Gone, the Redeemer

by Scott Gates

Thomas Sparkman wasn’t looking for trouble. He never could have imagined being on a wanted poster, let alone becoming a notorious gold robber hunted in two states. But when Thomas sneaks off the Cuban front of the Spanish-American War with his sights set on returning to his pregnant wife in California, his path takes a series of unexpected turns.

He's joined on his journey by a mysterious mercenary, a runaway circus sideshow performer, and an Apache guide and her infant son. As the group traverses the American West, they cross paths with rogues, loners, and hired guns—some searching for their own form of redemption, some working to stop him dead in his tracks. Thomas and his travel companions must stay two steps ahead of their pursuers, outwitting them at every turn, or Thomas may never see home again.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Paperback

Published June 15, 2022

About the author

Scott Gates grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and has worked as a writer and editor in Colorado, Virginia, and North Carolina. He is the author of "Gone, the Redeemer" and "Hard Road South," which was a finalist in the debut author category of the Feathered Quill Book Awards. His short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Scott and his brother share perspectives on Southern culture at incidentalist.com. He currently lives near Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, Kelly, and their three children.

Reviews

[Grady Ormsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it interesting that in the last chapter of Gone, the Redeemer, Scott Gates mentioned Homer’s The Odyssey There are several parallels in the stories of Ulysses and Thomas Sparkman. They both are on a quest to return home after a war. Both stories begin with a sea voyage. Both involve a series of travails, challenges, and dangers. Both involve the use of wily cleverness and deception by the main character in order to escape hazardous perils. And both introduce a variety of interesting characters met along the way.

The story is told by a first-person narrator and is set in an arc from Cuba up to Colorado during the time of the Spanish-American War. The title is reflected in a theme of redemption as well as survival. The axillary characters are an Asian mercenary, a dwarf escapee from a circus cage, and an Apache guide with her infant son. There are shoot-outs, chases, high explosives, and lots of mean, evil, nasty people. There are signs that Gates did diligent geographic and historical research as the reader is taken on an odyssey through time and space.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gone, the Redeemer fits well into the ethos of the trans-continental American adventure novel. Yet the dynamic among the characters that illuminate the pages of Redeemer is distinctly unique and the net result is compelling and entertaining storytelling. You’ll find yourself engrossed in an unforgettable tale of our complex protagonist, Thomas Sparkman, in his quest to be reunited with his wife and expected child. Part history and part Americana, Redeemer follows the travels of Sparkman, his unlikely traveling companions, and the adversaries that mean to block Sparkman’s passage from Cuba to California. The historical elements of Redeemer are effectively utilized throughout the novel and serve to enhance the atmosphere of the times and color the vast landscape of the American frontier. Gates’ lively, nuanced prose will bring you intimately into the tangled lives our wayfaring strangers and their harrowing survival epic. And will keep you wondering what redemption might lie in store for the ragtag band.

[Allyson McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plain and simple: I loved this book. The odyssey of Thomas Sparkman, from deserting the army during the Spanish-American war to his return home, is filled with some pretty wild escapades and unusual compatriots. But even more importantly, this is a book with heart and compassion. Thomas may break the law now and then, to survive, but he cares deeply about the people around him. As the book description says, when he gets out of Cuba and on American soil, “he’s joined on his journey by a mysterious mercenary, a runaway circus sideshow performer, and an Apache guide and her infant son.” Author Scott Gates imbues each of these characters with real personalities. By the end of the book, I cared deeply about all of them, they had become that real. This is the mark of a true author, and in this, his second novel, Gates has hit the ground running. I am already looking forward to what he writes next.

[Joanna Monahan]

“All of this – the deception, the stealing, even the bit with the guncotton – started with a sunset.”

And so begins the story of Thomas Sparkman, absentee husband, Army deserter, accidental gold robber, and his journey across 1898’s American West in time for the birth of his first child. Along the way, Thomas is joined by an esoteric cast of characters, all with a lesson to impart to this skittish father-to-be.

This book was unexpected in the best ways, both in the winding action (explosions! robberies! kidnapping!) and nuanced character depictions. The scenic descriptions are gorgeous - as a 20-year resident of Denver, I loved getting to visit my former hometown in all its newly-electrified glory - and the outcome is both satisfying as well as open to interpretation, an impressive feat.

GONE, THE REDEEMER is a journey worth taking.

[Colin Kitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in this book remind me of a Jules Verne novel, they are very off the wall and diverse. It’s difficult to know whether to like Thomas the main protagonist. He runs away from the Cuban war with good intentions but he is also extremely cunning and not afraid to treat people quite badly. He is a bit of a selfish cad really.
I enjoyed reading this novel, it is a big improvement on the authors first book in terms of plot structure. The story keeps you interested even if some of the diction seems awkward at times and he has kept it short and to the point being just over 200 pages long if you take out the blanks

[Kathryn Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is chock-full of quirky characters one can easily imagine roaming the west at the end of the 19th century. The author brings a complexity to those characters that brings them to three-dimensional life. The pacing of the action and the manner of speech are spot on for the era, and we find ourselves hitching a ride with folks who may...or may not...have our best interests at heart. And that’s part of the fun!

[Darcy Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long time. If you liked This Tender Land, The Lincoln Highway, or West with Giraffes, I think you would love this book.

Set right after the Spanish-American War, this book follows the main character, Thomas Sparkman, as he tries to make his way home after the war to California and his pregnant wife. He falls in with an unexpected cast of characters, and their journey across the landscape of the American West is exquisitely told. References to the Odyssey throughout the book add a mythical element. This author is one of those masterful storytellers that comes along once in a great while. I highly recommend it.