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    Threads West, An American Saga
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    Threads West, An American Saga
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    Threads West, An American Saga
    Ebook344 pages4 hours

    Threads West, An American Saga

    By Reid Lance Rosenthal

    2/5

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    About this ebook

    Book One and name sake of the sweeping #1 bestselling Threads West, An American Saga epic saga--winner of twenty-eight National Literary Awards in numerous categories including Historical Fiction, Multi-Cultural, Romance and Western. This novel and the ensuing books of this monumental multi-era epic saga are compared by reviewers and authors to Lonesome Dove, Centennial, and the Sacketts of Louis L'Amour. Called by some reviewers, ''The Gone With The Wind of the West.'' Applauded by others as ''rings true and poignant, as authentic and moving as Dances with Wolves” and “the Sacketts on steroids,” the tale bursts with the adventure, romance and promise of historical America, the American spirit and the West.

    The saga is wonderfully narrated by national voice Jack Bair, whose incredible inflections, accents, male and female pitches, and obvious connection with the tale brings this story of us alive.

    You will recognize the characters who live in these pages.
    They are the ancestors of your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, and your family.
    They are you. They are us. We are all Americans.
    This is not only their story. It is our story.

    The epic saga of Threads West begins in May 1854 with the first of five, richly textured, complex generations of unforgettable, multicultural characters ensconced in their individual lives and dreams in the Rockies, England, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Prussia, Mexico, the Great Plains, St. Louis and New York. They share neither country nor culture in common—indeed none of them know the others exist—but the separate lives of these driven men and independent women from Europe and North America will be drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West.

    Five thousand miles across the Atlantic from the villages and cities of Europe, and one thousand miles to the west of St. Louis, lies the lawless, untamed spine of the continent, the Rocky Mountains. Their energy draws this vanguard of generations into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier. Swept by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and America’s promise, their journeys are turbulent quests intertwined with courage and cowardice, romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph. Their destinies and those of their offspring will be dramatically altered by events and history they cannot foresee and others of uncommon cultures and differing origins they cannot imagine.

    The personal conflicts inherent to these brave, passion-filled characters are exacerbated by a nation in transition, the budding enmity between North and South, broken treaties with Native Americans and lives and generations woven on the loom of history, propelled by fate and freedom to form the tapestry that becomes the whole cloth of the nation.

    The touchstones of the past are the guideposts to the future. This, the first novel of this epic saga--the tale of America, set in the West—is the stirring story of many life threads of divergent cultures, and competing ambitions that entwine to become what the world knows as, Americans.

    In the following books of the saga, the heroic but conflicted men and women of Threads West continue their dangerous journeys, their layered personalities forged on the anvil of the land, their paths intersecting with the trails of others, melding the American mosaic, setting in motion the weave of the American fabric, and generational liaisons impossible to envision. Momentous change will continue, igniting further greed and compassion, courage and treachery, rugged independence, torrid passions and fierce loyalties.

    The decades of the Maps of Fate era (1854-1875) novels of Threads West, An American Saga epic saga are the crucible of the souls of generations, the building of the heart of the nation, and the destiny of a people at a magical moment in the American history. You will enjoy our story—bec

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherReid Lance Rosenthal
    Release dateMar 25, 2014
    ISBN9781311115829
    Author

