Customer Reviews

Half-Moon and Empty Stars (Lisa Drew Books)

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Most novels about The Law and the courts within which the stories unfold are as complete and realistic as their vacuous television counterparts. The crime is committed, the trial is held, and justice is done in 60 minutes minus the obligatory commercial refuse. And if this alone is not absurd enough there is always some contrived trick or last minute bit of information that either seals the doom or grants the freedom of the defendant. The book versions are almost universally as bad although they cost the reader more in money and time. The credentials of those who write these books that are consumed by the millions are about equal with the mediocre product they write. These are mass produced production line tales written to be everything from a novel, to a television adaptation, to a feature length movie. Since they strive to be many things they result in being nothing.

Mr. Gerry Spence has the credentials to speak about the law and how it unfolds in a courtroom. Unlike others who write in this genre, he has spent his life in courtrooms while some pretenders have never seen the inside of one. "Half-Moon And Empty Stars", is not just about a trial. Mr. Spence brings the reader along to experience all that a trial can mean to those involved, and the reality is most of these events take place outside the courtroom. The pain the victims feel is felt most painfully when spoken of at the kitchen table. It is the sight of a Mother spending years to gain signatures for her Son's pardon. It is reading of the young son of the accused as he learns to cope with the taunting and cruelty in his first years of school. It is the destruction of families and friends who spend years trying only to correct a wrong and prevent a racist, selfish, political, "Justice", from carrying out its final affront to a community, to a people, and to itself.

Mr. Gerry Spence has written widely in his works of non-fiction of his experiences and his opinions of how our legal system works and about those entrusted to see the law is practiced with fairness and equality. Our legal system is far from the utopian version that some may believe it to be. Your wealth will alter how the law treats you. How much of your wealth is spent on those who hold office or sit in judgment will alter the law's view of you. Fame can greatly diminish the punishment of a guilty party, or in a recent trial where a double murder was committed; in one courtroom the law can find you not guilty of the crime and then find you responsible for the same deaths in a different room. One depraved common factor is that the accused walks out of both courtrooms free. However as he said in another of his writings, "we must celebrate the verdict". We may not like or agree with the outcome, however this system works and is beyond value even as it is far from perfect.

This story deals with events that contribute to the main trial and its aftermath over decades, not hours or days. It deals with the political nature of our legal system, how it is manipulated, and how authority and power can erase the humanity of any person. This is not a cynical book, it is one view of the law from a man who has spent his life defending those who the law either seeks to punish, or to be sure that the money and the influence that can be bought become worthless when the truth manages to maintain prominence.

There is nothing subtle about Mr. Spence he does not mince words. He is a man of many gifts not the least of which is integrity. He is a classic American Legend who is true to the independence this Nation is supposed to represent. He doesn't dress like most lawyers, and does not use smoke mirrors and fantasies to wins his cases. He is an original.

There is a question posed at the end of this book and the answer Mr. Spence is yes. Yes you are a novelist, a tremendous storyteller and gifted teacher.

My dream would be to write a book like this. There is such a high degree of truth here that it can be very difficult to take simply because truth-real truth-many times,indeed, is unpleasant. Yet, you will devour this book even though the truth that it reveals about our judicial system might indeed make you ill. This book deserves to be both loved and also to be a rallying point for change within our judicial system. This masterpiece is the "To Kill a Mockingbird" of our generation. It indeed is that great.
One of the lead characters,the defense lawyer Abnor Hill, faces many private devils. Realizing that he is a small town lawyer who has never been involved with a capital murder case, questions abound within his mind. Some of the ethical nature. He comes face to face with himself. I litterally asked myself what I would do when the ethical questions arose. He wonders to himself if it would indeed be ok to do something unethical and against the law in a courtroom if not to do so would mean that the probabilities would be high that your client, who is not guilty, would be convicted and more than likely receive the death penalty? What if the greater good would prevail if this unlawful act was indeed done? What if that client was almost like a child of yours? Even though a lawyer knows that it is viewed as being wrong for counsel to represent a client who he or she has strong attatchments for, is it alright to do so if a lawyer feels that to not represent this person would mean that they would receive very incompetent representation? Tough questions.
This work of art will also help people to gain a better understanding of Native Ameican culture. There are times that the book has a quiet beauty and other times there will be beauty that will horrify you. The horror will roar like a lion. Beauty is not alway pretty. This work is so very beautiful because it very entertainly and effectively shows us the horror.
Every American needs to read this book. The beauty is in how the horror is revealed.

If you are accustomed to reading popular legal thrillers, this book will give you little satisfaction. There are no surprising plot twists, no courtroom tricks, and no triumph of justice. It is simply the story of a shameful little trial in a shameful little town that sends Charlie Redtail to death row because he has the wrong skin color.

