Customer Reviews

Power in the Blood

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered this book through a book club some years ago, and it remains one of my all time favorites. It was thoroughly entertaining, and I couldn't guess what was going to happen next. It had lots of interesting & memorable characters, and imagery that really brought scenes to life. Matthews' use of color & cloud imagery to illustrate the psychic probing of others minds was especially captivating. I hope this book becomes available thru Amazon - it's what great storytelling is all about. A complete original

This is a superb novel--original, compelling, fast-paced, and guaranteed to please. Mathews is the most underrated novelist on the planet. "Heart of the Country" is equally good, which is saying a lot! I have had three people read this novel and all rated it "incredibly good" or words to that effect. If Stephen King and Ed McBain got together to write the epic 1,000 page Western, it might be "Power in the Blood." Warning: don't read the inside dust jacket, as it tells way, way, way, too much of the story.

I have nothing but admiration for Greg Matthews and his story telling ability and this book is no exception. It concerns 2 brothers, Drew and Clay and their sister , Zoe who are separated on an "Orphan Train" back in the days of the Old West.The three of them are all determined to be reunited with one another but their hopes are dashed as Life "continually gets in the way" as a famous author once wrote.As they grow older Clay gets a job as a Town Sherrif, Drew becomes a Bounty Hunter and Zoe finds work in a Dance Hall.This is a novel about the enduring power of unrealized dreams(hence the title) and I consider it to be a Modern Day Classic. The author is an Australian who has recently returned back home and I say "Welcome home Greg!!!"

I hate westerns. HATE them, I've never found westerns appealing in the least, so I was skeptical when my grandmother, partially from whom I got my passion for books, pulled it off her shelf for me to read. Putting aside my preferences, I read it for her.

This is by far the best book I have ever read.

The stories are deep, the characters are complex, the threads intertwine and have become a beautiful, moving masterpiece that will stay with me for a long, long time.

The base story is about three orphans who are slowly separated as their orphan train travels westward from New York to Missouri. Things take grim turns for the trio as their foster families fall apart for various reasons, causing the three to strike out on their own in a quest to reunite with one another.

I cannot express how much I want this book back in print so I can get my own copy. It's a book you won't regret.

the other reviews are accurate- just want to reaffirm how awsome a writer Greg Mathews is. I have a special spot on my book shelf where the books he writes are placed and dread the day I have read them all- savor this tome.

This is a superb novel--original, compelling, fast-paced, and guaranteed to please. Mathews is the most underrated novelist on the planet. "Heart of the Country" is equally good, which is saying a lot! I have had three people read this novel and all rated it "incredibly good" or words to that effect. If Stephen King and Ed McBain got together to write the epic 1,000 page Western, it might be "Power in the Blood." Warning: don't read the inside dust jacket, as it tells way, way, way, too much of the story.

I first heard of Greg Matthews in a Stephen King book (he mentions him in the introduction of "Nightmares & Dreamscapes), curious, I found "Power in the Blood" at a local used bookstore. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Full of twists and turns you never see coming as you read along. This book is brutal, funny, surprising and always engaging. I saw an earlier review that warns of not reading the synopsis that is on the book...GOOD ADVICE! All you need to know (if you must) is that it is about three orphaned siblings who go west. The book follows thier seperate lives as they each experience the American West. A great read.

It's been 5 years since I read this book and I still think about it often. Impossible to put down! I'm so happy I did not get rid of my copy as it is now out of print.

I have an extensive library, and frequent the public library as well. I read on average 5 or more books per month....and have done so for years. This book is the best book I have ever read....a close second to it is "Heart of the Country" by the same author. Also very good is "Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" also by the same author, Greg Matthews.

As every other reviewer said, you can't put this one down and it's 858 pages! Matthews' writing as usual is phenomenal. My only complaint is with the sci fi aspect of the story, a child with telekinesis talents which just do NOT exist, and I was surprised given Matthews' obvious athiestic views in every one of his books. Plus he uses this as a "deus ex machina" to save some of his characters who would otherwise be dead if the child hadn't come to the miraculous rescue with her gift.

However this book has LOTS of characters who are colorfully written. Some of them just fade out, not sure why they were there in the first place (many needed chapters given to an artist who paints a nude portrait of a prostitute who wants to be the mistress of the husband of the female sibling in the story.) But this is probably because Matthews is so prolific he just can't stop writing.

The story builds up to where there should be a huge climax, but kind of fizzles out. The train chase at the end went on for pages and I skimmed and skipped that. There was an epilogue so we know the fates of all the characters, but also kind of anti-climactical. For the page-turning ability of this book, I give it 5 stars, but for the telekinectic character, 4 stars.

I read this in about a week, couldn't put it down, may appeal to fans of Stephen King (who I no longer care for.)Lots of carnage, incest, child rape, a really, really nasty serial killer, basic Matthews menu, but so, so readable!!!!!