Review by Abelian -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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Abelian
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- Latest Review: "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon
Review by Abelian -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Strong heart by Charlie Sheldon is a work of fiction set in the Olympic Peninsula, and is mainly based on the experiences of a young girl, Sara Cooley. The story is written in the third person perspective, and has alongside Sara Tom, her grandfather, his friend William and Myra, William’s daughter, as the main characters. There are references to the first settlers of the land as well as a lot of references to
paleontological facts—things about the ice age, evidences of ancient occupations of certain places, etc.
Tom is visited by his ex-wife, Ruth, who drops off a granddaughter—by a long-lost daughter—he never knew was ever in existence. She tells him she had had her turn looking after her and now it was his turn. Tom who is about to go camping with William and Myra decides to take her along since he didn’t have much of a choice; the trek was long-planned as well as one with a lot of filial attachment and interest to it. He had to complete a task of sending back an antique object back to the grave of his grandfather.
They get to the destination and pay homage to Bob-Bob, Tom’s grandfather. And not long after, Sarah meets with a sight that on description to her companions through a drawing seemed too incredible to believe, since that creature was supposed to be extinct many millennia ago. Exasperated at their apparent disbelief at her claims, especially coming from Tom, her grandfather, she storms off to hide herself from them and carries the atlatl, the ancient artifact, along with her as a means of punishing them for disbelieving her. She goes missing for days and search parties are sent to look for her, but to no avail.
Sara shows up days after, and relates an interesting tale to her three companions. She tells them of a voyage she embarked on to places, and with characters who seemed too surreal to be true. Even the duration of the journey seemed impossible compared with how long she had actually gone missing. Was it a real experience connected to life on earth at least fifty thousand years ago, or was it just a figment of a very creative mind’s imagination? It remains to be deciphered.
Meanwhile, a huge corporation plans to take over the lands of the natives, and an artifact such as the atlatl could give them the kind of the leverage they need to keep their lands. So the foursome embark on another trip to retrieve the object from Sara’s previous hiding place, this time with an addition, Sergei, a geneticist, with an academic interest in the expedition. The discovery they make points to a fact that is contrary to popularly held academic opinion about the history of human-kind.
The book moves from the current epoch to an apparent travel in time into a distant past. I think it dragged a little too much towards the middle, where Sara tells her story using those descriptive names for her characters. I had some difficulty trying to finish the book. The names of the characters in the story made it not-so-easy to read. I had to put it down a couple of times before finally finishing it. But then later on in the story, it picked up. Besides, the way it ended was a bit abrupt, and, for me, it took away from the enjoyment I had reading to that point.
The author wrapped his artistry in such themes as loyalty, envy, bravery, survival and treachery. The story is replete with talk about the origin of the human race as well as where the first people to North America came from. I found the character development not very well-drawn, though it still made a nice read.
The sentences were a little too choppy and there were a few spelling and grammar mistakes, but not enough to conspicuously take away from the book’s quality. The many references to legendary beliefs among the natives and scientific evidences and discussions show the author’s extensive knowledge in the subject area.
Overall, I found it interesting and a good read; therefore, I rate this tale 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to everyone, especially people who enjoy legends as well as paleontology and archaeology-enthusiasts.
******
Strong Heart
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3 out of 4 stars
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Strong heart by Charlie Sheldon is a work of fiction set in the Olympic Peninsula, and is mainly based on the experiences of a young girl, Sara Cooley. The story is written in the third person perspective, and has alongside Sara Tom, her grandfather, his friend William and Myra, William’s daughter, as the main characters. There are references to the first settlers of the land as well as a lot of references to
paleontological facts—things about the ice age, evidences of ancient occupations of certain places, etc.
Tom is visited by his ex-wife, Ruth, who drops off a granddaughter—by a long-lost daughter—he never knew was ever in existence. She tells him she had had her turn looking after her and now it was his turn. Tom who is about to go camping with William and Myra decides to take her along since he didn’t have much of a choice; the trek was long-planned as well as one with a lot of filial attachment and interest to it. He had to complete a task of sending back an antique object back to the grave of his grandfather.
They get to the destination and pay homage to Bob-Bob, Tom’s grandfather. And not long after, Sarah meets with a sight that on description to her companions through a drawing seemed too incredible to believe, since that creature was supposed to be extinct many millennia ago. Exasperated at their apparent disbelief at her claims, especially coming from Tom, her grandfather, she storms off to hide herself from them and carries the atlatl, the ancient artifact, along with her as a means of punishing them for disbelieving her. She goes missing for days and search parties are sent to look for her, but to no avail.
Sara shows up days after, and relates an interesting tale to her three companions. She tells them of a voyage she embarked on to places, and with characters who seemed too surreal to be true. Even the duration of the journey seemed impossible compared with how long she had actually gone missing. Was it a real experience connected to life on earth at least fifty thousand years ago, or was it just a figment of a very creative mind’s imagination? It remains to be deciphered.
Meanwhile, a huge corporation plans to take over the lands of the natives, and an artifact such as the atlatl could give them the kind of the leverage they need to keep their lands. So the foursome embark on another trip to retrieve the object from Sara’s previous hiding place, this time with an addition, Sergei, a geneticist, with an academic interest in the expedition. The discovery they make points to a fact that is contrary to popularly held academic opinion about the history of human-kind.
The book moves from the current epoch to an apparent travel in time into a distant past. I think it dragged a little too much towards the middle, where Sara tells her story using those descriptive names for her characters. I had some difficulty trying to finish the book. The names of the characters in the story made it not-so-easy to read. I had to put it down a couple of times before finally finishing it. But then later on in the story, it picked up. Besides, the way it ended was a bit abrupt, and, for me, it took away from the enjoyment I had reading to that point.
The author wrapped his artistry in such themes as loyalty, envy, bravery, survival and treachery. The story is replete with talk about the origin of the human race as well as where the first people to North America came from. I found the character development not very well-drawn, though it still made a nice read.
The sentences were a little too choppy and there were a few spelling and grammar mistakes, but not enough to conspicuously take away from the book’s quality. The many references to legendary beliefs among the natives and scientific evidences and discussions show the author’s extensive knowledge in the subject area.
Overall, I found it interesting and a good read; therefore, I rate this tale 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to everyone, especially people who enjoy legends as well as paleontology and archaeology-enthusiasts.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Abelian's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon
