Customer Reviews

The Peace Chief (Robert J. Conley's Real People Series)

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While fighting members of the Ofos tribe by himself, Young Puppy, of the Real People, thought a foe was coming up from his rear. He immediately killed the person behind him, which sadly turned out to be a close friend, Asquani also of the Real People. Though it was a friendly fire accident, the balance between the clans was now out of kilter. Asquani's Wolf clan had the right to restore the balance between them and Young Puppy's clan, The Long Hair, by killing any member of the latter group. Instead of retaliation, the Cherokee Nation sentences Young Puppy to spend the next year in the sacred town of Kituawh.

For the hyperactive Young Puppy, death might be a better alternative. He misses his intended and loathes not being able to go out on the hunt. As the year passes slowly, Young Puppy is spiritually reborn as the Peace Chief of a new Cherokee outpost town. Now his true journey begins as threats from the Europeans and the Shawnee arise.

Anyone who has read a Robert J. Conley "Real People" historical fiction will quickly understand why the Cherokee Nation commissioned the author to chronicle their history. The entire collection pays homage to an intricate, complex way of life that is must reading for fans of historical novels. THE PEACE CHIEF adds to the setting by providing colorful descriptions of a culture, rituals, and people already struggling to retain a lifestyle as the early intrusion of the European has begun. The award winning Conley will surely receive more accolades for this sweeping epic.

Harriet Klausner

All of the Real People series books are well researched and quite interesting, which great plot and character development. I have the books myself and recently purchased some for my brother.

"The Peace Chief" is the ninth installment in Conley's 'Real People' series, and is a de-facto prequel to the previous novel, "War Woman". It is the story of Young Puppy, a young Cherokee who is disgraced and forced into hiding, and of his subsequent redemption.

The story is a compelling one, and Conley once again brings the everyday life of the Cherokee alive as no one else does. My only real complaint is that the various dances and religious ceremonies are described in excruciating detail, and the book consequently reads more like an anthropological text than a novel at times. That said, I suspect that this may have been a conscious descision on Conley's part. Obviously I'm speculating here, but it may well be that Conley did this as a means of preserving these various traditions. As I understand it, many of the old religious rites and observances were, as far back as 150 years ago, already being forgotten.

It's not the best book in the series, but it still offers the reader a good look at what life was like for the Cherokee before the Removal, a.k.a. the Trail of Tears.