"delightful alternate Americana"
On an alternate earth in which the white man tried to
settle the Great Plains, the Cheyenne aligned itself with
other tribes and formed an Alliance that was able to halt
the settling of their lands by the people who wanted to
escape the crowded cities of the East. President George
Custer, who was not defeated at Little Big Horn, is
determined to make the territory part of the United
States. His son George Jr. has made a life for himself
with the Cheyenne and is determined to stop his father. Through a curious series of events the Spanish ambassador
from New Spain (California) washes up on shore near the
Cheyenne encampment. When he is nursed back to health he
persuades the Cheyenne to align themselves with his
government so he can act as a liaison between the Alliance
and the United States. After much debate they agree to
travel to Washington to see if they can work out a treaty
that would settle the borders once and for all. They are
making progress until a tragedy occurs, one that sends
George Jr. to prison and expels the Cheyenne from the
country. Readers get a glimpse into how the Cheyenne on this other
world manage to hold the United States military at bay.
Readers will admire but feel sympathy for George Jr. who
turned his back on his family and his country because he
couldn't condone genocide. He is a man with a foot in both
worlds yet belongs in neither and he is starting to realize
that in SHADOW OF THE STORM. Kurt R. A. Giambastiani has
written another classic in his delightful alternate
Americana series. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted February 9, 2003
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