteller, Tale Spinners (Alberta, Canada), Timber Creek Review, and Toasted Cheese. I welcome your readership.
I also read 2 to 3 books per month. I find reading to be more satisfying than watching television or listening to the radio. 70% of the books I read are fiction and poetry; 30% nonfiction. My favorite book is usually the one I'm reading right now.
I also read 2 to 3 books per month. I find reading to be more satisfying than watching television or listening to the radio. 70% of the books I read are fiction and poetry; 30% nonfiction. My favorite book is usually the one I'm reading right now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 23, 2020
I try not to write bad reviews here. I just give the book one star and move on. However, I won Ghost Riders in giveaway and they keep asking. So here's my take- Aside from being very badly written, with tired metaphors and overly flowery descriptions, this book is incredibly racist. It is said a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Mr. Chandler seems to take it one step further, and seems to feel a little Googling is all he needs to become an expert.
I entered the giveaway because the area Mr. Chandler writes about is the one I live in, and he did get the name of a Virginia Indian tribe correct. But there any resemblance to fact ends. Mr. Chandler has the boy speaking Sioux, as if all Native Americans spoke the same language, and adding insult to injury by mixing several Plains Indian activities in as well. It's as ludicrous and insulting as if he had written "The boys slipped through a crack in the rock and found themselves in the country of Europe, where they spoke Polish to the Spanish fishermen pulling their nets in the Mediterranean before putting on the clever wooden shoes to ride the shaggy ponies across the steppes." Only this is worse, because Mr. Chandler is perpetuating a stereotype that is both damaging and appropriative. He even commits imaginary genocide by having the father tell the boy there haven't been Indians in these parts in 300 years, ignoring the fact that many Virginian tribes are alive and well today.
I won't even go into the damage he does by trying to include all the types of illness he misrepresents, as if by naming something correctly and using one symptom he then can be allowed free rein to make up facts as he goes along.
I cannot dislike this book enough. Shame on Ron Chandler for doing such a disservice to the word writer.
I entered the giveaway because the area Mr. Chandler writes about is the one I live in, and he did get the name of a Virginia Indian tribe correct. But there any resemblance to fact ends. Mr. Chandler has the boy speaking Sioux, as if all Native Americans spoke the same language, and adding insult to injury by mixing several Plains Indian activities in as well. It's as ludicrous and insulting as if he had written "The boys slipped through a crack in the rock and found themselves in the country of Europe, where they spoke Polish to the Spanish fishermen pulling their nets in the Mediterranean before putting on the clever wooden shoes to ride the shaggy ponies across the steppes." Only this is worse, because Mr. Chandler is perpetuating a stereotype that is both damaging and appropriative. He even commits imaginary genocide by having the father tell the boy there haven't been Indians in these parts in 300 years, ignoring the fact that many Virginian tribes are alive and well today.
I won't even go into the damage he does by trying to include all the types of illness he misrepresents, as if by naming something correctly and using one symptom he then can be allowed free rein to make up facts as he goes along.
I cannot dislike this book enough. Shame on Ron Chandler for doing such a disservice to the word writer.
wth
June 26, 2022Let Native American writers write these stories. This old White guy needs to step away.
August 29, 2021
Won this book as a goodreads giveaway. Needs editing for grammar and spelling. Text is descriptive but plot and characters are not compelling. Not worth the read.
July 11, 2024
Not bad, but wish it was longer
July 5, 2021
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A terminally ill boy goes to a summer camp with others like himself. Somehow, he finds a portal to the 17 century and finds a tribe of Indians. He is accepted, and becomes a part of the tribe, along with some friends. White settlers move in, and he tries to find a peaceful solution.
Not bad. Sad ending.
A terminally ill boy goes to a summer camp with others like himself. Somehow, he finds a portal to the 17 century and finds a tribe of Indians. He is accepted, and becomes a part of the tribe, along with some friends. White settlers move in, and he tries to find a peaceful solution.
Not bad. Sad ending.
July 10, 2021
This literally has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. It took me weeks to get through 106 pages--and I felt my intelligence slipping away with each page.
The story is cliche and weird, like the author did a Google search of "Native Americans in the olden days" and then checked each one off his list as he added it: buffalo hunting, warring with settlers from Europe, using every part of the buffalo, calling women squaws and men braves, loving the land more than anyone who has every lived, riding horses without saddles, getting their names from nature, signing peace treaties, etc.--check, check, check. And maybe so the story isn't too boring, let's throw in some common childhood afflictions: cancer, wheelchairs, and cystic fibrosis. And then let's throw in some poorly introduced/explained science fiction: wormholes and time travel. And then let's throw in some stereotypical elements: a mother who calms a father down after he criticizes a child, a father who offers his ill son a tattoo (to help him be brave for an upcoming surgery?!) and then shames him for picking one that isn't very manly--but then, of course, when the son is near death, he apologizes for it, and a young girl who wants to twerk at boys for money and be the new Miley Cyrus until she finds pioneer women's garb so much better.
And was there even an editor? I was astounded by the errors in the book. I can see one or two slipping by, but this was page after page after page. The examples are too numerous to give, but here are a few: the author makes the 17th century English settlers speak in formal tongue, but he cannot use it properly ("I will cut thee to shreds and send thou soul to kingdom come.") He also misuses words like horses "bulking" instead of "balking," a horse's "hunches" instead of "haunches," and on one page alone he calls "milk crates" "milk grates" THREE times. His verbs often did not match the subject or the scene, like a "brood of geese chomping on wild celery" and when "braves and squaws howled, yipped, jabbered, yodeled, and laughed" at a newly-married couple. I would have suspected this was written by a young teen if I hadn't seen the author's photo.
And who was the target audience? I thought maybe I was being too harsh and that the book was aimed at a younger audience. I would think that the main characters being at a camp for sick kids would be children or young teens, but their ages were never given or hinted at. However, there were sexual elements that would not have been appropriate for younger audiences, like an uncouth white man threatening to have his way with a young girl on their wedding night, a main character getting engaged, etc.
All in all, I only finished the book because I won it in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for a review. Also I felt a perverse fascination to see what atrocities I would continue to find. I do not like leaving negative reviews, but this book was just a jumble of confusion, stereotypes, ridiculousness, and a butchering of the English language.
The story is cliche and weird, like the author did a Google search of "Native Americans in the olden days" and then checked each one off his list as he added it: buffalo hunting, warring with settlers from Europe, using every part of the buffalo, calling women squaws and men braves, loving the land more than anyone who has every lived, riding horses without saddles, getting their names from nature, signing peace treaties, etc.--check, check, check. And maybe so the story isn't too boring, let's throw in some common childhood afflictions: cancer, wheelchairs, and cystic fibrosis. And then let's throw in some poorly introduced/explained science fiction: wormholes and time travel. And then let's throw in some stereotypical elements: a mother who calms a father down after he criticizes a child, a father who offers his ill son a tattoo (to help him be brave for an upcoming surgery?!) and then shames him for picking one that isn't very manly--but then, of course, when the son is near death, he apologizes for it, and a young girl who wants to twerk at boys for money and be the new Miley Cyrus until she finds pioneer women's garb so much better.
And was there even an editor? I was astounded by the errors in the book. I can see one or two slipping by, but this was page after page after page. The examples are too numerous to give, but here are a few: the author makes the 17th century English settlers speak in formal tongue, but he cannot use it properly ("I will cut thee to shreds and send thou soul to kingdom come.") He also misuses words like horses "bulking" instead of "balking," a horse's "hunches" instead of "haunches," and on one page alone he calls "milk crates" "milk grates" THREE times. His verbs often did not match the subject or the scene, like a "brood of geese chomping on wild celery" and when "braves and squaws howled, yipped, jabbered, yodeled, and laughed" at a newly-married couple. I would have suspected this was written by a young teen if I hadn't seen the author's photo.
