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|  | | Horse Behavior; The Nature of Horses
A primer on equine welfare.
| |  | | Horses They Rode
Horses They Rode
By Sid Gustafson
Riverbend Publishing, 288 pages, $24.95
Bozeman author and veterinarian Sid Gustafson has the rare ability to take you from your seat and place you directly in his novel.
He accomplishes this in Horses They Rode not with the all-too-common literary tactics we are used to, but through the use of fascinating imagery. While giving the reader familiar points in Montana to use as reference, Gustafson Brings his readers into a different countryside than the one we see from our windows.
Gustafson brings his reader into a world where Indians and cowboys live together, and before the novel even progresses, the affect of this relationship, however strained, is evident to the reader. The nomadic qualities of Gustafson’s characters echo throughout the novel and resonate in any reader who has felt an itch for exploration.
If you are interested in opening a book that will captivate your imagination while encouraging introspection, you need not look further than Horses They Rode. You may put this novel down wondering about the spirit of the mountains, the relationships you have with people around you, or even the relationship you have with yourself. This is, of course, not surprising when you realize Gustafson is using his own experiences to masterfully shape his characters.
Expect to read one of the finer stories related to quickly dissipating Montana culture, and one of the most impressive novels written by a Montana author this year. Hold on to your emotions, because there will most likely be an instant when Gustafson is able to open your mind in a way that is truly fascinating.
Justin Easter
span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; ">Washington State Magazine Review summer 07br />
HORSES THEY RODE, a novelbr />
By Sid Gustafson '79br />
Riverbend Publishing, Helena, Montana, 2006br />
Midway through Sid Gustafson’s new novel, Horses They Rode, I found myself put in mind of all the second chances I have had. His take on the reknitting of family, friendship, and one man’s tumultuous life is such a story—a tale of second chances where hope e | |  | | Prisoners of Flight
Two former Vietnam Prisoners of War take flight in a small plane. Freed from the surly bonds of earth, they soar until engine trouble forces them to land in the wilderness of Montana.in the wilderness, where they encounter the wild nature of themselves. themselves.
span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 21px; ">In Prisoners of Flight, Sid Gustafson’s veterinarian protagonist refers often to angels: “We haven’t heard from our angels in a long time. But they’re out there . . . waiting somewhere in the sky.” /span>
div class="ContentParagraph">Two ex-military pilots, Gustafson’s protagonist and his comrade, Henson, crash their plane into wilderness alongside Montana’s | |  | | Swift Dam
Veterinarian Fingers Vallerone, rides to find the American Indian survivors of the Flood of '64.
span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px;">It had been a long snowy winter and spring. The rivers were late rising, and the mountains held onto a pure white snow-cover. Rain fell upon the deep winter snow the day before the Flood of '64. Waters rose, the rivers raged. The dam failed to hold the Birch Creek flow, and broke, giving way to a wall of water and drowning the Indians. /span>
div align="left" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 1px; line-height: 1px;">font color="#000000" class="size10 LucidaSansUnicode10" style="font-size: 13 | |  | | The Suspense of Loneliness
A letterpress edition collection of short stories published by Birch Brook Press.
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