Fortune's Son (The Tasmanian Tales, #1) in Aussie Readers

May 19, 2017 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, reviewing-by-request, first-in-a-series, own-read, 2017-release, historical-fiction, autographed-book, arc, first-reads-winner

When fourteen year old Luke Tyler called to see his sister Becky where she worked at Sir Henry Abbot’s home, his disgust and horror turned to rage when he saw her being violated by the man himself. The result of Luke defending Becky was fifteen years hard labour on the notorious prison farm in remote Tasmania. Just that quickly, Luke and his family had their lives changed forever…

Four long, hard years later Luke made his escape, blending into the rugged bush and living rough for weeks on end. Bu When fourteen year old Luke Tyler called to see his sister Becky where she worked at Sir Henry Abbot’s home, his disgust and horror turned to rage when he saw her being violated by the man himself. The result of Luke defending Becky was fifteen years hard labour on the notorious prison farm in remote Tasmania. Just that quickly, Luke and his family had their lives changed forever…

Four long, hard years later Luke made his escape, blending into the rugged bush and living rough for weeks on end. But when Luke discovered his old mentor lived nearby, his fortunes changed for the better and in the company of Daniel Campbell, his wife Elizabeth and daughter Belle, he knew happiness again. Luke’s beloved dog, a Newfoundland he’d named Bear was his constant companion – the local wildlife; devils and tigers, kept him sane. But there was trouble ahead…

Escaping to South Africa devastated Luke – leaving everyone and everything he loved – but it was either that or hanging. The following years found Luke forming great friendships and the work he did - saving the wildlife of Africa from poachers, building a school for the local children - he dedicated to his mentor Daniel. But his thoughts didn’t stray from Belle for long; he missed her always. When shattering news came his way, Luke didn’t hesitate to return to Tasmania. But what would be the outcome? He was aware what the consequences could be – but was he prepared for them?

Fortune’s Son is an intensely emotional, gripping portrayal of the harsh realities of the late 1800s in Australia’s history by Aussie author Jennifer Scoullar. Outstandingly written, in my opinion this is Scoullar’s best work to date. The beautiful portrayal of Tasmania’s remote highlands, the bush settings, the wild animals which were in danger from the local farmers and the arrogance of the landowners over the poor – all done in a way to make the reader feel deeply involved in the story. The vivid scenery of South Africa also benefitted from her words. I have no hesitation in highly recommending Fortune’s Son to historical fiction fans. Absolutely love the cover too!

With thanks to Penguin Random House for my ARC to read and review. ...more

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Jun 15, 2017 Janine rated it it was amazing

What a magnificent story, I believe this is part one of a trilogy to come. The thing I love about Jennifer's books is that you learn something - the story of the Tasmanian Tigers and Tasmanian devils. This is a great historical fiction book and a captivating story about a boy Luke who loved nature and was mentored by his teacher, fell in love with Belle, his daughter, and wanted nothing more than to live a life with her.

Circumstances see him come into wealth, but he must flee to another land to ...more

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Apr 11, 2019 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are

Moving from the wilderness of Tasmania, to the Mainland, to the diamond fields of South Africa, and back again, Fortune’s Son is the first book in Jennifer Scoullar’s sweeping historical saga, The Tasmanian Tales.

After defending his sisters honour from her lecherous and powerful employer, Sir Henry Abbott, Lucas Tyler is unjustly sentenced to 15 years hard labour in the remote highlands of Tasmania. Forced to leave his family, his mentor -Damian Campbell, and his dreams of a future with Belle Ca Moving from the wilderness of Tasmania, to the Mainland, to the diamond fields of South Africa, and back again, Fortune’s Son is the first book in Jennifer Scoullar’s sweeping historical saga, The Tasmanian Tales.

After defending his sisters honour from her lecherous and powerful employer, Sir Henry Abbott, Lucas Tyler is unjustly sentenced to 15 years hard labour in the remote highlands of Tasmania. Forced to leave his family, his mentor -Damian Campbell, and his dreams of a future with Belle Campbell behind, Lucas endures four years of deprivation before escaping, along with a Newfoundland he names Bear. With a bounty on his head, Lucas must reinvent himself, not once but twice, in his quest to have his revenge on the Abbott family, and seek redemption from the love of his life.

Luke is an appealing and well crafted character. It is his misfortunes, challenges, and successes, that drive the story. While he is generally an admirable man, resourceful, with a genuine love for animals, Luke also has his flaws, which serve to make him a more believable character.

The enduring romance between Damian and Belle perhaps lacks originality. It’s a fairly standard trope where the lovers are unequal in status, and therefore, in Victorian society, doomed from the start. That said, it is a love story on an epic scale which Scoullar portrays well. With the idealism of youth, Belle and Lucas ignore the realities, and are faced with a number of obstacles and decades apart before there is any chance of a reunion.