And who was the target audience? I thought maybe I was being too harsh and that the book was aimed at a younger audience. I would think that the main characters being at a camp for sick kids would be children or young teens, but their ages were never given or hinted at. However, there were sexual elements that would not have been appropriate for younger audiences, like an uncouth white man threatening to have his way with a young girl on their wedding night, a main character getting engaged, etc.
All in all, I only finished the book because I won it in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for a review. Also I felt a perverse fascination to see what atrocities I would continue to find. I do not like leaving negative reviews, but this book was just a jumble of confusion, stereotypes, ridiculousness, and a butchering of the English language.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2022
Disappointed
This was a Goodreads giveaway book, and I very much wanted to like it. I find I prefer a simpler story sometimes, and books from the youth genre can satisfy that. Not so this book; I found the story choppy and wanting, as the author did a poor job of explaining what was happening. Eventually, the reader realizes, but I just felt the story didn't progress smoothly.
The other issue I had was a seeming disparity between the projected ages of the characters and their 'imaginary ' age. They go to a camp for sick kids, which lead me to think they were maybe 14 at most. Some of the activities the camp offered suggested they were even younger (stories being read to them by the camp counselors) - not what you would expect 14 year old to sit through. And where is the supervision? The number of times these 'kid's were able to slip away suggests negligence. However, when they enter the mythical world, they appear to be 16 or 17 years old, capable of shooting arrows with accuracy, riding wild horses bareback, and experiencing the sexual yearnings of older teens. Does every book we pick up today need to have a sexual component? Even kids books?
I can see where the author wants to give kids who are made different by virtue of disease a chance to believe in a place where they can compete on equal footing as those who are healthy; and I can see where he incorporates that young teenage ideal of 'I can do and am capable of anything', but this story seemed to throw it all in and then not tie it together very well.
It was a difficult book to plod through, and though only 100 pages, took me almost a week to read. No recommendation, unless reader is 7 or 8 yrs old - and then try to explain why the villain goes after Lily and wants to marry her and be tender when he plucks her blossom. EEeeuuuwww.
This was a Goodreads giveaway book, and I very much wanted to like it. I find I prefer a simpler story sometimes, and books from the youth genre can satisfy that. Not so this book; I found the story choppy and wanting, as the author did a poor job of explaining what was happening. Eventually, the reader realizes, but I just felt the story didn't progress smoothly.
The other issue I had was a seeming disparity between the projected ages of the characters and their 'imaginary ' age. They go to a camp for sick kids, which lead me to think they were maybe 14 at most. Some of the activities the camp offered suggested they were even younger (stories being read to them by the camp counselors) - not what you would expect 14 year old to sit through. And where is the supervision? The number of times these 'kid's were able to slip away suggests negligence. However, when they enter the mythical world, they appear to be 16 or 17 years old, capable of shooting arrows with accuracy, riding wild horses bareback, and experiencing the sexual yearnings of older teens. Does every book we pick up today need to have a sexual component? Even kids books?
I can see where the author wants to give kids who are made different by virtue of disease a chance to believe in a place where they can compete on equal footing as those who are healthy; and I can see where he incorporates that young teenage ideal of 'I can do and am capable of anything', but this story seemed to throw it all in and then not tie it together very well.
It was a difficult book to plod through, and though only 100 pages, took me almost a week to read. No recommendation, unless reader is 7 or 8 yrs old - and then try to explain why the villain goes after Lily and wants to marry her and be tender when he plucks her blossom. EEeeuuuwww.
October 8, 2024
This was a fun read, a Goodreads giveaway as well. Kids attending camp discover a path to the past and have big adventures. Characters included contend with various disabilities and illnesses and budding romances too. A good YA read!
August 3, 2019
I won this book in exchange for a fair review in a GoodReads giveaway, for which I am very grateful.