    Reid Lance Rosenthal

    Reid is fourth generation land and cattle. He is a rancher, a multiple #1 bestselling author, and the Threads West series has been honored with twenty-five national literary awards including, Best Western, Best Romance, and Best Historical Fiction. His cowboy heart and poet's pen captures the spirit of the western landscape and its influence on generations of its settlers. His long-standing devotion to wild and remote places and to the people--both past and present--who leave their legend and footprint upon America and the American West is the inspiration and descriptive underpinning of all of his writing."If your mind and spirit are seduced by images of windswept ridge tops, fluttering of aspen leaves caressed by a canyon breezes and the crimson tendrils of a dying sun...if your fingers feel the silken pulse of a lover and your lips taste the deep kisses of building passion...if nostrils flare with the conjured scents of gunpowder and perfume, sagebrush and pine, and your ears delight in the murmur of river current...if your heart pounds at the clash of good and evil, and with each twist and turn of inter-laced lives, you feel a primal throb, then I have accomplished my mission."Passion fuels each thrilling, action and romance-packed novel in this widely acclaimed series and epic of the historical west. This is the third book of this saga and Maps of Fate era novels (1854-1875). Reid's works have been compared to Lonesome Dove, Louis L'Amour (with steam) and Centennial, by reviewers and readers alike. Some have called the series, "the Gone with the Wind of the West." Others have acclaimed the tale as "more authentic than Dances with Wolves." Each ensuing book unfolds the riveting, sensual, adventure-filled tale of a country on the cusp of greatness, the cloth of a nation woven from personalities of uncommon origins, and lives weaved into generational tapestries of lust, duplicity, enmity, love and triumph.

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    Reviews for Threads West, An American Saga

