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  • Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle by N.D. Wilson
  • April Spisak
Wilson, N.D. Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle; illus. by Forrest Dickison. Tegen/HarperCollins,
2016 [336p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-232726-0 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-232728-4 $9.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-7

It’s difficult to sum up the plot efficiently in this clever, twisting, time-traveling tale. Sam’s a kid who lives on a ranch with a bunch of ragtag boys, but he’s often off in daydreams, or memories, of horrific Old West–style adventures where he and his sister are murdered again and again. In this reality, the Vulture wants him dead for good, Father Tiempo wants to help, somewhere in there Sam gets snakes to replace his broken arms (which gains him speed and shooting skill), and there are lots of shootouts thrown in as well. What could be a mess is a glorious mix of adventure, Western-style justice, and time-traveling mishaps, and Sam is a gripping protagonist, struggling to make sense of his baffling life on the fly even while he tries to save himself from being murdered once again. It’s an odd and unfortunate choice that most of the mysticism focuses the Native American characters and renders them more exotic than realistic, especially in an Old West setting; even with this concern, though, this is a deep, complex, and rich novel that manages to sneak in some intense emotional impact among the gunfire and stagecoach hijinks. Thoughtful readers may want to start over as soon as they finish to sort through the details with more care, and if broken, gritty Sam is at the helm of this new series, there is much worth anticipating for the next entry.

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