No plot to support gratuitous sex & violence. Didn't finish - a rare event.

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An Epic of the Republic of Texas, March 3, 2008


In `The Borderland', Edwin Shrake has given readers a highly entertaining, if at times fanciful tale of the old Texas Republic. Shrake takes the reader back to the tumultuous days of 1839 and 1840 as the Republic struggles to stay afloat. The city of Austin has recently been named the new capital and settlers of all stripes are flooding to that beautiful locale on the Texan Colorado River.

Shrakes populates his tale with a number of real historical characters, such as President Mirabeau Lamar, Albert Sidney Johnston, the Cherokee Chief Bowl, and a seemingly highly fictionalized rendition of Texas Ranger Captain Matthew Caldwell (called `Old Paint' because of his oddly colored beard). Shrake also creates some quite original fictional characters like the half-Irish, half-Cherokee brother and sister team of Dr. Romulus Swift and Cullasaja Swift.

Shrake's epic takes in the major events such as the Council House Fight, where treachery by Lamar and the Texas Army caused the slaughter of more than a dozen Comanche chiefs who had been enticed to peace talks by promises of rich gifts. This double-cross infuriated the Comanche and led to the famous Great Raid by several thousands of `prime' warriors who swept down all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The Texans, led by the Rangers, made an improbably successful stand at the Battle of Plum Creek.

The book covers much the same time and territory as another work of historical fiction, Not Between Brothers: An Epic Novel of Texas by David Marion Wilkinson but in this reviewer's opinion, not as well. Shrake's treatment of the Comanches seems shallow by comparison. Shrake's main characters are just a bit too perfect; too strong and too beautiful. If I had to choose between them I would take Wilkinson's Not Between Brothers. But, fortunately I don't have to choose. Both books are well worth a read. ( )