By Clayton Bye of the Deepening
It’s the 1880′s in the Canadian west. The young federal government is trying to pay for its national railroad by ensuring adjacent lands are settled. This is done by making land cheap: pay a few dollars for a land claim, clear part of a quarter section for farming and you’ve got yourself a future. Unless… you’ve chosen to homestead in Saskatchewan or Alberta, where the big cattle companies have banded together to do everything they can to keep settlers out.

Hank James and Harry Gilmore have decided to stake claims in a beautiful valley just outside of Calgary. But Portis Martin, manager of the Norfolk Cattle Company, has a different idea. He’s been pushing settlers off open range bordering his ranch–and doing it unchallenged. He expects to accomplish the same thing with Hank and his friend.

Portis quickly finds out that Hank doesn’t push. The man has come to these parts to reconnect with Sharon, the woman he loves, and Hank expects to build something he can offer her. What follows is a distinctly Canadian battle of brawn versus brains.

I enjoyed Homesteader. The use of dialect is supportive, rather than distracting. Narrative is conversational and easy to read (although there are a few too many proofing errors). Best of all, the book appears to be historically accurate, and the story plausible. My own family, as recently as my grandfather, were Canadian homesteaders. I’ve seen and fired a number of the weapons described in the novel, have helped clear land and build log homes. I’ve even worked with cattle and harvested hay fields. D. M. McGowan has obviously lived a similar life and knows what the Canadian west is all about.

If you enjoy westerns or historical yarns, Homesteader will offer a unique and refreshing read. Visit the Canadian west: you might like it.