The River of Corn - #BookBeginnings on Friday & The #Friday56

     In school I learned about the conquistadors who explored the Americas -  Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, and others who were portrayed as heroes. Of course, there was more to the story! In The River of Corn, author John Rose Putnam fleshes out the conquests of Hernando de Soto and his armies in a vivid and engrossing tale. The protagonist is an African slave, called "Gomez" by his captors, who yearns for freedom. His point of view provides a different slant on this history and the effects of the conquistadors on Native Americans.
     If this sounds like a dry history, I can assure you it is not. There's drama, romance, friendship, and treachery, and a great plot to keep you turning pages. Readers who enjoy historical fiction, lots of action, and a compelling story will definitely like The River of Corn.

FYI: I have previously featured Putnam's Hangtown Creek (a California Gold Rush novel) on my blog HERE.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Length of Book: 203 Pages
Amazon Link: The River of Corn (Only 99¢ in ebook format!!)
Author Website: John Rose Putnam
(You can read Chapter 1 from Putnam's newest book on his website.)

Book Beginnings:
     The thunder of many animals running together grew louder. He tensed when far more creatures than he had fingers to count loomed into view. Larger than the forest elk, each carried a warrior on its back. The tales of the old ones, so often mocked by the young, were true.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
You will soon see the true wealth of the Chicora, my friend, for we go to the heart of my country along the River of Corn that is our very soul. But much trouble besets my people there for the plague passes up the river even as we speak. The Chicora suffer terribly from it.

Synopsis:

In 1540 Hernando de Soto and 600 Spanish conquistadors crossed the Savannah River into what is now South Carolina and thus entered the empire of the Chicora, the largest and most powerful Native American civilization in the Southeast. Modern archaeologists have yet to find any trace of that once vibrant society. 

Although now considered a lost civilization, when the Spanish arrived the Chicora were led by a beautiful queen and had a magnificent temple filled with the remains of their honored ancestors. Did Hernando de Soto, a ruthless conquistador with a lust for gold, bring about their downfall? THE RIVER OF CORN is a powerful tale of the destruction of these American Indians told by an experienced South Carolina fiction writer who spent his youth in the locales he writes about, places that match the Spanish accounts almost exactly.

Who were the Chicora? What really happened to them?

               

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