Old Nathan

Rating:
Summary: Completely different from anything else Drake has written
Review: This collection of related short stories is completely different in tone, topic, and style from anything else that David Drake has written. Nathan was not yet 20 years old when he fought in the Battle at Green Mountain during the American Revolutionary war and something happened to him that changed the path of his entire life, though we don't find out what until the final story in the book. These stories take place more than 50 years later, when Nathan is coming to the end of his life. In each story he uses his magic to help a different person, often not in the manner they expected or even desired. The hill-billy vernacular, and his conversations with the animals around him, especially his bull, are fascinating in the way in which they fit in with the plot, the animals innate nature, and the fact that the humans around Nathan only understand Nathan's half of the converstions. Once you pick up this book, you won't be able to put it down