Rating: 
Summary: exemplary historical fiction
Review: This is an outstanding book. I cannot understand readers who compare it to Gabaldon and find it lacking. The story is riveting from the first page, and Elizabeth and Nathaniel are -- as Diana Gabaldon has said herself -- wonderful. This is not a traditional romance, that it true. It is much more than that, intelligently and beautifully written.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a must read!!!
Review: If you like to read books to escape, this book is better than a calgon bath. Elizabeth and Nathaniel take us exploring around Paradise, Albany, Johnstown, and my personal favorite, into the bush. Ms. Donati's descriptions makes you feel as if you are there and can smell the fresh cooked venison. Her characters have so much substance to them, you wish you were sitting around a campfire, or at the trading post, swapping stories.The only negative is that I have to wait until fall of 1999 for the sequel.
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: It takes you back in time with it's first words!
Review: Into the Wilderness, is the best book that I have read since Diane Gabaldon's Outlander. The setting in colonial America is intriguing, especially because of the native Mahikan influences. I especially love her use of James Fennimore Cooper's famous characters. The romance of Nathaniel and Elizabeth tugged at my heart, I got lost in this book. I have already read it for the second time. Her style of writing is very captivating. Five Stars!
Rating: 
Summary: definitely not "Outlander" quality
Review: I really really wanted to like this book, since I love historical novels and the setting should be fascinating. But I couldn't get past the first few chapters due to the author's pedestrian writing style and ho-hum characterizations. I was also constantly put off by anachronistic speech patterns. The publisher wants you to think this is "Outlander in America" but it's simply not. I've read many a paperback genre romance with more flare and dramatic tension than found in this book.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful characters
Review: This was a terrific read -- a fast moving and exciting story with characters I cared about. I'm not sure about the comparison to Gabaldon -- those are time travel novels and this is real historical fiction. I think this book and author stand tall on their own. Even the minor characters are great. I want to know what happens to Elizabeth and Nathaniel and Hawkeye and Hannah, Curiosity (one of my favorites!) and Galileo, Richard Todd and Kitty. And I'm really hoping for more of Aunt Merriweather and Runs-from-Bears and Many-Doves. It's historical fiction, adventure and a love story rolled into one -- what more could you want? I'd give this ten stars if I could.
Rating: 
Summary: enthralling, moving, amusing and instructive
Review: I picked up this book because of the recommendation of Diana Gabaldon on its dust jacket. For the first time in many years, I found myself up late at night, virtually unable stop reading because I "had to know" what happened next. The characters are fresh, original, and memorable, and clearly and humanly drawn, even the many and varied supporting roles. As a happy "side efffect", I learned a great deal about the early history of our country, and of day to day life for the brave souls carving a new society out of the wilderness. However, I loved this book for its gripping story, its fascinating characters and the outstanding quality of writing. I can't wait for the sequel!!
Rating:
Summary: As satisfy as anything I have ever read
Review: In the Winter of 1792, Elizabeth Middleton arrives from England to reside with her father, a renowned New York judge. Elizabeth hopes to become the teacher to the children of the wilderness town of Paradise, an area that the English lady finds intoxicating despite the bitter cold and the newness (to her) of Indians. However, it is a white man, wearing Mohawk garb, that most of shakes Elizabeth out of her complacency. Nathaniel Bonner has feet in both worlds. He finds the feisty independence of Elizabeth an exciting brew. They work together as he constructs her schoolhouse, ultimately leading to her falling in love with him. However, prejudice and conflict between the whites and the Indians yank Nathaniel in two different directions and leave him as an undesirable as far as her esteemed father is concerned. Though she is her own person, will Elizabeth have the courage to defy tradition and her sire to go after the one person who can provide her a lifetime of love? Sara Donati belongs in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" because it is such a rarity to see a first time novel come together in near perfect harmony. The turmoil of the second decade following American Independence is so real, readers will believe they have been whisked there for first hand observations. The characters are all genuine and the action-packed story line is filled with the color of the period without losing its fast pace. Fans of historical romance, especially Americana, have found a strong author who, with more novels like INTO THE WILDERNESS, will raise the level of quality to unforeseen heights. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Get this BOOK!
Review: I lucked into an Advanced Reading Copy. Oh my - this is going to be very big. Luscious sense of period and captivating characters. A must read. I eagerly anticipate the SEQUEL!
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!
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