My heart sank when I saw the family tree at the start of the book, but soon I was swept up in the epic story of the McCullough family, standing in for the history of Texas. The novel’s structure is ambitious, told in three separate voices spanning the years from 1849 to 2012, jumping back and forth in time. Once you’ve got to grips of who’s who and when, the story really takes off and delivers everything you’d expect from a great Western – and more. Cowboys and Indians, bloody gunfights, family feuds, cattle rustlers, oil barons, betrayals and honourable deeds make a rich tapestry. Above all is the glorious land, the land overrun by white settlers, hard fought for, over-grazed, sucked dry of oil. The greed for land that’s causing a violent history repeating itself endlessly. A cracking good read.

This is the first book I have read from this author and it isn't the type of novel I would normally choose. However I'm very pleased to have tried it as I was pleasantly surprised. I personally found it quite hard to get into the book, it took me a good few chapters to really start to enjoy the read. If this happens to you please persevere as it is worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the novel flipped back and forth between different members of the family, telling each of their stories in sections. The family tree at the front was invaluable for reminding who was who at the start. I love books which make me want to read up more about the subject matter. This book did just that. There were lots of terms that I hadn't heard of before, relating to the land and people that the book is set around, and I wanted to research them to allow me to understand the book better. To me this is a sign of a good book. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone and I will be looking for more from this author. I couldn't put the book down, so I was a very happy reader.

The Son retells the bygone era of Cowboys and Indians, only in this book it also relives the culture of the native Indians and how they survived hundreds of years living side by side with nature, until the white man comes along. This is a fascinating story of the of a family starting with Eli McCullough, who as a boy is captured by Indians and forced brutally into manhood, he learns skills from the Indians that most white man will never have the chance to gain. Eli McCullough although completely self-reliant has a tough time being accepted into society and is feared by many. The story travels though the Texan world of horses and cattle and so onward though the years of oil which follow and the generations of the McCullough family along with their secrets. This is an amazing book filled with the fantastic knowledge of the warring factions of the Wild West.

At first my heart sank when I saw the family tree at the start of the book, but soon I was swept up in the epic story of the McCullough family, standing in for the history of Texas. The novel’s structure is ambitious, told in three separate voices spanning the years from 1849 to 2012, jumping back and forth in time. Once you’ve got to grips of who’s who and when, the story really takes off and delivers everything you’d expect from a great Western – and more. Cowboys and Indians, bloody gunfights, family feuds, cattle rustlers, oil barons, betrayals and honourable deeds make a rich tapestry. Above all is the glorious land, the land overrun by white settlers, hard fought for, over-grazed, sucked dry of oil. The greed for land that’s causing a violent history repeating itself endlessly. A cracking good read.

This book was an inspired piece of writing by Philipp Meyer. I normally do not like books with timeline jumps but this was an exceptionally well thought out and pieced together, well written book. I greatly enjoyed following the story through the years and this stunning epic had me enthralled all the way to the final page. I would certainly recommend this stunning and impressive story to be read by all. Philipp Meyer is an author I will keep a lookout for in the future and will certainly try his previous book American Rust