Customer Reviews

The Year the Cloud Fell (Roc Book)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Year the Cloud Fell is the first novel in the Fallen Cloud fantasy series. It is an alternate timeline story in which the Nebraska Sea never fully retreated over the past 65 million years. This allowed dinosaurs of all kinds to acclimate to the changing conditions until modern times. Furthermore, some of these dinosaurs were tamed by the natives and used as riding animals.

In this novel, George Armstrong Custer, Junior, is the son of the US President, a Captain in the US Army Engineers, and the commander of the experimental dirigible Abraham Lincoln. On its maiden flight, the dirigible is caught by a thunderstorm while flying over the Unorganized Territory and forced down. There George is nursed by Speaks While Leaving, a Cheyenne woman who has true visions, and then captured by a patrol led by Storm Arriving. George is offered the name One Who Flies and is taken back to the encampment, where he is exposed to Cheyenne ways. He tries to escape, but runs into a patrol, falls off his mount, and lands on his own knife.

As he recovers, he makes friends among the Cheyenne, Storm Arriving and Speaks While Leaving among others, but one of his closest is Laughs Like A Woman, a Contrary, a subject of the Thunder Beings wrath and scrutiny. Eventually, George begins to see the errors in the white man's view of the Cheyenne and to regret the hurts done to them. To stop the killing, he joins with his new friends to ride coup on the chief of the Horse People, his father.

This novel is billed as science fiction, but is really a fantasy. First, it explicitly involves direct intervention and contact with the Thunder Beings of Cheyenne legends. Second, it concerns a history that is basically unchanged until the United States collides with the Cheyenne, despite the major geological deviance of the Nebraska Sea; just the effects on world wide weather over 65 million years should be enough to change the course of European history, much less the direct effects upon the Spanish, French and English explorers. The chances of George Armstrong Custer fighting in a Civil War in the United States of America while North America still has such a geological feature, and dinosaurs as well, is extremely small. Maybe about as small as all the air around someone's head withdrawing to leave a vacuum; possible but not very likely.

This novel probably should be classified as a native fantasy. However, with sufficient suspension of disbelief, this misclassification does not detract from the quality of writing, for the plot is interesting and the characterization is very well done. Overall, it is a pleasure to read.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys adventure and exotic cultures in a fantasy setting.

-Arthur W. Jordin

The Year the Cloud Fell by Kurt R. A. Giambastiani is a rather ingenious alternate history novel set in an America that never was. It is 1886 and George Armstrong Custer, the President of the United States, sends his son on a perilous mission into the Cheyenne territories. George Junior flies off in an experimental airship. An inopportune thunderstorm wrecks the ship and George Junior is captured by the Cheyenne, who see this as a heaven sent opportunity to negotiate from a position of strength. However a wise woman of the nation is not convinced that all is as it seems. She believes that the prisoner has been sent by the Thunder Beings in the sky and that a crisis much deeper and more profound than a simple war with the white men is looming.

So far so straight forward and apart from the mention of an airship this might be almost any penny dreadful western novel. What raises it above the ordinary, however, is the sheer audacity of Giambastiani's vision. In this alternate America the war between the Indian and the white men has dragged on in a never ending stalemate. Neither side can defeat the other for they are both quite evenly matched. The dinosaurs never died out in North America and they occupy the same ecological niche that horses occupy in Europe. Since time immemorial the Cheyenne have tamed and ridden the great lizards. This gives them an advantage in warfare - they are mounted and agile and skilled in the arts of fighting. The lizards make them more than a match for the white man's cavalry. The war drags on endlessly and the Cheyenne occupy vast tracts of land and effectively prevent the expansion of the white men into the west of the country. Something has to give, and now in 1886 the crisis is at hand.

It's a rousing tale, rousingly told.

Combining "Dances With Wolves", Harry Harrison's "Eden" series and a heaping helping of Harry Turtledove, Giambastiani has concocted a mostly satisfying, fast-paced tale. The amount of research that went into this was obviously prodigous as far as Native American culture goes and the Old West atmosphere rang true. The sequel is on my desk now and I look forward to contnuing the adventure.

