The Undaunted

Today I finished a novel that I was reading for myself...not to my children, not a parenting book...a novel that I actually picked for myself. That hasn't happened in a LONG time! I am hoping that once Kaylee and Aaron go back to school I will have more time to read.  I have a long list of books that I would like to read...all in good time I guess. I do love reading with my kids, but I can only take so much of Junie B. Jones!

I read The Undaunted by Gerald N. Lund. It took me a couple of months to read, granted it is 800 pages, but it was a pretty slow read for me. Gerald N. Lund is also the author of The Work and The Glory series which I LOVED so my expectations were pretty high and the Undaunted just did not compare...it was still good, but not great.

The Undaunted is a historical fiction novel about the miracle of the Hole-In-The-Rock Pioneers. In 1879 a stalwart group of Mormon pioneers were called to create a settlement that would serve as a buffer between the established communities of Utah and the lawless frontier of the Four Corners area. Their challenges were enormous as they created their own road by blasting out a trail over slick rock and through impassable cliffs.


David Miller, a professor of history at the University of Utah, wrote this about these pioneers:
"In all the annals of the West, replete with examples of courage, tenacity and ingenuity, there is no better example of the indomitable pioneer spirit than that of the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition of the San Juan Mission.  No pioneer company ever built a wagon road through wilder, rougher, more inhospitable country, still one of the least-known regions in America.  None ever demonstrated more courage, faith, and devotion to a cause than this group...who cut a wagon passage through two hundred miles of this country...Today their feat seems well-nigh impossible.  Yet they proved that virtually nothing was impossible for a zealous band of pioneers."


If you like to read LDS historical fiction, The Undaunted is good but a little too long and drawn out in my opinion.


Now, on to the next book...what shall it be???  Any suggestions?