My wife forced me to read this one, as she really enjoyed it. I felt like there is a strength to the author's spare use of language, and he captures a spirit of the raw force of brutal nature behind the pillaging of Texas well. But let's be honest, the best parts of this book are when Eli runs with the Comanches. The author himself waxes most fluidly poetic when he intimately describes the Comanches devouring of buffalo. The rest of the novel and it's characters I found less compelling.