Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle

Outlaws of Time is Louis L’Amour’s Lonesome Gods meets Doctor Who told through the voice of a modern Flannery O’Connor for boys – set in the sticky Arizona desert. And just to make it a little more of a tilt-a-whirl, reminiscent of Doctor Who and Flannery O’Connor, every name and every symbol has layered meaning. How many times have I fallen in love with the Doctor from the new Doctor Who? More than I can count. Every single time Nine, Ten, or Eleven raged against the odds, ignored the plan and decided that “this time everyone lives” I was thrilled to be a Whovian. It is hard to resist a hero who “uses up” his lives to travel through space and time to stop the enemies that would destroy us all while knowing that he is laying out his life for others instead of himself. It is hard not to admire a hero who pushes back against the chaos and evil of a fallen world. “The man who saved me more times than anyone will ever know just died because of me. Died for me.” (Outlaws of Time) For several years of my life, Doctor Who filled an important place in my imagination and even a small place in my moral imagination. There was so much about Doctor Who that was courageous, noble, and heroic. So much to love. So many companions who were just normal folks doing extraordinary things and laying down their lives because of their faith in the Doctor and his love for what was right. There was much to feast on. “I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace.” (Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners) Over the seasons, however, the moral complexities and the wacky spiritual content grew and evolved into places I just wasn’t comfortable with. There are entire episodes which are prohibited in my home because of the spiritual darkness they bring with them. I have spent several years time trying to find heroes like the Doctor but without the modern morality that Doctor Who often foists upon us. “What if I really do have to choose? What if I die saving Millie, and then the Vulture gets to do whatever he wants to millions of people? Is it wrong to want to save my sister more than all those people in Tombstone?” (Outlaws of Time) ND Wilson’s writing isn’t “safe” in the contemporary Christian sense of the word. It is dark, dangerous, appropriately violent (never gratuitous) and surreal. But it is deeply moral. Spiritually sound. Passionately heroic. Incredibly creative. In fact, ND Wilson’s writing reminds me of the best parts of Doctor Who without compromising any of my values. “Such rabid dogs must be ended, not toyed with. He could have killed two of us even after you fired. When he aims for hearts, do not aim for fingers… never take a life without need… Grieve when that need comes, but do not hesitate when defending the lives of others.” (Outlaws of Time) After World War II, Americans tuned their television sets to watch cowboys tame the Wild West, and loved heroes like The Lone Ranger and almost any character John Wayne ever played. Americans were attracted to heroes. Men who wore white hats and who would lay their lives down to make sure that the black hats did not win. At the same time, authors like Ralph Moody and Louis L’Amour wrote moral cowboy stories that reminded Americans of their heroic past. Over time, however, our culture has set those old black and white westerns aside in favor of things more violent. More graphic. More surreal. Flannery O’Connor understood that in our relative prosperity and peace we were getting soft. We were forgetting the broken bodies that paid for that peace and the blood of the Lamb which paid for our very souls. “You have to push as hard as the age that pushes against you.” (Flannery O’Connor, The Habit of Being) Wilson is not afraid to write like O’Connor. His stories remind us of the fight for good and the rage against evil that is necessary in all times and our time specifically. O’Connor wrote for adults; Wilson writes for boys (and their families). Both shock our culture with the truth of this war and the costs associated with it. “But every hero needs to be part nightmare. Moses turned a river to blood and called down the Angel of Death. Samson tore a lion open with his bare hands and killed hundreds with a donkey bone…if your will is stronger than the snake’s, if you master her, then she will no longer be wicked. But she will be deadly. And the wicked will learn fear.” (Outlaws of Time) Infamous American cowboy legends support the plot and remind us that Wilson is an American author who fundamentally understands and appreciates how the wild Western landscape translates perfectly into a hero story. Setting this action packed series starter in the West focuses us in on the epic battles between good and evil that must be wrestled out of lawless land. It also reminds us of the ancient deserts of Egypt and the Israelites who had their own battles of power, law, and submission. While I read this layered adventure novel, I was deeply reminded of Johannes Verne in The Lonesome Gods. I think that Sam and Johannes share some very similar burdens and challenges. I also think that they respond to those challenges in very similar ways. Having Johannes in the back of my mind while I read helped me to love and understand Sam Miracle better. “I heal them. Sometimes that means breaking them differently. If a boy’s arms are so damaged and mutilated that he cannot live, a healer may remove the arms to save the life. He makes things worse to make them better.” (Outlaws of Time) Readers of 100 Cupboards may be wondering about the scariness or the intensity of Outlaws of Time. Our review of 100 Cupboards highlights the spectral and grotesque elements of that series and provides the context to help a reader understand them. Interestingly, Sam Miracles pales in comparison regarding the spookiness. The darkness is equally present (in fact, much more so) but it is manifested in an entirely different way. In Outlaws, we have a long series of life and death chase scenes. It is beautiful, passionate, and free of creepiness. The only really weird bits are obvious from the cover. Sam has snakes in his arms – but the cover is far more unsettling than the actual story. The intensity and violence of this book is on par with The Hobbit or the final books of Narnia or the last 2 books of The Wingfeather Saga. This is a hero’s coming of age story which requires modern day knight-like behavior and a rudimentary understanding of Just War theory. Our boys need books like these. Our boys need war stories where heroes are heroic, inspiring and self sacrificing. Our culture needs boys who love stories like these. There are many adrenaline-rich adventure novels for boys on the market today, but we echo the plea of Louisa May Alcott in Eight Cousins: let there be books which are well crafted, wholesome and challenging to inspire our young men to greatness, heroism, and faithful obedience. “It gives boys such wrong ideas of life and business; shows them so much evil and vulgarity that they need not know about, and makes the one success worth having a fortune, a lord’s daughter, or some worldly honor, often not worth the time it takes to win. It does seem to me that someone might write stories that should be lively, natural, and helpful – tales in which the English should be good, the morals pure, and the characters such that we can love in spite of all the faults that all may have. I can’t bear to see such crowds of eager little fellows at the libraries reading such trash; weak, when it is not wicked, and totally unfit to feed the hungry minds that feast on it for want of something better.” (Louisa May Alcott, Eight Cousins) Thank you N.D. Wilson! Thank you for giving us a fitting feast for our young men (and their sisters).

