"Isle Royale" is a historical thriller, it could also be considered action/adventure and would be an appropriate book for teens as well as adults, Ian, the protagonist, is a teenage boy, stuck on "Isle Royale" with no one his own age except Sally, the daughter of the assistant lighthouse keeper, Between school work and helping his dad, Ian is bored, He doesnt relate well to his father who seems too serious, Ian will sometimes sneak away for fun and exploration, both alone and with Sally, but not nearly as often as hed like,
A conflict with someone from his parents past forces Ian to mature quickly, Before the story reaches its resolution, Ian understands his fathers motivations and receives a lesson in responsibility, He also experiences the adventure of a lifetime, "Isle Royale" was a fun read with an unexpected supernatural twist,
Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog, What a great story on Lake Superior I loved this book! I am particularly fond of books with Great Lakes backgrounds so this was an extra treat.
Isle Royale is an island in Lake Superior and the book is just full of wonderful information on the dangers and beauties there, Set in thes, Ian is the son of Clarence and Collene, the island's lightkeeper and his wife, He is a typical teenager, bored, restless, yet filled with life and enthusiasm especially for rockclimbing, jazz and Sally, the assistant lightkeeper's daughter,
One night a stranger arrives at the lighthouse and the adventure begins, Jean LeBeck was once a great friend of both of Ian's parents, and was once in love with Collene, but now, embittered by his experiences in World War I, he has turned to rumrunning.
The book is a fun, fast, read full of phantoms, mysteries, old pirates and young adventure with a delicious feel for life on a Great Lake island and the life of lightkeepers.
As I was reading the book it reminded me of my youth and some of the wonderful Disneytype adventure stories, Suitable for Young Adults but lots of fun for grownups, too, This was a really good adventure story, I'm familiar with John Hamilton's work, and I know he's a history buff and that his work is always well researched, This one was no exception in that regard,
So we have an adventure story set on Lake Superior in thes, I love the setting and the time period, and I like lighthouses as well, and one plays a central part in this storyline, There's also smugglers and a backstory that goes back to World War One, There's a flashback in the story to WWI that makes me think Hamilton should write a novel about WWI, Just very gripping stuff.
There's mystery, action, adventure, history, stormy seas, salty sailors and even some romance, It's also a very original story, as I don't think I've read anything quite like this before, It's listed as "young adult" but really is entertaining for readers of all ages,
If you like adventure stories, especially historical adventures, this one is well worth your time, I chose this book because of the title, Living on the south shores of Lake Superior, I understand the many moods of the lake, I gave it three for the title, The story was rather dark, with some dark characters, but it ended okay, This book has a great premise, an interesting setting in both time and place and was full of adventure, but for all that, at times, it lagged a bit maybe because too many scenes involved the characters being chased through the woods.
The author does a great job at bringing the inhospitable environment of Isle Royale and Lake Superior to life so that at times, the island and "The Lady" were almost like another character in the story.
He also gives readers a welldeveloped villain, Jean LeBeck, who's much more than a cardboard cutout, Unfortunately, he surrounds LeBeck with an interchangeable cast of thugs, I lost count of how many times the word "thug" was used, but it quickly became repetitive and a bit annoying,
The crew of the Chippewa left me scratching my head a bit I don't know if their secret was bad enough for an entire crew to exile themselves for decades on the island and I kept waiting for an explanation as to how a band of whitebearded old men was able to scramble up the ship's rigging "like monkeys" or to engage in handtohand combat with an assortment of younger and tougher thugs yep, here comes more thugs and have a chance at winning.
I also started to wonder how long people could endure being soaked to the skin with rain or
after falling into the waters of Lake Superior and not develop any sort of hypothermia running around in a storm during a cold November night.
A few other minor inconsistencies struck me as well, such as the cannon fire that blew a hole in the thugs' still more thugs here motor boat, which they then drove away, and the same cannon reducing a larger boat to kindling a few chapters later.
I didn't realize that this was a young adult novel until I got to the end Amazon didn't classify it as YA when I downloaded it to my Kindle, but I suspected it was geared to a younger audience part of the way through.
The violence is never gratuitous or over the top and there isn't any foul language or sexual references, which can be a welcome change even for adult readers.
good read
It was not what I expected, and though it started out slow, but it turned out to be pretty gripping, Right off the bat this book gets high marks for having better than average editing for a kindle book, Many kindle books suffer from terrible editing but I only ran into one noticeable error
I'm not sure "Living in a lighthouse can be murder" really quite fits, that seems like a tagline for more of a mystery book rather than an adventure, but the story is interesting and I liked the characters.
