Customer Reviews

The Hostage

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Hostage, the first of a planned trio of stories about a group of girlfriends in 1870's Chicago, tells the story of Deborah Sinclair, a pampered, yet wounded, financier's daughter who is taken hostage by Tom Silver, a man bent on revenge against her father for a mining disaster. Tom forces Deborah away from her home on the night of the great Chicago fire, taking her to beautiful, yet primitive and remote Isle Royale, a large island off the spectacular Lake Superior coast of upper Michigan.

Having grown up in Michigan, with several trips a year to Chicago, I was able to enjoy this book on several levels. First off, it is a wonderful character study: we get to see two wounded people, narrowed to one-dimensionality by environment and circumstance, blossom into fully aware, realized people who not only discover romance and conquer their fears of intimacy, but also who discover themselves, and learn to resolve their personal tragedies. Secondly, I thoroughly enjoyed the "minor players" - namely, Chicago and Isle Royale/Lake Superior. Each place is, in its own way, stunning, majestic, powerful, and sometimes cruel. It made me homesick, and reminded me of my own families' stories of "the great fire."

This story is not for those looking for a quick read with instant gratification--we are there for each small step on Tom and Deborah's roads to recovery. The romance, and the healing, grows slowly, and the ending is perhaps a little too swift given such a long buildup. But this is a minor flaw in a tale that is both grand and also intimate. The book does, definitely, reward a patient reading.

This is a great story about how a tragedy and the things that come after it can change your way of life. This story has the main character kidnapped on the night of the great Chicago Fire. She was already wondering what she was going to do with her life do to another personal tragedy, she figured she was only trained to be "pretty" and not to even dress herself. This kidnapping teaches her a lot about herself. It is really fun to read about her change in attitude etc... and laugh as she learns things the hard way. At the same time it teaches her kidnapper a bit about himself, as well as a distant town learns not everyone with the same name is "evil". In the climax of the book you also learn alot about survival in the later 1800's and how things differ today. An excellent read. Not too much emphasis on the sensuality.

When I first heard of the subject matter of Susan Wiggs' latest novel, I was both intrigued and a bit skeptical. A hostage falling in love with her captor -- the plot has been done many times before and the subject seemed dated. A spoiled little rich girl and a rugged outdoorsman -- ditto. And, in less talented hands, the book might have been dated and nothing new. But given the gifted pen of Susan Wiggs this book works and works well. A more exciting beginning would be hard to find -- the story begins with the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The rest of the book takes place on the route up lake Michigan, through the locks to Lake Superior's Isle Royale, introducing the readr to a whole host of interesting characters. A heroine with a social consience, despite her privileged upbringing and a captor with a lot of heart - what else can a reader want? I can hardly wait to read the next two books in the series!

This was my first Wigg's book, and I absolutely loved it. From the beginning to the end, I was never bored once. She is very romantic, and the sex is not as important, as other romance books. So what you get is more of a STORY to read, not a bunch of sex to take up half the book, so you are wide eyed, involved, to the very end. I even looked up on the internet more information about the great fire of Chicago 1871. It was such a good read, I bought the other two books of this series, and I am snuggled and happy right now. This is romance at it's best.

This is my first Susan Wiggs book, and I am in awe of her talent. _The Hostage_ was a wonderful, emotional roller coaster ride. I was extremly involved in it. Let me say that the begining is a little hard to get through, but if you stick out it, _The Hostage_ is a very rewarding book to read, and you will be left with a silly grin on your face. If you don't like hard core romance, then this book may not be for you, but if you enjoy complex plots and interesting characters, I'd highly recomend you try this one out.

On October 8, 1871, disaster struck Chicago. Amidst the chaos, four friends have their lives drastically changed. They are Phoebe, Lucy, Kathleen and Deborah. How they change and what happens to them is the basis of Susan Wiggs Chicago fire trilogy. _The Hostage_ is the first book followed by _The Mistress_ and then _The Firebrand_. Deborah Beaton Sinclair is the focus of _The Hostage_

One night at the opera... who knew it could change your whole life? Deborah had a very traumatic experience there and realizes that she can not marry her fiance. She decides that she must ride into town and tell her father. Little does she know that her life is about to change forever.

