Spanish Jack [Hardcover]

Robert J. Conley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2001

Robert J. Conley is one of the most acclaimed writers of the American West and of his own people, the Cherokee, having won myriad fans with his moving historical novels about the Real People. In Spanish Jack, he brings to vivid life one of the most complicated figures in one of the most difficult times in Cherokee history.

Jack Spaniard-- known as "Spanish Jack"-- was a Chickamauga, the Cherokee faction that sided with the British during America's Revolutionary War. After the British lost the war, the Chickamauga moved west to the Arkansas territory. Reorganized as the Cherokee Nation West, they were forcibly absorbed into the Cherokee Nation by the U.S. government after the Trail of Tears. Spanish Jack, however, was not going to go quietly. He continued to fight against the Osage (longtime enemies of the Cherokee), against the Cherokee Nation, against the U.S. government, and against the tide of time.

Spanish Jack was revered as a hero by some, reviled as a brigand and murderer by more, and hunted by many. Both a patriot and a killer, a loyal friend and an implacable enemy, Spanish Jack lived a life that is stuff of legend, becoming one of the most famous and idolized outlaws of the West.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In what seems like a never-ending effort to chronicle the historical minutiae of the Cherokee people, Conley adds to his considerable body of work 36 novels to date this tale of Jack Spaniard, aka Spanish Jack, a Chickamauga renegade who has trouble making peace with the Osage. The novel follows the serpentine trail of Jack's evolution from homicidal maniac to assistant horse thief to highly successful riverboat gambler to benevolent friend of the Eastern clans to grateful benefactor of white Christian Samaritans to vengeful vigilante to justified bounty man to upright citizen. Jack is as ruggedly handsome, boldly intrepid and physically indestructible a frontier hero as ever hung a lasso from a lariat. The plot, such as it is, concerns Jack's attempt to come to terms with his own humanity as a microcosmic reflection of his people's plight at the hands of an unfeeling federal government. Unfortunately, he emerges at the end no less one-dimensional than he was at the outset, and considerably less believable. The book neglects probability and historical fact and geography, for that matter with casual indifference. Prose style is sloppy and inconsistent. Relying on incredible coincidence and unlikely happenstance, the story stumbles along through a forest of clich‚s, a wilderness of imprecise language and a swamp of sentimental claptrap, with occasional bouts of bombastic dialogue uttered by a collection of cardboard-cutout characters, none of whom behaves in any way similar to any human being of any era. The story is repetitious when it's not redundant, illogical when it's not implausible, and just plain silly from start to finish. (Aug.)Forecast: Despite Conley's longstanding popularity, this stumble might cost him a fan or two.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

It's not easy for even a talented storyteller to bring to life a historical figure who is well rounded and not romanticized, but Conley masterfully spins the tale of Spanish Jack, member of the Cherokee Nation. This fast-paced story is set in the 1800s but written in contemporary language. Spanish Jack was a complex man of contrasts, considered a hero by some and a brigand by others. He was a fighter, card player, horse thief, and gentleman, who lived by his own set of principles. His early life was shaped by the displacement of the Cherokee and the death of his young wife at the hands of her own people, the Osage. During his adventure-filled travels across the U.S. from the Great Plains to the Smoky Mountains, he encountered fur traders, riverboat gamblers, highwaymen, pioneers, and the cavalrymen who became both friends and foes. Jack's survival skills were tested and his long-held beliefs and hatred were challenged. It's a story of a remarkable man living in the rapidly changing world of the new West. Eileen Hardy
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (August 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312262310
• ISBN-13: 978-0312262310
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #952,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)