The Rising Sun

by Douglas Galbraith

Now in paperback, Douglas Galbraith's The Rising Sun is an extraordinary tour de force of historical fiction in the tradition of Caleb Carr's The Alienist and David Liss's A Conspiracy of Paper. A widespread critical favorite in hardcover, it was hailed by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best novels of the past decade, and established its author as a major new talent.

In 1698, five vessels led by the flagship Rising Sun embarked on a perilous voyage for the northern coast of what is now Panama, where passengers intended to found a colony at Darien. With them went the hopes and fortunes of the nation of Scotland, which sought to build an overseas empire so that it could at last compete on the world stage with its rival, England. The Rising Sun is the story of this mission and its tragic outcome, as recorded by the ship's superintendent of cargoes, Roderick Mackenzie. A young man of promise and ambition, Mackenzie is quickly caught up in the intrigues of his fellow colonists - rivalries that will prove overwhelming as nationalist optimism gives way to the brutal realities of their hardscrabble life and rain, mud slides, and disease assault the Scottish encampment.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Scotland, Adventure, Historical

535 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[The Final Chapter · Rating 4 out of 5]

High 4. Galbraith has taken one of the forgotten yet fascinating episodes of Scottish history to fashion not only a worthy addition to the best that historical fiction can offer, but a true adventure yarn worthy of Louis Stevenson or Dumas. His narrator, young Roderick MacKenzie, as superintendent of cargoes aboard the titular flagship provides an eyewitness account of the tragedy which befalls the attempt to colonise the Panamanian isthmus at Darien at the end of the seventeenth century. Not only will this ill-fated Scottish venture into empire-building have to endure the unwelcome attention of both English and Spanish imperial interests, but also withstand the tensions which exist within the community of adventurers themselves. Mackenzie strives to navigate the factionalism which gradually tears the nascent colony of 'Caledonia' apart from within, as the commercial largesse of William Paterson, the brainchild behind the expedition and founder of the Bank of England, comes into conflict with the pugilistic Captain Drummond, in charge of the colony's defence, as well as with the crusading zeal of the spiritual leader Dr Mackay. Galbraith expertly combines thrilling plot development with accuracy of historical detail as he ploughs the fertile terrain of the disastrous attempt by Paterson to drive a road across the isthmus and thus attain for his country an insuperable advantage in control of global trade routes. Yet, if there is a weakness in the novel, it is in the author's over-extension in attempting to broaden the content, to the deteriment of a satisfcatory ending, to include the Act of Union. This would signify the end of scottish dreams of independence and was the inevitable outcome of ther financial meltdown which accompanied the end of 'Caledonia''s golden promise.

[Jody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just starting on this one. It's about 5 Scottish ships that are sailing to the new world to begin a colony. Almost from the beginning, there are troubles between the various members of the crew and passengers. I'm only about 30 pages in to it so, I don't have good feel for whats going on. We'll see.

I'm over half way now and mostly reading it because it's here. Actually it's 1st person view is pretty interesting. However, interesting it is to actually know how many barrels of salt or pairs of this, bottles of that one would take on an excursion across the Atlantic ocean, there comes a point when you really don't care anymore. Right now, I just want to see how it ends.

Well, I should have known - it ends with the rich getting richer and all the other poor bastards either die or end up pennyless with thier families begging on the street. Mostly I felt like the almost never ending descriptions of the new colony during the monsoons, mired in mud,slogging my way through another day just to say I could. Two stars is probably being generous.

[KitCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not like the antagonist of this book - as a product of his time he was abrasive, swindling and generally out for himself. Not being moved by the character, it took me a long time to finish the book. The story is great. The writing is descriptive and visual. I felt like the author was true to the time in depiction.

I recommend reading this book. It just might take awhile.

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed and overly long. I am good with long, but this started to really drag. As someone else noted, it was difficult to care about any of the characters. I finished but was relieved to complete - especially with the very strange incongruous snippet of a disconnected ending. Overall not recommended.

[Vanda Bromwich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of the journey of The Rising Sun which sailed as part of a flotilla at the end of the seventeenth century to Darien on the northern coast of Panama. It is all chronicled by Roderick Mackenzie on a daily basis.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted to learn some history of the failed Scottish colony in what is now Panama. Engaging story with just enough twists foale the history come alive.

[Shari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned.

[Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the expense of a concise and meaningful story, a beautifully rich atmosphere is created.

[Sjo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical novel covering the failed Scottish colony of Darien on the coast of Panama in 1698. The book is narrated by Rory MacKenzie, a young Scot who ends up being the accounts man on the expedition. There is lots of context throughout that is helful if you have some grounding in Scots history, but probably still an entertaining man vs. nature sort of read regardless. There is a real interesting thread from this failed expedition to the 1707 act of union between Scotland and Englang--Galbraith's theory is that the expedition so bankrupted the Scots, they were forced to form a union with England to stay solvent. This may or may not be true, but is interesting to consider given how controversial the topic remains to this day.

[Dov Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I really wanted to like this book I really, really did. I've read seafaring novels before and enjoyed them. But never from the point of view of the book-keeper. I usually give it about 100 pages to develop. Nothing much happened & I didn't feel like I learned anything new. There was some torture by writing in "olde english" style, but I adjusted. I gritted my teeth & read some more. But nothing ever happened. I was disappointed but tried again. At page 170 enough is enough. I guess accountants just aren't that exciting. Maybe if this was about a shoemaker it would be better? This book is going back to the library. A soon as this blizzard stops that is. Fortunately, I have a backup book. That is going pretty well.

[Sean Mcdonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was entertaining for historical fiction. The history is the failed Scottish colony of Darien (in modern Panama). The book is written in 3 parts, part 1 before the voyage and the Atlantic trip, part 2 the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico and actual colony and part 3 the aftermath. As a stand-alone story, Part 3 felt completely unnecessary, though it did show up the long term result of the colony for Scotland.

[William Shep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a debut novel. The writer has good descriptive powers but the narrative lags a bit and none of the characters really shine. There is some humor but overall a sense of impending doom throughout, and rightly so, since this is an account of the now obscure and tragically failed Scottish attempt to launch a colonial empire in Panama at Darien in the 1690s.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic story of the search for fortune in a far off land. Rich in detail and with a haunting melancholy.

[Howard]

19

[Xdw · Rating 3 out of 5]

historical fiction. but watch out, quite a bit of fiction fixing up the facts.