Customer Reviews

Cold River Rising

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This book was one I did not want to put down. I live near the area where the story begins-Oregon and what I could imagine was the Warm Springs Reservation. It was so very nice to read about American Indians in such a positive way. This story is the opposite of his "Fatal Flowers" which was excellent. I am looking forward to more books by Mr. Smith.

While there is only ONE Tony Hillerman, if you liked his work, you'll probably enjoy "Cold River Rising". The author has actual experience living and working on a native American reservation so even the small details are credible. I live in Oregon so was delighted to encounter the geographical descriptions of a place I am so familiar with.

This story is not predictable. It is dramatic, fanciful and realistic and contains some humor. I was sorry when the book came to an end and am looking forward to another book by Enes Smith.

I was delighted with this book, being familiar with the reservation, and knew the locations described. The story premise is based directly on the declaration of sovereignty published on the tribal website. The gist of it is that this tribal coalition was never defeated in war, but instead worked primarily as partners with the white man, and executed a treaty as an equal, not a subservient victim. The reservations in many areas are independently administrated, and you are a guest in their country when you are there.

Smith starts his story with a group of students traveling to Peru over spring break. The students find themselves in the midst of Shining Path guerrilla activity and are taken prisoner. Their professor is shot almost immediately after they're imprisoned, and they realize that same fate awaits them. Several of the students are tribal members of the Yakama and the fictional Cold River reservation tribes, and when word gets out that they've been taken, tribal leadership at home takes action.

One Yakama student manages to elude capture and makes his way to the nearest U.S. embassy, only to be rejected for lack of any identification, and literally thrown back into the hands of the guerrillas and a corrupt army, a lamb for the slaughter.

While the Peruvians claim the students were engaged in terrorism, their military and the Shining Path are exploiting their own country for profit. They have no interest in seeing anyone escape who might bring down the regime.

The tribal chairman in Cold River declares war on Peru as the act of an independent nation, and things begin hitting the fan. While no one takes the declaration seriously, except for other tribes that declare their support, the diplomatic implications are serious, and the Establishment begins trying to smooth things over. At home on the res, the tribal council begins preparing to blockade the roads, move money and get together the talent needed to execute a rescue. The native nations have been maintaining their warrior traditions through the U.S. military for generations, and now they begin assembling their own force. They need a pilot, people with demolitions experience, and other skills.

Using clever language and negotiating skills, the tribes invite a senator to visit and become their spokesman, smoothing over what's already happened and unwittingly pumping out disinformation to the Establishment. An FBI man is out of contact, and the Establishment decides that the tribes have imprisoned or killed this man as part of their actions. The FBI gets ready to go Waco on them, and a tribal member calls the council to tell them that he's just seen a column of tanks, trucks, and what-have-you headed over the mountain to the reservation. The bridges have already been wired, and when it's determined that this column is on the way to the res, the bridges are taken out on both sides of the res.

The captured students have managed to escape their captors, but they've taken more casualties in the process, and they're struggling to get to the nearest city while eluding the Shining Path and the army. One young man sacrifices himself in a solo attack so that the other students can get past a roadblock and into town. The chairman's granddaughter calls home and gives their location.

The telephone operator has eavesdropped, and immediately contacts the military. The students are already on the move again, headed for the local small airport. One man has some flight experience, and he plans to get a plane and fly them out to a larger airport, where they can get help...but not from the Peruvians.

Meanwhile, just to keep things interesting, Ecuador has declared war on Peru and provided a distraction.

The loose ends all get wrapped up in a thrilling ending. Buy the book to see how it all shakes out. This book reminds me of Leonard Wibberley's "The Mouse that Roared" and Clair Huffaker's "Flap," the movie version of his "Nobody Loves a Drunken Indian."

There are some editing issues - the people editing this book aren't completely clear on the distinction between its and it's, they're and their, and when to capitalize commercial product names. A word or two eluded spell checking, and there are a couple of minor formatting issues - extra spaces, empty lines, and one page with a paragraph of bold type. I can only imagine what the manuscript was like originally - it's at about 90% correct now, and should be at 99% minimum.

This book was fascinating. Several Indian college students were on an spring break college field trip when they are ambushed by terrorists. The Indian Chief, not satisfied with how the US Government is responding, declares war against the country. I found that I was captivated by the characters and was hoping for their safe return. The evil characters are truly evil. I found it difficult to put the book down. There is a movie in the works based on this book, and I definitely put it on my to see list.

Cold River Rising by Enes Smith was highly entertaining. Enes is one of those jewel authors that slowly hooks a reader and then brings them into his net. He develops his characters very well to the point of identification and empathy. Some characters become your heroes. I liked it especially as it gave me a glimpse of insight into modern Indian culture. Often I am disappointed by an author's ending but he doesn't let his customers down. Honest, if you like captivating and entertaining authors like W.E. B. Griffen, Harold Coyle, DALE Brown and even Mr Tom Clancy, I'll know you'll enjoy this book and this Author. Read this one before Smith's Cold River Resurrection.

Read this and ALL of Enes Smith's books. Delve into his imagination, delight in his talent, and look into his heart. He has the best of all three.