Rating: 
Summary: Man-to-man (rawhide) bodice ripper...not much more
Review: I found this book frustrating. I had hoped it would fulfill its premise that John Chapman (the historical "Johnny Appleseed") was gay. While Jensen's John Chapman is gay and does plant a grove of apple trees, the book turns into a (albeit sweet and even credible) romantic novel about Chapman's (sexual and other) adventures in western Pennsylvania in the 1790s. The characters are a bit one-dimensional and I did find myself wondering at some possibly anachronistic usages ("truck farm"?). I do agree with the reviewer who expressed pleasure at the availability of gay romantic charcters and plots, but this book left me wishing for more substance. Maybe Mr. Jensen plans a sequel, in which Johnny Appleseed heads out to fulfill his folkloric destiny, accompanied by the man of his dreams. The conclusion of this book does allow that option, by the way....
Rating: 
Summary: Simply put, it left me wanting more!
Review: Kudos to you Michael for creating such an wonderful, well-developed story. This book has no problem drawing the reader right inside with a beautifully descriptive style. Within the first few pages, I found myself wondering what other books Michael had out for us to enjoy. To my dismay, I found that this is his first published work. I can only hope that he keeps up the great work. Fontiers gives us a look at a past filled with love, loss, adventure and plenty of frontier spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Frontiers
Review: A MUST READ FOR ALL READERS Excellent,vivid,and positive view of gay men during the pioneer days.I can not wait until you publish your next book! A DREAM TO READ!
Rating:
Summary: I Cried... I Cried... I Cried!
Review: Well what can I say! I loved this book from the very first chapter! I am a romantic so this book swept me away. I could not put it down and at one point started reading it from the early evening to 7am the next morning. This book painted such a clear picture for me of the wild west that I could really see in my mind exactly what the land and the people looked liked. I want more and I e-mailed Michael Jensen and told him so. When the end of the book came I cried, I really cried not only for what John and Palmer went through but for the fact that my fantasy was over. I am giving a copy of this book to my best friend in Florida. Michael can't wait for the paper back version with the new cover on it!
Rating:
Summary: Simple, fun and very enjoyable
Review: like the way of life during this period, things were simple, slow, dangerous and always unpredictable and I enjoyed reading this fast paced slice of what it might have been like for some of us. I just took this book for what it was meant to be, not a masterpiece of literature but a resourseful, gay novel with characters I cared about and a positive message from a gay view point and we need more books that show gay men with many emotions both positive and negative, strong as well as weak. Human men during a time when our country was under constant threat from all her borders. The sexual encounters were very well written and understated for the mind of the reader, that was a big plus in this book as well as the suspense and human emotions. I just plain enjoyed this book, enough said!
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly unimpressed, dismally disappointed
Review: I couldn't even get past the first 50 pages of this utterly amateurish novel. The style is filled with awful inverted sentence structures like 'Startled, I jumped.' and 'Trembling, I lay in the snow.' The dialogue is stilted --alternately contemporary then annoyingly arch, like something out of a bad period movie. Characters are constantly peppering their speech with the hundreds of 18th century terms that Jensen obviously spent an awful lot of time researching (check out his unnecessary bibliography with at least three books on colonial lingo). The central character, a dim-witted naif, often whines about not wanting to chop wood or show any interest in being a settler and only wanting the virile Daniel McQuay to cook for him and strip off his shirt so Chapman can gape and fantasize. Of course Chapman is obsessed with the naked male physique, like so many characters in gay fiction, and it's not long before he is masturbating to relieve himself of his sexual fantasies in the second or third chapter. I didn't care about the italicized sections that begin each chapter in which we are subjected to a cliche rendering of a 'traumatic' childhood and couldn't wait to dump the book at my local thrift store.It's astonishing how many people find junk like this insulting embarrassment worthy of laudatory comments. I really can't believe gay men think this is the kind of book we want to read. It was infantile from the very first page. ...The two stars are for the decent book cover illustration, the inside gets no stars.
Rating:
Summary: Well written and enjoyable. Looking forward to the next one
Review: This book was refreshing, fun and exciting. It was a pleasure to read. I'm looking for the next installment from Michael Jensen.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel!
Review: I could not put this book down. The language and imagery of this novel is wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Year
Review: After reading some truly ghastly award winning literature (whose idea was it to give the Nobel Prize in Literature to Jose Saramago anyway?), "Frontiers" was given to me as a birthday gift. Amazing work, Mr. Jensen. When the public finds you, and they will, be ready for celebrity. As so many have said here, this book has brilliant history, a creative approach to history, and something missing these days in literature: readability. God bless you, Michael Jensen for this treasure.
Rating:
Summary: When is the next one?!
Review: I anxiously await your second opus. Bravo
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