Winds of Change

The Winds of Change –by Orland Ned Eddins

Novel, Historical

336 Pages

Footnotes / Endnotes: Yes

Suitable for eReaders: Yes

4 Stars

This is the sequel to Mountains of Stone, which was a delightful surprise. The story goes to page 255, the rest of the pages are interesting little statements of trivia for the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, Mountain Men, etc.

Winds of Change is about the end of life as The People new it, how the white man would come, and came, to change their way of life forever.

Broken Knife is the protagonist, and learns through a vision from his deceased Indian father, Lame Bear, that great change is coming, and he must help The People. He does not specify tribe, and Broken Knife and his wife, Whispering Wind, befriend many of The People from different tribes.

Broken Knife's paternal grandfather, a Marquis in France, died and left him a title and fortune, which he uses to benefit The People as much as he can. There is a lot of history packed into this novel, and at times it becomes difficult to read. A bit like trying to drink champagne from a fire hose. It tastes great, but is almost too much too fast.

Mr. Eddins uses footnotes liberally, which I appreciate not end. (I hate endnotes with a passion!) The footnotes are used for short, informative explanations of things such as place names. He uses the old names in the story, and tells us in a footnote what/where it is today. Since I am planning a road trip through much of that territory next month, I found the footnotes of particular interest.

I do with the Addenda had been placed at the end of the book rather than at the ends of the chapters. Although very interesting, they often were of a later time, and tended to throw me out of the narrative somewhat. I also wish he had used the services of a good Copy Editor. The placement of the Addenda and lack of copy editing is what brought this from a 5 Star to a 4 Star. Still, I highly recommend the book, especially if you are interested in the history of 1811-1812 in the Far West.

One note about both of the books I've read by Mr. Eddins that is, in my opinion, worthy of note, is that he treats The People (Indians) with a great deal of respect and empathy but does not make them victims of the times.

Like Mountains of Stone, if you buy this book from the author, you will receive a DVD of magnificent photography of the area in the story.