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Rating: 
Summary: Perfect mix of historical interest and story telling
Review: Having read and absolutely loved City of Dreams, I was anxious to get my hands on Shadowbrook the minute I could and I had it preordered on Amazon as a result. I was not disapointed in any way, yet again Ms Swerling has made the perfect mix of historical research and interest with a blinding story this time of the sultry south. I have a fascination with the historical aspects of her books, always so interesting and with so much detail that you really lose yourself in the time and place. But unlike equally well researched books with an interesting factual basis like the Di Vinci code, Ms Swerling's charaters are living breathing believable human beings and she spins a yarn that keeps you hooked throughout. I really recommend this book to anyone interested in recent history and/or who enjoys a compulsive story line. I also recommend City of Dreams to any who haven't read that yet either.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect mix of historical interest and story telling
Review: Having read and absolutely loved City of Dreams, I was anxious to get my hands on Shadowbrook the minute I could and I had it preordered on Amazon as a result. I was not disapointed in any way, yet again Ms Swerling has made the perfect mix of historical research and interest with a blinding story this time of the sultry south. I have a fascination with the historical aspects of her books, always so interesting and with so much detail that you really lose yourself in the time and place. But unlike equally well researched books with an interesting factual basis like the Di Vinci code, Ms Swerling's charaters are living breathing believable human beings and she spins a yarn that keeps you hooked throughout. I really recommend this book to anyone interested in recent history and/or who enjoys a compulsive story line. I also recommend City of Dreams to any who haven't read that yet either.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This One!
Review: I won't sketch the plot again as this has already been done above. Several things struck me as I read Shadowbrook. The first was how much popular fiction in the hands of a gifted writer can achieve. The descriptions of those things one can see, the things that might be captured by a cinematographer, are rendered in such beautiful and evocative language that you forget at times you're not watching the big screen. The things one cannot see, the things that must be coaxed from cinematic image with inference, are conjured by Swerling with such skill that the reader thinks, dreams, smells, schemes and feels along with the book's characters. This clean access to the "unseeable" is one of the advantages novels enjoy over film and TV. Ironically it is the element most of today's writers have sacrificed, apparently believing they must do so to emulate the torrid pace of cinema. Swerling has shown that this is an unnecessary sacrifice, at least for a writer as talented as she: Shadowbrook, while rich in its treatment of the "unseeable," moves along at an absolutely breathtaking pace. The depth given by Swerling to her characters and settings leaves you feeling at book's end that you've traveled through time, that you've been places and met people you'll never forget. I also found refreshing how distant events are viewed from the inside out, i.e. from the vantage point of the characters rather than from a faraway observer smothering us with facts. In Shadowbrook one sees history for what it is: a great human tide that defines us as quickly as we create it. Finally, I loved the way Swerling shows how our thoughts and actions are shaped by the prism of belief through which we view the world. That prism leaves precious little room for common ground among those who believe differently, as troubling a reality 250 years ago as it is today. One comes away with the feeling that whenever we stumble into a realm that allows us to "connect" with people of different beliefs, we should know that we are on sacred ground and linger a while. There is much talk of magic in Shadowbrook, both on the part of the Indians and the black slaves that live on Hale Patent. But the magic not mentioned is that this wonderful story exists, and that someone among us was sufficiently "possessed" to write it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This One!
Review: I won?t sketch the plot again as this has already been done above. Several things struck me as I read Shadowbrook. The first was how much popular fiction in the hands of a gifted writer can achieve. The descriptions of those things one can see, the things that might be captured by a cinematographer, are rendered in such beautiful and evocative language that you forget at times you?re not watching the big screen. The things one cannot see, the things that must be coaxed from cinematic image with inference, are conjured by Swerling with such skill that the reader thinks, dreams, smells, schemes and feels along with the book?s characters. This clean access to the ?unseeable? is one of the advantages novels enjoy over film and TV. Ironically it is the element most of today?s writers have sacrificed, apparently believing they must do so to emulate the torrid pace of cinema. Swerling has shown that this is an unnecessary sacrifice, at least for a writer as talented as she: Shadowbrook, while rich in its treatment of the ?unseeable,? moves along at an absolutely breathtaking pace. The depth given by Swerling to her characters and settings leaves you feeling at book?s end that you?ve traveled through time, that you?ve been places and met people you?ll never forget. I also found refreshing how distant events are viewed from the inside out, i.e. from the vantage point of the characters rather than from a faraway observer smothering us with facts. In Shadowbrook one sees history for what it is: a great human tide that defines us as quickly as we create it. Finally, I loved the way Swerling shows how our thoughts and actions are shaped by the prism of belief through which we view the world. That prism leaves precious little room for common ground among those who believe differently, as troubling a reality 250 years ago as it is today. One comes away with the feeling that whenever we stumble into a realm that allows us to ?connect? with people of different beliefs, we should know that we are on sacred ground and linger a while. There is much talk of magic in Shadowbrook, both on the part of the Indians and the black slaves that live on Hale Patent. But the magic not mentioned is that this wonderful story exists, and that someone among us was sufficiently ?possessed? to write it.
