Comanche Dawn - by Mike Blakely (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In Comanche Dawn Mike Blakely does for the Comanche nation what Ruth Bebe Hills did for the Sioux in Hanta Yo. This landmark novel is the first time the story has been told from the point of view of the Comanches themselves. We witness the rise of one of the most powerful mounted nations in history through the eyes of a young warrior named Horseback.

Born on the very day that the first horse comes to his people, Horseback matures into a leader of unquestionable courage and vision. He assumes powerful medicine granted to him by spirits encountered on a grueling vision quest, and he takes Teal, the most beautiful young woman of his tribe, as his wife and lifelong love. Guided by forces more powerful and dangerous then even he can control or explain, Horseback will face death time and time again with only his medicine and Teal to stand beside him.

Failure will mean destruction not only for himself, but for his people. Success will mean unimaginable wealth for his new nation. Ancient enemies will seek to destroy him. Strange newcomers with pale skin and treacherous ways will attempt to enslave him. Even his own inner spirit powers threaten always to consume him, should he fail to respect them. Only the bravest of True Humans dare to follow Horseback on his great adventure down a trail that can lead only to glory or annihilation.

Review Quotes

"Mike Blakely's unflinching story, steeped in Indian mysticism, shows how the long-abused Comanches mastered horsemanship and in a single generation became the fiercest warriors of the plains." --Elmer Kelton

"Michael Blakely writes with authority and empathy about a people superbly suited to the land they roamed. He re-creates the Comanche's everyday life and their momentous encounter with the horses that would carry them to greatness and the strangers who would take it from them." --Lucia St. Clair Robson, author of Ride the Wind

"As an elderly Arapaho once told us: 'If a man has never heard the thunder of horses running in his soul, his life will be forever hollow.' With Comanche Dawn Mike Blakely turns the horses loose in all our souls. This is historical fiction at its best." --W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O' Neal Gear

"A well made novel can sometimes inform a reader far better than documents of history. Comanche Dawn is such a novel." --Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

About the Author

A native of Texas, Mike Blakely grew up working on the family ranch. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is the former president of Western Writers of America and has taught fiction writing at numerous workshops nationwide. He is a winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel. Also a singer/songwriter, Blakely tours all over the U.S. and in Europe with his band and records his original songs on his own independent record label. He currently lives on his horse ranch near Marble Falls, Texas.