Rendezvous

Skye's West #9

by Richard S. Wheeler

Barnaby Skye, a pressed seaman in the Royal Navy, jumps ship at Fort Vancouver in 1826 with little more than the clothes on his back and a belaying pin for a weapon. Fighting for life, starving, hiding from his pursuers--the Hudson's Bay Company and the British Navy--he follows the Columbia River inland toward a fate he never anticipated. In a trapping brigade, Skye falls in with legendary mountain men such as Jim Bridger and Tom "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick and in the fabled Rocky Mountains finds another unexpected turn in his life when he meets the Crow maiden, Many Quill Woman, who will become his wife.

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

There are other authors with this name. One writes Marine Corps history. Another, Civil War history. Another writes in the political sciences.

Richard S. (Shaw) Wheeler was born in Milwaukee in 1935 and grew up in nearby Wauwatosa.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read any of the other Barnaby Skye novels-- apparently there are a number of them. In this case, Wheeler takes a Lucasian (think Star Wars) approach and jumps back to Skye's earlier years, so I don't really feel as if I missed much.

Wheeler writes well enough. He has obviously researched wilderness survival skills and the life of a mountain man, along with some of the differences of the Indian tribes, etc. In this novel, we witness the transformation of a young Navy deserter who travels the wilderness in order to reach a Mountain Man Rendezvous with the intention of heading to the East. He carries his belaying pin and in his new found freedom insists (almost to the point of being sickening at times) on being called "Mister Skye" in deference to his new position in life.

At times, I wanted to throw up my hands and say "no way" as this seaman adapted to life in the wilderness. However, having read some fact-based materials on this subject, I know that there were a lot of men who learned quickly how to get along and how to be resourceful, even without the cable networks educational programming "man vs. wild"... Therefore, I plodded on and was rewarded with a well-charactered, and carefully plotted story about this young man's transformation into a "Mountain Man."

I also felt that Wheeler was able to reproduce some of the thinking of people such as the Hudson Bay officials, the mountain men, and the Indians. I could see their philosophy permeating the story and it added the "chewy" portion of the material, always without spoiling the story. At times, I felt Wheeler attempted to give the reader too much of Sky's cognitive process, that slowed the story in places. Still, all in all, this was one I enjoyed and will likely read more of this author in the future.

Oh, and FOOD played an important part of this story, unlike some of the other authors I have reviewed. {GRIN}

[Topher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first, chronologically, in the story of Barnaby Skye - starting from his deserting from the Royal Navy, through his first Rendezvous, and his first time out trapping. It's also the 1st book in the SECOND series in Skye's West.

So, now I have a dilemma. With 2 series, and some overlap in the chronology, at some point I'll need to make some choices about reading order. The 1st series is completely out of order - ie, the 2nd book is the last chronologically, etc. And, while some series I read (Richard Bolitho for instance) have done this, there is a definite chronology at work, and it's easy to figure out the "right" reading order. So, what order do I read these in?

Either way - I loved the incorporation of historical figures into the story.

A friend of mine (Chris) keeps preaching the value of westerns, and so far I'll admit he's right. They're good reading. This series in particular, starting with a royal navy seaman, is a nice connection to the wooden ship series I've been reading from the same time period.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story of Barnaby Skye's early adventures; pressed into service in the British navy at the age of 14, he finally has the chance to jump ship at the mouth of the Columbia River at the age of 20. He works his way inland, learns how to be a mountain man, meets and falls in love with an indian maiden and gets married. This is one of a series of the wonderful books written by Mr. Wheeler with Mr. Skye as his main character. I have read several and will read all that I can get at our local library.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite books ever! You will absolutely fall in love with Skye and his family. I have reread each book several times and always look forward to their next adventure! Best author I've ever found!

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is the ninth book in the Barnaby Skye series, it feels more like a prequel when you read it. This is the book that details how Barnaby Skye became a mountain man.

Pressed into the British Royal Navy at age 14, Skye became a rebel by every measure. So desperately did he want freedom that his overseers would deliberately put him in cages any time the ships on which he served approached land. In 1826, his ship docked at Fort Vancouver. One of his captors let down his guard, and Skye found himself a free man! In addition to craving his freedom, Barnaby Skye wanted to journey to the East Coast. He had a burning desire to matriculate into an Ivy League school and set himself up in business. He would perhaps find a pale English or American girl who would agree to marry him and with whom he could set up a family. That was his plan as he struggled through any number of dangers and extreme hunger on his way eastward. Recognizing that he needs help, he learns of a group of trappers who meet every summer near present-day Logan, Utah. The Cache Valley rendezvouses were famous in their time for the partying, trading, and storytelling that went on among the mountain men. Skye was a guest at that rendezvous in 1826. While he eventually made friends of the trappers, they could not dissuade him from wanting to go east.

