Customer Reviews

Into the Wilderness

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

From the opening sentence of the book, which recalls Jane Austen's "Emma," this reader was immediately swept into the world of late 18th century upstate New York. Although the book invites comparisons to Dianah Gabaldon's Outlander series (and indeed Clare Frasier makes a brief appearance as a battlefield doctor), I found it also reminiscent of the works of Anya Seton. There is careful attention to the details of ordinary everyday life, an emphasis on creating memorable characters, and plot twists and turns that are quite suspenseful.

Actually, the book can almost be considered a sequel to Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans," as Hawkeye and Chingachgook are featured characters, the former being the father of Nathaniel Bonner, the hero of this novel. Our heroine is Elizabeth Middleton, who has come to upstate New York from England at the age of 29 years to join her father, who has been living in the remote village for many years. Some reviewers have commented that Elizabeth is too politically correct for her time period, however I disagree, as it is made clear that she is a reader of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and other reformers. She is really a blue stocking in the best sense of that term. Her opening herself to love is a gradual process, although the reader knows from the start that Nathaniel is indeed her soul mate. Elizabeth is no "milk & water miss," as she has physical as well as moral courage. She defies her father, whom she truly loves, in order to follow not only her heart but also her head "into the wilderness" for a fullfilling life among those rejected as savages by the dominant culture.

This is a book for anyone who enjoys detailed examinations of everyday life in the past, complex characters who are not sterotypes (Elizabeth's brother Julian and the village doctor, Richard Todd, are fully realized characters in their own right, not cardboard villains), and exciting adventure. There are supposed to be five books in this series: books two and three are in paperback, and number four is due out in hardcover this fall. I already have mine reserved!

This is the beginning of a fascinating series that spans the life time of a settler in the new world coming from England to be with her father in Upper New York State. It begins a narrative that follows these folks from the time we meet them in Into the Wildness until they see their children leave home and become parents themselves. It's a series no historian who enjoys a bit of fiction thrown in should miss - anyone with an interest in the Mohawk Nation or the life of an upperclass England school marm married to a Mohawk man should ever miss. Brilliantly done and tied up at the end with a peek at the ultimate destiny of every player seen within the pages of this five book series.

"Into the Wilderness" is great escapist reading. Though the beginning could be described as somewhat sedate, that is certainly not the word for the latter part of the novel. I found myself tightly gripping the book during more than one exciting scene, wide-eyed and breathless as the action unfolded. Great characters people the book, the writing is terrific, the (...) scenes are tastefully done, and the adventure is a grand one. I love this book and look forward to reading the subsequent novels in the series. Highly recommended escapist fare.

I read this book years ago when I use to work at a library. I'm not into romance, but the cover looked interesting when I was shelving it. I guess I can say I fell in love with author before she was even known as being a great one. After reading the little known book, I immediately began recommending it to patrons. The characters are lovable and real, can't be missed book for romance, as well as, historical, and adventure readers!

This novel is the first in a series of three such novels published to date. It is a riveting, page-turning work of well-written historical fiction. It is a story woven from the gossamer threads of history and infused with the creativity of this author, so as to produce an utterly spellbinding and ambitious, sweeping epic novel. This is a novel that will appeal to those who love rousing historical fiction that carries with it a sense of teeming and timeless adventure.

Those readers who have enjoyed the enormously popular "Outlander" series of novels by author Diana Gabaldon will especially enjoy this book. It should be noted that Diana Gabaldon herself has warmly endorsed this book. Moreover, that its author is herself a fan of Ms. Gabaldon, there can be little doubt, as the two main characters in Ms. Gabaldon's best selling "Outlander" series make a brief appearance nearly midway through this book. Moreover, the author also incorporates James Fennimore Cooper's character "Hawkeye" from his book, "The Last of the Mohicans", adding to the intriguing pastiche of characters, historical, literary, and imaginative, who pepper this book.

The book is simple in its premise. An independent and outspoken, intelligent Englishwoman in her twenties, Elizabeth Middleton, leaves England with her brother Julian, to join their father, Judge Alfred Middleton, in the mountains of upstate New York, northwest of Albany. There, she meets Hawkeye's son, handsome backwoods man Nathaniel Bonner, a man who straddles two worlds, that of the white man and that of the native American, and finds herself falling head-over-heels in love with him.