    2/5

    29 ratings12 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Book one in a series. I was not impressed. I may try to find the next book in the series, but won't be upset if I don't.
    • 3/5
      A fun read! This book is the first of a six book series about the trials and trbulations of a group of men and women during the great Westward expansion of the United States. I found Rosenthal's work easy, but descriptive and evocative style very enjoyable. His story is well researched and his words appear to come from first hand experiences. As I read I felt the imagery he weaved with his narrative and I must say his stories are akin to time traveling. The characters are interesting and the story captivating. This is what reading a good story is supposed to be about. Do you love a good historical romp through the old west? Do you want to feel like a western pioneer in the mid 1800's? Do you love adventure, romance, and/or mystery? I encourage you to check out this book and its series.
    • 3/5
      The book reads pretty fast but in part that's because it's rather light. I wouldn't go so far as to compare it as a Western to the dense, complex masterpiece that is "Lonesome Dove" by any means. The idea of a multi-national saga with intertwining narratives has also been done too by much better writers like Ken Follett. The characters aren't terribly complex and the narrative is fairly straightforward and unfolds pretty much as expected. Overall I'd call this a decent fast read but it's not something I feel the need to linger over or read twice.
    • 2/5
      I do not think I will be reading this continuing saga of the American West. I would barely get through this first book and only did so for the sake of this review. I found the characters to be unbelievable and the writing to be a bit over the top and not at all compelling. I actually read three books in between the reading of Threads West. It was rather like a short story tale of the characters with minimal interaction until the end. I understand the need to build backstory but there are, at least in my opinion better ways to do it.
    • 2/5
      I tried my hardest to finish the book. I really did. The problem was that there was absolutely nothing compelling me to turn the page other than the desire to read the book in order to write a proper review. 100 pages of character introductions before the plot begins is simply no way to entice a reader to keep reading. Characters can easily be introduced while simultaneously advancing the plot. Not only that, but the author wastes thousands of words that do nothing to advance the plot, action, or character development. One character introduction chapter consisted of 90% of just a description/inventory of the items in a house that the character was leaving and the reader would never see again. Needless to say, that chapter was the tedious straw that broke this reader's very bored back.I could get into the lack of authenticity of the writing as well. Western "mountain men" do not utter phrases such as "most confounding " to themselves. They just don't. Seafaring captains don't shuffle about like a shy schoolboy when asking a passenger out for a friendly drink. It doesn't happen. I could go on, and on, but if I learned anything from "Threads West" its to try not to waste the reader's time with useless words.I would recommend this book to anyone suffering from a particularly bad case of insomnia. For everyone else, life is just too short to spend time on this book
    • 2/5
      Threads West: An American Saga by Reid Lance Rosenthal has been compared to books like Lonesome Dove. However I don't see the comparison. The first book in what has been billed as a six-novel epic series reads like a bad romance novel. This wordy work is filled with flowery descriptions and endless analogies. The first page contains classics such as "white foam of frothy swells", "a solitary thin candle flickered," "thighs quivered and her body trembled". I felt like I was reading a descriptive paragraph exercise for a creative writing class. The dialog is equally odd. On the upside, the novel is a quick read. The short chapters focus on the many individual characters heading to America for various reasons. The first half of the book is set in Europe or on the ship across the Atlantic. Through a series of coincidences these people end up on the same ship and the same wagon train as well. The book ends rather abruptly without getting past the starting gate West. If half the book's adjectives were removed, the rest of the saga would have fit into a single book and saved some time.The audience for this title is unclear. I'm a fan of historical and western fiction, but I'd put this more in the romance category. On the other hand, the sexual encounters focus on male domination rather than the love story elements of pop romance titles. I'll pass on the rest of the series.I've read lots of wonderful books as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, but this one missed the mark.
    • 2/5
      This is the first in a planned series of six book and billed as "An American Saga" and comes with a whopping 229 page count. 218 of those pages are story with the final ten being previews of book #2, Maps of Fate, coming out sometime later this year. The first half of this book sets up the main characters, who for different reasons strike out for a new life in America. No matter what country or social background these folks have they all manage to end up on the same ship. Even more coincidental, no matter what their plans are for in America when they arrive they all seem to end up in St. Louis and sign on for the same wagon train. Oh, and they all get there just in time for about the last wagon train out of Dodge, get their wagons and supplies purchased in two days and no matter what their backgrounds seem to be expert at driving those wagons and handling the oxen just like a pro... I'm a believer. Yes, there's a lot more to it than that, but unfortunately a story idea with a lot of potential was ruined by poor execution. The alternating chapters of character set up went on way too long (100+ pages), and frankly by the time it was over I had forgotten much of what went on before - set this book down for a day or two at your own peril, as you may have to back-track for a refresher course. I'd have preferred seeing the book start when the action