Customer Reviews

October Wind

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

 

 

From the back cover:

A sweeping, unforgettable story of romance, intrigue--and the greatest voyage ever made.

The dreamer...
He believed he could reach the fabulous Indies by sailing West.

The queen...
She ruled a kingdom--but he offered her a new world.

The grandee...
His guilty secret made him a target for the Spanish Inquisition--and lost him the woman he loved.

Together, they planned a voyage of discovery that many said was impossible. After heartbreaking years of intrigue and perseverance, beset by scheming courtiers and haunted by the specter of the Spanish Inquisition, Columbus and his band of adventurers finally set sail in three tiny ships, borne on an October Wind...

And my review:

I bought this book simply because it had Susan Wiggs' name on the cover. But it is a far different kind of book when compared to her newer works, like "The Firebrand" or "The Mistress."

I give this book three stars, as I recognize just how much work must have gone into it. The research she has done is amazing. But I do not think that this should be classified as a historical romance. It should be called historical fiction, as the romance part of it sits on the back burner for most of the book.

I greatly enjoy history, but do not consider myself an expert on the subject, so I cannot attest as to how accurate this book is. If this had been a movie, I probably would have been glued to the screen. But as a book, it was a bit too daunting for me. I wanted a romance, and this just wasn't what I was looking for.

This is a book for history buffs, not avid romance readers. I recommend it for the former group, but not for the latter one.

I am not quite so sure how historically accurate this book is ~~ but I don't care! The lavish descriptions of life inside Queen Isabella's court, the crusades against the Moors, the Inquisitions, true love found and lost, dreams broken and renewed ~~ this is the stuff made of dreams ~~ that comes true and sometimes, lost.

It is not only a story about Christopher Columbus and his pursuit to find a new way to the Indies; it is also a story about a Grandee who finds out a secret that would damn him in the Inquisitions courts and as a result, he loses his true love. It is also a story about a gypsy, a mapmaker/scribe, the woman they both love; it is a story about Christopher Columbus' love and family ~~ it is a story about life.

Wiggs writes with a lavish detail of the Spanish life and of Isabella's dream that she shares with Columbus. It tells of Columbus cooling his heels at the court for 7 long years. It tells of his despair that his dreams will never be realized. It talks of Santiago, the gypsy roamer and his best friend, Rafael. It tells of their love for Catalina, a doctor.

It is a wonderful book to escape into ~~ but while it is entertaining like most historical fictions are ~~ I am dubious to all the facts being accurate. But other than that, it's a great read to while away a long wintery afternoon!

10-23-03

Anyone who is interested in Christopher Columbus will find this a fun and interesting story. It takes the reader on a journey before CC sailed for the Americas. With fictional characters to add spice and life the author shows the unwavering determination of CC to fullfill his vision of sailing to a new land. If you believe as many that CC knew he was not setting sail to find a new west indies route but rather a completely yet undiscovered land, this story will give you some food for thought into the mind set of CC.