Blood Gold, Book Review Example

Blood Gold is a novel composed by Michael Cadnum in  May 2004.  It tells the story of the Californian gold field rush in the year of 1849.  The book focuses on the adventures of one Will Dwinelle who has joined the gold rush.  Both Will and his friend joined the rush by taking the dangerous short cut route over the isthmus of Panama arriving at the dangerous lawless place of Panama City.  From here they took the sea voyage to San Francisco.  In the first instance Will is not actually looking for gold but is looking for a man who betrayed the honour of a girl from his home town of Philadelphia.  The mission is fraught with danger as he tries to avoid snakes, cholera and bandits.  Nevertheless,  he gets caught up in the gold fever and this seeks to distract him from his original quest.

The book is interesting because it is written in the first person and tells a fascinating story covering a compelling part of American History.  It covers over 15 characters in the . The book is a real adventure book illustrating the many dangers and perils of being a pioneer in a lawless society.  Times were tough and the rule of law was the gun.  Mid way through the journey Ben leaves Willie to seek out wealth with a family of actors.  Willie (Reverend) was not certain he could trust the troupe so he carried on to the gold field with new found friends. The irony is that Will finally catches up with Ezra, the person he was seeking, but instead of being able to confront Ezra he has to face down his killer.  A great adventure book of its time.