The Tubman Command

The Tubman Command by Elizabeth Cobbs    336 pages

 

I had been seeing/hearing a lot of buzz about this book, and I was excited to read it. I learned about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in grade school, but can’t say that I knew all that much about the woman. I’ve visited historic homes who had tunnels that claimed to be points on that infamous line and have stood in the darkened tunnel, aghast at the fear those poor people must have felt.  But fear is what kept them pressing on.

 

This story takes place in South Carolina, in May 1863. The tide had not yet turned for the Union Army, and many feared that the United States would split into two countries. From the book jacket:

 

“’The Tubman Command’ tells the story of Tubman at the height of her powers, when she devises the largest plantation raid of the Civil War. General David Hunter places her in charge of a team of black scouts even though skeptical of what one woman can accomplish. For her gamble to succeed, “Moses” must outwit alligators, overseers, slave catchers, sharpshooters, and even hostile Union soldiers to lead gunships up the Combahee River. Men stand in her way at every turn--though one reminds her that love shouldn’t have to be the price of freedom.”

 

I had high hopes for this novel. However, the use of dialect made it difficult, for me to read. I was often bored and kept getting thrown out of the story by the dialect. Therefore, “The Tubman Command” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Updraft

Updraft by Fran Wilde
364 Pages

 "Welcome to a world of wind and bone, songs and silence, betrayal and courage. Kirit Densira cannot wait to pass her wing test and begin flying as a trader by her mother's side, being in service to her beloved home tower and exploring the skies beyond. When Kirit inadvertently breaks Tower Law, the city's secretive governing body, the Singers, demand that she become one of them instead. In an attempt to save her family from greater censure, Kirit must give up her dreams to throw herself into the dangerous training at the Spire, the tallest, most forbidding tower, deep at the heart of the City. As she grows in knowledge and power, she starts to uncover the depths of Spire secrets. Kirit begins to doubt her world and its unassailable Laws, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead to a haunting choice, and may well change the city forever-if it isn't destroyed outright."

An original fantasy novel, Wilde creates a world where we never really learn the back story of the civilization that is being portrayed.   I did enjoy the book.