This Dark and Bloody Ground: Tales of Frontier America, Book 1, Maggie’s Story
At the outset of the Revolutionary War, 13-year-old Maggie Diele and her family leave their home in Culpepper, Virginia, and follow Daniel Boone to Boonesborough, Kentucky. A band of Cherokee abduct Maggie one afternoon while she plays with her friends at the edge of the settlement. Months later, they free her, and Maggie must choose: return to her family, or stay with the Cherokee whom she has come to love?
This novel is one of those unfortunate examples of historical fiction in which the historical details are excellent but the storytelling is weak. Maggie is ostensibly the protagonist, but Roberts does so much head-hopping among so many interchangeable minor characters, especially in the first half of the book, that it’s impossible to grow emotionally attached to any of them. This utter lack of emotion is one of the biggest problems with the novel. I felt no fear for Maggie when she was abducted, nor did I agonize with her over her decision to return to her family or stay with the Cherokee.
Because Maggie’s decision is made so easily and without fanfare, the story lacks a true conflict. The characters spend 200 pages milling about and doing things, but with no climax or resolution. I had high hopes for this novel, but unfortunately, I wound up disappointed and, frankly, a bit bored.