Despite her father's attempts to marry her off to a wealthy landowner and the village doctor, Richard Todd, she gravitates towards Nathaniel in defiance of her father, who has his own reasons for wanting to marry her off to Dr. Todd. The good doctor also has his own secret agenda in this matter, a secret that he keeps well hidden until thwarted of his desire. To further complicate matters, Elizabeth sets herself up as a school teacher for all the children of the village in which she lives, black, white, and native American, but finds herself locked in conflict with those who believe that education is only for a select group.

What happens to Elizabeth and Nathaniel, as well as to their respective families, is positively gripping, given the adventures into which they are thrust. The author gives the reader a tantalizing glimpse into what life may have been like in upstate New York during that time period, with all its hardships, deprivations, and political and social turmoil, as well as the constantly shifting conflicts and alliances between the white settlers and the Mohawk nation.

Descriptively rich and densely plotted, filled with historical personages of the time and well-known historical events, this ambitious and compelling novel will have the reader compulsively turning the pages until the very end. It is simply a wonderfully told and enthralling tale that any discerning lover of historical fiction will enjoy. Bravo!

Into the Wilderness is escapist reading at its best, set against a thoroughly-researched historical background. I couldn't put it down! It seems that a comparison between Into the Wilderness and the Outlander series is inevitable, which is surprising to me. In my opinion, Into the Wilderness is significantly better. Although both stories are of a similar genre, the characters in Into the Wilderness are more consistent and believable, and in many ways more admirable. In Outlander, main-man Jamie goes from being a completely inexperienced and tenous lover to an enjoyer of sado-masochism in about three days. And he doesn't seem to mind beating his wife Claire, who takes it in stride?!? Whereas Into the Wilderness's Nathanial is consistently respectful of women, and completely irresistable. Sure, there is a certain abount of predictability in any historical romance. But Donati succeeds wonderfully in creating a terrific page-turner nonetheless. And she does it without the sexual violence that Outlandler's author resorts to.

I must say that the 3 books of this series ressemble the Outlander series but unlike what some other reviewers say, that is not a bad thing! I enjoyed that series immensely and was looking for another series that would entertain me in the same way with a different culture (fast-paced story, action & adventure, passion and historical fiction and heroes that always end up back on their feet in the end). It is inspired by the Last of the Mohicans story. I have never read it but I have seen the movie (with Daniel Day Lewis). I strongly recommend you watch it before starting this series. Oh, and make sure you have time to dedicate to reading this because you won't be able to put it down.

This book does remind me of Outlander by D. Gabaldon. I got this book because it was recommended by Gabaldon on the cover (I love how she writes-she makes her characters and stories seem real). This book is too close to how Outlander is written. From being set in close time to the Outlander series, to names that are similiar and situations. It seems the author took Gabaldon's writing style/formula and inserted different names. If I had not read the Outlander series first, I probably would have enjoyed this book more. I do enjoy books that are written in so much detail you can actually feel like you are part of the book, which this book does. However, if you are looking for a well written, great time travel/historical fiction/romance pick the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

By itself, this book is alright. it gets slightly tedious but it's pretty interesting and isn't at all painful to read. However, taking into the fact that Sara Donati communicates/is friends with Diana Gabaldon, I have to say that after reading this book, I was compelled to read Outlander again. Besides having Claire Fraser make an appearance in this book, it seems Ms. Donati has taken some ideas from Diana Gabaldon. In fact, Into the Wilderness seems like Outlander in a different setting and without the time travel. The characters seem to have the same kind of dialect with the same exact spellings as the dialect in Outlander, and Elizabeth seems to be a watered down version of Claire Fraser. It gets tedious at times and I found myself skimming through certain long passages of nothing. I found myself comparing every romantic scene in this book with every Jamie and Claire scene. The scenes Elizabeth and Nathaniel have together seem rushed, as if the author had to stuff it in just for the sake of some romance. This book is okay, in and of itself, but when I read it, all I could think of was the fact that this matches the Outlander series in approximate length and is so similar yet is so much less well written. As a superficial sidenote, I thought the long Indian names were slightly hard to follow. Read this book if you haven't read Outlander yet, or if you don't mind being slightly disappointed.

I thought the book was well crafted and greatly admire the level of period detail. It was interesting and the charcters were well developed. I would read the sequel, because I care what happens to Elizabeth and Nathanael. However, I was most distracted by the references to Pride and Prejudice. This is a completely different kind of story written at a different time by a different author. There is nothing of the Bennets in this novel, and I found the constant references to be rather jarring. I do not like to be winked at by the author when I am reading a novel, I should not see "the man behind the curtain".