I admit I have a certain fondness for Young Adult science fiction. (We used to call them "kids books", back in the day.) This one is a very good one. Hopefully no spoilers, but the kids find a natural time portal in the mountains, which takes them back in time to the 17th or 18th century (they're not sure), where they meet and are accepted into an American Indian tribe. Despite their various handicaps (the story's hero has cancer, another a spinal problem, and so on), the kids have a variety of adventures and overcome many obstacles, including their disabilities. It's very uplifting.
The science of the time portal is briefly explained, in that it's a narrow twisting crevice lines with pockets of pitchblende (uranium ore) and a vein of radium which powers the portal. So, they're getting irradiated with each passage? Hmm.... It's also never stated, but it seemed to me that on the past time end of the portal, time doesn't move unless the kids are there, or that it moves very slowly. The kids can be back in the present for long periods of time, but upon returning to the past, they're greeted as though it's maybe a little later that day. I like time travel stories and ideas; this intrigues me, and makes me want to know more. But the kids adventures and challenges are certainly enough to keep me interested.
I highly recommend this book.
I admit I have a certain fondness for Young Adult science fiction. (We used to call them "kids books", back in the day.) This one is a very good one. Hopefully no spoilers, but the kids find a natural time portal in the mountains, which takes them back in time to the 17th or 18th century (they're not sure), where they meet and are accepted into an American Indian tribe. Despite their various handicaps (the story's hero has cancer, another a spinal problem, and so on), the kids have a variety of adventures and overcome many obstacles, including their disabilities. It's very uplifting.
The science of the time portal is briefly explained, in that it's a narrow twisting crevice lines with pockets of pitchblende (uranium ore) and a vein of radium which powers the portal. So, they're getting irradiated with each passage? Hmm.... It's also never stated, but it seemed to me that on the past time end of the portal, time doesn't move unless the kids are there, or that it moves very slowly. The kids can be back in the present for long periods of time, but upon returning to the past, they're greeted as though it's maybe a little later that day. I like time travel stories and ideas; this intrigues me, and makes me want to know more. But the kids adventures and challenges are certainly enough to keep me interested.
I highly recommend this book.
July 17, 2022
Believing is seeing
I won this book as a Giveaway Winner and I give this book 5 stars for the adventure and wisdom it teaches. Like Cultor, Demetri and Lilly they are fighting serious diseases but are strong and brave and they show that in this story. They go to a camp and adventure off into the mountains where they find a portal to go into another time zone. When they arrive there they find wild horses and an Indian tribe. They gain the Indians trust by tests and teachings of the Shaman and other members. Coultor falls in love with the Chief's daughter and Demetri and Lilly find love between them on their adventures in another world. With danger lurking behind every corner, their bravery proves stronger as they fight battles, hunting, being captured and skills that show more than what meets the eye. Their wisdom grows more the more they visit each day. But when Coultor falls ill Demetri stays with him until help arrives. It was uplifting. How his adventure here are Earth even though depressing by fighting his horrible disease to finding love and peace in a new world to the Indians helping to save him. How remarkable that must have been to be in another time and witness it all clean and pure. The Shaman, Hummingbird, Running Deer, Standing Tall they would stay with him forever.
I won this book as a Giveaway Winner and I give this book 5 stars for the adventure and wisdom it teaches. Like Cultor, Demetri and Lilly they are fighting serious diseases but are strong and brave and they show that in this story. They go to a camp and adventure off into the mountains where they find a portal to go into another time zone. When they arrive there they find wild horses and an Indian tribe. They gain the Indians trust by tests and teachings of the Shaman and other members. Coultor falls in love with the Chief's daughter and Demetri and Lilly find love between them on their adventures in another world. With danger lurking behind every corner, their bravery proves stronger as they fight battles, hunting, being captured and skills that show more than what meets the eye. Their wisdom grows more the more they visit each day. But when Coultor falls ill Demetri stays with him until help arrives. It was uplifting. How his adventure here are Earth even though depressing by fighting his horrible disease to finding love and peace in a new world to the Indians helping to save him. How remarkable that must have been to be in another time and witness it all clean and pure. The Shaman, Hummingbird, Running Deer, Standing Tall they would stay with him forever.
