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Peter Grant
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Wood, Iron, and Blood: A Classic Western Story Of The California Trail (Annals of Ash Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Peter Grant (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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Sometimes wanderlust skips a generation... but when it strikes, it strikes gold.

In 1852, fourteen-year-old Jeremy Ash rises to his grandfather's challenge and sets out on the adventure of a lifetime – the California Trail.

It's four deadly months and 1,600 merciless miles from the Missouri River to the goldfields of the Sierra Nevada. There's alkali water that'll poison you; desert heat that'll fry your brains; mountain passes that'll crush you; swarms of biting insects that'll drive you mad; deadly diseases that'll plague you; and warrior tribes that may make it lethally clear they don't want you there.

Will the California Trail kill Jeremy, like so many others before him? Or will it make a man out of him?
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  1. Book 1 of 1
    Annals of Ash
  2. Print length
    222 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    January 11, 2022
  6. File size
    611 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09Q99NB1W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sedgefield Press (January 11, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 11, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 611 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 222 pages
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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Peter Grant

Peter Grant

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Peter Grant was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. Between military service, the IT industry and humanitarian involvement, he traveled throughout sub-Saharan Africa before being ordained as a pastor. He later emigrated to the USA, where he worked as a pastor and prison chaplain until an injury forced his retirement. He is now a full-time writer, and married to a pilot from Alaska. They currently live in Texas.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
483 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the writing style well-told, outstanding, and authentic. They also describe the storyline as fine, with plenty of action and details to flesh it out. Readers say the book is a great read with painstaking research and authenticity.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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Writing styleStorylineReading experienceResearch quality
18 customers mention "Writing style"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style well told, logical, and realistic. They also say the book is an outstanding historical novel that reeks of authenticity. Additionally, readers mention that the author creates real people that make the story worth it.

"...his westerns quite a lot, as he is always accurate and his stories are both well written and enjoyable! I think is one of his better westerns...." Read more

"This is an easy reading story set in The old west. Gritty, dirty, and as real as the times...." Read more

"This was a great story, well told, about a guy, Harry, a former navy vet that lost his wife and decided to head to California, taking his grandson..." Read more

"...This retelling of a very challenging time in our nations history is well told, and entertaining.Looking forward to the next installment." Read more

13 customers mention "Storyline"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the storyline fine, exciting, and dangerous. They also say the book has plenty of action and details to flesh it out.

"This was a great story, well told, about a guy, Harry, a former navy vet that lost his wife and decided to head to California, taking his grandson..." Read more

"...Most are not very good. This one was well written. The story was never boring and turned out to be a quick fun read." Read more

"A neat book that really draws you in, historically accurate too!..." Read more

"Plenty of action and dangerous situations of all types (not just gunfights) to keep you interested, with enough...." Read more

11 customers mention "Reading experience"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a great read, with well-told history. They also say it's entertaining.

"...I think is one of his better westerns. Highly recommended book and author, if you haven't read anything of his, give your self a treat and start!" Read more

"...He added an extra at the end on his research.Great read." Read more

"...of a very challenging time in our nations history is well told, and entertaining.Looking forward to the next installment." Read more

"...The story was never boring and turned out to be a quick fun read." Read more

4 customers mention "Research quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well researched and a great story.

"This was an excellent book with so much info I'm sure many of us had no knowledge of for that time period...." Read more

"...Well researched, and even better written, leave yourself time to read it or you will be light on sleep." Read more

"well researched and great story!..." Read more

"Well researched, and a great story...." Read more

A Great Western With A Unique Twist
5 out of 5 stars
A Great Western With A Unique Twist
Bringing new and exciting ideas with basic historical accuracy is a wonderful skill, in my opinion.Anyway; it made this book a very satisfying read.I'll be reading more of Peter Grant's books in other genres also.
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Top reviews from the United States

EMC Paul Schmidt
5.0 out of 5 stars well researched and great story!
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2022
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I have enjoyed every book of Peter Grant's that I have read, and this one continues that tradition! While I keep hoping to see more of his sci-fic (MAXWELL!) books, I must admit that I enjoy his westerns quite a lot, as he is always accurate and his stories are both well written and enjoyable! I think is one of his better westerns. Highly recommended book and author, if you haven't read anything of his, give your self a treat and start!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Just a good story
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
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This is an easy reading story set in The old west. Gritty, dirty, and as real as the times. Especia.ly liked the description of rain filling a holster and ruining the paper cartridges used in the revolvers of the day.
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Atticus Finch
4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, well told.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2022
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This was a great story, well told, about a guy, Harry, a former navy vet that lost his wife and decided to head to California, taking his grandson with him. Keep in mind, he's in his 50s in the story which is set in the 1800s, when wagon trains were heading to California.

The book is about their trip out on the wagon train, and getting setup once they arrive. What's cool about the book is that Peter adapted all the aspects, and incidents from the trip on real stories, from real people. He adapted them to his characters.

Just like with his Ames series, he put a lot of research into how things were back then, which make his westerns even more interesting. He added an extra at the end on his research.

Great read.
3 people found this helpful
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DLR
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, and a great story.
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2022
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The careful research and attention to detail clearly show throughout the story. This retelling of a very challenging time in our nations history is well told, and entertaining.

Looking forward to the next installment.
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BKJ
5.0 out of 5 stars A book of exploration
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2022
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I have read numerous books about wagon trains crossing the western US. Most are not very good. This one was well written. The story was never boring and turned out to be a quick fun read.
One person found this helpful
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Jonathan Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and well written
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022
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A neat book that really draws you in, historically accurate too!
Reading it I found myself thinking about what I needed to buy for the trip, forgetting it was a book!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Western about the real west!
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2022
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Plenty of action and dangerous situations of all types (not just gunfights) to keep you interested, with enough. historical facts to keep things real. Mr Grant has long been one of my favorite authors, and this one doesn't disappoint. Highly recommended, as are his other books.
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SCOTT A SIEMBAB
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
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An easy reading tale of the migration west. It is hard to believe teenagers were capable of so much not that long ago. Amazing how quickly we drive in hours what once took months!
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Top reviews from other countries

Doug Hornby
5.0 out of 5 stars Page turner.
Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2022
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Mr. Grant has again done a superlative job in creating believable characters and
situations for his stories. I am already pining for the next one.
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Pepe
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a Western but a superbly researched historical novel.
Reviewed in Spain on February 7, 2022
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Written in an agile style, this is a real page turner. Makes one wanting to visit the places described in the book. The level of research showed reminds me of the works of Steven M Stirling. It is also a good book for a teenager to receive some education and entertainment.

Characters are well described, and undergo development - they are not cardboard cutouts.
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John Prigent
5.0 out of 5 stars The Western is coming back!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2022
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I used to read a lot of Westerns before they became unfashionable so my public library stopped sheving them, and much later the 'woke' sneered at them Peter Grant has revived the theme with his stories, and I throughly enjoyed reading the new one, just as much as I've enjoyed his previous westerns. This one has shown me a lot about life on the California Trail, with the real hazards not played down and the fictional mass attacks by 'redskins' and outlaws rightly reduced to the minor problem that they were in his chosen period. I can't wait for the next in this new series!
One person found this helpful
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Scott Osmond
4.0 out of 5 stars Coming Of Age On The Californian Trail
Reviewed in Australia on January 21, 2022
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This is a coming of age story. It is also a historically accurate telling of the courage and grit needed by those who built the nation of America. As I've said in previous reviews of westerns by Grant and L'Amour I'm glad I'm a creature of the 21st century! Bugs, weather, hostile natives, muscle powered everything and worst of all pre-germ theory medicine! Give me electricity, the internal combustion engine and modern medical care along with airconditioning! Westerns aren't just about the adventure and exploration for me but remind me of just what people can achieve when necessary. It also makes me grateful to my forbears who built western civilisation where a blind person like myself can live a comfortable, safe and fulfilling life. I look forward to future entries and am wondering which historical events will feature in the next entry.
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JohnD
5.0 out of 5 stars Peter Grant does it again.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2022
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In his Westerns, Peter Grant blends the story with historical facts to make the read far more interesting. With this new series, he's moved back to the era of the great migration to the west coast and the gold rush. The story holds together well with one small mistype (Elvira? She'd give the Indians nightmares.) The appendices detailing facts and figures about the emigrants are fascinating and left me with a greater admiration for those people who made the crossing.

I can only repeat my comment on his other books - 'More please'.
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