Rare-book dealer Peter Fallon returns in a thrilling historical novel about the California Gold Rush, by New York Times bestselling author William MartinBound for Gold continues New York Times bestselling author William Martin’s epic of American history with the further adventures of Boston rare-book dealer Peter Fallon and his girlfriend, Evangeline Carrington. They are headed to California, … Carrington. They are headed to California, where their search for a lost journal takes them into the history of Gold Rush. The journal follows young James Spencer, of the Sagamore Mining Company, on a spectacular journey from staid Boston, up the Sacramento River to the Mother Lode. During his search for a “lost river of gold,” Spencer confronts vengeance, greed, and racism in himself and others, and builds one of California’s first mercantile empires.
In the present, Peter Fallon’s son asks his father for help appraising the rare books in the Spencer estate and reconstructing Spencer’s seven-part journal, which has been stolen from the California Historical Society. Peter and Evangeline head for modern San Francisco and quickly discover that there’s something much bigger and more dangerous going on, and Peter’s son is in the middle of it. Turns out, that lost river of gold may be more than a myth.
Past and present intertwine as two stories of the eternal struggle for power and wealth become one.
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Plenty of skullduggery and labyrinths of mystery lace this gem about the California gold rush. The prose and plot are as sharp as a broken piece of glass. Another masterpiece from the master of historical fiction.
Fans of rare book dealer Peter Fallon, rejoice ― he’s back (with lady friend Evangeline Carrington, of course), unearthing family skeletons from the Gold Rush. Historic fact intertwines with vibrant fiction in this timely and relevant novel.
In the tradition of James Michener, this epic about the California gold rush (and a parallel modern one) is wonderfully engrossing and addictive. William Martin made me believe I was on the banks of those rugged mountain streams, panning for the dust that dreams are made of and lives are lost to. Ambitious, exciting, and vividly researched. A twenty-four karat read.
Epic in scale, eloquent in execution, Bound for Gold is a pure delight. The great Forty-Niner gold rush comes to vivid life in William Martin’s skillful, suspenseful, and original retelling, and its resonance into the present is nothing short of mesmerizing.
Bound for Gold is grand adventure, an epic saga of American gold fever in both history and the present day. Peter Fallon is still at the top of his game. Bravo.
Boston meets San Francisco, again, and the echoes of the first collision rumble down the decades to shape the rematch in this rollicking epic tale of the California Gold Rush, modern mayhem, and the mysteries that haunt families for generations. History brought to life, and the keen Martin eye to both.
Very much enjoyed the premise of this novel, and was impressed by the historical detail. A good read.
A different era, well portrayed. Worth a read.
Very good book, well researched.
Did not care for this book. The historical part dealing with the gold rush was well written and interesting. However, the modern part seemed stitched together with as many plot elements possible. It tried to be slick but it was just boring and who cared about the characters. Did not finish as lost interest.
This book gave me a very realistic view of what the California gold rush was like. I’ve read many books about it but this was by far the best. The characters were very real. It switches back and forth between the l850’s and now, and the author did it very well.. I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to anyone who likes a fast paced historical novel and a very good story about today.
I don’t know how, but I got pulled in this story in the first few pages. It helps, to be interested in the history and withe the geography, but the story seems plausible and exciting. The ending was at first a bit of a letdown, but the journey was great.
William Martin has done it again with his story about the California Gold Rush. Peter Fallon, antique book dealer, is once again on the trail of a lost treasure, this time a journal written by a young Boston man who travels west to find his fortune. Filled with details from the past, bad guys both past and present, and information about how gold is mined, both back then and now, this a page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I should preface this review by saying that William Martin’s Bound for Gold is not my usual choice of novel: it’s far more plot-driven than I generally prefer, its landscape almost exclusively physical rather than psychological. And it was hard work keeping track of a Macy’s Day Parade of characters. That said, I came away very admiring. Martin has essentially written two novels here: One is modern-day book dealer Peter Fallon’s quest for a missing journal dating from the Gold Rush years; the second is the journal itself, written by newspaperman James Spencer during his westward adventures in 1848-1851. The way these two storylines correspond-both essentially outlandish quests, separated by 150 years–is handled brilliantly. Martin’s depiction of both time-period’s lawlessness, violence, and skulduggery make the novel’s central theme perfectly clear: in its greed, America, and Americans, haven’t changed much. What’s more, Martin’s dizzying array of characters gives us the correct impression: that western America in the pioneer days was a broad, rough canvas filled with a broad, rough crew: of whores and whoremongers, gangsters and thieves, bad ombres looking to get rich, and “genteel” easterners looking for much the same. The way these two storylines eventually convergence gave me shivers. But what I loved most was not so much the novel’s dual storylines as its purpose: on one hand to portray an American Heart of Darkness in which unbridled men wreak havoc, death, and insanity; and on the other, simply to send us, like delighted children, on a good, old-fashioned, treasure hunt.
Once again William Martin entertains and enthralls us with Peter Fallon searching for clues to a journal written during the California gold rush. While Peter looks for clues to a mysterious missing journal, Martin takes us back to 1849 and a young writer by the name of James Spencer who leaves the wealth of upper crust Boston to voyage around the Straits of Magellan and, ultimately, to lawless and ruthless San Francisco. As always Martin makes us care for James as he tries to find a story in this wild and rowdy setting. I’ve read, and thoroughly enjoyed all five of the previous Peter Fallon novels, but I think this one was the one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It’s a great story of a young man willing to take risks in order to build himself a new life.
This was the best book I have read in 2018. Congrats to the author for a wonderful story!
Interesting snap shot of the years during the California gold rush. Enjoyed the sleuthing of Peter Fallon.
The purest gold for readers! William Martin has always been a fine craftsman and a marvelous storyteller, and this tale of the “Golden West” when the gold was real in the hand is fiction at its most enthralling. Framed by a sharply drawn portrait of today, this saga of men struggling over fortunes almost two centuries ago in a rugged and raw America ― and their long shadows ― is just plain great.
Bound for Gold is historical adventure that takes the reader on a sea voyage, through multiple time periods, an earthquake, and to the California Gold Rush. Thrills, suspense, non stop adventures, gold fields, San Francisco, China Town, sex slaves, told by journals from the 1850‘s California. My only criticism was some of the characters language and behavior was perhaps a little too realistic at times. William Martin has long been one of my favorite authors and I have enjoyed and recommend every book he has written. My thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for making this book available to me to read and review.