On the downside, contrary to one of the critical reviews, the Myth Of The Noble Savage is on full display here. Perhaps it was unavoidable since the story revolves around Native American culture but it would have been nice to have seen the author employ less of a politically correct angle and opt instead for a more textured, even-handed approach. Not that the Native Americans didn't get screwed. They did and royally so, but not every Indian was noble and not every white was a bigoted devil. Let's face it, people are people. Long before any European set foot on this continent the residents warred with, slaughtered and enslaved each other without reservations. They also managed to exterminate an entire Megafauna (Mammoths, Mastodons, Ground Sloths, etc..). Humanity has generally refused to learn from the mistakes of the past regardless of race, religion or creed. OK....off the soapbox and back to the book....

As a dino lover I would have liked to have seen evidence of a level of research on dinos equal to the rest of the research evident in the book. They are such fascinating creatures and they could have been put to better use here. They essentially inhabit this story in the same manner that horses do in conventional westerns. Still, it was a kick to see them ride hadrosaurs (derived Parasaurolophus descendents?) and therapods into Washington even if their successful march through settled territory was rather implausible.

All in all, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. A promising debut by an obviously gifted and passionate writer. Recommended!

THE YEAR THE CLOUD FELL is one of those books that expands the definition of alternate history. Like Stirling's Nantucket series, Giambastiani goes beyond the simple "Point of Diversion" plot and puts a fascinating story into an historical setting. His imagined America where dinosaurs still live and have been domesticated by the Cheyenne provides a fascinating basis for his novel, and one that I enjoyed a great deal.

Giambastiani's characters are deeply motivated and finely drawn. He has avoided the white hat / black hat trap so common among other works set in this period. Every character has depth. President George A. Custer is not the mindless dolt or equally mindless villain of movies and westerns. He is understandable as a father and as a president in Expansionist America. His son, George, Jr., is equally understandable as the son of a very famous man, struggling to make a name for himself but faced with a decision that might destroy his chances. Giambastiani's Cheyenne characters are just as powerfully crafted. Caught in a changing world and faced with a formidable enemy, they work hard to find a solution without compromising their traditions. Giambastiani creates complex relationships that pull you through the story, wanting to know what will happen next. The author's detailed realism makes it all come alive on the page.

This is more than just another "what if so-and-so won the war" thought experiment, and frankly, I found it a refreshing change. This is a wonderfully human story with terrific action and a spellbinding finale. I hope to see more from this author, and soon!

This is my first "what if" book and if it hadn't been so good, I might not be looking for others. There is no rough language or gratuitous sex. I recommend this book for young adults.

In the 1880s, George Armstrong Custer, President of the US is affronted that neither as General or US President, has he been able to take over the Unorganized Territory they "bought" from the French. The Cheyenne have been able to hold off the US because of their domestication of two types of dinosaurs that provide them with mobility during raids and battle. Custer's only son is an Army captain and is sent to scout the Cheyenne from a dirigible. A thunderstorm causes the dirigible to crash, thus fulfilling a vision received by the book's best drawn out character, Speaks While Leaving, a medicine woman. Custer jr. is the poorest drawn character and I'm not clear why the Cheyenne would follow him except to finish the last part of the vision.

The premise was somewhat simplistic and the mission/journey taken by the war/peace party was not entirely realistic. Because of this and the weakness of the Custer jr. character, I was unable to give this book a 5 star rating.

The level on which it succeeded most for me was the solidarity expressed amongst the Cheyenne as well as with their indigenous neighbors. I was able to feel their joy and know its source was the passion they felt in everything they did. The book expressed some of their sprituality but not too much. Just as the Cheyenne's life contained balance, so too did this book.

The descriptions of the Cheyenne life and why certain things were done in a certain way, enhanced my pleasure with this book. It almost seems Maria Montessori would enjoy the integration of all aspects of the Cheyenne life.

This story stays with me. I hope there'll be a sequel.

