Wilderness #57

FEAR WEAVER

as by David Thompson

Leisure, September 2008

Few natural wonders inspire Nate King like the Rocky Mountains. But he knows that behind its beauty, the wilderness can be deadly. The Woodrow family is woefully unprepared for the perils of the rough country. Concerned for their safety, Nate agrees to help them search for their missing brother. Yet it doesn’t take long for Nate to feel that they’re the ones being stalked. With Blackfeet on the warpath and vicious wild animals circling ever closer, he’ll need all the survival skills he possesses to keep the Woodrow’s safe and make it back to his own family alive.

The opening chapter contains enough intrigue, around a very memorable character, that had me well and truly hooked immediately. This nursery rhyme spouting woman setting the tone of the book superbly, hinting at the craziness to come.

David Thompson’s (David Robbins) descriptions and cliff-hanger scene endings combine in an almost palpable tension that builds a threat of untold horror in the readers mind, as Nate and his companions begin to discover just what has become of Woodrow’s missing brother.

For me the stand-out part of the book was that of Nate and Tyne facing the four Blackfeet warriors, David Thompson’s words playing the innocence of child against the extremely dangerous reality of the situation in a highly strung moment that creates a scene of savage beauty.

David Thompson, through expertly crafted passages of gripping prose, once more proves why the Wilderness series continues to go from strength to strength, as the story weaves its way along a trail of fear until it’s final shocking revelations.