Uncharted (1) (Arcane America)

This was the 3rd of my New May Releases – the first two being “The Wolf: Under The Northern Sky” and “Artificial Condition”. I was doing just fine – “The Wolf” being a beautifully written book which takes place in a truly engaging world – and “Artificial Condition” being a funny and entertaining installment in the “Murderbot Diary” series – UNTIL I hit this book. This was one of those reads that leaves you regretting that you ever turned the first page.

It’s based on an interesting premise – a description of the Lewis and Clark expedition in an alternate America that’s cut off from the rest of the world by the destruction of Halley’s Comet due to a past magical battle. As a result, magic is somehow amplified and strengthened in the New World. In my very humble opinion, this book hit it’s high point with that short blurb on Amazon.

Instead of going through the motions of writing a traditional review, I’m just going to list out some of the elements of the book that simply made no sense to me:

Why even introduce the idea of a celestial event separating America from the rest of the world and amplifying magic in the New World. This is an alternate history. Magic obviously already existed in the world if Halley’s comet was destroyed as a result of a magical battle. The separation of the New World isn’t really relevant to all that comes after – a tale of Lewis and Clark dealing with the magic of the native Americans and untamed America.
The most interesting character in the book – the alternate history Benjamin Franklin – the most powerful magician in the New World – is introduced briefly in the beginning of the story for no reason other than to serve as a source of funding for the expedition. Why create a fascinating character just to summarily dispose of him.
The magic that’s most relevant to the story is the mysticism and magic of the native Americans – the rebellion of the spirit of the land against European encroachment. That whole premise – which would have been fascinating in and of itself and which would have more than effectively carried the story – is intermingled with an element of Welsh / European mythology that – to me – just seems bizarre and unnecessary. I still don’t know why Dragons were introduced or why it was necessary to the plot for Raven to possess a dying Welsh trapper – thereby driving him crazy to the point of corrupting the land and directing its fury against both his Native American worshipers and the European newcomers. I would have thought that colonialism, the destruction of the land and the expansion of European power would have been more than enough to earn his wrath.
The clumsy way in which native American mysticism and mythology is utilized. This could have – should have been – a tale about the collision of two cultures and two sets of beliefs. I may be very wrong about this but if feels like Anderson did a couple of hours of internet research on native American religion – picked two interesting divinities – Raven and Coyote – and then used them in what ultimately becomes a silly way. When I think of authors who know their subject matter deeply and in detail – like S.M. Stirling in “The Change Series” – Anderson pales in comparison. There was an opportunity for some real amateur scholarship here that could have turned the book into a fascinating read.
The silly and unnecessary letters written by William Clark – a secondary character throughout the book – to his child fiancee living back east of the Mississippi. The letters are – at best – unnecessary and – at worst – a constant irritant. They give you insight into a man who plays little role in the story and simply recaps the events that have already been described in detail over the course of the preceding chapter.
So many discordant elements – the Whiskey revenants, the way Sacajewa is characterized and utilized, the one irrelevant and disconnected reference to an alternate reality more closely resembling the United States in the 1800’s, the manifestations of the anger of the land – undead, little people,re-animated dinosaurs – REALLY…dinosaurs…T-Rex…Raptors…Pterodactyls – it just starts to feel like a silly, hot mess.
Those are just some of the many things which – for me – were completely offputting. It all just strikes me as sloppy, lazy writing and it’s reinforced an impression that was likely lurking in the back of my mind regarding Kevin J. Anderson. I’ve tried him in the past – bought a couple of volumes of his major work – “The Saga Of The Seven Suns” – and gave it a try but I never even finished the first volume. At the time, I just drifted away – gave up on it early in the 1st book – and gave it little critical thought – assuming I’d go back and try it again at some point in the future. I’d wager that – if I did so – I’d find similar problems with those books. My experience here only guarantees that I’ll never go back and give them another try.

I rarely write such a negative review. This book earned it.

I enjoyed reading Uncharted. It had a nice reading flow and I like the Hoyt and Anderon’s vision of Arcane America. I also like how the book mixed Native American and European supernatural beliefs. The novel has been marketed as Alternate History, which it is but could have been promoted as fantasy.
I look forward to the next book in the series. There are so many directions the series could go. Do the people in the New World attempt to piece the magical veil? Do they explore North and South to see if they have been cut off in those directions, and to found out what how far land extends in either direction? Plus others I have not thought of.

I love both real-world history and fantasy stories. I've studied the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition across the Western half of the then very young United States and have read William Clark's and Meriwether Lewis' journals. Part of my fascination with it is that I grew up right along the route they took across what is now South Dakota and Nebraska and have visited many of the places that they first described in their journals in other parts of the West.

I've also read many of Kevin J. Anderson's fantasy and science fiction novels. I find them to be a cut above the usual mass-market work done today and I'm sure that someday, he'll be regarded as an important author of these genres along with other greats like Asimov, Heinlein, Tolkien, and Lewis. So, I was quite excited when I found out about this book.

It's clear that Anderson and his co-writer Sarah A. Hoyt have read the history as well because the main people involved in what really happened are present in this version as are many of the things that happened before, during and after the expedition. What they've done here is to ask 'what if there was real magic' and have transformed an already fascinating chapter of American history into a rare example of colonial American fantasy which is a setting that is rarely used in fantasy and science fiction.

I love that they don't just paint a thin varnish of American colonial life over a modern story, but actually have the characters speak and behave the way that people really did in those days. They even use words and turns of phrase that are seldom heard today, especially when they begin chapters with letters that Clark writes to his fiancé.

The fantasy element is both familiar and very likely new to most readers since it includes fantasy creatures and myths from both Welsh and several North American tribes. Part of the fun of reading this book are the surprises along the way, so I'll not give any away here.

If you enjoy American history, frontier survival adventures, or are just looking for a fantasy story that isn't set in the usual European Medieval-like settings, then you'll love this book.

Lewis & Clark, Sacajawea, Ben Franklin, magic, monsters and did I mention dragons! The best part of the book is it all works. A really fun read with no-stop action. We I read alternative history, I want it big and bold and this book gives it with a ball of fire. Well written, story flows very well, characters built very well and ending does not disappoint. I also like the size of the book, you can read in a long weekend or on a few plane trips.

An alternate Lewis & Clark expedition through a North America filled with magic, with the expedition being opposed by a powerful evil magic being. I don't generally care for pure fantasy, but this one worked for me, and held my interest well for the duration of the book.

Great adventure in an alternate America where magic works and monsters walk the land.

Ben Franklin as a wizard. Dragons in western America. This book is a fun reimagining of Lewis and Clark and their exbidition. Suspenseful and dangerous without being too dark. A great start to a new series that will hopefully give us more stories in an interesting world.

Ben Franklin was a wizard? In a new novel by Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt Uncharted in an alternate America set in 1803 Franklin appears as a formidable wizard who, at the beginning of the adventure fends off a dragon with the help of Meriwether Clark. Uncharted is a high powered fantasy/historical epic that will draw you in to Arcane America from opening to close! Available Now!