The one creature who very nearly convinced him to stay was a lovely Crow maiden whose name translated to Many Quill Woman. Barnaby Skye insisted she reminded him of a princess, and so he gave her the English name Victoria. She had learned just enough English to communicate with Skye in a rather profane way. She taught him hand signs that would be valuable to him on his journey eastward. Despite their best efforts, neither the trappers nor Victoria could convince him to stay with them. So, he struck out on his own headed east. You will read about the harrowing experiences he had while striving toward St. Louis. I don't think it's a spoiler to point out that he never quite got there. A suboptimal encounter with a group of Blackfoot Indians, left him horseless and hungry. But at least he was alive. Victoria, who had a vision about his future, insisted the grizzly bear was his brother. There may be truth to that, since a bear at one point saved him from certain death.

It's no secret to anyone who has read my reviews for even a short few months that I enjoy this author’s writing style. His characters aren't shallow and one-dimensional people. Instead, he thoughtfully crafts and develops them such that the memory of them stays with you long after you finish the book. As best I understand it, the early books in the series dealt with Skye's life between about 1840 and the 1860s. Book nine is a preview of the life events between 1826 and 1840. You could start with this book if you have not read the entire series and it would serve as a standalone. I enjoyed it immensely, and I look forward to my next visit with Wheeler and his cast of characters.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Rendezvous" is the ninth Barnaby Skye novel published, but it's the first chronologically (starting in 1926) in the life of Richard S. Wheeler's mountain man, so it seemed like a good place for me to start with the Skye saga. And it was. A strong second half makes this a good read for Western lovers — Western as in the frontier kind, not the dusty-cowboys-and-guns kind.

Previous readers of the Skye tales will want to check out his origin story. Skye, stolen away as a boy for impressment aboard a British vessel, escapes on what would become the west coast of America, and decides to head east. He plans to journey to a "university in Cambridge, near Boston" for college, little knowing there's a whole massive continent to traverse.

Starting out alone, Skye is pursued by angry ship's officers and folks from Canada's Hudson's Bay Company, meanwhile rather quickly accumulating the wilderness survival skills that in coming years would help make him a legend. Skye, still in his teens, insists on being addressed in a respectful manner: "It's Mister Skye, mate." Really, really insists. Many times.

While we can accept that Skye is a fast learner, in truth he seems to become adept supernaturally fast, and those he meets immediately befriend him (except for those who hate him on sight). Wheeler clearly has done his research, so all the trapping, hunting and survival skills ring true and Skye's education is fascinating, but the book's first half does seem to have everything coming up roses for our man, and there's not enough depth and grit to the lesson. It's as if Wheeler, having already written eight adventures with Skye as a seasoned frontiersman, is a little antsy to get on with it.

Skye meets up with Natives friendly and unfriendly as he slowly makes his way across this not-yet-America, and arrives in the rendezvous of the title, an annual gathering of mountain men and Indians in which furs and pelts are traded, and there's other business and raucous merry-making.

Skye's story perks up in the second half. There's romance, an encounter with a bear and a battle with the fierce Blackfeet in what becomes an exciting, well-constructed, well-written tale, and Wheeler, who died in 2019 (and should not be confused with Richard Wheeler the writer of military history), brings home this tale with panache and left me wanting more of this frontier storytelling — and there are 18 other Skye novels. "Rendezvous" isn't great, but it's far from your run-of-the-mill Western. Nicely done.

[Michael Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

An established character by this author is being slightly rebooted. This is the introduction to the mountain man Skye's arrival and staying in the west. Previous books have covered his life about 4-5 years after he lands in Vancouver. This starts his development as a man of the west and leads up to the later series.

A bit too many similar mishaps lead to his eventual acceptance that he will not get to Boston anytime soon. And the action repeats itself stretching this story a bit long in my opinion.

[Betti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like a good western. It looks like Richard S. Wheeler has a BOATLOAD of books with Barnaby Skye as the hero. I will have my work cut out for me. Hoping all his books are along the caliber (no pun intended) of Rendevous.
Very satifying.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hooked. Bring on the next one!

[Diane Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as the first time I read the series.

I'm an old lady who loves history, good adventures and great writing. Mr Wheeler is a powerhouse of all three. On to the next adventure!