Climb the Wind: A Novel of Another America [Hardcover]

Pamela Sargent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1998

Something is wrong out West.

The Buffalo Soldiers sent to subdue the Cheyenne are deserting and going over to the other side. The Sioux are leaving their barren reservations in hordes. Armed bands of Apaches have been seen east of the Mississippi!

Lemuel Rowland, formerly Poyeshao, has spent his life learning the white man's ways. Now he must choose between his career as a Washington bureaucrat and the ancient dreams of his people. An obscure Lakota chief called Touch-the-Clouds, armed by a Russian spy and inspired by a woman with the gift of prophecy, is uniting the "horse tribes" into an awesome horde that will thunder eastward and reclaim the entire continent for its original owners.

It should be Lemuel Rowland's job to stop thembut he wants them to succeed!

Combining the startling insights of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle with the elegiac lyricism of Dee Brown's bestseller, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Pamela Sargent's brilliant new alternate history epic asksand answersthe most heartbreaking and troubling question in American history:

What if the warlike Indian nations of the high plains had combined under a strong leader? What if they had struck eastward at a weakened America, still reeling from the devastation of the Civil War?

What if they had won?

The complex and fascinating answer, as presented in this extraordinary work of speculative fiction from an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, will either shock you, enrage you, or make you nostalgic for an America that could have been.

But whatever your reaction, you will never look at our history in the same way again.

The White Man's NightmareThe Indian's Dream!

"The Russian's ancestors and ours come from the same great chief," Touch-the-Clouds explained to Crazy Horse. "This great chief lived among bands of horsemen who warred with one another. He united them, and they became a nation of warriors. They rode against an enemy who lived to the east of them, a people with weapons and riches even greater than those of the whites."

"And did he drive the enemy from his lands?" asked Crazy Horse.

"Genghis Khan did more than that," said Touch-the Clouds. "He defeated his enemy and became their chief. He took their lands for his people."
from Climb the Wind

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great book ... a sparkling American epic and a fitting pendant to RULER OF THE SKY. We applaud an unerringsense of history - both the actual and the possible, all garnished with tid-bits - such as Edison recording the treaty on his magic voice machine. (!!!)" -- Charles L. Harness

"Climb the Wind is a most enjoyable and entertaining new alternate history adventure which I believe brings a new dimension to the form....Pamela Sargent advances this interesting speculation within a well-structured adventure story involving all sorts of intriguing rogues and idealists and just plain heroes and heroines...the resolution is quite credible and the reaching of it consistently entertaining. Someone really ought to make a movie of the thing." -- Gahan Wilson, Realms of Fantasy

"Climb the Wind is one of the rare alternate histories that really needed to be written an important premise backed up with solid research and good storytelling. Reading this book is an illuminating experience." -- M.J. Engh

"Pamela Sargent is a clever and talented author, and Climb the Wind is highly creative, fascinating, and enjoyable." -- -Janelle Taylor

"Pamela Sargent is an explorer, an innovator . . . she's always a few years ahead of the pack." -- David Brin, author of Foundation's Triumph

"Pamela Sargent loads her Springfield and heads into the post-Civil War era with a rousing tale of what might have happened had the Indians united against white encroachment. If Harry Turtledove has been driving the Alternate America stage, Pamela is now riding shotgun." -- Jack McDevitt

About the Author

Pamela Sargent is the author of several highly praised novels. Gregory Benford described her novel Venus of Dreams (1986) as "A new high point in humanistic science fiction." Venus of Shadows (1988), the sequel, was called "alive with humanity, moving, and memorable," by Locus. The Shore of Women (1986), one of Sargent's best-known books, was praised as "a compelling and emotionally involving novel" by Publishers Weekly. The Washington Post Book World has called her "one of the genre's best writers."

Sargent is also the author of Earthseed (1983), chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and two collections of short fiction, Starshadows (1977) and The Best of Pamela Sargent (1987). She has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award. Ruler of the Sky (1993), Sargent's epic historical novel about Genghis Khan, tells the Mongol conqueror's story largely from the points-of-view of women.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 436 pages
• Publisher: Harper Prism; 1st edition (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061050296
• ISBN-13: 978-0061050299
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,672,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting history, weak character, January 12, 2004

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Climb the Wind: A Novel of Another America (Mass Market Paperback)

With the American Civil War over, the Union turns its attentions toward the west, toward the territory of the Lakota and the gold of the badlands. In our history, the result was the genocidal attacks on the Sioux and the horrors of Wounded Knee. But what if the Native Americans of the plains had united--if the Crow had fought with the Sioux and Cheyenne rather than scouting for Custer? And what if the Sioux had been able to secure more modern weapons--Chinese rockets and better rifles? In CLIMB THE WIND, author Pamela Sargent addresses these questions.

The real hero of the novel is Russian Grigor Rubalev. He knows of American betrayal having suffered it when the U.S. bought Alaska and promptly ignored their promises to the Russian inhabitants. And he's read of the Mongol victories over the far more numerous and better armed Chinese. Could the Lakota chief Touch-The-Clouds be a later-day Gengis Khan? Touch-The-Clouds' mystic visions of Indian warriors in the streets of Eastern cities seems to indicate this possibility, and Rubalev is willing to do anything to make this victory possible.

