All Things Left Wild

I bought this book on a whim. Completely. I didn't know a thing about the author, or the book, other than it's a western. As I started reading it, I found myself in awe at how good it was, just from the first few chapters. I came to find out that this was the author's first published novel and man... for a debut novel, for a novel period, it's darn good, especially this day in age. That's not to say the book isn't without its shortcomings, though they are few and for me didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the story. I'll break it down in familiar terms:The Good:-the descriptions of the countryside are beautiful, mostly. They are poetic and like many others have alluded, very McCarthy-inspired. The characters are incredibly deep and have their own genuine thoughts, worries, and they all make mistakes. The villain, Grimes, has become one of my favorite literary villains of all time.-The action is never over the top, and is pretty perfectly placed in terms of pacing. The book is at its best when Randall in ruminating, or during scenes of tension between Caleb and his brother. And when the action hits, it feels earned. I'm not sure what book these other reviewers read when they wrote there was "too much action" or "excessive violence"... because this book has VERY few scenes of actual violence. Even the traditional western standoff scenes aren't exactly violent.-as dark as the story is, the occasional humor actually had me laugh out loud in a few scenes. The banter between Randall and Tad is great, the dynamic of their relationship evolved in an unexpectedly welcome way.The Bad:-Very wordy in places, albeit rarely, almost too much so. There are several paragraphs you could literally skip or breeze through due to their length and you wouldn't miss anything you haven't read earlier in the book, but I wouldn't recommend that, as even the longest, wordiest, redundant paragraphs Wade writes, are still beautiful.-As mentioned before, Grimes being a great villain, I still would have liked to have seen more from him. HIs motives are dark and nefarious, and pretty horrifying when you break it down and play out the scenario in your head, his speeches are creepy but also amusing. I would read a book solely told from his point of view.The Ugly:-The "Do you believe in God" question is brought up more times than it probably ought to be, even given the era in which this story takes places. It's tedious and I did find myself on more than one occasion rolling my eyes when I read yet another character, be they a side or a main character, question "do you believe in God".-There is a LOT of philosophy in this book. And it does tend to wander all over the spectrum. Especially towards the end, it does get a bit preachy in places.The Best:-the ending wraps up in a way that is both beautiful, bittersweet, depressing, and brutal. You know it's coming. You expect it at any turn of the page. But for a few of those pages you might actually think things may turn out alright for this character or that character. No one is left unchanged, unpunished, or unscarred. And if there is any justice/balance to the universe, it can be found in the final pages of this story.All Things Left Wild left me wanting more, and not in a bad way. I loved these characters, even when they were at their most broken. I loved the interchanging points of view, the conversations between Caleb and Grimes, many of the side characters could have full-fledged stories of their own and I would read them all, but the dark parts of their own lives are perhaps what gives this story its own shade of mystique; the questions I had about some of these men and women will go unanswered, and I'm not upset about that. I would read a sequel, if one was written, though I can't entirely be sure if a sequel would work here, nor if one is needed. James Wade, as mentioned by other reviewers, is an extremely talented writer, as proven by his debut work. At the very least, he can describe the absolute heck out of a western countryside, and make you think twice about which way a bullet is going to find itself. You could certainly do far worse wasting your time reading other books out there published recently. I look forward to his next novel, and the novel after that, and so on, hoping he writes more.

I was anxious to get James' book from Amazon and immediately started reading it when it arrived. I read it quickly when I got it and have since re-read it and I'm so glad I did. I was able to understand the depth of the characters and their traits that made them so interesting. I particularly like the descriptions of the fauna and landscape he provided. I felt like I could see the plants, animals, mountains and the "dust." One of my favorite quotes from the book is "there was even dust on our shadows." I love this genre of stories and have read many novels in this realm and James' novel fits in with the best of them. I hope he continues writing novels and is able to do it in abundance as I will be waiting anxiously for his next work.Thanks for your hard work.

A heartfelt story, and lots of description, the author creates a wonderful piece of literature, with evidence that he sacrificed no effort. There is deep character development and a wonderful use of the “antihero”. A story is only as good as its characters, and these characters are flawed, yet endearing. As a female, I personally like the way the women are portrayed. I am far from being well-versed on westerns, but it seems that has often been a lacking quality. They are the kind of women you envision your ancestors being like during the Wild, Wild, West. Overall, a great read, and all that effort paid off to create a touching, descriptive, and creative product.

This was a fine book for a debut novel, but it left some things a little on the wild side, although I’m sure the author didn’t intend for that to happen. I’m not going to come down too hard on James Ware for his “All Things Left Wild,” because my sense is that he tried hard to make his book lyrical and beautiful and he almost made it. There are, indeed, some beautifully written passages and thoughtful musings. Almost too many as I will discuss shortly.Essentially this is a story of two brothers of disparate personalities who set out at the turn of the twentieth century to find the brutal killers of their brother. Their travels cover most of the wild and brutal territory of northern Mexico and the unsettled areas still found in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. There are killers of all breeds and nationalities, along with crooked landgrabbers, greedy ranchers, shady lawmen and other undesirables that seem to litter the landscape. Everywhere the brothers go, these snakes appear, all with their own agendas and they seem destined to kill the brothers throughout the entire story. But sheer grit and their own obstreperous behavior repeatedly saves the day.It’s with his look of the country where the author excels. I can’t remember many other books with such gloriously painted landscapes and sensuous feel for the wild country the brothers find and travel through. Think Zane Grey and Larry McMurtrey. Some of the writing is so beautiful that I had to go back and reread some passages to make sure I didn’t miss something. But then there’s that bugaboo of almost overwriting the scenes that get somewhat disconcerting and keep the story faintly unhinged. And the story is quite long, prompting an almost claustrophobic feel that makes the reader want to go outside for some fresh air and change of scenery.I sense that Wade has the talent to become an outstanding author of fine, almost literary quality books. I’ll be watching for more of his work.Schuyler T WallaceAuthor of TIN LIZARD TALES

Terribly written. Mr. Wade is very proud of the fact he can use 2 long paragraphs to describe something better said in one short sentence. He pontificates in what seems to be Elizabethan prose - in a western novel about 2 young country boys running from the law! Literary arrogance gone to seed...