Rating: 
Summary: More than a good read. . .
Review: This is more than a book that you read, this is a story that you step into and take over. Anyone who loves Diana Gabaldon, historical romance, Daniel Day-Lewis in "The Last of the Mohicans" and/or thrilling adventures will LOVE this novel. I must correct some misinformation that the Amazon reviewer wrote, though. This story is NOT a sequel to James Fennimore Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans". Merely, some of his characters appear in this novel, along with Claire Fraser from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Rather, Sara Donati has weaved a story all her own using some familiar faces. If you go to the official "Into the Wilderness" web page you can read yourself that Ms. Donati did NOT write this as a sequel to Cooper's novel. She actually had Michael Mann's beautifully directed "Last of the Mohicans" in mind more, she says. Also, the review contained another error: Nathaniel's first wife was NOT Mohican, she was (in English) a Mohawk. I don't mean to bash anyone's review because I love Amazon but I just didn't want any misinformation about this wonderful novel out either! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful wilderness tale with a great cast of characters!
Review: Anyone who loves Diana Gabaldon's "Outlandish" series will love this book. The main character, Elizabeth Middleton, is a strong, independent single woman who falls in love with Nathaniel Bonner - a backwoodsman who was raised in the Mohawk nation. This book covers their fascinating life together and their struggle to save their mountain from the white settlers who want to claim it for the silver mine it contains. It's a wonderful, fast-paced read - I couldn't put it down and found myself counting the hours at work until I could get home and read it! Now that I've finished it, I can't wait for Donati's next installment. Since that's not out until Fall of 1999, I may just have to be content to re-read this great book! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Why did I wait so long?
Review: That is what I had to ask myself after completing Into The Wilderness. I have had this book on my shelf for many years and thanks to a small group on online reading friends, I had the push I needed to open it up and start reading. Right from page one I was hooked on this epic tale of love and adventure with Elizabeth and Nathaniel back in the pioneer days. If you love romance and historical fiction this is definitely the book for you. I can't wait to read the rest in the series now.
Rating: 
Summary: James Fennimore Cooper is spinning in his grave
Review: The author of these books has some talent for spinning a good if derivative historic romance plot line. And if she took liberties with Cooper's original characters, so did the movie versions most readers are probably more familar with, anyway. 'Tis a pity an unremitting political correctness distracts from the story.
Any time a character who is a person of color is introduced to the story line, the reader can predict with close to 100% certainty they will be preternaturally wise, possess an altruistic streak to make Mother Teresa a piker by comparison or have motives as pure as Ivory soap.
By the time I was halfway through the book, I found all the noble Native Americans and selfless blacks insufferably boring. How I longed for a villain like Magua to add some zest to a half baked pastiche.
Rating:
Summary: The First in a Wonderful New Series
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: 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!
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