A Distant Trumpet (Nonpareil Books, No. 65)

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: Because the other books I have read by Paul Horgan (Conquistadors in North American History [read 2 Oct 1974], Lamy of Santa Fe: His Life and Times [read 1 May 1976], Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History Volume One: Indians and Spain [read 25 Nov 1993], Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History Volume Two: Mexico and the United States [read 27 Nov 1993], and Things As They Are [read 8 Feb 1994])were all great reading, I decided to read this book, and it held my interest. It is good to read fiction wherein the characters--even the bad ones--have a conscience. The book tends to be a bit long, but it is action-filled and while not as good as the other books by Horgan it still is, as indicated by my caption, worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Combination
Review: I grew up in southern Arizona, on an army base that had started as a calvary post in the 1800s. I picked up "A Distant Trumpet" in a used book store for no other reason, since I generally have no interest in western-themed books. It turned out to be wonderful. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a couple of days. It goes from civil war hospitals to the parlors of Washington DC's elite to the mountains of Arizona, in a perfect combination of military, social and personal history. If the book has any fault, it's that the good guys are always very good and the bad guys are very bad. But, though they lack something in complexity, the characters are exciting and vividly drawn.

Rating:
Summary: A far cry from conventional "Cowboys and Indians"
Review: When my grad school exams concluded last week, I found myself restlessly searching for something "fun" to read. Paul Horgan's "A Distant Trumpet," a historical novel about 1880s cavalry duty in Arizona, sat on my bookshelf where it had been for over two years, unread. Cautiously, I skimmed the preface and then began to read the first chapter. I'm glad that exams were over, because the novel quickly enthralled me with its stately style, vivid characterizations and rich evocation of the physical--and moral--landscape of the American southwest following the Civil War. Military, social and spiritual codes of behavior provide the psychological framework for the novel's characters and scenario. And Horgan evidently writes from experience as a former Army officer and military school instructor. He also does a superb job of balancing historically accurate attitudes regarding the campaign to "pacify" the Apache natives with a classical sense of morality that transcends race and religion. Eccentric Major General Alexander Upton Quait is the central character in matters of policy and commentary, while a triptych of officers and their wives allow Horgan to explore, with devastating clarity, the costs, rewards and consequences of love, ambition, duty and honor. I would encourage fans of Larry McMurtry--particularly those who have read Comanche Moon--to discover this alternative, somewhat more sophisticated, approach to Western fiction. In my enthusiasm, I finished this lengthy novel as quickly as I could. In recollection, the characters of "A Distant Trumpet" will probably remain with me for a lifetime.