Kings of Colorado - a review

Kings of Colorado David E. Hilton 2011 Simon and Schuster First, I should admit that I am well acquainted with the author. We work at the same place, what one might call his ”day job” while waiting for his book to hit the bestseller list. Second, ignore the cover, this isn’t a western. Now, as someone whose general choice of reading material generally falls into a fairly well-defined genre, science fiction and fantasy, this is an important piece of information for me to pass along. Kings of Colorado is not a western, nor is it science fiction or fantasy. In fact, it is not something that I would normally have been attracted to, especially based on the book cover. But, “never judge a book by its cover” has rarely been more true than it is for Kings of Colorado. The story starts slowly with William Sheppard being laid off. This event isn’t really important to the story, but serves as the catalyst for William to record the events of his childhood. Back in the early 60s at the age of 13 Will Sheppard stabbed his father and was sentenced to two years at a Reformatory Ranch in Colorado. The author does an excellent job of creating a family situation where most of us might have reacted as the protagonist did. The father is abusive, not just of the son, but more importantly of the mother and it is the abuse of his beloved mother that pushes Will over the edge. Some might complain that the abusive father is an over-used plot element and they’d be right, but it works here, in part because it is not dwelled on overly long. We are quickly moved along through this dysfunctional family picture to the first crisis point and then Will begins his journey. A long bus ride from Chicago to the high mountains of Colorado ends at Swope Ranch, his home for the next two years. Swope Ranch uses the boys to break horses. Wild horses are captured and brought to the ranch where they are broken and then sold. There are several guards, one mean, one nice and the rest sort of in between. If this all sounds a bit formulaic, well…I could say it is, but it seems more formulaic as I write this review than it did while I was reading it. I suppose that I am saying that it works, and when the formula works then it isn’t a problem. The Ranch is no easy place. It may be called a Reformatory Ranch but there are few attempts at reform, though there is plenty of punishment. Fights are encouraged between the boys and some of the guards bet on them. Will develops a circle of friends and the story revolves these friends almost as much as Will himself. Will also finds a friend in the Ranch nurse who treats him after his first fight, and the series of injuries that mark his time at the Ranch. The climax of the story comes during a trip out from the ranch in search of some lost horses. Now, you have an idea about the story, but I will leave all the details for when you read it. This novel is violent. I would say this is the biggest reason why, despite a 13 year old protagonist, this is not a young adult novel. The violence is important to our understanding, both of how Will ends up at Swope, as well as how Swope affects him. Unfortunately, because of that violence, Kings is depressing at times. A few times I considered whether I really wanted to continue reading. Fortunately, the author has made Will a likeable enough character that I wanted to find out what happened to him. This points out one of the strengths of the novel, the characters. The author has created a believable and in a few cases likeable cast of characters. Yes, a few of them, especially a couple of the antagonists, are sort of stereotypically bad, but this works well, because the story is told exclusively by Will. We see everyone through his eyes. Those who torment him most are one dimensional to him, because he never gets to know them. Just as most of us never really get to know the people we don’t like. I found the story engaging and at times even compelling. The author has done a good job of keeping himself out of the story and letting Will come through as the storyteller. The story feels right. The characters aren’t forced in ways that feel unnatural. Without going into fanciful flights of prose, the author gives as details about the high mountains and horses that help the reader feel like they have actually seen, heard and even smelled Swope Ranch. After Will leaves Swope the novel moves along quickly giving us a brief glance at his life after Swope, until the day, decades later, when he finally feels compelled to write an account of his days at Swope Ranch. Will’s life after Swope is quite average. It was only after finishing the novel that it occurred to me that Will’s victory is more than just surviving Swope, it is managing to build and live a good, if average, life. Will has another moment of crisis after writing about Swope, but the depression that brings on that crisis seems more about being old and alone, his wife of many years having died a few years before, than it is about the tragic events at Swope. At that moment I felt greater sympathy for Will Sheppard than at any other time in book. After this crisis, the book ties up with a happy ending that would seem more out of place if it were happier. Now, that sounds odd to me as I write it, but it seems to hit the mark in its own way. I’d hate to give away the ending, so I won’t say too much about it, but Will returns to Colorado, and we get the sort of cathartic ending that the novel seems to need. Kings of Colorado is an impressive first novel. It is engaging and rewarding, but it isn’t a fun read. So, if you are in the market for something that is not a fluff read, check it out.

Why Don’t I Use my Tablet More?

This question has bothered me a great deal. I wanted a tablet very badly. Of course, when that desire bloomed they were called UMPCs or Ultra Mobile PCs. This goes back years before the iPad and long before Android. I never had a plan for all the cool things I would do with one, they were a toy, and little more.

My wife bought this one, and I eventually inherited it. I was happy with it for a time, but now I look at the host of Android tablets and I have that itch again. But…it is very hard to justify the cost of a new tablet when I feel like I don’t use this one enough.

