Frontier Preacher Survives the Wild West – Barely!
Preacher Survives With Help from God
The first week Hollis arrived in Gillette, Wyoming, his final destination, he almost starved and froze to death. He used up all his firewood and parceled out his food to last about as long. Fortunately, he had help, sometimes from unknown or unexpected sources. Lying on the church floor in prayer, he had no strength to do more than pray, when a knock came at the door.
Book Learning Did Not Teach Survival Skills
Book learning had not prepared this preacher for the hazards of blizzards in Wyoming or the unlucky fate of single women and girls that had been shipped out west to make a better life for themselves. When Hollis befriended and tried to protect one young woman who sought sanctuary in the church, he became disillusioned.
At one point he realized that his mentor had faced the same issues and had not prevailed in Gillette, Wyoming either. Nor had preachers of any faith before him. His life seemed hopeless. He did his best to snuff it out, to squeeze out the memories that plagued him.
When a Preacher Survives Evil, He Should Be Godly
Hollis Winget, the Frontier Preacher Ill Repute preached the Word throughout the book, but behind the scenes, he exposed his thoughts and struggles. He is at times endearing, annoying, proud, judgmental. He doesn’t seem brave. However, when he finds himself alone against evil, he realizes strengths he did not know that he had.
At Bethany he had learned to respect and value women as the treasure from God they were… Wyoming, he though, would be the same considering they were the equality state, the state that first gave women a right to vote. Millican. Lot 76 of 2259, Frontier Preacher.
Hollis struggled with that in his own way as he revealed in places throughout the book. Interestingly, not all his personal issues were resolved by the end of the book, so I would not be surprised to find a sequel to this story.
Conclusion
Even though admire all writers who can pull together a fiction book, I don’t respond to all of them on an emotional level. David, though Hollis, captured my tears and wrenched my heart from me. Reviewers sometimes criticize books I like as sappy or they find some other criticism I missed.
One reader commented about Frontier Preacher Ill Repute, “Perhaps this book should also have been classified as Christian Historical Fiction as it carries a strong Christian message. There are numerous scriptural references throughout the story and times when the main character preaches a distinct religious view to the point where I felt a little misled.”
Although I was aware of his frequent reference to baptism, it did not ruin the story me. That said, Hollis gave a great argument, though, and eventually changed his Methodist friend’s mind. Had it been one of Millican’s agenda items, it might convince readers with an equally effective counter to the baptism argument. Even though preaching baptism that may have been the purpose of the book, the quality of the story outweighed the author’s agenda in this case. Frontier Preacher Ill Repute got five stars from me. If you read it, let me know what you think.
Let me know if you want to move to Wyoming after you read Frontier Preacher Ill Repute, too!
Really enjoyed the Wyoming pastor post. Thanks.
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Thanks! It was a great book. Have you read it?
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A great review. I’ve never read any book by this author, but this sounds like a great read, I’ve put it on my Amazon wish list.
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I’m so glad Marjorie. I read it twice before I reviewed it. The first time I got emotional. Reading it the second time I knew what was going to happen so I was prepared for it.
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Sounds like a good read Marsha. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Debby, I enjoyed it immensely. 🙂
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