My wife and I both found this a great read. Neither of us could put it down once we started it! We didn't question for a minute the world that the author created. Giambastiani's narration is so descriptive that I felt as if I was there with young George Custer, Jr., as he journeyed through a land that was very different, but also completely familiar. Giambastiani has created an alternate America in the late 1800s where American Indians share the Great Plains with, and even domesticate, the dinosaurs of a long-gone age. What would America be like, had this really happened? Read this book and find out!

Kurt Giambastiani has introduced me to a whole new reading experience. I read from two to eight books a month, and have done for years, but this is my first alternate history. I wondered if I could accept the idea of 19th century dinasaurs trained and ridden by the Cheyenne. I quickly did, and I loved everything about THE YEAR THE CLOUD FELL. I'm going to read it again.

Giambastiani's characters are extremely well developed. I especially appreciated the women in his book. His insight into and his understanding of the female psyche is evident in the way he has created women who think and behave as true women. He has peopled THE YEAR THE CLOUD FELL with real and very believable characters and given them complex relationships that are completely human. I also apppreciate very much his knowledge, use, and explanation of the Cheyenne language and culture.

The main character, George Armstrong Custer, Jr., a captain and engineer in the U.S. Army, is well defined as a man determined to be his own man, out of the shadow of his army-hero-become-president father. In an effort to chart the locations of the government's Cheyenne enemies, under his father's orders, he flies an experimental dirigible over their territory. The dirigible is brought down by a thunder storm, and Custer is taken prisoner by the Cheyenne. Thus begins his great adventure. Kurt Giambastiani's THE YEAR THE CLOUD FELL is an exciting story. Read and enjoy. It would also make a great action film. The visual effects would be phenominal.

The Year The Cloud Fell is a well done work of alternate history. I'm new to the genre but I'm glad this book was my introduction. It paints a hopeful portrait of an America that could have been. After some initial disorientation due to the historical shifts (not the least of which is the appearance of dinosaurs - which are a seamless part of the landscape and not used to 'dress up' the story)I found myself easing comfortably into the life of the Cheyenne. These are the same native Americans depicted in the film 'Little Big Man' (one of my absolute favorite movies)and it was a pleasure to get to know them again through the eyes and mind of this obviously talented author. The story is riveting and I found myself struggling to choose sides - a mark of good fiction if you ask me. I look forward to the next bit of writing from Mr. Giambastiani.

My wife and I both found this a great read. Neither of us could put it down once we started it! We didn't question for a minute the world that the author created. Giambastiani's narration is so descriptive that I felt as if I was there with young George Custer, Jr., as he journeyed through a land that was very different, but also completely familiar. Giambastiani has created an alternate America in the late 1800s where American Indians share the Great Plains with, and even domesticate, the dinosaurs of a long-gone age. What would America be like, had this really happened? Read this book and find out!

Having read a number of alternative stories about the U.S.-Native American conflict of the 19th century, I was completely unprepared for what Mr. Giambastiani's work brought to the table. The map of North America presented at the beginning of the book helped a great deal. About six or seven chapters into the book - and numerous trips back to the map - I finally reached the conclusion on what the premise of the story was. Apparently, the giant meteorite or comet that obliterated the dinosaurs 65 million years ago did not impact Earth, or perhaps was significantly smaller than modern scientists estimate. As a result, the extinction of the Great Reptiles continued at a much slower pace, and a number of species survived to the present day. It is these species, particularly the two that possibly evolved from prehistoric hebrivorous iguanodons and carnivorous megalosaurs, that provide the military advantage for the American Indians, who apparently manage to domesticate them. The United States, much smaller but more technically advanced in this reality, has no answer to these beasts; the reptiles' scent and appearance panic the horses, which makes the U.S. cavalry ineffectual and eliminates the Army's mobility. Because of the author's presumption that humanity have evolved in precisely the same pattern as in our reality despite the presence of dinosaurs, the book reads more like a fairy tale than a more conventional allo-history. However, the main concept of the U.S.-Indian conflict and its issues brought on by the clash of drastically different cultures are still there, and this alone makes the book worth reading.