Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves - (The Bass Reeves Trilogy) by Sidney Thompson (Paperback)

About the Book

Sidney Thompson tells the story of the early career of Bass Reeves, one of the greatest lawmen in American history, and his enslavement before he became a deputy U.S. marshal.

Book Synopsis

Adapted for the Paramount+ miniseries Lawmen: Bass Reeves, directed by Taylor Sheridan and starring David Oyelowo

2022 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist for Western Fiction
2021 Phillip H. McMath Post Publication Book Award Finalist for Prose
2021 International Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society Book Award for Historical Fiction in Event/Era
2021 Oklahoma Book Award Finalist for Fiction from the Oklahoma Center for the Book
2021 Will Rogers Medallion Book Award Finalist for Western Fiction
2021 Spur Award Finalist for Historical Novel from the Western Writers of America
2021 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Historical Fiction (Pre 1900s)
2020 Arkansas Gem from the Arkansas Center for the Book
2021 Peacemaker Award Finalist for Best First Novel
2021 Indie Book Award Finalist for Historical Fiction

Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves is an origin story in the true American tradition. Before Bass Reeves could stake his claim as the most successful nineteenth-century American lawman, arresting more outlaws than any other deputy during his thirty-two-year career as a deputy U.S. marshal in some of the most dangerous regions of the Wild West, he was a slave.

After a childhood picking cotton, Reeves became an expert marksman under his master's tutelage, winning shooting contests throughout the region. His skill had serious implications, however, as the Civil War broke out. Reeves was given to his master's mercurial, sadistic, Moby-Dick-quoting son in the hopes that Reeves would keep him safe in battle. The ensuing humiliation, love, heroics, war, mind games, and fear solidified Reeves's determination to gain his freedom and drew him one step further on his fated path to an illustrious career.

Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves is an important historical work that places Reeves in the pantheon of American heroes and a thrilling historical novel that narrates a great man's exploits amid the near-mythic world of the nineteenth-century frontier.

Review Quotes

"Thompson . . . is a highly entertaining writer, and his Bass Reeves emerges as an intelligent, reluctantly violent, sympathetic young man. Readers will find the compelling recreations of two important Civil War battles to be a kind of bonus."--John Mort, Mississippi Book Page-- (3/9/2020 12:00:00 AM)

"Thompson's historical novel delivers an unforgettable character based on a true American hero. . . . A believable coming-of-age story that echoes Huckleberry Finn in its realism and social observation."--Michael Ray Taylor, Commercial Appeal

"Reeves shines . . . . Many a good novel has at its core a spiritual crisis, and readers will experience a great one here . . . masterful trilogy."--John Mort, Clarion-Ledger

"Fearless and unflinching, Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves is a magnificent work of historical fiction. The characters and the times in which they lived are intensely and beautifully realized, and every line rings with authenticity. . . . Its truths are ever so urgent."--Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World: A Novel-- (9/19/2019 12:00:00 AM)

"Sidney Thompson has the ability to pull you into the narrative and give you a glimpse of the antebellum life of a young slave destined for greatness as a lawman. . . . Highly recommended."--Art T. Burton, author of Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves-- (9/19/2019 12:00:00 AM)

"This novel, like all the best historical fiction, reminds us that the most memorable events in our history happened in specific minutes, hours, and days to individuals every bit as complicated and contradictory as you or me."--Susan Perabo, author of The Fall of Lisa Bellow: A Novel-- (9/19/2019 12:00:00 AM)

"Thompson's short novel is a fascinating look at life in northwest Arkansas in the years before and during the Civil War, when the future lawman came of age and ultimately made his break for freedom. The rest of the trilogy is likely to be just as intriguing, especially because that's the way the real Bass Reeves lived his life."--Glen Seeber, Oklahoman-- (3/1/2020 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Sidney Thompson teaches creative writing and African American literature at Texas Christian University. He is the author of You/Wee: Poems from a Father and Sideshow: Stories. Thompson has published his short fiction in numerous literary journals and anthologies.