'A DROVER'S BLANKET' REVIEWS

Clancy Tucker,

              I have just read two of your books.  Gunnedah Hero and A Drover’s Blanket.  FANTASTIC!  I couldn’t put them down, I read the Gunnedah Hero first as suggested when I looked at them first on Amazon.

Thank you for the enjoyment.  Is there a follow up?

I’m now looking at Sheeza and Kick- Ass Tyler.  I’m not sure which other ones.  I really like the Australian settings.

Anyhow! Thanks once again for the enjoyment.

Kindest Regards,

Neil Grimley (GRIM), Queensland, Australia.

Comment on Amazon:

 Great Australian story. Thoroughly enjoyed a great Australian read.

Comment on Amazon:

Another great book not quite as good as 'Gunnedah Hero' but great reading.

4-Star Amazon review by Vicki Case, noted Australian poet  

A nail-biting emotional roller-coaster
ride of adventure.

When you open a Clancy Tucker book you know you will not be disappointed & that you are about to embark on yet another nail-biting emotional roller-coaster ride of adventure.

A Drover's Blanket is the sequel to his award-winning book; Gunnedah Hero.

A Drover's Blanket was an emotional shattering tale of old-fashioned values & respect from the inaugural chapter & tears welled flowed throughout.

Young Gunnie Danson, the great-great-grandson of Smokey Gun Danson leaves the city to live & work on Wiralee Station - the former home of Smokey. He has read Smokey's journey about his adventure up the long paddock during a bad drought - had it published - & now yearns to live the lifestyle. 

Living & working on the land is not for the faint heart-hearted. Gunnie is faced with his own crisis's - having valuable & irreplaceable property stolen; his uncle ill-health; the disappearance of a friend when her plane goes down & so much more.

I encourage everyone to get a copy & read Gunnedah Hero & A Drover's Blanket. You will not be disappointed as Clancy sends your emotions spiralling into ebbs & flows throughout. Clancy has the incredible ability to make you feel the story - as if you are there - watching it through a viewing window.

A Drover's Blanket is a great story; written by a great Australian author. I guarantee you will be enthralled from the first chapter & your excitement will never wane throughout.

A Drover's Blanket should be made compulsory reading for every school child & their parents.

Another great book Clancy. Thank you so very much for sharing this incredible story with me. I will be forever touched by it.

Vicki Case

Clancy,

Hi. I don't normally send emails like this. However, I finished Gunnedah Hero and A Drover's Blanket. Great books. I couldn't put them down.

I'm an American living near Gosford NSW and commuting to Sydney everyday. The books kept me engaged each day on the train. My only challenge was holding back tears while people sit beside me on the train and look at me funny sniffing. I like to read books dealing with Aussie heritage. And these were great.

Thanks,

Tracy Dumpert

Hi Clancy, 

Just finished 'A Drovers Blanket', sorry for delay but there were a few
 in front. Bloody great, credit to you. Couldn't put it down. Reckon I 
should get it reviewed over here, would be interesting.

Gary Moore, New Zealand 

Review from Buzzwords Books:

A Drover’s Blanket by Clancy Tucker (Clancy Tucker Publishing)

PB RRP $35.00 including P&H (overseas postage additional) E-book $3.00

ISBN 9780646922713

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

This is the brilliant sequel to the wonderful historical fiction book Gunnedah Hero. A Drover’s Blanket begins with fifteen year old Gunnie at Wiralee Station with his uncle Wirra Danson. After reading the historical documents left to him in his grandfather’s will, Gunnie’s attitude to life changes completely. He knows now that he belongs at Wiralee which has been in his family since 1848. Gunnie’s dream of publishing the historical documents in book form is finally realized.

The neglected Swenson Station, Molly’s old home, is up for auction.  Attending a clearing sale there teaches Gunnie more about his great-great-grandfather Smokey and his love in life, Molly Jane Swenson. He also meets Artie, Molly’s brother who was born after she left home after being battered by her father and ostracised by her family, to join Smokey at Wiralee. Gunnie finds a journal written by Molly in 1910, in a pile of books untouched for years, and makes a deal with the hard, cruel, and unscrupulous Brett Swenson. Gunnie tries to buy the old horse Molly Jane, a direct descendant of Molly’s horse Dusty for Wirra, to keep the line going.

But things start going wrong from the time Gunnie arrives at the farm. Wiralee, the new foal is stolen. Jenni, Gunnie’s best friend, is returning home when her plane goes down. The portrait of The Wiralee Queen is taken from the farm house along with Molly’s journals.

Then, Wirra is diagnosed with a stomach tumour just when he has found a woman to love. Gunnie thinks his presence has brought this on. There are decisions to make and courage is needed. But does Gunnie have what it takes? Who stole Molly’s picture and journal? And will the Aboriginal workers find Jenni?

The story is told in a switching sequence between Wiralee Station – Present Day, and the entries from Molly’s journals, which reveal Molly’s point of view, emotions, love for Smokey, and her back story. We can feel the deep love Smokey and Molly shared; how the drought destroyed her father (along with many other farmers) causing him to sink into deep depression and become a cruel and violent person. We also view the type of family the Dansons were: strong, loving, family oriented, philanthropic, and with an unbreakable bond with the land and its Indigenous owners.