Tom Silver is a man bent on revenge. Aurther Sinclair, Deborah's father, is a murderer in his mind, and Tom comes into town from the remote Isle Royale with murder on his mind. While Deborah is confronting her father and the fire is raging outside, Tom bursts into their lives. By a mis-hap, Aurther is not killed, and Tom takes Deborah as his hostage for compensation. They travel to Isle Royale and Deborah sees first hand the disaster that her father's greed has caused. And, she and Tom are drawn towards each other as love spins it's complicated web. Will these two star crossed lovers ever end up together for their happily ever after? Will the devestated families of Isle Royale ever get some compensation for their loss? And what really did happen that fateful night of the opera?

Oh, I just loved this book! The characters, the setting, the plot... everything. Let me clear the air and tell you that the first half of the book is really dedicated to letting you get to know the characters and their problems. But, when the romance does come into play at the second half, you feel that you know the characters so well that their love seems very realistic. Both Tom and Deborah are wounded souls, but they can help heal each other, and it is lovely to watch. It is so cool to watch Deborah awaken from the naive debutant she once was. I found myself cheering her on and hoping she would find her voice and her place in the world. Tom was very much the same. He too is wounded, but Deborah helps him see that life goes on and she teaches him how to love again.

Susan Wiggs has just boosted herself up to one of my favorite authors. The way she develops her stories is amazing. Her characters are very well fleshed out and her settings come alive. Chicago has always been a place I've wanted to visit, and now I want to even more. The way she described Isle Royale made me feel like I was there. That takes real talent. I can't wait to read _The Mistress_.

I was very disappointed with this novel - it was predictable from start to finish. What was the trauma our heroine had suffered? From the very first moment the reader is introduced to Deborah it is patently obvious. What fate befalls the hero and heroine such that they can reconcile their differences? The author whacks you over the head so many times with her clumsy attempt at foreshadowing such that there's no need to wonder what might happen next.

Besides the complete lack of surprise in this story, I was also disappointed in the writing of the characters. Deborah was annoying beyond words for more than the first half of the book. She whined and pardon me, dear, but your snobbery is showing. Of course, as soon as she sets foot on the island, she is transformed into Disney's Snow White. I expected birds to land singing upon her outstretched arm, and bunnies and deer to come leaping and prancing about her feet. I'm tired of the poor little misunderstood rich girl character, and the stereoype is in full swing in this story. Our hero Tom was equally irritating and irrational in his behavior. His motivations were cloaked throughout most of the book, and were never truly unveiled for a complete understanding of what drives him. His background was never satisfactorily fleshed out, and I'm still confused about how he got Asa - was it before or after he joined the army?...was it an army buddy or a friend from the island that asked he look after him?...Am I interested enough to care?

Finally, the pace of the story was severely off. I hit about page 220 or 225 when I finally realized I didn't care about the story anymore. More than half way through, and all the characters managed to do was get from point a to point b (geographically speaking), and establish that everyone hated Deborah, as she was viewed as an extension of her father. In between, the reader is tortured with every minute detail of the trek - which does not include character or story developement. It is literally over two hundred pages of the characters traveling along and snapping at each other. But I plodded on, although I knew what was going to be happening. And finally, in the last 100 pages or less, there are some reasonable amounts of plot movement - too little too late to save this story.

Now, I truly enjoyed "The Charm School" by this author, but this book...as soon as I read the last page it fell out of my hands like a hot coal. I cannot recommend "The Hostage".

Deborah Sinclair is a spoiled, sheltered rich girl who is about to marry a man she doesn't love. She is about to confront her father Arthur when the whole town of Chicago is hit by the Great Fire. And among the confusion in comes Tom Silver like an avenging angel, wanting to put a bullet through Arthur's head. Instead, he ends up taking Deborah hostage.

See, years ago several men working in Arthur's silver mine died in an explosion. Among them is a young boy who was Tom's brother (not biological, but more of a kindred kind). Tom and the surviving members of the victims of the disaster see the accident as a result of greed and negligence on Arthur's part. And Tom, never actually quite a samaritan, loses all focus in his life after Asa's death and now he lives just for revenge.