Garry Spence writes well and seems very familiar with small town life. For example, I enjoyed reading the scenes concerning the makeshift coroner's office. He also gives us memorable, well-rounded characters such as Abner, Charlie's lawyer, who is a very good person but not a very good lawyer and Mary, Charlie's mother, who keeps using the grocery money to bail out Charlie's Father even though they were divorced years ago. But ultimately all of the moral people in this novel are out-thought, outclassed by the evil people and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Gerry Spence, known mostly for his hard-edged, frontier approaches to some of the most famous court cases of our time, proves that he can write excellent fiction as well.

Half-Moon and Empty Stars was well written, entertaining and provocative. Spence approaches a controversial subject that needs airing. Not just a western story, Spence's novel addresses the plight of Native Americans and their unwarranted reputation as being lazy, good-for-nothing liars.

Besides, all students of western lore are painfully aware of the fact that it was the white men who had trouble telling the truth and sticking to their promises. In that vein this book might be an irritating wake up call to any who might believe that Native Americans have gotten what they deserve.

As noted in my subject line, the writing is superb and would stand up in favorable comparison to the works of Louis L'Amour, John Grisham and Larry McMurtry. In Spence's case he seems to bring the best of all three under one cover and Abner Hill, Spence's heroic cowboy lawyer in Half-Moon and Empty Stars, stands up nicely to all comers in any other work of western fiction.

I'm waiting for the movie!

Douglas McAllister

Gerry Spence is more than just a good story teller. The difference between a story and an unforgettable story is that it goes beyond the mere reporting of events. He evokes emotions and puts us in the shoes of his characters. The key to this story is the dilemma faced by a lawyer who is determined to be truthful. He knows beyond a doubt that his client is innocent of the crime for which he is charged. He also knows that the district attorney is using perjured testimony. He has the opportunity to use perjured testimony to save his client. The question is, should he use the perjured testimony to save his client, or should he remain honest and allow his client to be executed? This story and it's resolution are not quickly forgotten.

This is a tale of bigotry, injustice, and "New Age Indian Wars." It is written by Gerry Spence, whose rich-tapestried courtroom oratory style has transferred well to literary novel form. As previous reviewers have noted, it is a powerfully painful book. Painful because of the truths that it releases from the dark recesses where the "Powers That Be" have tried to hide them.

Let it speak for itself:

The people [of Twin Buttes, Wyoming - a small county seat town just off the Arapaho Reservation] tolerated the preacher who got caught in the whorehouse when the sheriff made a raid to collect his payoff. The people tolerated the sheriff and the people also tolerated Abner Hill, "that Indian Lawyer," they called him.
Other notions prevailed. Equal rights for Indians? How could savages have equal rights? Best you could do with Indians was keep the drunks and their old jalopies off the highways. The more Indians the sheriff jailed the better a citizen's chances one wouldn't run into you head-on and kill your whole family Yet some Native Americans had been honored as upstanding citizens, war heroes especially. But those who "had made it" were usually exterminated by their assimilation. They murdered the Indian in themselves by taking on the white man's ways.
Yet the townspeople accepted the Native Americans as an immutable part of the environment, like winter storms and the hot winds of summer. Not many thought of the old men sitting in front of the JC Penny store wearing their black stovepipe hats and cheap cotton blankets as the remnant of a once great Indian Nation. Few felt guilt for the white man's original crimes against the aboriginal people, for these were not the crimes of the townspeople of Twin Buttes. ..

The appeals were mere window dressing to make the system look good. Yet occasionally someone escaped - usually the rich. Even so those few who escaped kept hope alive so that he lawyers could point to the cases where innocent men were set free. Without hope there would be no jobs for either the judges or the lawyers."

And there is occasional comic relief - one recurrent theme is that the Manifestly Destined "Westward Ho!"ers did something right. They created the Snickers bar. And a people who can do that have some sublime qualities ;-)

One wonders, is it coincidence that the Mother of Charlie (the potential savior of the Holy Ground) is named Mary?
/TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

When I first picked up this book, my intial reaction was that I wouldn't like it. I'm peeved by celebrities who cash in on their notoriety to get published. I'm also not all that interested in Native American culture, and I'm not all that keen on books written by lawyers either.

Even with three strikes against it, this book is a winner. Most people scoff when confronted with the idea that an innocent person can be executed when our justice system fails. Not surprisingly, that's more likely to happen to people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Spence ends up spinning a very plausible story that shows how a major punishment such as the death penalty can be trivialized under wrong circumstances. Innocent men can be convicted and put to death. I mention this because I'm concerned about it in spite of the fact that I support the concept of the death penalty. No matter what your position is on this subject, this book is worth reading because it will cause you to think in depth on the issue.

Where the book falters a bit is in its portrayal of injustice against Native Americans. The main character of the book is a Native American named Charlie Redtail. Spence tries to make the argument that Redtail ends up as a victim because of his partial Native American heritage. Redtail is in fact the offspring of a white mother and a Native American father. While his white mother is sympathetically written, Charlie Redtail and his brother Billy had lousy parents -- both of them. Their mother was a hard-working waitress with no education and few aspirations, while their father was a drunk that ended up being kicked to death by a mean-spirited white businessman.