Rating:
Summary: History springs to life!
Review: In SHADOWBROOK, the North America of the mid eighteenth century springs to life in a riveting, violent, and touching novel. With her meticulous research and fluid style, Beverly Swerling breathes life into some of the most famous figures from the era-George Washington, Chief Pontiac, General Wolfe to name but a few. Moreover, she so effectively conjures up the setting that I could see and smell the wilderness of Ohio and hear the noise from the streets of old Quebec. Her two fictional protagonists-Quentin Hale and Cormac Shea-embody the conflict erupting around them: white versus Indian and English versus French. Shea, part English and part Indian, is a particularly moving character. He dreams of peaceful cohabitation between the Europeans and the "Real People" (an Indian term for their own people) but sees only proof of the opposite in the spiraling bloodshed of the time. Swerling's brutally frank description of the French and Indian War's battles is at times almost painful to read but it only heightens the book's authenticity and magnifies the suspense. The personal dramas, including a touching love story and a deadly family betrayal, which play out against the backdrop of war make SHADOWBROOK impossible to put down.
Though the French and Indian War clearly sets the foundation for the American revolution, Swerling simultaneously describes the events that led to the eventual foundation of Canada-and her two solitudes of English and French. As a Canadian, I was fascinated to meet the characters whose actions helped shape the destiny and character of my nation.
In SHADOWBROOK, Beverly Swerling reaffirms what her previous novel, CITY OF DREAMS, showed-namely, Swerling is amongst the very best of today's historical fiction writers.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Last time I was in America, I came across this author's gripping first novel, City of Dreams, and I've been hoping she'd write another. Shadowbrook is definitely worth the wait - and the cost of postage to the UK! Like its predecessor, Shadowbrook is Adventure on a Grand Scale: a glorious, page-turning plot that kept me up half the night, vividly memorable characters, and a fabulous talent for bringing history to life so you feel you're actually living it yourself, as opposed to merely reading about it. Definitely my favourite read of 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Last time I was in America, I came across this author's gripping first novel, City of Dreams, and I've been hoping she'd write another. Shadowbrook is definitely worth the wait - and the cost of postage to the UK! Like its predecessor, Shadowbrook is Adventure on a Grand Scale: a glorious, page-turning plot that kept me up half the night, vividly memorable characters, and a fabulous talent for bringing history to life so you feel you're actually living it yourself, as opposed to merely reading about it. Definitely my favourite read of 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Good story; solid history
Review: This is a great combination of history with a great story filled with believable characters -- brothers raised with one foot in the white man's world and another in the world of the Indian. The priests, nuns, slaves, soldiers, and Indians of many tribes all play a part in this closely intertwined plot which involves land ownership, the church and its power, the Indian fight for survival, and a love story. My only complaint might be that the many Indian tribes became confusing and some of the battle scenes became difficult to follow. The plot really does depend on minute details -- sometimes almost too many to remember especially if the book is read over a period of time (just didn't have the time to read -- it really is a page turner most of the time). Overall, I felt this was a better book than City of Dreams -- more realistic, yet interesting characters. Shadowbrook paints a picture of a time when our country was being formed with all the good people, the bad people, and the many in between who were caught in circumstances beyond their control and were looking at the world in the only way they knew. Overall, a good historical read.
Rating:
Summary: Good story; solid history
Review: This is a great combination of history with a great story filled with believable characters -- brothers raised with one foot in the white man's world and another in the world of the Indian. The priests, nuns, slaves, soldiers, and Indians of many tribes all play a part in this closely intertwined plot which involves land ownership, the church and its power, the Indian fight for survival, and a love story. My only complaint might be that the many Indian tribes became confusing and some of the battle scenes became difficult to follow. The plot really does depend on minute details -- sometimes almost too many to remember especially if the book is read over a period of time (just didn't have the time to read -- it really is a page turner most of the time). Overall, I felt this was a better book than City of Dreams -- more realistic, yet interesting characters. Shadowbrook paints a picture of a time when our country was being formed with all the good people, the bad people, and the many in between who were caught in circumstances beyond their control and were looking at the world in the only way they knew. Overall, a good historical read.
Rating: 
Summary: Life goes on, no matter what.
Review: This volume covers a period (1754 - 1760) skipped over in the earlier book about the strife during the War concerning the New York plantation near the Hudson River and two men brought up there as brothers. The descriptions of Colonial life makes one wonder how they endured such hardships in this New World. There is more emphasis on politics just touched on in CITY OF DREAMS. The 'complexity' of history makes it worth reading; she researches her material minutely to the best effect. She not only presents the historical facts but her use of the English language is impeccable.
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