Separations »

The Grand Canyon country of the 1880s is the setting of Oakley Hall's compelling new novel. As the plot unfolds, the West of the late nineteenth century is displayed in all its vastness and complexity. Hall carries us from the wild, perilous depths of the Canyon to the drawing rooms of San Francisco, from the desolate Mormon settlements and Indian camps of the Southwest to the haciendas of Old California. And he reveals once again his consummate power as a storyteller as he brings to life the fierce conflicts of the day - between rapacious mining and railroad barons eager to exploit the riches of the West and those who would preserve its beauty pristine; between Mormons and Gentiles; between land-hungry whites and beleaguered Indians; between men and the women they would love, and use. And the fiercest conflict of all - between man and nature.

Publishers Weekly

In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell led the first full-length exploration of the Grand Canyon. Twelve years later, a greedy tycoon leads another canyon expedition, determined to discredit the famous explorer and to thwart the move to protect the Grand Canyon as public land. Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee Hall's 21st book (after Apaches, 1986) is an engrossing account of how Charles Daggett, a Denver mining and railroad baron, attempts to mask his venal designs on the gorgeous territory by publicizing the expeditions as a rescue of a white woman known to be held captive by Indians in the area. His real intentions are sensed by his ragtag party, especially Asa Haden, a young writer hired to chronicle the trip and refute Powell's original journals. Floating down the raging Colorado River in wooden boats, the party also includes a geologist, a photographer, a surveyor, an Irish jailbird, a Mormon, a half-Indian guide and a young woman who is a murderer. The group is a caldron of tension that soon erupts. Plagued by drownings, a sniper and other trying events, the survivors split at Separation Canyon, some intending to climb out and walk to safety while the others plan to continue downriver in the one remaining boat. Both groups face unexpected destinies. Hall's compelling story explores human nature surrounded by the most majestic terrain Mother Nature can provide. (May)