[.uk] Bone Rattler: A Mystery of Colonial America (ISBN 1593761856)

The Author's Note Was The Best Chapter:
I purchased this book as an amazon.com recommendation. I adore historical literature and I initially thought this was right up my alley. Like a previous reviewer, I think it would be better to read a nonfiction account of the events referred to in this novel. I felt it lacked cohesiveness and character development was shallow. A "cast of characters" list would have been extremely helpful in keeping all the names straight. I finally made my own list about half way through the book. I will be passing this book along and not keeping it for my personal library.

The Skull Mantra Redux:
"Bone Rattler" was the first Eliot Pattison book I read and I really liked it (with the exception of the seemingly dense protagonist),liked it until I read "The Skull Mantra" that is. If you've read the Skull Mantra you've pretty much read "Bone Rattler". It appears Mr. Pattison did a cut and paste job when writing "Bone Rattler". Substitute Native Americans for Tibetans and indentured Scots slave laborers/political prisoners for Tibetan/Chinese slave laborers/political prisoners and it's pretty much the same book. Had I not read "The Skull Mantra" I would have given "Bone Rattler" a better review, but, I did and I feel a bit cheated by Mr. Pattison.

Surprisingly Bad:
I was surprised and disappointed in this book. I have really enjoyed all Pattison's Tibetan mysteries, but his attempt at the same techniques in a very different venue fall sadly flat. The lack of cohesiveness and characters' refusal to answer direct questions with intelligible answers, which add to the ambience of the Tibetan novels, is inappropriate in a much less spirit-based society, and really is just annoying. I kept wanting to say, "Just ASK, you dolt!" And "Answer the question already!" All in all, simply disappointing; I'm glad I bought it second-hand.

Colonial Killings:
A Scots prisoner en route to America during the French & Indian War is asked to employ his medical training to investigate a killing onboard ship that continues as he encounters more violence in the colonies. I usually love historical thrillers, and this one started out well, but gets bogged down as the hero pores over the same clues again and again. There's admirable detail in the impassioned histories of the characters, and good insight into the period, but the proceedings are a bit exhausting, certainly overlong. (Plus, it's pretty obvious in this day and age that the native Americans are not going to be depicted as the bloody savages that they're talked about here for the first two-thirds, and these prejudices will be proved wrong. Which is all right and proper - but it does put the reader ahead of the curve suspense-wise)

BOOK REVIEW:
GREAT BOOK AND STORY. IN KEEPING WITH HIS OTHERS. THE ROBERTSON DAVIES OF TIBET AND COLONIAL AMERICA GRAPPLING WITH NATIVE PEOPLES.