Kingdom River

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining post-apocalyptic war novel
Review: Centuries after a sudden ice age crushed our civilization, North America is divided into several kingdoms. New England, with strange mental powers and genetic engineering keeping alive amidst the great glacier, the Southern empire in Mexico, the Khanate in the Southwest, and a powerful but stagnant Middle Kingdom surrounding the enormous River that was once Mississippi. The small, fractious country in the North Mexico has little chance between the warring giants, except for their tradition of independence, and their leader, the reluctant general Sam Monroe.

The story of Sam, and his attempts to block the all-conquering, mongol-like Khanate from running over the continent, is entertaining, full of battles and human interest stories. The language seems a bit burdened at times, with constant references to Warm-times, and the topic familiar. However, the major characters are interesting, Sam himself sympathetic, and the battles, and the politics exciting and tense.

--inotherworlds.com

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining post-apocalyptic war novel
Review: Centuries after a sudden ice age crushed our civilization, North America is divided into several kingdoms. New England, with strange mental powers and genetic engineering keeping alive amidst the great glacier, the Southern empire in Mexico, the Khanate in the Southwest, and a powerful but stagnant Middle Kingdom surrounding the enormous River that was once Mississippi. The small, fractious country in the North Mexico has little chance between the warring giants, except for their tradition of independence, and their leader, the reluctant general Sam Monroe.

The story of Sam, and his attempts to block the all-conquering, mongol-like Khanate from running over the continent, is entertaining, full of battles and human interest stories. The language seems a bit burdened at times, with constant references to Warm-times, and the topic familiar. However, the major characters are interesting, Sam himself sympathetic, and the battles, and the politics exciting and tense.

--inotherworlds.com

Rating:
Summary: apocalyptic future world
Review: In the distant future a curtain of ice stretches from sea to once shining sea. To survive one must head south of the great wall of ice that has devastated what were once much of the United States and all of Canada. To endure, clans and kingdoms formed as people battles for control of the livable land left on the North America.

Years have passed since Monroe and Olsen led the Colorado Trappers south where they join forces with the Garden tree-dwellers (see SNOWFALL). Jack and Catania's son Sam now leads the army of North-Map Mexico, but knows that his people are on the easement and that the Khanate nomads led by Toghrul Khan will ravage the land on their way to war with Kingdom River ruled by Queen Joan. Sam knows his relatively small country has no chance though the never defeated army would risk their lives to prove otherwise. He needs an alliance with Joan, but worries that her much larger nation will gobble up his small country. To have some say in the confederacy, Sam marries the Kingdom's Princess Rachel. War remains inevitable as Khan and his barbarians sweep over all in their path.

The second tale in Mitchell Smith's apocalyptic future world, KINGDOM RIVER, is a very exciting look at people struggling to survive a harsh time, but in this novel (as opposed to the ice of SNOWFALL) it is from enemy forces. The story line escorts the reader to a changed realm where civilization almost totally collapsed. The audience will picture this frozen wasteland as a distinct possibility because Mr. Smith goes to extreme lengths through his strong characters and vivid universe to make everything believable.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: apocalyptic future world
Review: In the distant future a curtain of ice stretches from sea to once shining sea. To survive one must head south of the great wall of ice that has devastated what were once much of the United States and all of Canada. To endure, clans and kingdoms formed as people battles for control of the livable land left on the North America.

Years have passed since Monroe and Olsen led the Colorado Trappers south where they join forces with the Garden tree-dwellers (see SNOWFALL). Jack and Catania's son Sam now leads the army of North-Map Mexico, but knows that his people are on the easement and that the Khanate nomads led by Toghrul Khan will ravage the land on their way to war with Kingdom River ruled by Queen Joan. Sam knows his relatively small country has no chance though the never defeated army would risk their lives to prove otherwise. He needs an alliance with Joan, but worries that her much larger nation will gobble up his small country. To have some say in the confederacy, Sam marries the Kingdom's Princess Rachel. War remains inevitable as Khan and his barbarians sweep over all in their path.

