What I like about Curwood is he obviously loved nature, and it really shines through in his writing. He can pack a ton of bizarre happenings into a tale and then by the end make you almost believe that it could have happened. But before I go on I must make a confession. I don't like westerns. I don't like the dry dust, the cattle stampedes or the gun fights. And yes, I know this book is set in ALASKA, not the West of the U.S.A. Buuuut... Apart from the beginning being at sea and the Alaskan scenery in the first half, the ending felt like I was in Texas. The gun fight did it. Apart from that I enjoyed the story, especially as some native people of Alaska were part of the story and they added a bit of the culture. The romance completely engrossed me until about halfway when I found something out about the characters, (my spoiler is a character spoiler and a plot spoiler, it also gives away the end.) (view spoiler)[ I found the heroine was married and the hero was still determined that somehow they would be together. Yes, her husband was a murderer, had tricked her into marring him and was through and through a brute bent on destroying the culture of Alaska. And I was hoping he'd die. But I didn't like that they were hugging and kissing while her husband was still alive, with no regrets or embarrassment. I know he was a brute. But I still feel it was wrong. But anyway, they did things right in the end. I just can't help but wonder, what would they have done if her husband hadn't died? The other Curwood I read wasn't like this when it included a married person. I figured all of his would be that way. (hide spoiler)]
I had such high hops for this book. Alaskan adventure written by someone other than Jack London? I had to pick it up! After struggling through Curwood, I am definitely going back to London. Not worth the free Kindle price tag in my opinion. Many of the reviews I read of this book indicated how the author, being a naturalist, paints a picture of a beautiful Alaskan landscape. I was also excited to read more about the political fight for the soul of Alaska at the time. My hopes were dashed on both counts. This book is a romance disguised as a better book. The dialogue is heavy handed. I also did not see the attraction to the book's "heroine" Mary Standish, who did not show any spark of life until the climax in the last 10% of the book. There is one redeeming character named "Stampede" Smith who I would love to read a whole novel about. A gold digger who has struck it rich multiple times only to go bust over and over. I'll look to see if Curwood wrote a book about this one character's early adventures. If not, I see no reason to pick up another by this author. What could have been an intriguing, beautiful, saga of Alaska turned into a sappy romance that I could not wait to finish. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Jack London and James A. Michener, but if you're looking for history and adventure, look somewhere other than this book.