began, and then liberally sprinkle the story with the character's back history. Secondly, this book is too short and IMHO would have worked better as a trilogy of three big fat books instead of six slimmer editions, giving the reader more *meat* on the bones to convince them to continue. What this reader got was a plateful of unlikable characters and squicky male-fantasy sex that all ties into a mysterious map and a lost treasure of gold in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. The book comes to a dead stop right when the wagon train is pulling out and the adventure prepares to begin. Still not sure? I'll just leave you a couple of quotes from the book, a book that according to the jacket reviewers and authors are comparing to "Lonesome Dove and Centennial". "Her voice resembled a happy wind chime in a light breeze." Note, our wind chime lady was speaking German. Not the most romantic language no matter how beautiful the woman is speaking it ;) "There's was definitely something between my friend Reuben..." ???? "Jacob growled out a knowing laugh as he ripped the fabric of her blouse down to her waist. He cupped his entire hand around the flesh of her breast. Sarah felt is if this really was not her...She was an observer who simply watched from some strange man and woman. She felt faint...His fingertips inched below her waistband. She opened her mouth again to cry for help, but he reached over to the pitcher stand, grabbed one of the cloth napkins and shoved it roughly between her teeth...She gagged as one of Jacob's thick fingers found her center. She felt a stab of pain as his fiber penetrated her...Her entire body trembled and her thighs shook..." Ick ick ick. Although don't forget we're getting some romance as well as rape so after one of our main pairs has rapturous sex in the baggage car and after they've dressed you'll be treated to stuff like this, "Deep inside her belly, she could feel her body absorbing his seething explosion and her abdomen pulsed with currents of energy. She knew her face glowed and impassioned tears filmed her eyes. 'I...I have never felt like this.'" Not quite my idea of romance. I'll pass on the rest of the series. FTC? A win off of Librarything's Early Reviewers program.
    • 2/5
      This book took a long time to read but I finally finished it. I put a bookmark in it and read other books that I found interesting and finished those in one or two days while this one I kept coming back to because I thought... I started it, I need to finish it.I met the author at a rodeo in Denver. He said his series won several fiction prizes including "best fiction," "best western," "best romance," etc so I thought I really ought to read it, especially because he marketed it as "The Gone With the Wind of the West" and Gone With the Wind is my favorite book so I HAD to read it! Well, it wasn't really anything like Gone With the Wind really. I tried to like it but the characters were not people I liked or wanted to route for. The only people who were worth cheering for were Reuben, Zeb, and Sarah. Unfortunately, Zeb only showed up in the first chapter and we never saw him ever again until the last chapter. I really wanted to know more about Zeb. There were two characters I didn't like and one I particularly HATED. I had to read about them more than Zeb who is the character I really wanted to know about. The problem until about halfway through the book is that there were SO MANY CHARACTERS you had to follow that I kept on getting them mixed up. I couldn't remember who was who. I had to keep going back to re-read who everyone was. I started giving them nicknames: the Murderer, the Snot Nose Rich Girl, the Adulterer, etc. When I got to the end I was hoping for a nice ending with all ends tied up but you have to read the next one because nothing ends well for anyone and you're left frustrated that you have to keep on reading in order to find out what happens next. And frankly, it was just too many characters to keep track of and I hear the next book adds tons more characters and I just can't juggle that many. I MAY pick up the second book as I saw it at a used bookshop for only $3. Might be worth it if I feel like finding out if Sarah ever got away from her rapist which was the most angering part of the book. I couldn't understand why a lady like herself got herself into such a situation or why she didn't try to get out of it. And the romance of the other characters felt very forced and not believable. As someone else said in a review, the book ended right when it started to get interesting... right where it probably should have started in the first place. There was way too much backstory and I think the author should have just stuck to ONE character, perhaps Sarah, no more than two characters and let the rest of the characters come into the story as they crossed paths.
    • 4/5
      Article first published as Book Review:Threads West: An American Saga by Reid Lance Rosenthal on Blogcritics. In the mid 1800’s the United States is just beginning to explore their wilderness. For a variety of reasons people leave the comfort of everything they have ever known to move on to a wild and dangerous country, full of hope and dreams with adventure and possibilities. Gold is discovered in pockets of new areas, which increases the draw, as well as the lawlessness of those so bold. St. Lewis becomes the gateway to the new frontier with the unforgiving land beckoning to those men and women either brave enough or desperate enough to take on the challenge. This freedom is also known worldwide, and people are drawn to the new frontier, with the promise of freedom, land and riches, drawing them from their homes all over the world. It is a time of change and challenge, a time of discovery, both of the land and those hardy souls that challenge the danger and the elements to make their way to a new life.In Threads West, by Reid Lance Rosenthal, we meet and follow a group of individuals on their journey. Each of them is from different and diverse backgrounds, with a variety of reasons drawing them to the wilderness. Johannes Svenson is a ladies man, run out of the very country he called home, caught dallying with the wife of The Frist Minister of Denmark. His journey to the new world is decided for him.The S.S. Edinburgh is the ship, headed to a new and distant land, and it is here that Johannes meets Reuben Frank, on his