May 15, 2024
This is way outside my usual genre and I mostly just read it because I won a free copy but it was a sweet story. I grew up riding horses and playing in the canyons imagining myself in a time long ago when the native Americans lived freely and were a part of the landscape, so the setting was very enjoyable. The story is about some teens in a cancer ward or a hospital setting of some sort. I started reading a long time ago and only read this in short bursts so I don't recall some of the details. They travel through a time portal to I believe the 1600s and lived among a native tribe and connected to the earth as it once was before pollution and colonization changed everything. The portal serves as a coping mechanism for these kids as they undergo their treatments. It juxtaposes the ills of the modern world with the way the natives lived peacefully and harmoniously with the earth. As I said it took me a long time to finally complete it but it was a good, original story and I am glad I finished it.
August 29, 2019
Eh...
I have read several cowboys and Indians stories and this was the least interesting of all of them. I found the story predictable, not particularly engaging, and was glad to be finished. I also did not like the coming-of-age activities which lent a mildly sexual overtone to parts of the book. Without any of that, the story could have had an additional star. With more adventure and believable characters, the story could have had an additional star on top of that.
Also, too much effort went into explaining how the transition between times occurred. It might have been better to have kids be kids and experience the time portal without necessarily knowing the science behind it.
I’m not sure who the intended audience is, but I wouldn’t give it to any of my nieces and nephews who range from 17 down to 1. While the sexual overtones make it not a children’s book, the plot was clearly designed for the young. Thus, it is a book without a good audience, in my opinion.
I have read several cowboys and Indians stories and this was the least interesting of all of them. I found the story predictable, not particularly engaging, and was glad to be finished. I also did not like the coming-of-age activities which lent a mildly sexual overtone to parts of the book. Without any of that, the story could have had an additional star. With more adventure and believable characters, the story could have had an additional star on top of that.
Also, too much effort went into explaining how the transition between times occurred. It might have been better to have kids be kids and experience the time portal without necessarily knowing the science behind it.
I’m not sure who the intended audience is, but I wouldn’t give it to any of my nieces and nephews who range from 17 down to 1. While the sexual overtones make it not a children’s book, the plot was clearly designed for the young. Thus, it is a book without a good audience, in my opinion.
January 13, 2025
This could be a good book... however, it lacks research into actual American Indians, and includes racist language that has no place in a book written this century. Had the offending labels been used ONLY by the long ago white settlers, that could have been an instructive moment, especially if our time travelers had mentioned how offensive the term was.... but no, they use it also.
The time-traveling itself leaves too much unsaid, such as a 14 year old explaining long absences to camp counselors and parents (sometimes the modern kids spend days with their Native hosts... how long passes in their own time? at least address it).
Tropes are overused. Each leader (Tribal and Settler) has an evil counselor, our hero is a magical white kid, the American Indian kids have super abilities.... come on... choose a genre and stick to it.... and do some darn research.
The time-traveling itself leaves too much unsaid, such as a 14 year old explaining long absences to camp counselors and parents (sometimes the modern kids spend days with their Native hosts... how long passes in their own time? at least address it).
Tropes are overused. Each leader (Tribal and Settler) has an evil counselor, our hero is a magical white kid, the American Indian kids have super abilities.... come on... choose a genre and stick to it.... and do some darn research.
July 8, 2021
Fantasy, History, EZ to read. What else does a pleasure book need? This one is what my library calls JF, or Juvenile Fiction. It took me back to 1961, reading word books in the 4th grade, explaining them to the picture book readers and acting them out on the play ground. A Monkey Bars was a B-17, A Horse, Submarine, or Pirate Ship. Much as the boy in this story rode horses and shot arrows at camp with his friends, while living thanks to a time portal with Indians. Who to recommend this story too. Well they are supposed to be teenagers, in middle school, and he ugg kisses a girl, so not for a nine year old in 1961. But today is 2021 I'm guessing kids haven't changed much so sending it to 6th graders 11 or 12 years old.
