Title: Thorne’s Journey Home
Author: Harold Toliver
Publisher: BookSide Press
ISBN: 978-1778836480
Pages: 353
Genre: Fiction / Action & Adventure / Historical Fiction
Reviewer: Tony Espinoza
Hollywood Book Reviews
Adventure is not about the destination, but the journey. Most people think that to have an adventure, people must be heading towards some goal or location, and the journey along the way is the adventure that teaches or gives new insights into life. Few people realize, however, that returning home after that journey can be equally as adventurous, as far more often than not, the journey home not only brings new experiences, but both the home people left behind has changed, as has the person who first left home.
Being able to understand and explore what it means to return home again is an important part of the adventure of life, and in author Harold Toliver’s Thorne’s Journey Home, readers are given this opportunity. Following Thorne, upon returning home from the California gold fields, finds himself traveling through hostile terrain occupied by the local indigenous tribes of the 19th century. Along the way Thorne rescues a couple of survivors of major massacres, and soon his caravan becomes a new home for many who lost homes, and Thorne’s return transforms the life he thought he had left behind altogether.
Rich and enthralling, this narrative was so inviting and engaging from the start. The complexity of the politics and social landscape of the American Western frontier at that time is perfectly explored in this novel, bringing the adrenaline-fueled tension adventure and gold seekers sought upon arriving in California during the Gold Rush to detailed life. The dynamics between these characters are so unique, as the atmosphere at that time was filled with both mistrust and a need for survival, and Thorne’s story as the protagonist perfectly brought this to life on the pages. Going from one of the many men who sought a life as a 49er, to a man on the run as outlaws hunt him down, showcased not only who Thorne began life as, but who his ultimate character was and what he had to become as he journeyed back home.
For readers who enjoy fictional stories filled with action and adventure, especially those which include a historical fiction setting and tone, this is the perfect novel to get wrapped up in. The way Thorne found himself evolving from a man with a singular purpose to a man willing to help and protect people, including side character Lisa throughout his journey is fantastic storytelling. The amount of detail the author utilized in his writing not only brought each scene to life using powerful imagery in writing style, but allows the emotional moments to hold more weight as the story progresses and how the adventure imparted those long lasting lessons on the characters.