In 1756, Britain and France are on a collision course for control of the North American continent. The eventual result can be described as the first world war, known as the Seven Year’s War in Europe and the French and Indian War in the colonies. The Mallory family uproots from eastern Pennsylvania, and moves to the western frontier, where they find themselves in the middle of war. Daniel, Liam, … Liam, and Liza (the three Mallory siblings) become involved in the conflict in ways that lead to emotional trauma for each. The story focuses on historical events and includes historical characters. Clash of Empires is an exciting look at the developments leading to the events of July 1776, which are chronicled in the sequel as we follow the exploits and fate of the Mallory clan.
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Meet a young George Washington, a young Daniel Boone, and the charismatic Ottawa tribal leader, Pontiac during the French and Indian War. The real stars of this book are the rugged, frontier family, The Mallory clan. The book opens in 1749. Thomas and Abigail Mallory, with their three children, Daniel, Liza, and Liam move across Pennsylvania with their friends, Pierre Baptiste, and Joseph and Henry Clarke.
This book has an enormous cast. The spotlight shines brightest upon Liam who is in his middle teens at the beginning of the book. Unlike his older brother, Daniel, Liam has little interest in farming, settling down, or staying within the confines of settled territory. He spends time among the Mohawk people, marries a chief’s daughter, and turns an enemy into a friend. That friend is Wahta. Despite their wanderlust, scouting, and participation in epic battles, Liam and Wahta find time to help Liam’s brother and sister settle a town that would make their parents proud.
The author presents explicit, devastating, brutal, and violent battle scenes, which unfortunately were realistic presentations of reality. This book also features many forts, which gives a sense of having been present at every engagement in the French and Indian War. Unspeakable violence was a part of life in colonial times and the author doesn’t shy away from the awful reality that comes with presenting war.
I would have benefitted from getting a stronger connectedness to characters, particularly in the beginning, but also throughout. What are their hopes, dreams, and desires? What makes them different from one another as individuals? What makes them tick? What are their fears and insecurities? I watch for and found grammatical issues, for example, somehow the word dotted appeared as .ted. No matter, I loved this book anyway, and I learned a tremendous amount of history as a result of reading it.
I also enjoyed the spiritual components, and I identified with Liam, and his buffalo dreams. That’s my spirit animal as well. Other high points of the book include the camaraderie of the fighting men, and the strength of our founding mothers, and the role they played during colonial times.
I read the second book first, then I read this book. Of course, it would be better to read them in order, but either way, I’m so glad to have found the Mallory Saga. I can’t wait for the next installment, so I hope it is coming soon.
The French Indian War, you say? Well, it was virgin territory for me. Aside from what I had garnered from the Hollywood epic, Last of the Mohicans, I knew very little about the political and military situation in 1750s colonial America. Now, I feel both educated and thoroughly entertained by Mr. Bennett’s debut novel ‘Clash of Empires’.
It’s quite a special skill to be able to take a reader (like me) from a dreary morning in a coffee shop in Scotland and catapult them back through time into the hardships and wonders of a long-past era. But within a few pages I was there with the book’s hero, Liam Mallory, edging through snow on my belly, tracking deer. Soon after I was sitting around the fire with the rest of the Mallory family and their close friends as they enjoyed Liam’s catch along with a fair dose of home-brewed ale. Bennet paints an intimate picture of a very real family life in the era, and the excitement builds as they discuss their plans: to move to a new trading post in the western frontiers. A bold move indeed, given the dangers of that untamed and much-coveted land.
The story moves at a fair old pace, never sagging nor over-egging any one event. The Mallory clan and their cadre travel to their new home, literally and metaphorically arriving right in the lines of fire between the forces of Britain and France, each power at this point striving to claim the new world as their own. And the European behemoths are not the only factions vying to shape their own fortunes. The Native American tribes – proud people and fierce, ruthless warriors – sense that their destiny is being stolen from them. Most tribes carefully choose to ally with one of the great powers, though some decide on an alternative path…
And it is here that the Mallory family become truly entwined in events. Our hero, Liam, finds himself befriended by the people of a Mohawk village and soon loves them as he does his blood-kin, even taking a Mohawk wife. But the less accepting tribes soon descend and shatter Liam and his family’s new life. Bennet writes gruesome scenes as well as he does touching ones, and without giving away any detail, I’ll say that his descriptive of what happens to Liam’s loved ones was harrowing, frank and quite unsettling.
And so Liam is drawn into the war. What follows is relentless, real and human. Rich in detail mined from the author’s clearly painstaking research, we find lessons that should have been learned from the distant past rising to the fore once more; cannons boom, bullets fly and tomahawks spin through the air as the war builds towards a brutal climax.
A fresh voice and a cracking tale. Recommended!