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Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece of writing
Review: Although though it may be hard to begin Vollmann's "7 Dreams" series because each book in the series is so massive, it is certainly worth the time. Not only is Vollman attempting to create, with some fiction, the entire history of North America, each volume he writes is a totally new undertaking. New people, names,histories, and unique grammar reflective to the period. A truly talented author who has thoroughly researched his subjects and makes you feel that you are right in the middle of the action in the snow and ice, Vollman is writing the series out of the time seqences in which the history appears, but since each is complete in itself, that does not matter. I look forward to his next "dream."
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of writing
Review: Although though it may be hard to begin Vollmann's "7 Dreams" series because each book in the series is so massive, it is certainly worth the time. Not only is Vollman attempting to create, with some fiction, the entire history of North America, each volume he writes is a totally new undertaking. New people, names,histories, and unique grammar reflective to the period. A truly talented author who has thoroughly researched his subjects and makes you feel that you are right in the middle of the action in the snow and ice, Vollman is writing the series out of the time seqences in which the history appears, but since each is complete in itself, that does not matter. I look forward to his next "dream."
Rating: 
Summary: Good Cold Fun
Review: I enjoyed reading the Rifles quite a bit. That being said, it was not quite up to par with the Ice Shirt. The plight of the native people of Northern Canada (it depends on who you ask what they wish to call themselves) is not something one usually reads about. While there have been numerous accounts of the plights of other native peoples, the arctic is usually reserved for stories about the "great white explorers" and have little to do with those living there. I enjoy how Vollmann refuses to pass judgment on his characters, leaving them to become real humans. I will continue to read this series and look forward to the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Depends on what you're looking for
Review: Personally I found this book tiresome, repetitious, self-righteous, incoherent, and boring. What worked well for me in Ice Shirt didn't work at all for me here. I recommend this book for people who are interested in experimental literature for its own sake, who find their entertainment value in reading as an abstract intellectual exercise. If you like the inchoate disconnect of cyberpunk you'll like this, and it's very good for what it is. Just don't expect to be engaged, entertained, informed, or enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: Post Modern American History
Review: Unlike so many historical fictions that flood the marketplace, Vollmann's *The Rifles* strives for something unique, combining first person narrative, historical reflection and a fictional combination of the two which delves into the meaning of history and the attempt to render it to the present day reader. I found this book rich in poetic imagery and personal philosophy, at times dense, at others, whimsical. Overall, however, I enjoyed Vollmann's view on the desire of John Franklin to find a Northwest passage paralelled with Vollmann's own 'fictional' desire for a woman of the Inuit group. The two begin to merge as history merges with the present and we find ourselves lost in Vollmann's frantic mind searching for truth and perhaps a way out of his own obsessive drives. There is much more to say about this book, in fact I wrote a master's thesis on it, but I leave it for others to decide. I just wait to see where he goes from here.
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