Night Mountain was written by George O'Brien and published in 2021. You can purchase it on Amazon/Kindle and you can visit the author on Amazon and on social media.
The author's descriptive ability, during action scenes, had me gripping the arm of my chair and he is equally adept at evoking emotions.
The year was 1250. In the wilderness lands of what would eventually be modern day western Alabama, there lived an Indian clan. They were the Cheratew people. They were a predominately peaceful people living off the land, harvesting corn and other crops and trying to build their community, but there was a neighboring tribe that wanted war with the Cheratew people. Night Mountain, a young man from the Cheratew tribe and his family, including his wife, were ambushed by the Aplinoma warriors. After the attacks, Night Mountain made valiant attempts to rally his clan against the Aplinoma tribe, but the future battles would prove to be devastatingly deadly to his people. Would Night Mountain's people conquer the Aplinoma and endure the hardships and survive as a people? We learn about their lives and their fate through oral historians like Thunder Rock, who was known as Trail Talker. He begins by saying, "I guide my people to the future by showing them the way they came." I believe there is a lack of knowledge and understanding about Native Americans and a greater lack of focus on what the geology of this land we call America was like before the Europeans settled this continent. This is what drew my interest to this novel. It's the first of the Trail Talker trilogy and I look forward to reading more. For me, the novel started off with a little too much narrative and not enough dialogue because I wanted to know more about the characters from their point of view, but soon, as the story began to unfold, I was totally immersed in the tale and literally could not put the book down. The author's descriptive ability, especially during action scenes, had me gripping the arm of my chair and he is equally adept at evoking emotions, causing me to care a great deal about his characters. George O'brien has successfully delivered in this first installment of the trilogy and it's easy to see why I and others are excited to want more from this very talented author. I loved Night Mountain!
I give Night Mountain 4 out of 5 stars.
George O'Brien is a scheduled guest on The Writers Lounge Blog Talk Radio Show #142 on August 7, 2023.