Rule of Ranging 1: Eclipse of the Midnight Sun (Volume 1), The

Submitted by Jim Greenwald on February 14, 2013 - 10:45

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Author's Summary

Even those waging the fiercest battles just hew to hard fast rules that separate the soldier from the savage. And when a man’s home is destroyed beyond restoration, it’s up to him alone to forge a code and carve a new place to live in peace. The Rule of Ranging 1: Eclipse of the Midnight Sun is the epic action-adventure drama by Timothy M. Kestrel that follows the fearless Finn on a journey paved with bloodthirsty aggressors, mysterious women, and the rough terrain of a fledgling America. Both grave and uplifting, it’s an absorbing flight of fancy and derring-do. Set in the eighteen century, Kestrel’s story is a work of historic fiction that relives the most perilous days of the French & Indian War. The story begins in Finland, just as a young boy named Finn witnesses the complete annihilation of his home village, as well as the brutal killing of his family by marauding Russians. He barely manages to escape, chased by a merciless Hessian mercenary, Johan Kopf, nicknamed Totenkopf. Following his dying mother's wish to find a mysterious woman named Columbia, Finn's course takes him across the Atlantic. He befriends a slave, Gus, and buys his freedom. On their travels in this brave new world called America, the two make their way through the majestic Hudson Valley in New York, and soon encounter Marcus Fronto, a curious vagrant and philosophical mentor; Daniel Nimham, a fierce Wappinger chief and warrior; and beautiful Catherina Brett. They join forces with Robert Rogers Rangers, and fight against the French at Fort Edward, New York, during the Hudson River campaign in the 1750s. Action-packed and rigorously researched, the story offers a rare vantage of a crucial time in this country’s coming of age that is at once funny, heartbreaking, illuminating, and thrilling. Mining the depths of love, freedom, greed, and loyalty, it’s a page-turning, heart-pounding read that is at once scholarly and scintillating – steeped in history with a death-defying hero for the ages.
 
 

MWSA Review

In order for historical fiction to work well for me, the history contained within the novel must be relevant and above all correct.  Timothy M. Kestrel weaves a coherent and riveting story which will have the reader turning the pages faster than a high-propelled fan.

            The Author uses his story telling capabilities in using an Inn in upstate New York in the mid-19th Century as the place for an elderly Finn to tell his youthful tales to a young New York reporter of his deeds in the late 18th Century during the French and Indian War.  The story involves Finn losing his family in Europe during the many senseless wars of that era and his travels which took him on the seas of the Atlantic and onward to London and finally to the new world.

            Kestrel utilizes the Finn as a warrior who seems always to be in the middle of adventure and danger.  Kestrel who is a former US Army Ranger weaves his story onto the original Rangers who fought on the Niagara Frontier in the 18th century.  These Rangers were the famous Rogers Rangers in which Kestrel further weaves historical lore into the deeds and exploits of our hero the Finn.  For Kestrel the writing of these early Rangers seemed to be the opus for the author to relate his story.  As his dedication of this book said, “I am not a man that I am because I was a Ranger.  I am a Ranger because a man that I am.”   Finn tells these exploits while draining glass after glass of malt scotch with a young New York reporter in the Inn in upstate New York in the middle of the 19th Century.

This is a great read which down the road deserves a sequel, don’t miss this one!

 

Reviewed by: Dick Geschke (2013)

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Kestrel, Timothy M.
Reviewer: 
Geschke, Dick
Work Type: 
Book Reviews
Tags: 
Fiction
Historical