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The Raiders: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 2)
 
 
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The Raiders: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 2) [Hardcover]

Elmer Kelton (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)


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Book Description

May 16, 2006 Sons of Texas Trilogy 2
In 1816, Mordecai Lewis, a veteran of Andrew Jackson's Indian campaigns and battles against the British, moves his family into the western Tennessee canebrakes. But Mordecai, a born wanderer, is not satisfied with farming, and with his sons Michael and Andrew and some other backwoodsmen, he leads a foray into Spanish-held Texas to hunt wild horses and return the mustang herd to sell in Tennessee.
Crossing the Sabine River, Mordecai's party encounters a Spanish patrol determined to repel all American invaders. After a bloody skirmish leaves their father dead, Michael and Andrew find their way back to their Tennessee farm.
Five years later, after the Spanish government in Mexico City has agreed to permit 300 American families to settle in Texas, the Lewis brothers have their opportunity to re-enter Texas. They ride to the frontier town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, where Michael falls in love with Marie Villaret, daughter of a wealthy French landowner, then cross the Sabine to find Stephen F. Austin, a Missouri entrepreneur in charge of the new American colony.
But the Lewises are considered interlopers and horse thieves and are dogged by a patrol led by the same ruthless Spanish offer who killed their father five years before.
Sons of Texas is the first volume in a trilogy that follows the lives and adventures of the Lewis family through the era of the Alamo and Texas Independence under Sam Houston.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The second volume of this prolific western writer's Sons of Texas trilogy (after Sons of Texas) is a colorful, if action-deficient, lesson in Texas history 1825–1826. Along with brothers Michael and Andrew Lewis, most of the characters from the first novel return and not much about them has changed. Michael has a family now, but is just as restless as in the first book; Andrew is still the steady one, a bachelor who longs for a wife. Owning adjacent farms in Mexican territory, the Lewises are trying to settle as legal immigrants, alongside hundreds of other Americans allowed by the Mexican government to live there. As Michael and Andrew struggle to farm Texas's forbidding terrain, they become involved in an Indian raid, rekindle a long-standing family feud and get tangled up in the complex comedy of the Fredonian Rebellion, "the earliest glimmering of the Texas revolution against Mexico." Fans may grow frustrated as this horse opera unfolds largely without gunplay—even the bad guys are reluctant to pull the trigger—but Kelton masterfully portrays the toughness of frontier life and the racial, cultural and political tension between Mexicans and Americans that eventually led to open rebellion. The final volume in this trilogy will include the battle of the Alamo; hopefully, there the action and suspense will catch up with the period detail. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Michael Lewis and his brother, Andrew, moved from Tennessee to Texas to become part of the first group of Americans to cultivate a life in the area defined by the Colorado and Brazos rivers. They are there at the whim of the Mexican government, which has decided that a limited number of Americans would help accelerate the civilizing of the untamed land. Michael is beset by wanderlust and often leaves his wife, Marie, and young son alone for weeks as he wanders aimlessly west. But brother Andrew lives nearby and fills in for his wandering brother even as he harbors a secret affection for Marie. But soon the brothers will act as one in the face of ominous movement on the part of their Mexican hosts, the appearance of three brothers from Tennessee with whom the Lewises have had a blood feud, and the ever-present danger of Indians. The second installment in the Lewis saga features Kelton at his best, combining a fascinating historical backdrop, complex primary characters, and a simmering undercurrent of danger. Entertaining and suspenseful. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (May 16, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765315254
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765315250
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elmer Kelton of San Angelo, Texas is a native Texan and author of over 50 Western novels. He has won many awards for his work and has been recognized as the Greatest Western Writer of all time by the Western Writers of America, Inc. He is the author of Forge's Texas Ranger series.

 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Kelton Shines in The Raiders, August 1, 2006
This review is from: The Raiders: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 2) (Hardcover)
In book two of the Lewis family trilogy, THE RAIDERS: SONS OF TEXAS, veteran author Elmer Kelton delivers a finely wrought western set in the early days of Mexican-ruled Texas. To keep their land in Stephan Austin's colony, Michael and Andrew Lewis battle the elements and raiding hostiles. Michael's frequent wanderlust causes hardships for his wife, Marie, and small son. Andrew works Michael's land in his brother's absence, but Andrew's apparent fondness for his sister-in-law drives a wedge between the brothers. Their lives are endangered by the appearance of old enemies, the Blackwood brothers.

In an effort to ease tensions Marie suggests that Andrew should leave for a while and use the time away to hunt for a wife. While on his journey, Andrew visits Stephan Austin who sends him to Nacogdoches to ascertain if rumors of a revolt are true. Andrew meets a lovely young woman named Petra, but he is very confused about his feelings for Marie. During his travels Andrew makes a sworn enemy, Tolliver Beard.

Elmer Kelton's skillful narration exposes the resilience of love intertwined with gutsy determination. This second volume is rich in detail and strong characterization. I'm certain that the third book in the Lewis trilogy will be excellent reading.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Western large print book, May 21, 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Elmer Kelton is one of my favorite authors, and this
book does not disappoint me! Good for male or female
readers.
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5.0 out of 5 stars My Second "Western" in twenty or so years, March 29, 2009
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The first was Trevanian's "Incident at Twenty Mile" or something like that. I particularly enjoyed and was attracted to this set of novels in the first place because of their setting, East Texas, which is where I live. Each of these three novels kept me up reading and kept me from doing anything constructive until I finished them.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
YESTERDAY NATURE had been quarrelsome. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
San Felipe, Eli Pleasant, Tolliver Beard, Zeb Willet, Andrew Lewis, Stephen Austin, Isaac Blackwood, Michael Lewis, Miles Nathan, Pete Bradley, Dick Johnson, Colorado River, Simon Wells, Quenton Mann, Lige Willet, Sabine River, Mordecai Lewis, Walker Younts, Mexico City, Haden Edwards, Jayce Beard, Joe Smith, United States, Harlan Mann, Luke Blackwood
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