From the reader perspective, it is unfortunate that Sargent choses Seneca Lemuel Rowland as her protagonist. Rowland, an ex-soldier, is disenchanted with his life and wants to help the Sioux against the never-ending string of treaty violations that they have suffered. But he sees no alternative. If the Sioux fight, they will lose. If they fail to fight, they will lose. Rowland doesn't believe Rubalev's vision. Even when the plains Indians slaughter Custer and his entire force, Rowland knows that the result can only be more suffering.

Sargent's selection of the genocide of the Native Americans as her setting for an alternate history is a good choice--the result in our own world was so horrible that almost anyone would want an alternative. The history is also familiar to most Americans, increasing its marketability (try selling an alternate history of Bactria after Alexander's death and see how important this is). Best of all, Sargent's story-telling and descriptions of Lakota customs is compelling. Although I found the first half of CLIMB THE WIND to be slow going and Rowland far too passive for a good protagonist, the novel still makes interesting reading.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bad history - but a good story, September 1, 2005

By 

David W. Johnson (Pasadena, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Climb the Wind: A Novel of Another America (Mass Market Paperback)

Most "Indians Win" AH's are at best house-of-cards constructions and this one - while better than most - is no different. So if I told you I had problems galore with the history in this book, you'd probably not be surprised. But If I told you it doesn't make a darn bit of difference to the story, you might be.

Pamela Sargent is an excellent writer. I found the characters all to be believable, their actions all made sense, given the circumstances, and the book is just a darn good read.

But the AH - Oy!

To begin with, the actual POD is at best diffuse. It seems to be set back a few years prior to the events of the story (Crazy Horse, for example, seems to have a different wife on this ATL, which led to Touch-the-Clouds not having to save his life because of his OTL wife's ex). But other events change as well, most notably Grant steps out in front of a carriage and dies in the middle of his term (Schuyler Colfax becomes President).

But the _actual_ difference seems to be that visions are real, and can convey useful information.

Sargent realizes that in order to have any chance of winning, the Indians have to face a much reduced enemy. And she arranges things so that rebellion breaks out in the South again (Colfax is a lot more heavy handed with them than Hayes would have been), Texas and California break away as "autonomous republics," and eventually much of the U.S. is in some form of rebellion. So, much of the army is busy putting down those rebellions - and much of the rest is unsure just whose orders they should be obeying.

I just can't bring myself to believe this, though. The U.S. falls apart entirely too easily (I especially can't see California just breaking off like it does. The vast majority of its population was very pro-Union). Rebellions just seem to break out here and there for no real reason (though it is the time of the great Railroad Strike, I admit).

OTOH, while the Indians win their territorial integrity by the end of the book (and the United States has become more of a NATO-style alliance than anything else) I do admire that she's left the future more or less undecided. That the Indians will keep their freedom is not a given and many of the Indians are upset with all the changes they had to make - all the things they had to lose - to win this war. It's pretty much going to be such that if the Indians do keep their freedom, their culture(s) are going to change at least as much as if they don't.

But anywho, it's a great story. So put your disbelief-suspenders on "high" and read the book.

4.0 out of 5 stars The contra-factual drives the plot, maybe flattens characters, January 25, 2012

By 

Theodore (WATERBURY, VT, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Climb the Wind: A Novel of Another America (Mass Market Paperback)

Pamela Sargent's afterward may explain what the other reviews find troubling.

Sargent wonders what-if America had less good luck. Not quite, "What if God took special care of small children and drunks, but NOT the USA?"

A convincing Indian victory in the 1900s would require more than a small nudge - Washington accepted the Royal commission he was not offered, or perhaps was killed in a small, nasty skirmish between State forces. Myself, I think she overdid it. She imagines large numbers of ordinary folks who embrace Communist politics, not because there is no Homestead Act or very cheap land at land offices, but because they see some goofy conspiracy by a very few nasties to profit from unregulated freight rates and speculating in land they know to be worthless.

The necessary "we are all one race" identity may be the worst realized. She rejects the Ghost Dance, cross tribal messianic charisma, with a surprisingly Carlyle Great Man, who somehow transcends his own tribal identity and just as magically meets broad-to-universal acceptance by soi disant red brothers.

The racial, skin color identity is almost as painful as trivializing the reality of tribal, band or even family self identification.

Then there are the clunkers - not the Stanton assasinated Lincoln conspiracy, but first KKK Southerners with Bedford Forest and his veterans needing Apache trainers, let alone recognizing their need and finally finding a way to assimilate such aid (think Lawrence teaching tribesmen to pick up and shoot Turkish rifles, without first learning to load, let alone maintain -only backwards).

Officers with shouldered bayonets. Republics that must add "autonomous" - Lenin, Stalin and the modern left's loss of coherent language, or 19th Century Americans with a modern sense that "sovereign states" is a joky oxymoron.

Still and all, I think the very neat author succeeds - we have had exceptional luck,and it's too easy to lose that luck in a fuzzy, vulgar determinism, losing the sense of both luck and causation.