This 682 page (in paperback) novel focuses on the impact of the railroads on this country. The main characters are Louis Kent, Michael Boyle, and Gideon Kent. Louis is the son of Amanda, who comes down the line of the Kent family not tainted by "Fletcher blood." Michael was Amanda's personal assistant and helped raise Louis after Amanda was killed. Gideon is the son of Jephtha Kent, who is a Methodist minister in New York City.
Michael reads the best of all the characters. In previous novels, he left his employ with Louis after a dispute over profiteering during the Civil War. At this time, he is now working on the railroad as it attempts to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. The goal of his line is to get to the 100th meridian before weather stops them. Along the way, he is sorting out his own principles. Following his service during the Civil War, he has developed a general disdain for fighting of any kind and loathes when he is forced into it. So many time he tries to just turn and walk away, but events seem to just draw him right back into fighting.
Along the way he also meets up with Hannah Dorn, the daughter of a German immigrant who is trying to make a profit selling whiskey to the railroad workers. Hannah disproves of her father's money-making scheme and knows it could get him killed, along with her younger brother who is out working with him. Michael is drawn to her after she challenges all that he believes and feels. He is also trying to overcome thoughts of Louis' wife Julia. Michael all but raped her in the last novel, and feelings of guilt as well as desire still reside within him.
I found Michael to be the best-honed character of the lot. Jakes seems to have gotten a real feel for him, and the work he does on the railroad. It is a fascinating read, especially when Michael meets up with an outlaw who turns out to be one of Jephtha's boys who was believed killed in the Civil War. His experiences during and after have caused Jeremiah to have a very callous attitude about killing people - and he has become very good at it as well. This also helps Michael examine who he is and who he wants to be.
While the character of Michael was written so well, I didn't find the other two to be as believable.
We are given hardly any information on Louis or any look into his life. He seems to be motivated by power and money, though what he needs more money for is beyond me. It cannot be to leave to his family, since his wife, Julia, has taken their son and left him after becoming involved in the woman's suffrage movement (fodder for the next novel). He becomes involved in the struggle between Jay Gould and "Commodore" Vanderbilt for the Erie Railroad. It is all a game to them, and I found the whole interaction that went on to not be interesting most of the time. I guess because I did not feel that I knew any of the characters involved enough to care about them, it wasn't that interesting to me.
Gideon was perhaps the character I felt was the most wasted potential. He has a fortune waiting for him from the gold mines in California, yet he keeps his wife and child living in squalor in a shack near the railroad yards where he works in Jersey City. I could maybe understand a man being too proud to lean back on the money, but I would think that once a child came into the picture, he would think about what is best for her - providing a good education; having a decent home where he don't have to worry about keeping them warm; not having his wife have to take in sewing just so they can put food on the table. I just found it totally hard to believe that a man with these resources behind him would not fall back on them.
This is especially true when he begins to get "Union Fever" as he sees the way workers are treated. He is especially affected after two incidents occur in the yard where he works. In one, a man is left with no legs, and unable to work. His pregnant wife hangs herself since she doesn't know how to cope with three kids to feed and a husband who is an invalid. In the other, Gideon is working one snowy night coupling railroad cars together when everyone else has called in sick. His best friend is killed during the night. Again, the family is left behind with five mouths to feed and no source of income.
Gideon uses the fact that he is Louis' cousin to get money for the families, but almost gets himself killed in the process. It also ends up having a disastrous effect on Louis' schemes within the Erie board. I still found the whole situation hard to believe - that Gideon would continue to live in squalor while attempting to form a Union in the Railroad Yards. I could see if he drew only a small enough amount so that he was not lauding it over the workers he was trying to organize, but I really didn't see the point of his entire lifestyle.
Jakes most definitely wanted to show the roots of the Union movement in this country, but choosing to do so through a man who was wealthy beyond belief but refused to touch the money fell short. Perhaps having Michael be the Unionizer would have read better, but we'll never know.
I can only recommend this book in that you have to read it to complete the series. The character of Michael is a good read, but much of the rest of the story here left me wanting.
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