Customer Reviews

The Children of First Man

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very intriguing treatment of a story that most Americans no longer remember. The tale of Prince Madoc, who supposedly came over to Alabama from Wales in the same year as the events described in T.S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral", (1170 A.D.), has had its zealous believers, as well as its detractors, since the days of Elizabeth I. In this book, Thom asks the science-fictional question of "what if" a.) this legend were in fact true, and b.) how did the descendants of Madocs colonists fare? It is always thought-provoking, always interesting. There is one very disturbing scene, which essentially details a rape. I would advise women and younger readers, and sensitive people in general, to try to be prepared for this, and perhaps to gloss over it altogether. It does serve to illustrate the brutality of life in certain societies, but was a bit excessive for me. The author obviously felt it was necessary, but I am not sure I totally agree.

Apart from that, there is a lot to be said for this book. The whole idea is, for some people, inherently fascinating. This novel covers a span of many centuries, in a way that works well for me. You see the medieval Welsh people at one point, then a chapter or two later you see them as increasingly illiterate people with fewer and fewer remnants of their religion, language, memories of Europe, etc. It is heart-breaking, but at the same time you do feel for the descendants of the original colonists, who must survive in a harsh world, and who have little time for remembering amenities. The battle scenes with the Cherokee, Sioux, etc. are exciting, I should say, but this is not a book about war as such. It is a very thoughtful overview of an intriguing idea, and I must say that there is a LOT of attention paid to the ways of real native americans. Rituals, customs, crafts, etc. are all gone into with the eye of an anthropologist. I read somewhere that Thom is related, by blood or marriage, I don't remember, to at least one native american tribe, and the sympathy engendered by this tie, tempered by a realism which many writers on these peoples do not display, shines through on every page.

Some other books I recommend on related topics include "Hidden Cities" by Roger Kennedy; the children's book "A Swiftly Tilting Planet", by Madeleine L'Engle; "Sacajawea" by Anna Lee Waldo; or especially "Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians : Written During Eight Years' Travel Among Them, 1832-1839" by George Catlin. Or, if you go to yahoo.com, google.com, hotbot.com, or whatever search engine you prefer, try searching for "madoc and mandan", using Boolean operators, and you should find a few dozen websites dealing with this fascinating legend.

I've always thought if the first chapter of a book didn't grab my attention, then it wasn't worth my time. This book was assigned for reading by the moderator of my library book review group. At first I was really disappointed because the last book had been a real bummer. I read the first chapter and thought I had another bummer. But I was determined to finish the whole book come [any obstacle]. So I made myself start reading again. Well, was I ever in for a surprise.
The Prologue begins in 1838 with George Catlin, the artist, who had been allowed to paint the People of the Mandan tribe, to include the greatest Indian Chief of all, Four Bears. Then Chapter One begins in the summer of 1169, when a Welsh yellow-haired prince named Madoc, and his brother, have sailed toward the new land. From this point on until the end of Chapter Eight, the author writes about Madoc's trials and tribulations with the natives after arriving in this new land.
Chapters Nine through Seventeen pretty much tells how the "marked drawings" of Madoc, later desribed as the "Magic Bundle" are handed down through the generations for safe-keeping.
From Chapter Eighteen on, this author had my complete attention. I could NOT put the book down because my ancestors are Cherokee.
Although there were times I felt the author was drawing the book out over too long of a time frame, it wasn't until I finished reading the book that I realized how well written and researched this book had been.
The last few chapters had me in tears. Although written as a work of fiction, in my heart I could very well imagine this story to be as true as any nonfiction book I've ever read.
I have nothing but the highest respect and admiration for this author, James Alexander Thom. May the Great Spirit be with him, guiding his thoughts and his hand as he embarks on his next novel. I'll be waiting to read it.
My opinion of this book? It's one of the best written books I've had the pleasure to read.

