Infused with historical and military detail ... this is a rich story of everyday soldiers.
-The Denver Post
This tale of two battalions as they cross the deserts of New Mexico into southern California provides an exciting story of survival. -Historical Novel Society
...a scrupulously researched book...attention to
detail is meticulously thorough... the profusion of factual information
brings...this not-so-widely-known time in history to life. As an enthusiastic history
buff, I was captivated... -Pacific Book Review
A compelling coming-of-age story that brings history to life. It's highly
recommended reading that should be in any collection strong in historical
novels and early Mormon history alike. -Midwest Book Review
With his debut novel, Hibbard stakes a claim in the lineage of adept chroniclers of the American West, such as A.B. Guthrie and Richard S. Wheeler . . . while rising to dazzling heights with unforgettable characters and pulse-quickening drama. -Big Sky Journal
This deeply researched depiction of the U. S. military's longest march, told in evocative prose, brings a little known yet uniquely American story to life. -Montana Historical Society
Scott G. Hibbard offers us an
astonishing, vivid, meticulously researched morality allegory... an elaborate
tapestry made authentic as Hibbard nails period dialogue, inner and spoken that
is consistently and completely credible. I've not appreciated the fights humans
pick in such unforgiving landscapes so thoroughly since Cormac McCarthy's Blood
Meridian. -Tom
Harpole, author of Regarding Willingness
Scott Hibbard...understands the past
is a foreign country and knows the gritty reality of the nineteenth-century
West in his bones. He has a positive genius for plotting and pacing forgotten
but compelling stories inhabited by believable, engaging characters whose charm
and humanity are sure to win your heart. -Will
Bagley, historian and author of The Mormon Rebellion, with David L.
Bigler
Scott
Hibbard's...gorgeous writing puts the reader right there, whether surviving on
mesquite beans, panting through a parched throat across the scorching desert,
or giving birth in primitive conditions. -
Margaret Rodenberg, author of Finding Napoleon: A Novel
Scott's...writing
does what every good writer wishes: It lifts you off the page. -Yvonne J. Seng, author of Men in Black Dresses
Beyond The Rio Gila will transport
you to a time in our history that Scott Hibbard skillfully breathes new life in
to...his compelling characters come alive in a flowing narrative that places you
firmly in each scene. -Mike Torreano, author of The Reckoning, The Renewal, and The Trade
Fine writing and a gripping story...with hardship and
danger you can feel in your teeth. A deeper level touches the courage and
vulnerability of the women... In the tradition of greats like A. B. Guthrie and
James Welch, by an author born and raised a Montana rancher. -Neil McMahon, author of Lone
Creek and Dead Silver
Beyond
the Rio Gila is not just a historical novel; it is classic, a well-crafted
story with sophisticated characters, a smartly written plot, and humor that
sinks its teeth to the very core of the reader. -Five
Star review by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Beyond
the Rio Gila is a highly literate piece of compelling historical fiction... The
exquisite prose...lends an incredibly authentic voice to this intrepid tale... A
wonderful and complex historical recollection. - Five Star review by
Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite
