The Gantlet
The Zephyr Series
A fleeing man has grandiose adventures on his way out west in the eventful novel The Gantlet.
In J. James Wheeling’s entrancing historical novel The Gantlet, a man undertakes a fevered quest to refashion his life in California.
In 1849 Massachusetts, Donovan discovers that his father is a child trafficker. After ushering endangered siblings to safety, he is forced to flee, leaving his fiancée, Lillia, behind. Now on the run, Donovan joins an Ivy League competition to reach California first and claim a prize.
In this patchwork character study, Donovan’s overland travels to the West move in unpredictable stages through which he experiences internal changes. At first motivated by a can-do ethos and the prospect of frontier adventures, he matures as he travels, facing circumstances far more treacherous than he imagined: He and his friends meet runaway slaves, an indentured boy, and other marginalized people whose stories illuminate era injustices including racism and unfair labor practices. In these instances, Donovan and his friends offer to help the strangers, even at risk to themselves.
The plot follows a series of dangerous episodes through which Donovan’s team bands together. When they travel by flatboat, they face cholera and fires. They rescue a drowning Irish woman too. The escalating variety of challenges, including people’s deaths, generates suspense. Later, Donovan undertakes parts of the journey on his own; his inward resolve solidifies, and he devotes little time to thinking about his losses. The sense of adventure shifts, and the story becomes more grim.
Surprise developments also take the novel in new directions, including Donovan’s unplanned adoption of a baby girl following a tragedy. His evolution from a wide-eyed young man into a capable father is made convincing, though, because of his awareness of when to exhibit caution and when to accept people’s help. Other characters, from a wilderness guide to a man who teaches Donovan to become an expert rifleman, are made intriguing through their complicated personal motivations.
The setting is established by blending facts with dramatic conflicts; details concerning steamboat boiler explosions and life at wilderness forts are undergirded by historical endnotes. There are lush descriptions of rivers that teem with industry, awesome mountain ranges, and turbulent weather events. That so many people succumb to natural and interpersonal challenges along the way makes the prospect of Donovan reaching California remarkable. However, the conclusion is too rushed through; it relies on coincidences to resolve abandoned storylines.
The Gantlet is a memorable historical novel in which a man grows because of his cross-country travels, friendships, and hardships.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
