Customer Reviews

Massacre at Pilgrims' Pass

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read until page 46 of this book, so my review is until this page: pretty bad. Maybe it gets interesting later, but I doubt it.

At least I didn't buy it! I got it as a sample from Book Surge.

I bet the author created many accounts and wrote the other reviews.

The book is nothing else but a cliché. If I was reading a Wild West 10 page comic book, that would be okay, but why waste your time reading a whole book with characters out of yahoo avatars? No depth. Plus, the book is politically correct to the point of disgust. The Indians are "good", the "pale -faces" are invaders and evil, no in between. You can figure out who's good or bad depending if they refer to the "Injuns" as savages or the white men as trouble makers. Yet, the good guy is white and the girl has long blond hair that shines like gold... And there's a magical necklace that the guy gets trough some impossible coincidence too. And he gets lost in the desert but is rescued by an old guy that looks like Clint Eastwood and happens to be a blood brother of a Chief Indian, and by his African American Companion: United Colors of Benetton. Hmmm, I wonder if by page 200 the black guy dies in the arms of his white friend... And it seems by the back cover that the hero ends up meeting a Native American knock-out... Not planning to find out!!

Great Story. I love westerns and I like to read Louis L'Amour, Max Brand, Will Henry, and Owen Wister. I bought this book because I like to try new authors. Glad I did. Sometimes I just like to lose myself in another time and place and this book really let me do that.
I felt like I was really in the old west, the descriptive writing style painted a vivid picture to let my imagination go wild.
It's a story that moves along really quickly and so I was never bored.
This book was an exciting trip into the past!

I don't usually read westerns, but this book was recommended to me, and am I glad I read it! The characters are interesting, the storyline moves swiftly (maybe a little too swiftly--left me wanting to know more deeply about the backgrounds of some of the characters--do I see a "sequel"?) and definitely kept my attention. I can imagine this story being made into a movie, it has all the elements for the big screen--gunfights, blood, sex, love and the crossing of social barriers. Guess those are all the important elements for a good western read too, eh?

I purchased this book because it is a finalist in Fore Word Literary Magazine for Book of the Year. I'm not particularly a fan of westerns, but I value the opinion of the magazine. The human drama in the story was captivating, making the old west much more interesting than I had anticipated. The story is good; it has action, romance, commitment, betrayal, and pathos. I found myself becoming the young lady who was fighting for her life, facing danger, and falling in love. I feel this book had the perfect story ending and look forward to Mr. Lister's next creation.

This book was recommended to me and I was quite skeptical because this genre does not interest me at all. Needless to say, this was my first western and it has set a high standard for others that I may read. As an earlier reviewer stated, it indeed has a bit of everything in it which I enjoyed. It definitely kept my attention throughout. I think its strengths are its character development and message of commitment and duty to family. I hadn't thought of the movie option as mentioned in another review, but would agree that it would be a great story to tell on the widescreen.

I love westerns and this story had it all! Cowboys, Indians, good guys, bad guys, gunfights, family devotion and sacrifice. Sex, love, betrayal and the will to fight and live! Interesting story. Makes you want to turn the page! Stayed up late several nights in a row to find out "what happens next?" Would love to see more on Sylvester and Desert Flower. Possibly a sequel? Many twists and surprises! Who will survive in the trials and hardships of the Wild West? You will just have to read and find out! Great book!

For someone who doesn't usually enjoy anything much in the area of Westerns, I truly did enjoy this book. It captivates from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the last word on the last page. It reads very quickly and there are a lot of surpising plot twists which make it that much more enjoyable. It gives the reader a lot to think about in terms of the harshness of life at this time in history and also the clash of cultures and ideas. It is interesting to follow the changes in the character's personalities throughout the course of the story. The challenges they face reflect the people they are becoming. Watching the transformation creates authenticity in the characters and hope on the reader's part that they will be successful in their ventures.

Wow. A very exciting and unpredictable story. A fast read. Couldn't put it down. Recommended to me by a friend. I was reluctant because I usually don't read Westerns. Best fiction I've read in a long time. Great character development - they evolve throughout the story. Many twists and surprises. Love, hate, loyalty, sacrifice and betrayal - it's all there. You become emotionally involved with the characters. Some I liked, some I hated, but all were interesting. Great book. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading fiction.

This book was recommended to my husband by a friend of his. My husband read it and had high praise for it and told me he thought I would like it too. I was skeptical because I generally do not like westerns, and this one sounded particularly gruesome due to its title. My husband, however, was quite insistent that I would like it, so I gave it a try. To my surprise, it turned out to be an excellent book, so good in fact that I stayed up much past my usual bedtime one night to finish it. While it does have some violent parts, Massacre at Pilgrim's Pass went far beyond my image of the typical bloody, brutal western. In fact, it had all of the elements that I look for in a book - an engaging writing style, likeable protagonists who are faced with complex, life-altering decisions, a fast-paced, absorbing storyline with several unexpected plot twists and believable dialog containing a nice mix of humor and poignancy. As a woman, I was particularly surprised by the depth and engaging nature of the romantic sub-plots interwoven throughout the book as well as by the dynamics and complexity of the relationships between the various characters. I would recommend this book to individuals who, like my husband, enjoy westerns. My husband felt that it conveyed a particularly good sense of life in the West in the 1800's. Moreover though, I would also recommend this book to people who, like me, generally do not read westerns and are simply seeking a book which explores human relationships in their many and varied forms.