Celebration!

Wagons West #24

by Dana Fuller Ross

Ross, Dana Fuller

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, Adult, Historical, Fiction

339 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

Dana Fuller Ross is a pseudonym used by Noel B. Gerson and James M. Reasoner.

Noel Gearson specializes in historical military novels, westerns, and mysteries. He also writes under the pseudonyms, "Dana Fuller Ross.", Anne Marie Burgess; Michael Burgess; Nicholas Gorham; Paul Lewis; Leon Phillips; Donald Clayton Porter; Philip Vail; and Carter A. Vaughan. He has written more than 325 novels.

James Reasoner (pictured) is an American writer. He is the author of more than 150 books and many short stories in a career spanning more than thirty years. Reasoner has used at least nineteen pseudonyms, in addition to his own name: Jim Austin; Peter Danielson; Terrance Duncan; Tom Early; Wesley Ellis; Tabor Evans; Jake Foster; William Grant; Matthew Hart; Livia James; Mike Jameson; Justin Ladd; Jake Logan; Hank Mitchum; Lee Morgan; J.L. Reasoner (with his wife); Dana Fuller Ross; Adam Rutledge; and Jon Sharpe. Since most of Reasoner's books were written as part of various existing Western fiction series, many of his pseudonyms were publishing "house" names that may have been used by other authors who contributed to those series

Reviews

[D Heale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read all 24 books in this series! This is the final book. I’ve enjoyed them all. The story kept me interested. I’m now going to start the next series of ten that continues with the same family about 10 years later.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like Cindy making peace with the ghost of the Duchess, and this was a nice touch. Something that we don't see at all for the other relationships. Henry, however, quickly rebounds from the murder of his wife (the Duchess) and basically thinks "well, Cindy's husband is dead so she's still mind" , and that rankles. Especially when women excuse his dumping of Cindy (the army told him to get close to the Duchess, so it was a job is not a good luck for Henry either).

I just don't find Henry or Toby to be all that interesting. Everything they do will be correct at least in this series. It changes a bit in the Holts (if I remember correctly) but then just gets transferred to their sons.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meh…

I’m a big fan of these Holt saga books. They’re great fun to read, even if, written in the 80’s, they have a certain lack of political correctness. And I understand this book is the last book in a 24 book series…we’ve been following a couple generations of main characters for probably years of our own lives. So, in the finale, the author is going to want to end with a bang…a fantastic conclusion to a great saga. You know, tie a big beautiful bow around things.

But…sometimes Less is actually More. And this book needed a lot more of Less. This last book “jumped the shark”. How ?

1. Coincidences…in order to bring plot lines together frequent completely improbable coincidences were used as plot devices.

2. Abstracting away time and space and logistics…this book is set in the first few months of 1876. Steam power was new, the telegraph was new, railroads were new. People still largely relied on horses. Yet, all of the main characters in this book are traveling across the country and around the world, hauling all kinds stuff with them, meeting up with people in distant corners of the world, with a convenient ease that isn’t even possible today! Some of the adventures described would have taken years, but unfold in just a few pages here.

3. Adventures…all the main characters are involved in one or more death defying adventures that are really over the top. Not just normal “wagons west” derring do, almost super hero kind of stuff.

With all that said, it’s a great series of books that took me almost exactly 8 years to read. There’s a sequel series that I’ll take a look at also.

This book gets a Four Star rating out of respect for the series, but, I had issues with it.

[Amanda Eiden · Rating 2 out of 5]

i can’t believe i’ve finally finished all of these books. i’m a little sad to leave all the characters behind, but this one was confusing as well… there were like 30 names to keep track of and i took only 2 days off from reading and came back very confused 😕

Eulalia almost drowning in quicksand but surviving by breathing through a shotgun barrel all night was… odd! for a 24-part series finale, i was expecting to get more of a conclusion for each character than what we got

on the cover must be Henry + Cindy, let’s hope he doesn’t cheat on her again 🙏 but i’m not reading the next 10-part series to find out

[Nj]

excelkant as are all of the books written by Dana Fuller Ross

[Amanda-Has-A-Bookcase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember not relly enjoying this book the first time I read it, however this time around I really enjoyed it.

[Barbara Wellnitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final one of the series which has taken me multiple years to read. Action packed and lots of history.

[Lisa Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! Perfect end to the Wagons West series!

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction set in 1876, Celebration has more romantic scenes that any Zane Grey novel. The work has three storylines. An army officer tracks the murderer of his wife while doing his duty. There is an attempt to smuggler rubber plants out of Brazil to reduce the price of rubber. An American commissioner takes on a plot to blow up the hand for the Statue of Liberty. This is the 24th book in the Wagons West series.

[Partridge Public]

Ross, Dana Fuller PB

[Cws]

W Ros

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not much for westerns, but this series held my interest. The stories get a little convoluted in the last few books, but still worth reading.

[Kellyanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celebration took me forever to get my hands on it!! Lol then I found it right under my bum when j was in a taxi lol it was fate.... Lol

[Michael Garreffa` · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Time I am Reading this Series......

[Sherie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent series of books.