January 1, 2021
I received this book through a goodreads giveaway. I really wanted to like this book and it had some good things going for it (sci-fi, wormhole, horses, characters with varying levels of health and ability, etc), but I was continually derailed by the racist and misogynistic language. There’s no excuse for that kind of language or inappropriate tropes in literature, much less anything written this century.
September 8, 2024
A Goodreads Giveaway!
I did not finish this book, and feel it would have been better in the children’s section than Historical Fiction!
This was more a book taken from a children’s comic!
I don’t think using disabilities of the children makes the book anymore interesting, in fact I think it detracts from the story line!
I did not finish this book, and feel it would have been better in the children’s section than Historical Fiction!
This was more a book taken from a children’s comic!
I don’t think using disabilities of the children makes the book anymore interesting, in fact I think it detracts from the story line!
December 9, 2024
Ghost Riders of Cumberland Gap
I think this book would be better for the younger audience. As an adult, it is a little predictable. It's 106 pages, so it would be perfect for 9 to 13 year olds. The plot of the story is good, but it's not the most attention-grabbing book I've ever read.
I think this book would be better for the younger audience. As an adult, it is a little predictable. It's 106 pages, so it would be perfect for 9 to 13 year olds. The plot of the story is good, but it's not the most attention-grabbing book I've ever read.
September 1, 2019
Great memories
When I was a little girl I use to write story about Indians and horses. This story took me back to those days. Thank you Goodreads and Ron Chandler I so enjoyed this book and I loved going to Cumberland Gap again.
When I was a little girl I use to write story about Indians and horses. This story took me back to those days. Thank you Goodreads and Ron Chandler I so enjoyed this book and I loved going to Cumberland Gap again.
October 19, 2020
It has been a very long time since I read a book and felt that I was there with the characters.
I can not really describe how I feel. I was so tied into the story that I got lost in it if you know what I mean.
I can not really describe how I feel. I was so tied into the story that I got lost in it if you know what I mean.
August 17, 2022
This book has an interesting story line, cancer kid goes to camp finds a portal that transports him back in time where he learns things from the Indian tribe he meets. Quick read - ends abruptly. Needs more depth.
September 5, 2023
Interesting story
The story is unique and interesting. Overall it was a good read. It brought light to inner struggles and the damage we have done to the earth by not living clean, I felt this could have been furthered a bit more but overall a good read!
The story is unique and interesting. Overall it was a good read. It brought light to inner struggles and the damage we have done to the earth by not living clean, I felt this could have been furthered a bit more but overall a good read!
June 22, 2025
This is a book about determination.
It's a book about time travel, and cultural differences. While I accepted the difference in time, I don't understand how they were able to sneak away.
It's a book about time travel, and cultural differences. While I accepted the difference in time, I don't understand how they were able to sneak away.
August 16, 2022
Ghost Riders of Cumberland Gap
Ghost Riders of Cumberland Gap was a great adventure into the past. The great Buffalo was an important part of life for these people. Wonderful story.
Ghost Riders of Cumberland Gap was a great adventure into the past. The great Buffalo was an important part of life for these people. Wonderful story.
July 10, 2024
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It was not for me.
dnf
December 1, 2024Won via goodreads giveaways, all my opinions are my own.
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Not my cuppa :(
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Not my cuppa :(
December 16, 2024
This book is good for the middle school age group. It has a great story line that will keep younger kids interested. Not a bad book but definitely not one for adults.
December 31, 2024
A delightful children's story.
July 25, 2025
What a neat story for our youth. I truly enjoyed it since I am a kid at heart.
November 13, 2025
Really was not bad.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews