cover image The Taken

The Taken

Mike Kearby, Dorchester, $6.99 mass market (225p) ISBN 978-0-8439-6379-3

Kearby's simplistic historical adventure (after Ambush at Mustang Canyon) flashes back and forth from 1864 Texas, when five-year-old William is taken by Comanche warriors, to 1874 Comanche Territory where his now 17-year-old brother, James, searches for him after having promised his dying mother that he'd find his brother. As James, an expert tracker, follows clues, Kearby profiles William's transformation into Runs Horses, the warrior Cherokee legend says will kill the tai-vo-tovt, a devil spirit. It may do the trick for younger readers—the plot moseys along nicely and there's some shoot-'em-up action—but the flat characters and pedestrian prose will likely turn off readers accustomed to the work of, say, Elmer Kelton. (Nov.)