way to America to claim land and begin a cattle ranch for his family. Here too we meet three unique and diverse women, all traveling on their own, an experience unwarranted and unusual in this time in the annuls of history. Sarah Bonney has lost her family and is headed to the new world to work with her aunt as a seamstress. Inga has been in the U.S for a time, and is making a living the very best way she knows how. She is a waitress, but occasionally has to sell herself to make ends meet. She has learned a hard lesson in the ways of the world, and has decided that a girl has to do what a girl has to do, to get by. Rebecca Marx is heading to the new world at the behest of her fathers will. He has found some land and she is there to claim it. She is very refined and unlike most of those traveling to find their place.And with all the good, their usually comes the bad and in this group of individuals that meet and interact on their journey to America, we also meet Jacob O’Shanahan, a bully and a taker, one of those who feel that the world is theirs if only they can find a way to connive and steal what is worth the taking. His life too is tangles and weaved into and around the lives of those other few, all headed in the same direction, out to find their place in this new frontier.Zebarriah Taylor, or Zeb as he is known, has his own part in this compelling and historical drama. Well inured to the ways of the west, with an understanding of the country itself, his life is drawn into and becomes a part of this group of individuals, guiding as well as helping to protect them in an aggressive and dangerous land.Rosenthal has written a wonderful western saga, and peopled it with characters that you can care about. Each of them has internal struggles, and yet they are strong and brave, and in some cases reckless. As we follow their journey into a new land, as well as the growth of their characters, we become immersed, wanting and hoping to see them through. And while evil may be too strong of a description for Jacob, he is certainly not a very good man. The story is smooth and endearing, as they make their way. Rosenthal has drawn a likeness of the America of our history books and set it with the people that help us to understand the savage and yet ruggedly beautiful America of that time.I am excited for the next installment of the series to come out, I am left wondering what will they find, is there really gold, and how do they come to terms with the different issues they are facing. This is an interesting and incredibly well written story, full of diverse characters and places.If you love a good story, full of history both real and rugged, on a journey full of surprises, this is the book for you. It would be a great book for a book club, as well as for reading groups everywhere.This book was received through the Cadence group from the publisher. All Opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the information.
    • 2/5
      I do not think I will be reading this continuing saga of the American West. I would barely get through this first book and only did so for the sake of this review. I found the characters to be unbelievable and the writing to be a bit over the top and not at all compelling. I actually read three books in between the reading of Threads West. It was rather like a short story tale of the characters with minimal interaction until the end. I understand the need to build backstory but there are, at least in my opinion better ways to do it.
    • 1/5
      I hate giving negative reviews because I know how hard the author worked on getting their thoughts onto paper. However, not every book is going to be to everyone’s liking.This book definitely didn’t do anything for me except lull me into a dull sleep. I had been trying to read this now for two weeks. I will pick it up and read a little then put it down because I just couldn’t stomach it. I hate not finishing books, so I trudged through despairingly.First off, the whole first half of the book really didn’t need to be there at all. Yes, I understand getting to know your characters. But that is usually best left while telling the actual story. Don’t spend most of the book just telling what they did before hand. Spend it telling the actual story instead.Secondly, I love romance novels. I don’t mind when they have sex scenes in them. However, these scenes didn’t even get me steamed up. They just left me feeling flat.So unfortunately I have to label this book as a pass by. Because the only thing you should do in the store is just pass it right by.In conjunction with the Wakela's World Disclosure Statement, I received a product in order to enable my review. No other compensation has been received. My statements are an honest account of my experience with the brand. The opinions stated here are mine alone.
    • 2/5
      The adventure begins just as the book ends. The worst part is that there are five more books in the saga Threads West. It could easily be two books if the author had condensed the material, focused on the story and spent less time (the entire first half of the book) developing each character’s history when it could have been integrated into the story. Just as the characters (from several countries who all end up in St. Louis and all have a link to a treasure map and all set out on the same wagon train headed west) finally have some real action and the story really begins - the book ends. After only 222 pages. I am glad I didn’t pay to read it. What a disappointment. It’s certainly not a western. It’s too long for a short story. Some of the characters seem to be drawn from romance novels although the “romantic moments,” would leave romance readers disappointed by the rather inept descriptions of those encounters. Everyone seems like a caricature – the smart, clever Jewish man, the big Scandinavian, the entitled British snob, and the hard drinking, card shark, cheating Irishman. I really wanted to like this book – but between the overwrought descriptions and the overwhelming coincidences it was just unbelievable. It says on the back of the book that it is being compared to Lonesome Dove and Centennial. That is like equating a Harlequin Romance with Pride and Prejudice. But all things have their place and this book may find an audience with people who have lots of money to spare buying six books. Personally, after this one I won’t pay for the next five.