Clancy Tucker has used the diary entries to present historical events which inspire and educate. There is reference to the massacre of Aboriginals in Coniston, 1928; the Wave Hill walk-off, and finally, Wattie Creek. These milestones in Australian Indigenous history are beautifully knitted into the story in a stirring and emotional way. They became starting points for further research about our Australian outback pioneering forebears. This is an excellent series to challenge the mind of young readers of the 8-80 age groups and send them resourcing the history of our early pioneers, whose strength, resilience and humanity inspires.

Magic Billy is the next book in the series, but there will be several exciting individual titles by Clancy Tucker available before that is released.

Available as paperback and e book via Clancy’s blog:

 http://www.clancytucker.blogspot.com.au/p/books.html and Morris Publishing Australia:

http://www.morrispublishingaustralia.com/a-drovers-blanket.html

Dear Clancy, 

I have just finished reading A Drover’s Blanket after re-reading Gunnedah Hero.

I must confess I loved Gunnedah better this time than when I first read it so long ago. It was like travelling an untrodden path  with so many revelations to it. I can’t explain why.

Then I read the sequel.

What can I say. Words fail me and I always fear when words fail me, that my review won’t do justice to the work because there are so many moving things to address.

I learnt so much from these books. They made me Google things to find more about issues you mentioned and other things I knew little about.

 But I will do my best as always.

 I was so inspired by that last page in each book ‘To my reader from…’ So thought –provoking; so meaningful, so valuable!

Thank you, Clancy for these gifts!

 Anastasia Gonis

Freelance Writer, Reviewer & Interviewer

Mob: (+61)0413 044 622

 Clancy,

Someone told me to wait until a perfect time when the book has been thoroughly read to the last sentence before commenting. This time I read to the last sentence and it's quite a torture to wait because last time I couldn't wait and told you before I finished reading how I felt about the story and how you wrote it.

And I felt fulfilled and my heart is warmed with the passion and love, and I dream of these extraordinary people and how you wrote this beautiful story. And, with sadness that many valuable lives had to perish before good time.

I have touched the world of Molly, Smokey, Billie and Gunnie and the time they lived, loved, worked hard and fought all obstacles; their happiness and their suffering.

This is Australia and the people that you present to the world. I am very much impressed when reading about Smokey and Billie that the world of the white and the indigenous mingled into one world and to work side by side to build the kingdom of Wiralee Station, to make it mighty and safe place, and to be a legacy for the next and coming generations. 

The world of Molly and Smokey is alive again through the reading of Molly’s journal, ‘Wiralee Moments’ and the poem, "The Drover's Blanket." I am very much impressed by her courage and intelligence and with great appreciation of how she worked alongside her man to build up a new life, and to create more for Wiralee Station.

And in my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful writings about the young, their lives, their dreams and the concept of a 'Hero' and an honourable man with integrity; to fight for justice and the equality of man.

 This story is also very much alive and flowed with events in Gunnie' s life at Wiralee, and his dream to become a successful farmer like Smokey and people around him are part of the legacy of the former generation; proud of their descendants.

And the last message of Molly  from "The Drover’s Blanket" to Gunnie, "Love ya work, Gun. Love ya work."

And the spirit of the young generation will go on.

And for a Thai like me, it's great to read this story of a very proud Australian.

I love this story. When I think of Australia, I will think of 'Gunnedah Hero' and 'A Drover’s Blanket' for all time.

Anchansiri Sriyananda

Bangkok, Thailand.

 

Hi Clancy,

Just this minute finished 'A Drover’s Blanket' and had to come straight upstairs to email you.  Sorry, I didn’t like it – I loved it!  I had all goosebumps down my spine when I finished it.  I think you did real justice to Molly, you got into her mind very well.  I’m not sure what I like best, although I do like the relationship between Smokey and Billie, so I am definitely looking forward to Billie’s story now. 

 I loved the sketches, they are just what I imagined the characters to look like.  You have a real gift for story telling.

PS  I now think both books would make a great TV series.

Vera Rothwell, NSW, Australia.

What I’ve read so far really captures the essence of what it’s like to live through drought and then expand on what it does to individuals and families. It’s one thing to see a newsreader or presenter on the television in the comfort of a 21st century home with all the mod cons. It’s something totally different to be there with Molly in the heat, sitting on a log in the shade as she adds to her journal. The contrast between the 15 year-olds a century apart is stark.

One explores their potential in a supportive environment, the other to hold on to what is emotionally important while being supportive of her father. You’ve done a great job of capturing the essence of women from the “bush” and womankind in general. Gunnedah Hero is about the development of the young man - Smokey. A Drover’s Blanket is about the effects of that on Smokey’s girlfriend, Molly, and you have shared it from the female perspective. It’s a great read and I look forward to spending more time with Molly (she’s like some of the girls I went to school with).

Kim Stedman

Author, Western Australia

Hi Clancy,

Just to let you know that I couldn’t wait until November to give Iris her birthday present – after all, she is 88 – so I gave it to her early.  She has finished it and loved it also.  I knew she would.

Vera Rothwell