A fictionalized account of the actions by the US Army and the tribes located in and around Wyoming's Podwer River Valley. It is an example of the best historical fiction. It's obvious that Michael Punke conducted extensive research on both sides of the incursions that would become the Fetterman Massacre. He has populated the story with real people who lived through this era in Western history. In today's conventions, it would be said there was no winner in these battles. American history is grounded in a multitude of battles between it's people. Whether for land or resources, battle lines were drawn and blood shed. This book is an excellent read for anyone interested in this era or American history overall. I'm definitely glad I read it and I'm sure my reading circle will appreciate it as much as I do. 5 easy stars

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

After taking a family vacation to the Badlands and Devil's Tower with a side trip to see Little Big Horn battlefield, this book was more vivid in my mind. Having stepped upon the land, heard the stories, seen reenactors dressed as a cavalry, one can only be moved while reading the history of the battle described in the story. There is an included map and a few names to help you get your footing immediately so that you can enjoy the story. There is "journal entries" from multiple points of view. If you are familiar with his other novel, you'll not be surprised that this one is detail oriented sometime to a point where it feels slightly dry.

There is also an audio option available and enjoyable.
My copy was an ARC provided by NetGalley so the formatting can't be judged.

I was excited to receive an advanced copy of Ridgeline. I read Michael Punke’s Revenant several years ago and loved his descriptive writing; I felt immersed in the time and place in a way that I don’t normally feel when reading books about this period of American history. Earlier this year, I also read Punke’s Last Stand and found it to be a really compelling history that also provided a helpful background knowledge as I dove into Ridgeline.

Initially I found Ridgeline a bit slow, but the pace picked up about 1/3 of the way through and was an enjoyable read as the story picked up. The final 50 pages were riveting and flew by. I read them in a single sitting and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

Punke has done a great job in Ridgeline in making characters come to life in more complex ways that seem similar to contemporary people but he also underscores how the time, culture, & society place them in roles that they may or may not be comfortable with. In the end, Punke writes a fantastic story but makes it seems so real through his incredible character development.

I would gladly recommend this book to anyone!

This was a super slow starter for me. Maybe I wasn’t in the right state of mind because usually I enjoy reading about these battles, the west, and frontiersmen etc. I put it aside temporarily and then came back to it and was hooked. Initially I thought this would follow Crazy Horse on the lead up to Custer and Little Big Horn.

That’s what I get for ignoring the jacket blurbs.

I was surprised the book covers the Fetterman Massacre but pleased that it did. This is one area that I greatly enjoyed expanding my knowledge on. Yes this is historical fiction based on fact, it still helps ignite the spark of interest. The appendix gives a lot of further reading suggestions and information as well.

Overall a fantastic read that evokes strange imagery from days past.

Ridgeline is the fictional retelling of The Fetterman Massacre that took place on December 21, 1866. The battle was between US soldiers stationed at Fort Phil Kearny and local tribes. Author Michael Punke tells the story from multiple points of view, including those living both at the fort and with the tribes.

Things I enjoyed:
-I enjoyed learning about it this battle that I was unfamiliar with.
-I thought that life that the scouts led was fascinating.
-You can tell that Punke did extensive research on the topic. I enjoyed reading his note at the end about where the blame has been placed for the massacre over time.

I found the first 2/3 of this book to be a little slow. I didn’t really connect with many of the characters and felt like many were left undeveloped. I prefer to see both the good qualities and flaws of at least the main characters.

Overall, the book was very interesting and I think a lot of people will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for allowing me to read an e-galley of Ridgeline by Michael Punke. I visited the Fetterman Massacre Wyoming State Historical Site several years ago and since then have read two non-fiction accounts of the battle and the events leading up to it. Thanks to Michael Punke and Ridgeline, I can finally follow the movements of this iconic battle!

Mr. Punke writes a fictional account of this most famous engagement of Red Cloud's War of 1866-68 through the eyes of several major players. The narrative begins with the arrival of the US Army to the Powder River country of northeastern Wyoming to establish a fort for the protection of white emigrants traveling along the Bozeman trail. Establishment of this military installation in their hunting grounds obviously did not sit well with the Lakota (Sioux), Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho and they set out under Red Cloud's leadership to foil that plan. The post commander, Colonel Henry Carrington, had extensive experience in managing the logistics of supply movements, etc., but no battlefield experience and had never commanded troops prior to this appointment.

Several officers, in addition to enlisted men, including infantry Captain William Fetterman and cavalry Lieutenant George Grummond, were under his command. In addition, several wives also accompanied the contingent, including Frances Grummond, who later wrote memoirs of her time at the fort. Scouts present at the fort were Jim Bridger and Jim Beckwourth. Through these voices the perspective of the military is revealed. Red Cloud knows that the establishment of the fort will open the floodgates of emigrants and even worse, settlers to the Powder River area. He, with Crazy Horse of the Ogalala Sioux essentially serving as a war chief, plan and wage war to eliminate the fort and stop the migration of whites. During the few months the fort was being built, there were over 50 attacks by the Indians.

While the events leading up to the battle are well known, the author brings a new perspective to the assignment of responsibility for the massacre. His development of characters and their actions made them understandable and his descriptions of climate and geography enabled the reader to place oneself in the moment being described. The pinnacle of the book, though, for me was the battle scenes. I am a reader, not a writer, but I absolutely believe that writing battle scenes has to be one of the hardest things an author does. Michael Punke does it spectacularly in the Ridgeline.

If you like reading about the American West, be it history or historical fiction, this is absolutely the book for you. Pick it up and read it as soon as you can.

Ridgeline by Michael Punke is a well-crafted novel that will have an appeal to readers of Western/Historical fiction. What separates this novel from others is the author’s ability to get into the minds of his characters in a believable way, especially the women who followed their military husbands into the cauldron of violence. Michael Punke's use of journals was particular effective in accomplishing this inner view of a violent world. The author was less effective with the Native Americans he tried to understand, but was still a worthwhile attempt, which is not often found in novels written about this period of Western history. The real strength of Ridgeline was the portrayal of the final battle, bringing us into the violence and mystery of this mythic event. It was refreshing to read a novel where the author knew the terrain and story well and he accomplished what few can do by bringing the land and the people together in a believable way that make the book worth reading. Thank you NetGallery for allowing me to read this book.

I wanted to really love this book, the writing is very tight and descriptive. This author that also wrote The Revenant that was made into a film with Leonard DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. My problem with the book is that the plots moves painfully slow. There are two separate narratives, one with an Sioux Indian chief who is facing war with the American military forces that are encroaching into his world, and the other is a military wife who discovers that she is stuck out in the wilderness with a bigamist husband and pregnancy that traps her in this toxic relationship. I just wanted the book to have a larger conflict and get on with it.

I really enjoyed The Revenant by Michael Punke and was very excited when I saw he was coming out with Ridgeline. Normally, I only read sci-fi and fantasy books. Occasionally, I throw in some historical fiction or suspense books to switch things up from time to time. This was one of those cases where I was ready to take a break from sci-fi, and it was a great break!

I really enjoyed Ridgeline, although I wasn't sure at first. There are a lot of key characters that took time to develop and understand in the early parts of the book. I was worried the pace wouldn't pick up and it would end up being a slog until the end. However, once the initial back story and characters were introduced, the plot picked up and became a compelling read.

There was a lot of interesting dynamic in the story and the characters. Knowing that we fought the Native Americans and took their land as we expanded West gave a sense of guilt while reading. You cannot help but feel bad for the tribes while reading about this one incident in many that occurred during those times. I found myself wishing the Oglala and other tribes would ultimately prevail and hoping for the demise of certain characters in the US Forces while also hoping others would survive. It was an interesting feeling that I had not run in to in other books I have read.

I was not familiar with this particular battle/incident, but was fairly certain I knew the ultimate outcome. This did not hamper my enjoyment of the book at all. I look forward to what Michael Punke puts out in the future as I have truly enjoyed both The Revenant and Ridgeline. His research and dedication to historical accuracy makes his books that much more enjoyable.

Ridgeline is an unbiased account of the Fetterman Massacre in WY. The story is told through perspectives from both sides, I was captivated with the characters and found myself rooting for both sides. This was a beautiful and tragic historical fiction of a clash between cultures in the westward expansion of America. A must read for fans of historical fiction, especially early American settlements in the West.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Michael Punke and the publisher Henry Holt & Company for the advanced copy of Ridgeline.

This has a lot going on: beginning with a snippet from the day of the battle, the story then goes back and works through the time leading up to the encounter; the story is told in third person, but a character is always the focus-- Crazy Horse is the major character, but others also have time as the focus, sometimes several scenes scattered throughout the book, sometimes just one or two scenes.

Most of the characters were unique enough, except a few officers I tended to overlap. I'm not usually good at tracking more than few major characters, so I won't count this against the book in general, more a personal failing.

The prose seemed overly mannered, stylized, like the author was trying for a certain style, but it never quite flowed. It seemed more noticeably awkward during the sections focused on the Sioux characters, which... doesn't feel real good. Some more modern-sounding terms were included, which were especially jarring ("moxie" was a memorable example-- although a product called Moxie was invented in the 1870s, it doesn't seem likely that the word would have gained it's current usage by the time of the story; it's also missing from my library's edition of the OED).

The plot flowed pretty smoothly, and the artistic license that the author took help the story stay cohesive-- sticking too close to known but sparse facts made [book:The Revenant|22836957] awkward in places, so the modifications are appreciated. The notes and added info in the back were informative and interesting.

Give this to fans of the author, Western readers, and American historical fiction readers.

Ridgeline by Michael Punke is what a historical fiction novel should be; it is easy enough to find the facts. What is wonderful about historical fiction is that it opens us to the possibilities of personalities and motivations. They may or may not be correct but with proper research, can be close. Punke has accomplished that in this novel. He has given many of the people involved personalities. He has put words in their mouths. Despite the fact he may be wrong, he has given them motivation and personality. He made an attempt to tell the whole story, with all its nuances, rather than just the historical fact. He has given us Jim Bridger and James Beckwourth, and Nelson Story, the cattle drover bringing beef to the mines, and wives. These people don't necessarily fit into the historical narrative. And he has done it fairly. He has shared with us points of view that are very likely accurate. He has brought it alive. An excellent read.

The US Army is to build forts to protect the Montana highway from the natives. That is Carrington's primary directive, no matter what his underlings think. He has supporters and detractors. He is not a warrior, he is an administrator. The natives, led by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, have their own motivations, and it is not to kill as many whiles as they can. But, they are angry, angry about the demise of the great buffalo herds and the decimating of a forest that had been their hunting grounds. Nelson Story saw a need and is attempting to fill it with cattle from Texas. He has no other agenda. These are their stories, as accurate as possible, free of judgment. Not what is taught in Montana public school, apparently. It is a consuming read. It forces the read forward to what they know is going to happen. Try it for yourself.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Ridgeline by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #ridgeline

What was it like to be on the frontier at Ft. Kearney just after the Civil War? The US was marshalling troops to extend its borders into the Black Hills for settlers and gold miners. These troops were drawn from the Union, former Confederates and foreigners. They lacked knowledge about fighting Native tribes, the land they were coveting, as well as basic army supplies – weapons, horses and food. What they did have was a belief in their superiority, arrogance and a disdain for those of this land.

Punke explores the actual historical figures involved in what would become an early clash of cultures. His research into this period is stellar, as is description of the Lakota and fort life. Best is his attention to geography….how the Wyoming plains and mountains served the tribes methods of warfare, while US forces basically did not consider/appreciate the elements of the terrain.

The major Native figures in this book are Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, both leaders in their own way. They support and learn from each other to build a plan for survival. The major military men are Col. Carrington, Lt. Grummond and Capt. Fetterman, whose relationships are much more antagonistic than their enemies. If just considering the battle to come, less prominent characters would be Mrs. Grummond, James Bridger, a bugler, a laundress, Crazy Horse’s brother and his brothers-in-arms. But that would be in lesser hands than the imagination of Michael Punke. Using historical references as a springboard, Punke builds a powerful and descriptive story that lets the reader into all these characters doubts and dreams.

There may not be a better book this year to take a journey onto the ridgeline of the early West and the conflicts that began there and echo even today. Highest recommendation. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

The outstanding nature of this story of conflict and survival is the humanity that emanates from both sides. You have a nation eager to move forward and a nation here long before you who want only their lands. Land which has stood and thrived because these stewards took only what they needed. On the other side these men were entrusted to help move a boat in away from war and into expansion of mining and commerce. A struggle that leaders on both sides knew would come at a human cost. Throughout the back and forth you see names familiar and foreign. Promises made only to secure an ends to a mean. The language here is reverential by the Native Americans but pragmatic they too have survived a war, and are no less determined to secure peace for their people. A great read.

I. Am. Speechless.

But I must rally, because I HAVE to share with you, what a 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 novel this was...

As most of you know, I am a sucker for Historical Fiction, and I have often said that WWII Fiction is my fave, but quite honestly, Old West HF is right up there on my list too, and @mwpunke has renewed my enthusiasm for it by bringing this astonishing history to life.

In this heartbreaking, eye-opening saga, we meet so many incredible real-life individuals and catch a glimpse of their character and complexity. Granted, many of their thoughts and interactions are imagined, but the historical accuracy of this novel is truly impressive.

There is so much depth in this novel. So much heart and soul. I came to know the men and women on both sides and felt such a camaraderie with so many of them. I rooted for them and cried with them and found a whole new understanding for many of the individuals involved in these battles in the early settlement of the West.

In particular, I was grateful to the author for sharing a history that I knew nothing about - The Fetterman Massacre - a battle that should have been in all our history books. And while there is much controversy about Own Voices, I so appreciate an author that lifts up the marginalized in our society and brings awareness to our past transgressions as a nation. Bravo Mr. Punke.

"𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖚𝖘 𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖞 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖘, 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝕴 𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖇𝖊𝖗. 𝕭𝖚𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖐𝖊𝖕𝖙 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖔𝖓𝖊. 𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖉... 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖙𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝖎𝖙." -𝕽𝖊𝖉 𝕮𝖑𝖔𝖚𝖉

Many thanks to Henry Holt & Co. and @netgalley for gifting me with this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

The problem with books about the American West and wars between the Native Americans and U.S. Army is that no matter how beautifully written, they are melancholy; and no matter how exciting, you know how the story will ultimately end.

Ridgeline is a new release by the Western Historical novelist Michael Punke. It is a meticulously detailed (if fictionalized) account of the 1866 battle between the soldiers at the newly constructed Fort Phil Kearny in current-day Wyoming and the combined forces of the Lakota and their allies. Red Cloud was the primary leader, but in this novel, the focus is on the visionary young Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse and his people watch with horror and anger as white soldiers move into the Powder River Valley, a sacred hunting ground, and begin cutting down trees to build a fort.

The army is led by Colonel Henry Harrington, who is more engineer than soldier. His top commanders are a mixed bunch of infantry, artillery, and calvary men. There are also civilians in the group, including women and children (meaning that this group of white soldiers is here to stay). There is also Jim Bridger, a well-known scout, who is beginning to question his role.

For the most part, the Lakota are intelligent, brave, and thoughtful. They are brutal only when necessary. Crazy Horse is a brilliant strategist, but is also humble enough to listen to the wisdom of others and to accept responsibility without demanding praise or credit. The white soldiers, on the other hand, with few exceptions, are argumentative, vainglorious, and largely incompetent. They drink too much. They are undisciplined and ill-trained. The villain of the novel, Lieutenant Grummond, is the worst of the worst, even mistreating his pregnant wife.

Telling the story from multiple viewpoints, the author sets the stage for an epic battle. Some chapters are less gripping than others, occasionally slowing the pace in the first part of the book. But overall, the multifaceted stage setting works, bringing the reader deeply into the time and place. The tension is there from the beginning, building slowly, until the action explodes in the final chapters.

This is a wonderfully written Western that is an old-fashioned historical adventure but with more modern sensibility. It’s not a feel-good story, but it is a satisfying read.

Fantastically interesting book, even if you don't know much about the time period.

I know very little about this period in history, and as such cannot speak to the historical accuracy, but having enjoyed The Revenant I knew I had to give this title a read. It was incredibly engrossing, a well written and researched telling of Crazy Horse, and the US expansion west ward.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for an advanced copy of this new novel.

Ridgeline is the latest historical fiction novel by Michael Punke author of The Revenant, which was turned into a Oscar winning film. Both deal with men driven to extremes, and what men and women will do to survive, physically or their way of life. The struggle for the Native tribes is their loss of their hunting grounds, for the invasive army the boredom of being far from home, their own worse natures and finally their lives. The story climax is a bloody conflict between these two groups, I'm not surprising anyone by sharing this.

The research is quite good, and Mr. Punke has tried to keep he historical at a higher balance than the fiction. In fact he even explains, for narrative reasons some of the changes he made and why. The writing is rich and authentic. You feel, smell and know what the characters are experiencing, with plenty of writer tricks to keep a reader engaged. I call them tricks not to disparage, but to show the care that he brings to each page. The repeated use of the work "Ridgeline" by all the characters is especially interesting.

There are no villains, well maybe a drunken cad in uniform, nor are there heroes. Just people. And they come and go in the book, sometimes with a ending, sometimes just disappearing into the pages. However they are all distinctive. Even the horses seem to have more character development than most main characters in novels. I can't praise this story enough. Perfect for western readers, historical fiction fans, or just those who enjoy great writing.

Ridgeline, by Michael Punke, stands out first by having the best title ever. If you've ever explored NE Wyoming, then you know what I mean. It's all about the ridgelines, and what beyond they hide.

Punke's account of Fetterman's Fight is historical fiction at its best. The pacing is perfect, evoking an era when everything took longer than today. It also portrays a brilliant strategic plan, executed with perfection by Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and the other Lakota, Cheyanne, and Arapaho warriors when blindsided the US cavalry and infantry and ultimately won back the Powder River Valley (for a few years anyway).

It's risky for an author to fictionalize a critical historical event where there is not much detail known and historical documents present conflicting views. But Ridgeline works. First, the author wrote an extensive afterward to delineate the fictional liberties taken and where conflicting accounts appear in the historical record. Including this explanation takes historical fiction up a notch for me.

Most of all, though, the story is riveting. If you enjoy US Historical fiction and Western fiction in particular, this novel will take you right to the Powder River Basin. I love Punke's attention to details - small details many authors would leave out but, when included, help transport the reader to the time and place of the events. And it never felt like a lecture.

Ridgeline comes out in June, so I recommend grabbing a copy for your summer reading now. I'm on a multi-month road trip, and one of the highlights will be exploring the sites and National Monuments described in the novel. Maybe I'll see you there!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.