3 out of 4 stars
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Hyde’s Corner: Book 1: No Man’s Land by J B Bergstad is the first novel in the Hyde’s Corner Trilogy. The story starts in Hyde’s Corner, a small Oklahoma town. The year is 1947 and a mysterious young man, Tom Burks, is enlisting in the army. Before doing so, he discreetly leaves his most prized possessions in a sack at the doorstep of his friend, Dr. Beaman. Included in this bag is a diary containing the history of the Burks family. The novel continues as a flash back, chronicling the lives of the Burks during their time living in the desolate Oklahoma territory known as “No Man’s Land.” The curious journey of the Burks all comes together at the novel’s conclusion, leaving the reader with a satisfying ending but also questioning what will befall the characters in the next installment of the Trilogy.
Bergstad is an exceptional storyteller; he expertly paces the novel to create feelings of anticipation as well as strong attachment to the characters. The novel never felt slow; in fact, it moved along consistently despite spanning multiple decades. The author also expertly crafts the story’s tone, encompassing impressions of the Old West as well as feelings of desolation, tragedy, and uncertainty about the future.
Further, character development is strong throughout Hyde’s Corner. Selmer Burks becomes the story’s main character but not until sufficient background about his past is provided. Over the course of the novel, Selmer grows into a strong willed, intelligent but despondent man. With great skill, the author creates events within Selmer’s life, particularly in his childhood, that help the reader understand why Selmer becomes such a crestfallen character. At times Selmer is not a likeable character, but his motives always make sense. There are a good amount of interesting secondary characters as well. For example, Cedric Hyde is the patriarch of the Hyde family during the establishment of Hyde’s corners in the 1800s. This character is an antagonist but his actions are not always deplorable. I applaud the author for creating a multidimensional “bad guy” instead of a stereotypical, despicable one; but don’t worry because there are plenty of those in Hyde’s Corner as well.
The exceptional storytelling was hindered only by the novel’s need for professional editing. Although errors throughout the book were not overwhelming, they were excessive and distracting at times. Simple misspellings occur intermittently throughout Hyde’s Corner such as “herl” instead of “her” and “laugher” instead of “laughter.” Additionally, there was some phrase repetition that an editor would easily pick up on; in one instance, the phrase “Peel coughed and died,” is immediately followed by “Peel coughed and died.”
Hyde’s Corner would easily receive 4 stars from me for the simple fact that it is a well-developed and expertly told story. Unfortunately, I have to give this book 3 out of 4 stars due to the editorial issues. I recommend this book not only to fans of gritty westerns but to anyone with a penchant for historical fiction, character driven novels, and exceptional story telling.
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Hyde's Corner
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