Amazingly, I felt transferred into this wild wilderness, battling all of the various elements of danger contained within the world of the ragged travellers. This is the story of a Welsh prince of antiquity that leaves his embattled homeland to hopefully build another kingdom in paradise. The scenes on the ocean voyage are particularly exciting, as are the various encounters with the native peoples he and his fellow journeyers encounter. I found the novel entirely engrossing.Before devouring this book, I had never read any of Thom's other novels. I went on to read most of his other works in rapid succession. He brings the history of native America into sharper focus.

I am a great fan of Mr. Thom's work. I typically scour the shelves for his books. However I found this one below his usual standards. I did not get the impression his research was as thorough this time. Towards the end, the story dragged. I found myself finishing the book merely to bring it to closure. I still highly recommend Mr. Thom's other works to friends. But this book will definitely not be on the by-name list.

At age 52, I rank this as one of the three most entertaining books I've ever read, along with Goethe's Faust & John Grisham's The Firm. For two years, I had been researching Madoc and the Mandan to write a book on the subject; after reading Thom's book, I yield to a superior author who has thoroughly researched many sources and brought many mysteries together to reveal a likely history of actual events which occurred in Wales, the Southeast U. S., and along the Ohio River, culminating in the current location of the Mandan Nation in the center of our continent. As I continued reading, my jealousy quickly became admiration. I read this book five times in its first two months, and I continue to enjoy it today. I cannot comprehend any reaction other than excited enjoyment to this great book.

I am in agreement with two other reviews I have read. Just the story concept alone was spellbinding to me, and as always before with Thom's novels, I sat down in great anticipation of a thoroughly absorbing, marathon read. In the beginning, it was very well written and interesting, so much so that when it started to go downhill, I stuck with it, thinking it would surely get better, but it never did! It just kept going downhill! Incredible! I felt cheated. This concept DESERVES a good telling, and I believe it could have it. James, try again -- I still don't believe I know anyone that could do it better than you.

Also, the explicit details of sex and rape were not only unwarranted, they were thoroughly, completely, downright DISGUSTING.

The differences I see between this story and his others are that it does span a very long time period, with many generations of people, and there aren't as many facts to go on. This makes me think he should stick to stories with a shorter time span, focusing on one person/family/tribe (you get the picture), and which has more information; OR he should just work a lot harder on a story such as this.

The story became SO boring, that it was truly an effort to even barely skim the book to its end.

The only reason I am giving a rating of two stars instead of one (which I was going to do), is that it did begin well, the concept is awesome (that still excites me), and the GENERAL storyline is good. I will read his next book with great (though guarded) anticipation.

This is the BEST book I have ever read.
I read it when it first came out and again recently.
Outstanding, Mr. Thom draws you into the era.
A great story told by a great story teller.
I read a lot of historical fiction and this was by far the greatest!
Children of First Man and Runestone by Don Coldsmith are the two best books on the subject of early white man in North America.
Mr. Thoms latest book Sign-Talker is also a must read.

I enjoyed the book but didn't like it as much as other books I've read by James Alexander Thom. It was interesting but I found it depressing. I didn't have the feeling "I've got to save this book so I can read it again sometime" nor did I have an urge to recommend it to anyone. Yet it was well written and held my interest all the way through.

I have never heard of the Madoc legend before reading this book and now am eager to find out more about the legend. (I read this book because I enjoyed Follow the River so much.)
The three star rating is because of the large shifts in time between chapters which makes it difficult to follow the ancestral lineage of some of the characters. I wish more had been told of Man On a Horse and his bride Snow Hair. How is chief Four Bears related to them? ect....
I think a series of books may have done the story more justice.
The begining and the end are incredible. Don't be discouraged half way through the book. Stay with it until the end. You will not be disappointed.

This is a fascinating blend of historical fact and fiction and a delightful read. Thom's writing style is fast moving and exciting. If you have ever wondered about the early settlement of the Americas and thought some of the stuff you learned in school didnt' make a lot of sense, this is another perspective to think about. One of my top 10 all time books.