Title: Bury My Heart at Redtree
Author: Patrick Chalfant
Genre: Su e e/Thriller
I : 1-930709-53-6
Patrick Chalfant weaves a tale that is a mixture of ychological su e e, Native American mysticism and revenge in his sophomore novel Bury My Heart at Redtree. Redtree follows Taylor, a promising young ychology student as he builds his masters thesis around the revenge he has pla ed for those who are re o ible for his parents death.
Taylor is aided in his vigilante justice by his friends Elijah and Keith and hunted by the local authorities, detectives Stan Je ings and Carol Parker of the State Bureau of Investigatio . With a cast of a characters that also includes a nave, yet i ightful girlfriend, a mystical and manipulative Native American chief and a busine man with shady dealings that could put Ke eth Lay to shame, Bury my Heart at Redtree is entertaining, su e eful and exciting, albeit a little predictable and underdeveloped.
Chalfants use of Freudian ychology as a plot device is original and ingenious as Taylor uses his criminal ree as a mea to prove his thesis regarding Freuds idea of the id, ego and superego. Also, the opening sequence of Redtree, a daring and bloody convenience store hit, is one of the best opening sequences of a novel I have ever read. And I must say Gayland, the resident wealthy busine man and all out bad guy is a well written and deliciously evil, villain. You love to hate him and hope and pray that he gets what he deserves.
Redtree manages to be fresh and engaging in a genre that can easily be stale and unoriginal and that is all do to Chalfants masterful storytelling and i ovative use of the old themes of revenge and redemption.
However, Redtree does have some problems, the biggest of which is Chalfants lack of character development. With so many characters you dont expect to be up close and personal with everyone but the main characters, particularly Taylor and Je ings should feel like close friends, or at the very least people youd care about if something ha ened to them and that closene just i t there.
Chalfant doe t offer much in the way of motivation or understanding for their behavior or their thoughts, so as a reader you dont have much stake in what ha e to them good or bad. He does a great job at portraying Gayland as a corrupt and soulle man but lacks the same depth with the rest of the characters and that lack of depth ultimately hurts the story hes trying to tell.
Also the novel gets a little too preachy, as the su lot about a high profile drug case becomes the ringboard for a rant on the criminal justice system and how with enough money and the right attorneys one can get away with anything. It is fine to feel pa ionate about a topic but not too many people like to be preached to and after awhile the rants about the justice system just felt like a combination of whining and preaching.
De ite these criticisms Bury My Heart at Redtree is worth your time and money. Its a good and fast read and while the surprise ending i t really a surprise youll still find it satisfying and fulfilling.
Tamika Joh on is a freelance writer and owner of PrologueReviews.com. To read more reviews by Tamika or to have your book, movie or film reviewed visit http://www.prologuereviews.com
BY:VooFox.net
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