“Few Write Historical Novels Better Than David-Michael Harding!”

5.0 out of 5 stars Few write historical novels better than David-Michael Harding!, March 3, 2013

“When an author has the ability to transfer intensive research into a subject planned for a novel and then transform that historic information into a thrilling and eloquently written work, it is a feat of passion for writing and for the topic about which the book is conceived. For those who have had the distinct pleasure of reading David-Michael Harding’s recreation of WW II in HOW ANGELS DIE, then this recreation of American history from 1775 to 1821 and the manner in which America destroyed the Native Americans in order to take over the land being wrestled from British colonization will not come as surprise. Here, finally, is a two sided view of what really happened during that now embarrassing and shameful period in our country’s history.The story is fact, embellished by Harding’s poetic prose. It is a touching tale of the legendary Cherokee war chief Tsi’yugunsini, the Dragon, taking a little orphan boy, Totsuhwa, under his wing. It is this passage of rights and power that places Totsuhwa in a world where he must be the one to defend the very existence of the Cherokee nation against the terrifying odds of facing General Andrew Jackson. The story is powerful, enlightening, and told with the force of a spear headed right for the heart. But despite the fact that the historical aspects are so clear, it is the language with which Harding tells the story that makes it a monumental achievement.An example of this poetic approach to the body of the work is evident from the opening Prologue: `Autumn comes late in the Carolinas. Summer willfully drags her feet which pleases some and riles not but a few, including the trees which are anxious to change their hues, rid themselves of summer’s trappings and rest in the coolness of the fall.’ With this element of writing Harding seduces the reader into the story that, while absorbing full attention until the book’s end, will at the same time alter the conscience of this country in the manner in which our forebears won the land. There are many reasons to read this book: there are as many reasons to look forward to the next book that David-Michael Harding will be composing. He is a major writer.”