The plot is slow at first but picks up fairly quickly with the real action coming at the very very end, I wasn't sure I was going to like Sally, but she turned out to be okay, I really enjoyed the fact that the setting was Lake Superior, that definitely made the story more interesting,
I'd say this book could be good for teenagers and adults alike,
Very good read, Lots of action to keep your interest, It's a pretty decent story all the way through, good plot, good characters, That lastor so when the whiskey runners become the main story is where it really gets good in my opinion, PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Shipwrecks, gangsters, and the mother of all storms, Living in a lighthouse can be murder,
SYNOPSIS:
The year is, The place: Isle Royale, a remote island on Lake Superior, Clarence MacDougal, keeper of Wolf Point Lighthouse, stands ready to guide sailors through treacherous waters,
One stormtossed night, FrenchCanadian smugglers arrive, The gangs leader is Sean LeBeck, a former lover of Collene MacDougalthe lightkeepers wife, LeBeck is determined to rescue Collene from her dreary life and rekindle their old passion, even if it means taking her off the island by force,
The lightkeepers son, Ian, escapes during the storm, only to stumble upon a hidden cove, home of the last remaining members of the Coast Guard cutter "Chippewa.
" A dark secret forced the crew to banish themselves on the island, Given one last chance at redemption, the ancient mariners set out on stormy Lake Superior in a desperate attempt to save the day,
"Isle Royale" is approximately,words,
AMAZON READER REVIEWSTARS
"A riproaring historical adventure set in the delightfully unusual setting of Lake Superior's Isle Royale, Hamilton's love for the locale comes shining through Lake Superior at times seems one of the characters in the drama, A carefullyresearched Great War flashback is almost a novella within a novel, while providing crucial motivation for the story, "
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Hamilton is a bestselling author and journalist, His work includes books about fantasy amp folklore, science fiction, the national parks, and pirates, "Lewis amp Clark: Adventures West" Sparrow Media Group was a finalist at theth Annual Minnesota Book Awards in, He is a twotime Golden Duck Award winner for excellence in childrens science fiction literature, John can be found most summers hiking along Minnesotas North Shore of Lake Superior, He is also an awardwinning photojournalist and nature photographer, Connect with John online at: www, johnchamilton. com.
A good young adult adventure! Takes place in the earlys on you guessed it Isle Royale, an island in Lake Superior, It involves smugglers, lighthouse keepers, and ghostly lights in the distance, Over everything lies the whims of the Old Lady, Lake Superior herself, I think boys would especially like this, John Hamilton is a best selling novelist and author of thannonfiction books for young adults, An Active Member of the Western Writers of America and the Wild West History Association, his work has received critical acclaim from School Library Journal, Childrens Literature, The Sioux City Journal, We Proceeded On the official journal of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and many others.
Johns young adult book Battle of the Little Bighorn earnedSpur Award Finalist honors from the Western Writers of America, He is a two time winner of the Golden Duck Award for Excellence in Childrens Science Fiction Literature, and his epic retelling of the Lewis Clark expedition, Lewis Clark: Adventures West, was a Min John Hamilton is a best selling novelist and author of thannonfiction books for young adults.
An Active Member of the Western Writers of America and the Wild West History Association, his work has received critical acclaim from School Library Journal, Children's Literature, The Sioux City Journal, We Proceeded On the official journal of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and many others.
John's young adult book "Battle of the Little Bighorn" earnedSpur Award Finalist honors from the Western Writers of America, He is a two time winner of the Golden Duck Award for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature, and his epic retelling of the Lewis Clark expedition, "Lewis Clark: Adventures West," was a Minnesota Book Award finalist for Young Adult Nonfiction.
School Library Journal said "Hamilton's books present a remarkable amount of information and provide readers with a clear understanding of complicated issues, "John is also an award winning photojournalist and landscape photographer, His rodeo photography won an Editor's Choice Award from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, John holds black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu, He loves target shooting, baking bread, and playing with Finn, his trusty schnauzer, He can be found most summers with his family either exploring the American West or hiking along Minnesota's rugged North Shore, Connect with John at: sitelink www, johnchamilton. com sitelink.
Get It Now Isle Royale Imagined By John Hamilton Available Through Digital Edition
John Hamilton