Jennifer Scoullar, herself an environmental advocate, wonderfully evokes the historic wilds of nineteenth century Tasmania. Damien Campbell’s role as a conservationist allows the author to inform us about the harm early pastoralists and miners caused to the land, and their role in the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger. I found this fascinating and really enjoyed this aspect of the novel. Similarly I liked the author’s descriptions of South Africa, and Luke’s efforts to protect the native wildlife.

A compelling tale of love, betrayal, revenge and redemption The Fortune’s Son is a heartfelt, engaging novel of historical fiction, that reminds me of the epic scope of the Australian classic, The Man From Snowy River.

I’ll be sure to follow it up with The Lost Valley. ...more

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Jul 19, 2018 Bree T rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, kindle-version, arc, australian

This was a wonderful, multi-layered story that was engrossing from the very first page.

Luke Tyler is a teenage boy, coming to get his sister from her place of work, at the mansion of a local rich man. When he sees her being horribly mistreated, he comes to her aid, passionately defending her in a situation where he and his family can never be the winners. Sentenced to hard labour, he is taken to a prison farm in a remote and cold part of Tasmania. There’s not enough food, the labour is backbreak This was a wonderful, multi-layered story that was engrossing from the very first page.

Luke Tyler is a teenage boy, coming to get his sister from her place of work, at the mansion of a local rich man. When he sees her being horribly mistreated, he comes to her aid, passionately defending her in a situation where he and his family can never be the winners. Sentenced to hard labour, he is taken to a prison farm in a remote and cold part of Tasmania. There’s not enough food, the labour is backbreaking. But Luke is smart and able to use his intelligence to get ahead, until a bizarre incident leads to his escape deep into the wilderness.

Luke is resourceful, determined and clever. He’s able to survive in situations not many could, using the knowledge imparted to him by Daniel Campbell, a man he had spent time with as a boy and the father of Belle, a girl that means the world to him. When he gets the chance to work with Daniel again, albeit under a different persona to avoid detection as a wanted man, he takes it to improve his knowledge and work to protect the beautiful Tasmanian wilderness.

Australia has a very unique flora and fauna but when Europeans ‘arrived’ in this country, they logged huge amounts of old growth forests for farmland and various other reasons and attempted to replicate their regimented English rose gardens. For a lot of the part, the climate is highly unsuitable to their preferences and a lot of our native species were decimated during this time of happily chopping anything down that stood in the way. This book is almost like a love letter to the Tasmanian wilderness and the character of Daniel Campbell is a man well ahead of his time, buying his property for the sole purpose of preserving the wildlife corridor. He enjoys cataloguing the local species and studying them but only to gain information and understanding and Luke is a willing pupil. A strong presence in this book is that of the Tasmanian tiger, a species now believed to be extinct (that’s the official classification, although there are occasionally claims of {unproven} sightings). The Tasmanian tiger was largely believed to be responsible for the loss of large amounts of sheep, being referred to as a vicious wolf that hunted in packs. There were bounties for tiger pelts and the combination of encouraged hunting, the introduction of dogs and destruction of their habitat all contributed to their disappearance. It’s become almost like a mythical creature to modern day Australians, I remember studying them in school and becoming fascinated by them. It was really interesting to read about them in this book, to get a little glimpse of them as wild creatures and how they fit into their environment.

This is also a story of enduring love between two people of unequal status and class and the complications of such a love. Belle and Luke were childhood friends, the innocence of youth chaperone enough as Belle also loved nature and learned from her father, Daniel Campbell. The Campbells were also somewhat progressive parents, raising Belle to be independent, to experience nature and make her own decisions but when she got older, that freedom only went so far and her mother took some drastic actions to protect Belle and make sure that her future would be secure. Despite the many troubles that befall them, both Luke and Belle’s love for each other isn’t diminished by distance or separation. You couldn’t help but want for them to find each other again, to be able to be together and just…..live.

I found myself hooked by Luke’s story from the very beginning. Watching him grow from a brash but honourable teenager determined to protect his sister to a grown man who makes the most of himself in a far away land was a really enjoyable journey. I loved the devotion to the land in the Tasmanian setting and that continued when the book focused on South Africa. There’s also a strong focus on workers and their rights as well, and the differences between the haves and the have nots. I haven’t read a huge amount of books set in Tasmania, especially during this time period as well, and it’s also not a place I’ve ever been to (although I really want to go) so I loved how strongly the setting presented. This was the sort of story which has so many different elements that it should appeal to a really broad audience. I can’t wait to read the next book, The Lost Valley.

***Please note: A copy of this book was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more

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Sep 05, 2018 Joanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aus, saga, romance, historical-fiction, 2018

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Dec 15, 2018 PattyMacDotComma marked it as to-read

Shelves: australian-author, aa-ce, historical-fiction, kindle, aa

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