I have not read a book about the Australian Outback before and this story richly described the setting and the land. It starts off in 1853 where a family living on a small homestead in Victoria are set upon by a gang of bushrangers who kill the parents and leave one of the children, Paddy, badly injured. Paddy and his brother Toby try to take over the land but are then thrown off when their father's loans are bought out. The story follows the boys' vow to wreak vengeance on the gang that slaughtered their parents and take back their land.
The novel was interesting and although slightly predictable in places, jogged along nicely making me want to read to the end. I found the characterisation a little formulaic - there were goodies (who were very good) and baddies (who were very bad). A little more subtlety in character building would have been nice. Otherwise a decent read.
The novel was interesting and although slightly predictable in places, jogged along nicely making me want to read to the end. I found the characterisation a little formulaic - there were goodies (who were very good) and baddies (who were very bad). A little more subtlety in character building would have been nice. Otherwise a decent read.