{ The Long Way Home by Kevin Bannister - TLC Book Tour }

Pages: 348 Pages
Publisher: Fireship Press (September 15, 2016)

Set in the turbulent times of the War of Independence, ‘The Long Way Home’ follows the lives of Thomas Peters and Murphy Steele who are friends, former slaves, fellows-in-arms and leaders of the Black Brigade. Their real-life story is an epic adventure tale as they battle bounty hunters, racism, poverty and epidemic in their adopted country after the war.

‘The Long Way Home’ has resonated with readers around the world as an unforgettable account of courage, hope and determination triumphing over despair and injustice. Thomas Peters, thoughtful and charismatic, and Murphy Steele, strong and impulsive, lead their followers on an inspirational search for a place where they can be free.

Reviews:

“The author has written about such a sensitive topic and in a very beautiful way. The reader will become immersed in a reality that may seem too distant, but written in a language that conjures very vivid images, a tale that will speak to the hearts of readers with eloquence. Bannister has successfully combined historical facts with glowing imagination to deliver a masterpiece that will be well received by lovers of historical fiction. His language succinctly portrays the world of a slave and the injustices prevalent in that world.”–Romuald Dzemo, author of Courage To Embrace Yourself and You Can’t Be A Failure

“Kevin Bannister’s Long Way Home is a novel that grabs your attention from the start and keeps you riveted to the last word. . It is written around an era where the life of an Indigenous North American, and a person of African roots, were deemed by Caucasians to be easily expendable and not a thing to trouble a conscience. It highlights in great detail the fact that when greed and self interest came to the forefront during the American Revolution that Caucasian brothers had no compulsion about inflicting unspeakable barbarities upon each other. An unforgettable read!”–Dr. Daniel N. Paul, C.M., O.N.S., LLD, DLIT, Mi’kmaw eldering, author of We Were Not The Savages, Order of Canada recipient, journalist and lecturer, www.danielpaul.com

Purchase Links

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About Kevin Bannister

Kevin Bannister is a rancher and writer living in the beautiful foothills of central Alberta. He would like Thomas Peters and Murphy Steele to be celebrated as the heroes that they were in their lifetimes and to be inspirations to young people everywhere to persevere in the face of bigotry, poverty, government indifference or any other adversity. Check out Kevin’s website for more info HERE.

 

My Thoughts:

This was a hard book to read, not in a bad way, but in a "you can't help but feel for these two people and wish you could have done something for them".

The setting is the American Revolution and so a tumultuous time in our country, and in the middle of this unsettling time, are Murphy and Thomas.  Two slaves, who want nothing more than their freedom, and so when the British armies guarantee that in exchange for them fighting on their side, Thomas and Murphy accept.

It's like that whole stuck between a rock and a hard place, where they felt like they needed to do what was asked of them in exchange for their freedom, but it also meant at times doing things that they were morally against.  That in itself is not a foreign concept when you talk about military men and women, but it's never an easy thing to endure.

What we get in The Long Way Home is a story of courage, of human self sacrifice and perseverance during one of the most important times in our history.

Being the history buff and lover that I am, this book was right up there with some of my favorites.