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Ben

by Sydney H. Brown

230 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-2193; ISBN 1-4251-0436-3; US$19.09, C$21.95, EUR15.68, £10.98

Ben D'eath must avenge his mother's murder after they arrive in Boston. His many adventures carry him through the opening of "The Wild West" in 1840.

About the Book

The story traces the life and times of Ben D'eath from his boyhood in Europe to his tragic arrival in America in the 1840's. From his battle to recover from near insanity, brought about by the gruesome and horrible murder of his young mother, a French Comtesse, to his hunting down of the killers and the awful vengeance he wrought upon them.

Circumstances compel Ben to grow older in a hurry, and to become a man of iron will and quite relentless determination. Yet there remain within him qualities of great tenderness and sensitivity which are immediately apparent to the women, of all ages, whom he meets in his travels. Fortunately for Ben, the men are less insightful.

Book One deals with the early years of the wagon trains and the western migration of New England farmers and others from the Eastern States, with their experiences among the Dene, the first migrants to populate this great land, and the growing pains of a burgeoning new nation.

Fiction, fantasy, and romance are woven around fact with every effort being made to respect historical accuracy. Legendary figures of the times are met by these pioneers, and the beauty, and sometimes awesome savagery of this huge new country are seen through eyes more accustomed to an older and more settled culture, and to horizons far less distant.

The adult life of our hero passes through the entire incredible panoply of America's most turbulent and romantic period - the opening of the Great Wild West.

About the Author

Sydney Hurst Gladstone Brown was born in London, England, on 30 September 1926.

After completing an early education at an young age, the Second World War shaped much of his informal learning. He trained as a machinist for aircraft engine parts and this later led to a hobby of repairing and rebuilding English sports cars such as the MGa.

An aptitude to roller skating led to ice skating, a short career as a principal skater in Holiday on Ice and, eventually to teaching figure skating which he did in England and then in Canada where he also worked as a machinist.

Upon retirement, he embarked on a lifelong urge to become a novelist; thus the trilogy of stories, of which Ben is the premier, was conceived. Taken from his interest in the "wild west" from childhood and influenced by his travels as an ice skating show performer, the basis of Ben was formed.

Sadly, Syd suddenly passed away on 31 May 2004 shortly after completion of the first book of the trilogy. Syd's closest friend took it upon himself to see this story edited and into publication, and for that we know he would want us to thank George Loucks so very, very much.

Ken and Jason Brown

Excerpts