The second tale in Mitchell Smith's apocalyptic future world, KINGDOM RIVER, is a very exciting look at people struggling to survive a harsh time, but in this novel (as opposed to the ice of SNOWFALL) it is from enemy forces. The story line escorts the reader to a changed realm where civilization almost totally collapsed. The audience will picture this frozen wasteland as a distinct possibility because Mr. Smith goes to extreme lengths through his strong characters and vivid universe to make everything believable.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Good Adventure Novel
Review: This is a good adventure novel set in a future where the Earth is in the grip of an Ice Age. Civilization has crumbled and been succeeded by a variety of pre-industrial societies. This is the second book in a trilogy about North America. This book is the story of an alliance between 2 of these societies against a third pre-industrial culture, a Mongol-like horde that has crossed Beringia to conquer western North America. The story is a relatively conventional military campaign concluding with a reconstruction of the battle of Cannae. The plot has the usual romantic elements. Smith does a good job of presenting believable characters and his future Earth is interesting and described well. This book is not, however, as good as its predecessor, Snowfall. The quality of writing and plotting is better in Snowfall, which has a less conventional story line and gives a better sense of life in a barbarous age.

Rating:
Summary: Good Adventure Novel
Review: This is a good adventure novel set in a future where the Earth is in the grip of an Ice Age. Civilization has crumbled and been succeeded by a variety of pre-industrial societies. This is the second book in a trilogy about North America. This book is the story of an alliance between 2 of these societies against a third pre-industrial culture, a Mongol-like horde that has crossed Beringia to conquer western North America. The story is a relatively conventional military campaign concluding with a reconstruction of the battle of Cannae. The plot has the usual romantic elements. Smith does a good job of presenting believable characters and his future Earth is interesting and described well. This book is not, however, as good as its predecessor, Snowfall. The quality of writing and plotting is better in Snowfall, which has a less conventional story line and gives a better sense of life in a barbarous age.

Rating:
Summary: Overly long, but entertaining
Review: This is an entertaining read, but it's not as good as the first book in the series, Snowfall. Once again Mitchell does a good job of bringing us into the lives and world of a post apocalyptic future. However, where Snowfall was a portrait of a small band of people fleeing to survive, Kingdom River tries to work on a grand, clash of armies, scale. The result is that the characters are less vivid and there is a lot of repetition.

On the repetition front, the strategy to be used in Monroe's fight against the Khan is explained, in detail, no less than three times. Does the reader really need to be reminded that many times? There are several references to curses that "a few decades earlier would have meant death". OK, we get it, times change, even in this world. But do we need to be told the same thing again and again?

Mitchell also leaves many things unexplained. He doesn't try to explain the range of deities (Weather, Mountain Jesus, Floating Jesus etc.), content to let them be just part of the world. That's fine.

On the other hand, he doesn't explain why Monroe lets the Boston ambassadress into his camp. There is no strategic or tactical advantage in allowing her in and Monroe repeatedly shows that he is always considering the implications of his actions. The ambassadress is a minor character that does nothing to advance the plot. She feels like an after thought thrown in to let the story be more "science fiction". Maybe there will be a pay off in the third book.

One more minor annoyance - the narrative is constantly making references to "fine warm-time phrases". Maybe Mitchell is simply pointing out words and phrases that he really likes, but it's really hard to believe that these people would be constantly reflecting on their usage of the language.

This is a fun read, but it could have used another round of edits to tighten it up.

Rating:
Summary: Overly long, but entertaining
Review: This is an entertaining read, but it's not as good as the first book in the series, Snowfall. Once again Mitchell does a good job of bringing us into the lives and world of a post apocalyptic future. However, where Snowfall was a portrait of a small band of people fleeing to survive, Kingdom River tries to work on a grand, clash of armies, scale. The result is that the characters are less vivid and there is a lot of repetition.

On the repetition front, the strategy to be used in Monroe's fight against the Khan is explained, in detail, no less than three times. Does the reader really need to be reminded that many times? There are several references to curses that "a few decades earlier would have meant death". OK, we get it, times change, even in this world. But do we need to be told the same thing again and again?

Mitchell also leaves many things unexplained. He doesn't try to explain the range of deities (Weather, Mountain Jesus, Floating Jesus etc.), content to let them be just part of the world. That's fine.

On the other hand, he doesn't explain why Monroe lets the Boston ambassadress into his camp. There is no strategic or tactical advantage in allowing her in and Monroe repeatedly shows that he is always considering the implications of his actions. The ambassadress is a minor character that does nothing to advance the plot. She feels like an after thought thrown in to let the story be more "science fiction". Maybe there will be a pay off in the third book.

One more minor annoyance - the narrative is constantly making references to "fine warm-time phrases". Maybe Mitchell is simply pointing out words and phrases that he really likes, but it's really hard to believe that these people would be constantly reflecting on their usage of the language.

This is a fun read, but it could have used another round of edits to tighten it up.