Written in Blood

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Set in the harsh desert world of the Arizona Territory and northern Mexico during the 1870s, Written in Blood, the first installment of the Desert Legends Trilogy, follows young Jim Doolen as he attempts to find some trace of the father who abandoned his family ten years earlier. As he travels through a scorched landscape very different from the lush West Coast forests of his home, Jim crosses paths with an assortment of intriguing characters, including an Apache warrior, a cave-dwelling mystic, an old Mexican revolutionary and a mysterious cowboy. And with each encounter he learns something more of the strange world he has entered and adds one more link in a chain that leads back to his father-and back to a dark, violent past. As his story approaches its thrilling conclusion in a ruined Mexican hacienda, Jim comes to realize that his father's life was much more complex than he had imagined, and that, in discovering his past, he has opened the way to his future. (20110101)From BooklistA Canadian teenager encounters road agents, roving Apaches, and any number of corpses while searching for his vanished father in this melodramatic tale of the Old West. Going on clues provided in a last letter laced with references to a troubled past, James sets out for a place called Casa Grande in Chihuahua. Before reaching the dusty, ruined hacienda to discover his father’s fate and survive a climactic gunfight, he is beaten and robbed; recovers from his wounds in the care of an eccentric old hermit, who fills him in on the importance of having a story; meets a cousin of Cochise whose band is subsequently ambushed by scalp hunters (and goes on to return the favor); and learns of his own family’s gore-spattered history. Told in a terse, present-tense narrative, James’ adventures will thrill all fans of traditional pulp-style oaters. Grades 6-9. --John Peters Review"Told in a terse, present-tense narrative, James' adventures will thrill all fans of traditional pulp-style oaters." (Booklist 20101001)"The story is very well written and will appeal to young readers, especially boys. It is full of tension and adventure...Recommended." (Tri State YA Book Review Committee 20120501)"Those readers of westerns and historical adventure who like a mix of action and information (actually quite a large set of readers) will be very taken with this book." (Resource Links 20101126)"Chapters are short and action filled, Jim is a likable character and reluctant readers will find this to be a fast-paced, easy-to-swallow tale of the Old West." (Kirkus Reviews 20110401)"Wilson is a talented writer, hooking readers within the first few pages of his novel and carrying them along almost effortlessly through the barren lands of Mexico and the Arizona Territory...This first installation is a perfect beginning to what is sure to be an enthralling trilogy that will invite young people into an older world with incredibly relevant contemporary themes." (www.keenreaders.org )"Has all the markers of a classic Western...Wilson's writing is vivid." (CM Magazine )"The tensions among American, Mexican, and Native factions are well drawn, and Wilson pulls no punches regarding the cruelty of the new world into which Jim finds himself thrown." (School Library Journal )