But of course, among the isolated wilderness of Isle Royale, with the moon and stars above, who knows what will happen, eh?

Now, I love THE HOSTAGE, which I feel is the author is back in top form after the dip into Muzaksville with THE HORSEMASTER'S DAUGHTER. It is, however, not her best work, although it is a very good book. Tom and Deborah's relationship, despite the sleazy captor-captive scenario, always ring true.

Deborah slowly shines under adversity, blossoming into a woman of courage and slowly gaining self-confidence along the way. It is easy to see why Tom would be attracted to a woman like Deborah. She's an intriguing mix of feminine assertiveness with enough but not too much distress factor to get his manliness all hackled up. And Tom is indeed a nice man, lonely and lost, that I'm half-tempted to shove Deborah off the scene and comfort Tom myself.

TH is vintage Wiggs - explosive emotions, slowly unfurling of the relationship which is a friends-first lovers-later sort (my favorite sort, because these sort of relationships are always the most convincing), and great handling of character conflicts that never gets bogged down into a head-banging session in trauma welfare.

But I have one quibble - this book is around 200 pages too short. The premise is such that these two are antagonists in the first half of the book. The relationship between Tom and Deb, therefore, takes awhile to blossom, and by the time they are almost there, the author fits in a rushed ending of bullets and fire, and next thing I know an epilogue is shoved at my face. What is this? Deb is just realizing her full strength and courage. Tom is just slowly letting go of the past, and - zaaaaap! - they're making babies one year later?

I feel so cheated! And I'm not too pleased of the way the author handled Arthur's fate, the man has so much potential for redemption by a nice, spirited widow or something in his own book.

TH is good, but it also offers promises and hints of things to come that are never delivered. In a way, I feel cheated even as I savor the wonderful romance that is TH. It sort of ruined my mood.

In 1871, an angry and desperate Deborah Sinclair visits her wealthy father Arthur to demand he stop the marriage he wants for his daughter. Arthur, a self-made millionaire from his commerce dealings, wants the acceptance of high society. He sees Deborah through marriage to Philip Ascot as his ticket. Deborah knows no one ever refuses to do something that Arthur demands. Still, she tells him she will not marry the odious Philip. Their squabble remains undecided when the duo flees due to the spread of fire.

Tom Silver plans to enact vengeance on Arthur for the devastation on his village caused by the industrial mogul's copper mines. Tom kidnaps Deborah, taking her to his remote island home. Though none of the islanders will help Deborah, she soon gains their respect by helping them with their chores. Soon Tom finds himself in love with the daughter of his enemy who returns his deepest feelings. Though she has broken through his heart that had been as icy as the blizzards that isolate the village, he still owes his villagers, but he no longer knows what to do.

THE HOSTAGE is a beautiful relationship drama that brings life in a remote late nineteenth century American village to life. The story line is character driven and thus not for those who enjoy action-packed tales. The lead characters are a wonderful duo and the villagers add depth to the look at the era. Susan Wiggs is so good at the descriptions, the audience will winter garb just to feel warm while reading this endearing illuminating Americana romance.

Harriet Klausner

I usually really enjoy reading Susan Wiggs' writings, however, after reading the first couple hundred pages of this book, I can't help but feel a sense of de ja vu. The more I read it, the more I felt like I was reading "The Charm School" all over again. While this book has a different setting, different characters, and different (and better) adventures, the whole idea seems "done it before." I still enjoyed it, and the found the adventures in this book much more exciting and page turning, but only wished it wasn't written with the same premise of "The Charm School." There wasn't too much romance between the 2 main characters until about the last hundred pages and it felt a bit more like an adventure novel rather than a romance novel. I'm starting the second book in this trilogy, "The Mistress" now, and I hope it has a fresher feel to it.

I was up until 3am reading this book. I couldn't put it down. It was excellent. At one point I couldn't even read the words, as blurred as my eyes were with tears. My only criticism is that I felt the ending came too quickly. Or, rather, I should say that the obstacles between the hero and heroine were resolved SO quickly, I was left feeling as if I had missed something. Otherwise, very, very good.