SAMPLE INDUSTRY REVIEWS OF THREE FORKS
"Rich
in historical detail and characterization . . . A fascinating glimpse
of life in early 19th century Dallas and North Texas!"
- Teresa Warfield, author of the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman trilogy
and eight other historical novels
"Three Forks is an evocative
novel of early North Texas. Tom Marlin tells a compelling story of the
conflict between the Caddo Tribe and the early frontier settlers, encompassing
the myriad emotions and complexities of the people who struggled in
opposition to forge a life on the rugged Texas frontier."
- Jacky Sach, co-founder of Book Ends, LLC and former senior managing
editor at Berkley Books (later Penguin Putnam Inc.)
SAMPLE READERS' REVIEWS OF THREE FORKS
Reviewer: A reader from New Jersey 
. . . Tom Marlin has captured
my interest. The story line is skillfully interwoven with glimpses into
the history and culture of the DFW Texas area in the middle 19th century.
Many real names and places are used in the story which make it seem
almost like a documentary of the struggle for territory between the
native Americans and the settlers . . . The more the story unfolded,
the more I was drawn into it trying to anticipate what would be coming
next . . . The ending was exciting and surprising enough to rate a five
star for me.
Reviewer: A reader from O'Fallon, Missourri
Ok, so I grew up on the Lone
Ranger and more of the stereotypical "good guys wear white hats" kind
of western. I had written off the genre for the most part until I read
some L'amour and thought I'd give this a shot as well. (Apparently there's
a lot of really bad stuff out there and have been told I lucked out
when I found L'amour.)
Keep in mind that my usual reading is stuff by Phillip K Dick, Bruce
Sterling, and William Gibson, so you could definitely say I'm a fish
out of water in regards to this genre. Imagine my surprise when I saw
not only a good solid story, but character development and . . . what's
that? historically based. Stories that take the time to weave a good
tale are one thing but when the author does the research to base the
story upon past events in real locations AND deftly shows the affects
of the real issues of day to day life in the time period....WOW. I had
never thought of "cowboys" like that before. It's my belief that if
you like L'amour, you'll like Marlin. Thanks for a great read, Mr. Marlin.
Reviewer: A reader from Texas
This
book fills a void in Dallas/Ft. Worth/Arlington history. I'd venture
to say that 90% of people in this area are not familiar with how or
why Dallas was settled and for whom it was named, or are aware that
Bird's Fort was the area's first settlement and that the site is located
in Arlington. I'd also guess most people are not familiar with the Indian
tribes that once lived in the area and how they were driven out by the
Texas Militia.
I
particularly liked the historical fiction format used by Marlin, rather
than reading a straightforward historical account. As I read the book,
I got to "meet" in person the likes of Sam Houston, John Neely
Bryant, Edward Tarrant and John Denton. The book held a candle to works
of John Jakes and James A. Michener.
I
would recommend this book to anyone anywhere - not just readers in the
Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It's a page turning adventure novel with well
drawn characters, an exciting backstory and amazing historical detail,
all set in a fascinating period of Texas history.
Reviewer: A
reader from St. Charles, MO
Initially, I thought this
was a story about times preceding the settlement of Dallas but I found
it to also be a saga of westward expansion in the US (the culmination
of which was the destruction of Native American cultures during the
19th century).
I was delighted to read not only a good solid story, but see the characters
evolve with real emotion and motivations. A fairly difficult task for
accomplished writers, the author ups the ante with a historically based
setting.
What I liked is that these aren't the cardboard characters you find
in so many well conceived but poorly executed pieces of historical fiction,
where characters only exist to fulfill their 'historical significance'
and are discarded to the annals of history. Stories that take the time
to weave a good tale are one thing but when the author follows it up
with what appears to be very detailed research to base the story upon
past events in real locations (in addition to showing the effects of
the real issues of day to day life in the time period) you know you've
got something special.
This book is going to be one tough act to follow, but I trust the author
welcomes and rises to the challenge. I suspect I'll be let down by the
fact that the author is incapable of crafting his tales as quickly as
I can read them.
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Life on the frontier and in the Texas Militia, 1838 - 1846
