Thomas Eidson

This was a superb western novel that was much more than a western. Along with the horses and guns, there are layers of philosophical underpinnings and emotions brought to life through fantastic character development. We get several points of view of life in the American west of the 1880s, which broadens the book’s appeal.
I can understand how some wouldn’t take to the slow pace of the first half of the book, but I relished in the great writing and the atmosphere that Eidson created. This is not just a great western, but a great book. I tip my hat to Mr. Eidson for creating such a beautiful story.
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On the face of it, Thomas Eidson's The Last Ride is a straightforward Western story, right down to its generic title. It follows Maggie, a young frontierswoman with grit, who reconnects with her estranged father in order to rescue her daughter, who has been kidnapped by a band of ruthless Apaches. To get her back, they must travel in hot pursuit across the Western landscape, overcoming the terrain, their savage enemies and, of course, their differences.

All rather unremarkable, you would agree – though for fans of the genre it's not an unappealing prospect either. But there are two things which help The Last Ride stand somewhat apart from its formula. The first is that Eidson laces it throughout with a tension between the Christianity believed in by Maggie and the mystic paganism of Samuel Jones, her estranged father who left when she was young to live amongst the Indians. This tension is quite well done throughout, and while some readers will be put off by the lack of ambiguity in the mysticism – Eidson is quite happy for characters to have prophetic dreams which resolve an impasse in their adventure, for example – it works because Eidson engages with it. The juxtaposition of the Christianity and the Indian mysticism is reasonably nourishing brain food and gives a hint of literary weight to this otherwise standard Western. Deus may be ex in Eidson's machina, but He rooms there comfortably.

The second reason The Last Ride stands apart from many of its peers is that Eidson can actually write. Though routine in its course, the book isn't actually formulaic. The difference between those two adjectives might not immediately be apparent, but essentially boils down to how well a writer can freshen things up. Eidson's 'frontierswoman with grit' character has less sass and more vulnerability than writers usually grant such characters, whilst the half-wild, estranged father character has more to him than a grunt or a grizzled line of dialogue, and his regrets at what he has abandoned are raw. Eidson's dialogue is just a little bit keener and more real; his plot pivots a bit more artfully disguised. Consequently, a routine story feels rather refreshed when you're reading it, and while it doesn't make The Last Ride an essential read, the book is a good bridge between the pot-boiler Westerns and the weightier, literary ones.… (mehr)

Fleeing through the territory of New Mexico, Nat Swanson tries to stay ahead of the three riders who want to hang him for killing their friend in a Texas fight that Nat feels was fair. Passing by two overturned wagons surrounded by about 30 Apaches, he feels compelled to help the elderly woman he sees hiding behind one of the wagons. Told by Sister St. Agnes that he has been sent by God to save them, Nat quickly wishes he were continuing on to California, especially when he realizes there are a total of three nuns and seven children to be rescued. The sister's absolute belief that this man will save them places a burden on Nat that he's never before felt; it also forces him to act beyond his normal expectations as he attempts to pull off a miracle. While the Apache warrior Locan dreams that everyone's fate lies with water, the lifeblood of the desert, the besieged group seems doomed to die of dehydration. In a chilling, turnabout ending, Locan's dreams come true. Nat, a nonstereotypical loner, is juxtaposed against curmudgeonly old Sister St. Agnes, who is filled with love and faith… (mehr)