Charlie ends up choosing a lifestyle similar to that of his father while his brother Billy ends up going to college and becoming more of a "white" man. Billy ends up being a millionaire and is treated as a traitor to his heritage while Charlie does absolutely nothing productive and ends up being the hero of the book. A great deal of the book focuses on the oppression of Native American ways by the white man, and I'm afraid it failed to convince me. Sure, the book points out blatant discrimination against Native Americans, but it also points out many problems without a connection to race. Billy succeeds because of his commitment to education - not because he's a white man. Some of the subplots regarding sacred Indian lands and the threat to develop them also ended up being overplayed at times, and I failed to develop any sympathy for the Native American plight by reading this book.

In summary, if you are looking for a great story, read this book. If you are interested in reading a thoughtful book about the death penalty, read this book. If you are interested in new information regarding the struggle of Native Americans in the United States, try something else. As a whole, I'll recommend it based on more positives than negatives.

This is the first thing I've read by Spence.To my great surprise it is one of the best novels I've ever read.I won't try to write a precis of the book,but will try to show why I liked it so much.Being an engineer,I like to analyse things, to see how and why they work;therefore not too attracted to who-done-its,fantasy,science fiction,etc.My favorite writers are Steinbeck,Erskine Caldwell,MCMurtry etc. who describe how things were and what was behind it all.That is the kind of book this is.
I grew up in a small town about the same size as Twin Buffs and know that it is the deep seated ideas of people that control the events that take place;both good and bad.
Spence brings to this novel a lifetime of living and working in this part of the country and particularly his knowledge and experience with the justice system and how it affects the Native Peoples.I have read a lot of books dealing with crime and justice as well as many about the people who have been pushed aside in society,but none that get to the root of these problems like Spence does.
Spence shows how injustice and prejudice is the root cause.As with Steinbeck and the migrants of the West,Caldwell with the racism and poverty of the Deep South;Spence shows the same thing with the Native Peoples of the West.
Can the deep seated ideas that have motivated people for many generations not be expected to influence them when they try to deal with situations that arise in their daily lives? To people who have been raised with Judaic-Christian values,Spence has shown what the Spirituality of the Native Peoples means.
As to the style of Spence's writing,I really enjoy his short chappters,46 in all,less than 10 pages per chapter.The other thing he does superbly is to almost instantly wrap things up.For example ;the end of the trial and verdict (two sentences at top of page 335,hard cover edition).Every word is important,well chosen and it never bogs down.This must be from his experience as a trial lawyer. His character development is so good that you feel you know each one and what makes them think.
Spence gives us some very profound thoughts,concisely expressed:
In small towns,when something is not talked about..
"-not lost from the minds of the people,but edited from their tongues."

"It's a waste of time,cottonwood tree.Do not be so foolish as to bud."

"The coyote was not evil.The coyote was merely the coyote,also trapped in the system".

"If the Judges sought justice,they would convict the system,not the victims of the system."

"They cannot imprison me where I do not wish to be."

"The moons come and the moons go.The stars empty themselves and fill once more.Time is for white men.Time is their devil.The Araphoe knows no such devil."
For anyone who works in or deals with the justice system ,this book should be required reading.I couldn't imagine one that could give one more to think about.Not only that,anyone who wonders why people have so much trouble trying to live in peace,respect and harmony,would do well by reading this book.
Half-Moon and Empty Stars is a great novel,but it is much more than that.Spence is an excellent writer and well worth reading.I plan to read more of his works.

"Yon-ka-tore"

'

This book has EVERYTHING! And written extremely well. Run, don't walk to your nearest book store. I promise you, you will not be able to put it down.

The town is filled with evil and prejudice that walks in sunlight, not
content to hide in shadows. It is a place where a half-breed Arapahoe
child watches the murder of his father as deputies use the man as a
punching bag. The residents of Twin Buttes, Wyoming taught Charlie
Radtail quite a lesson that he will never forget.

The person most
responsible for the final lesson Charlie received as a child wants to
develop Spirit Mountain, a place the Arapahoe hold scared. When that
individual Ronnie Colter dies, the Sheriff's Department believes that
Charlie killed him. When the case against Charlie goes to trial,
manufactured evidence and perjuring witnesses become prominent. Thus,
twelve people must set aside their own biases and struggle through
conflicting information to determine whether Charlie murdered Ronnie
out of vengeance or some higher cause, or is he just an innocent
dupe.

Gerry Spence makes his publishing debut a memorable one
with a dynamite novel that chillingly exposes how prejudices hamper
and even destroys justice. The story line is powerful and the key cast
members including the jurors feel authentically human. Reminiscent of
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Mr. Spence stirs the emotions of his audience
as he hits on several complex social issues in a roller coaster of a
plot worth riding.

Harriet Klausner