There are many possible reasons why I don’t use my tablet more. Let me go through a few of the more common questions raised, especially about Windows 7 tablets.

Boot Time

This is a significant concern with a windows tablet, and yet it is not a deciding factor. Once I start up my tablet, I don’t shut it down, I just put it into suspend and it comes back from that in less than two seconds, so it is not boot time that keeps me from using it.

Battery Life

Another legitimate concern. Window portables have usually had a battery life of 2-3 hours. The 10 hours claimed by Apple for the iPad may be about like the 5-6 hours claimed by Dell, but it certainly much better than I get with my tablet.

But, battery life has not really been the reason why I don’t use it more. Rarely have I run up against the bottom end of my battery. As I mentioned above, I put the tablet into suspend mode when I am not using it and that allows me to use it off and on across my workday. Since I cannot spend eight hours using it while at work (I do have to do SOME work), I feel like I get by just fine. Now, I might use it more, but so far it hasn’t been an issue.

Something Better at Home

I am not a fan of the iPad. Not too long ago I wrote that I thought most iPads would be gathering dust within six months of purchase. In my opinion, they are too large to be convenient to carry. They require a bag, which means most men won’t carry one everyday/all the time. I also said that at home you are unlikely to use it because at home most people have something that does all the same things, only better. That device is a PC and remember that a Mac is still a Personal Computer (PC).

This one hits home. When I am home I rarely use my tablet, except to write my journal. For any other sort of writing I use my PC.

Recently, I read an article that gave a home use. Most of us don’t use out PCs in front of the TV, even when we have portables. The author described watching the Oscars with his SO and checking email, facebook, and twitter on his iPad. It allowed him to keep up with his friends’ reactions to the show while sitting at home without them.

Now, the article was about how the SO did not appreciate him having his face in the little screen when he should have been enjoying the show with her, but it still showed me something to do with an iPad of home that a PC may not be better at. Now, you could use your phone, but the bigger screen is better.

Now, this gives me something to shoot for, but there is a problem. This thing is terrible for facebook and the internet, etc. There an several reasons for this and they cut straight to the heart of why I don’t use me tablet more.

No Multi-touch

I run Windows 7 of my tablet and it works fine. Windows 7 does multi-touch just fine. I’ve experienced it myself on an HP Touchsmart PC and I have seen many things demonstrated on an HP convertible (they may use the moniker “tablet” but tablets don’t have keyboards). Unfortunately, the Samsung Q is a rather old design and the screen does not support multi-touch. Without multi-touch this thing is a pain to use on the internet. Most internet pages don’t fit very well on 1024×600 and it is much worse in portrait mode. Without multi-touch and the gestures that come with it scrolling around a webpage is just annoying.

1024×600

The resolution of the LCD on the Samsung Q is a bit of a problem. 1024×600 may not sound bad, but that is in landscape mode. Personally, I prefer the idea of using a tablet in portrait mode. This makes the tablet more like a sheet of paper, or a book. Holding a tablet in landscape mode feels clumsy, awkward. Holding it in portrait mode feels balanced and natural.

Now, you may wonder why I have gone on about portrait versus landscape at such length in a discussion of resolution. Well, 1024×600 really isn’t so bad, but 600x1024 is a much bigger problem. Many Windows dialogue boxes are wider than 600 pixels and trying to resize windows with a stylus or a finger is a pain unless you have gestures.

Windows Phone 7

If you have followed this blog, then you know that I have an HTC HD7 with windows Phone 7. After months of using a phone with multi-touch, I am sold. I am also sold on having an OS that is designed for the device, rather than one that is designed for a completely different device with some features added for tablets.

So, there you have it, a rather long-winded discussion of tablets and why I don’t use mine more.

This essay has helped me understand why I still look at and dream about tablets. Mostly, it helps me with figuring out exactly what I want in my next one.

Inspiration

Not so long ago, I came back to the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) after a prolonged absence. It's been more than 25 years since I first joined and in some ways it is a lot like starting over again.

I spent many of those years making armour. For anyone who doesn't understand...check out this link.

Red Dragon Armoury

I want to start making armour again, but I find myself lacking motivation. To help with the motivation I have been looking for inspiration, but even that has proven allusive.

I started learning to make armor all the way back in 1986. Back then, having anything that resembled period armour was enough to make you stand out from the crowd. Now, I see pictures from Pennsic or Gulf Wars (2 big SCA wars) and what I want to make will put me in the category of "another of those guys." It is nice to see that the SCA has gotten better, but it is not quite as inspiring to work towards being another in a group.

Trying to find inspiration I have rejoined the Armour Archive, but even there I am having a hard time finding inspiration. Oh, don't get me wrong, there is plenty of great stuff being shown off there, but I haven't found my inspiration.