Rating: 
Summary: Exciting and full blooded Alaskan saga
Review: This novel is thematically a Western although its settings are non -traditional for the genre .Much of the book is set in Alaska when it was owned by Russia and was the focus of a concerted attempt by some US politicians to acquire the territory from its exploitative owners ,A key section takes place in Siberia and at the court of the Czar in St Petersburg .Throw in lenghty sections set a sea , including a rousing sea battle and you have several elements not normally found in the archetypal Western ,Yet ,withal ,a Western it is, with Cossacks standing in for Native Americans and Russian aristocrats as the despoilers and bandits .
The hero is a typical L'Amour protagonist .Jean LaBarge is rugged ,two -fisted and well capable of looking after himself in a fight both armed and unarmed .He wins the hand of a beautiful aristocratic young woman and carves out a niche for himself in the world by dint of energy and vision .
The opening four chapters are essentially a pre-amble to the main story and depict Jean as a young man growing to manhood in the swamps along the Susquehannah ,becoming friends with the bokish Rob Walker who later becomes a prominent political figure with a vision of an American Alaska .They tell of his capture by an outlaw band and how he goes on to be a world traveller ans a moderately prosperous trader .
The novel does not begin to really get going until the action shifts to Alaska ,a land which is Jean's obsession .He falls for the fair Helena , a niece of the Czar and wife to an honourable Russian administrator ,but earns ther enmity of the corrupt and ruthless Zinnovy who seeks to exercise total control over Alaska turning it into his personal fiefdom .
Before events reach their climax in an Alaskan courtroom murder has been done ,a chase has taken place acros place acros the frozen tundra of Siberia and Jean has been flung into prison and condemned to death There is a lot of plot to get through and now and agian it feels rushed but the pace and vigour of the storytelling compensate and there is -as usual with this writer -some splendid descriptions of the natural beauty of the landscape
This is never dull and I recommend it to lovers of historical romance as well as Western readers
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Adventure
Review: You know with Louis L'Amour that the historical information is going to be acurate. Great adventure story about Sitka an island of Alaska in a time when the Russia government still owned it. Jean LaBarge is a true adventure hero. L'Amour does an excellent job of describing everything in such great detail that you can visualize it. Plus a romance. Don't be scared off by the number of pages, it is worth it.
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