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Boyd Richardson?s Danger Trail(1995) continues the story of Samuel ?Brigham? Harold, the young Mormon boy from Knife Thrower(1994), who lives among the Pawnee Indians after his parents are killed by a Missouri mob. At the end of Knife Thrower, young Brigham realizes that he must leave the Pawnees to re-learn the ways of the white man. Danger Trail picks up where the first book left off, following Brigham on his quest to find his identity. On the way, Brigham discovers Erma Lloyd, the pretty daughter of a farmer, and vows to make her his wife. Unfortunately, he also discovers Uzal Hoffard, a tough country bumpkin, who claims that Erma belongs to him. Knowing of Erma?s dislike for the filthy hick, Brigham proceeds to court and marry Erma. As the two head for the Mormon settlement in Manti, Utah Territory, they find that they are being followed by two groups of dangerous men, both of whom are determined to kill them. In their frantic journey west, Brigham and Erma must struggle to survive against every possible threat?their pursuers, wild animals, restless natives, the weather, and everything in between?before they can enjoy the peace of their new life in Manti.
While Danger Trail keeps all of the elements that made its prequel an exciting read, it also mended many of the first book?s flaws. For one thing, the sentence construction seems to be much tighter, providing a more polished tale. Also, by telling Danger Trail?s story from both Brigham and Erma?s points of view, Richardson eliminates the monotony created by the constant repetition of I, which is the greatest distraction of a first-person narrator. One other problem that was not entirely fixed in this second book was Richardson?s tendency to tack on interesting tidbits of research without fully integrating it into the story. You will find these postscripts in scores of paragraphs throughout both books. Although the information is useful to the story, it should be fully integrated into the action so that it doesn?t distract from the reader?s willing suspension of belief. All in all, however, Richardson seems to have made a vast improvement in his writing skill, making Danger Trail a delightful adventure tale. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Danger Trail Fixes Prequel's Flaws in Mormon (LDS) Literature is owned by . Permission to republish Danger Trail Fixes Prequel's Flaws in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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