The Forty-Niners by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone is about the California Gold Rush. The Bennett family have a family farm in the Ozarks but after two years of extreme drought are fixing to lose it at any time. Upon hearing of the gold rush and the chance of becoming rich, the father Verne Bennett and the two older brothers, Steve and Flint, almost immediately decide that this is their chance of making it big and decide to head west. The youngest brother, Cord Bennett, is reluctant to join but upon realizing there is nothing holding him to the Ozarks decides to join them. Steve and Flint work on gathering the necessary supplies, without revealing how exactly they are working on doing so, before they head west to follow the trail. They winter at a fort where they end up joining with a wagon train heading for the Gold Rush as well. Soon they head out for what will ultimately become their destiny, even if none of them have yet realized that. However, the journey is not as easy as they had hoped with harsh weather, buffalo stampedes and attacks by both natives and outlaws along the way.
The book was actually pretty good but I must admit I have limited familiarity with the western genre. It did a good job of accurately portraying the dangers and limitations of the type of journey the Bennett family faced and the various ways people would have dealt with them. I felt like the atmosphere and culture they were in was authentic, at least as much as it can be all things considered. The story did feel like it was playing up the sense of adventure that would have driven people like the Bennett family but I also can’t say for sure that it would have been inaccurate. I did find myself drawn in pretty quickly and found myself rather liking the character of Cord Bennett but I also quickly disliked the older brother Steve. Flint was the kind of character that just faded into the background a lot of the time and was mostly supporting cast so I don’t really feel like I got to know him very well. The plot and storyline were well done but also extremely predictable so I found myself anticipating the end from pretty early on and was somewhat disappointed by the fact that I was right about how it would play out. Don’t get me wrong as it was still a pretty good read but one that I probably won’t read again. I did enjoy it though and am happy to give it four out of five stars.
This is a pretty decent example of a western and would hold the most appeal to readers who enjoy westerns. As with all westerns it does contain violence and numerous adult references though nothing explicit for that last part. While it is aimed at adult readers it could be read by most teens with little problem as there was nothing that would have been overly inappropriate for that age range. I honestly would have no issue with recommending it to them. Keep in mind the standards for the genre when considering this but also know that it is fairly mild for the genre as well from what I understand. A good read and a worthy recommendation for those who enjoy westerns. If you decide to try it out, consider sharing your thoughts in the comments.