Shaman

By: Noah Gordon

Narrated by: Ben Owen

Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Shaman is the prize-winning second volume of Noah Gordon's celebrated Cole trilogy. It is as great a listening experience as The Physician. A New York Times Notable Book.

Dr. Robert Judson Cole travels from his ravaged Scotland homeland, through the operating rooms of Boston, to the cabins of frontier Illinois. In the wilderness he befriends the starving remnants of the Sauk tribe, who have fled their reservation. In the process, he absorbs their culture and learns native remedies that enrich the classical medical education he received at Edinburgh University. He marries a remarkable settler woman he had saved from illness. The details of how their deaf son manages to become a physician also, despite his handicap, and the story of how the Cole family is sucked into the bloody vortex of the Civil War and survives, makes an exceptional listening experience.

©1992 Lise Gordon, Michael Seay Gordon and The Jamie Gordon Trust (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Enjoyed THE PHYSICIAN but loved THE SHAMON!!!

The SHAMON is more multi faceted than The PHYSICIAN whose primary focus was the acquisition of medical knowledge. Excellent narration!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

serious historic fiction

For those who love to read, this second of a trilogy is a must. Using the US Plains development as a backdrop, generational stories of life come alive in Shaman. The narration is perfect for the tone of the book. Some may find the detail ponderous. I felt it lent to the timing of events as life was before electricity and cars ( let alone paved roads.) A very worthwhile read: The third part is already in my library.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting at times

This is a historical novel about a physician in the 1800’s. Some interesting and well done parts but the plot meanders and occasionally loses its way. Nice description of Medicine and living conditions of the times. A bit of a stretch that the doc should be involved in both the Underground Railroad and Gettysburg.

The narrator is very good but as in The Physician he mispronounces both medical and Hebrew terms at times.

Overall fairly good but not as good as The Physician, the first book in the series. I won’t be going on to the third book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very Good Story

I feel this was a very good story very worth the time to listen to. I Really enjoyed that the author incorporated History with the story, so I did not just enjoy the story but learn real background history. I wholly recommend this.

Loved it all.

I like historical fiction redolent with description of scenery... weather.. cooking.. all the manners of the time. And a plot w depth... complexity.. characters who both surprise and inspire me


It's hard to find authors & works that satisfy.
In this case.. I leave the world of this novel reluctantly... but deeply. satisfied on all levels.

Great series

I love historical books...you get a story and a history lesson.. A great trilogy...looking forward to the dthird book !

Fair is fair, right?

Would you try another book from Noah Gordon and/or Ben Owen?

I like Noah Gordon's work. Ben Owen did a credible job overall but I won't be eager to listen to more of his work.

What didn’t you like about Ben Owen’s performance?

Owen is a Brit? Maybe an Aussie? Nothing wrong with that, but he needed to work on his pronunciation of American place names and some American vernacular. As a Midwesterner who grew up near the places Gordon used in this book I cringed every time I heard the names come out of Owen's mouth.
I suppose that's only fair, since Americans have a habit of mispronouncing a lot of non-American words, names, place names, etc.

Any additional comments?

Entertaining series, would have been cheaper to buy the Kindle edition and read it than it was to spend a credit on the audiobook.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Can't put it down!

Would you listen to Shaman again? Why?

The characters are so well portrayed that they seem almost like friends after a few hours. One of the most enriching things is the history that is so beautifully woven into the story. Native Americans, the "No Nothings", the civil war, and early settlements as our nation expanded westward made the beautifully written story incredibly rich. The first book was just as historically telling and I never though the sequel would be able to match it but it might even have surpassed. Great book!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shaman?

The solving of Maqua Eenas murder was a shocker!

Which scene was your favorite?

When Shaman found his brother in the prison camp I almost cried.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

A lot of historic facts without much of a story

I much preferred the Medicus. This book doesn't have a captivating story. Parts of it are interesting.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved it.

From start to finish a brilliant historical story. But it, you won't regret it, guaranteed.