N.D. Wilson has become a bestselling author by perfecting a triad: tipping his hat to the best that history and legend have to offer, showing kids that they don't have to be British or a wizard or the son of a Greek god to live adventures that matter, and letting his own imagination run wild. Leepike Ridge combines Huck Finn with Treasure Island, beating with a Pacific Northwest heart; 100 Cupboards turns Kansas into a Platform 9 3/4 that leads to dozens of different worlds; Boys of Blur springs from the swamps of Florida with bones of football and Beowulf; Ashtown Burials places an entire order of Indiana Joneses on the shores of Lake Michigan; and now here's The Legend of Sam Miracle, a must-read mashup of Western, superhero, and time-hop. I have to admit, time-travel stories irritate me as a rule. And I hate the desert. But Wilson won me over on both in this blistering adventure about gunslinging misfit preteen superhero Sam Miracle desperate to rescue his sister from the devil of an outlaw: El Buitre. The Vulture. Sam is destined to kill El Buitre in a gunfight. Sam knows this. El Buitre knows this. Victory has already been written in the book of Sam’s life. But what can Sam do when El Buitre controls time itself? What can he do when El Buitre keeps rewinding the story to kill Sam first? What can he do when he escapes death—but El Buitre’s bullets shatter both his arms? “Every hero needs to be part nightmare…” Sam becomes Poncho: the legendary hero with two grafted rattlesnakes for arms and the fastest draw of all time. Only he stands a chance against El Buitre before El Buitre devours all the riches and cultures, cities and peoples of the world. Sam’s ragtag team includes Father Tiempo, the priest who “walks the secret paths between times”; Manuelito, the tall Navajo with a taller hat and supernatural healing powers; a posse of rambunctious boyhood allies; but especially Glory, the spunky and fiercely loyal fan of the book who is determined to help Sam live his story one last time—live it right. With their help, Sam just might have a shot at victory. But when it comes down to the choice of all choices—save his sister, or kill the Vulture—which will he choose? And will anyone he loves be alive by the time it’s all over? This fantastically creative tall tale will have you flipping pages as fast as Sam’s rattlesnake hands. Wilson is an astounding phrase-turner (some of his words are worth a thousand pictures), but he’s also just a crazy inventor, crashing elements from all your favorite Westerns of every decade into one: dust storms, motorcycles, cowboys, Indians, saloons, scorching desert winds, cacti and cool moon nights and coyote howls. Not to mention an EPIC train wreck. You might even run into an Earp brother or two. For those worried about violence in a kids’ book (as Wilson is famous for), I’ll say two things. One, Wilson does an incredible job executing the action while skimming over the gore. You’ll feel like you just witnessed a shootout for the ages yet without getting a bucket of blood flung in your face. Two, kids are tougher than you think, or at least they would be if the adults would quit freaking out and actually let them read more stories like this! The issue isn’t violence per se; the issue is, what is it for? Wilson tells stories of tough times and tougher heroes. His worldview is jolly and robust, his tone filled with strength and honor, and the good guys always win. A spectacular gunfight (or two or three) should hardly disturb the 10-year-olds. Just the opposite. This is the kind of book that will produce more heroes like Sam, like Glory, like Tiempo. And those are exactly the heroes we need. That’s the best thing about The Legend of Sam Miracle—it’s jet fuel for life. No matter your age, you’ll want to live better, faster, bolder. Like Glory, you’ll say: “I only get one life story. I don't want mine to be safe. I want it to be worth writing a book about.” But beware: There is only one way to change history. “By living,” as Father Tiempo says. “By dying.” So what will it be? Hurry. Read. Help Sam Miracle finish the story the way it was meant to be written. The way it was meant to be lived. Help him defeat the greatest evil of his time. And after you turn the last page, what will you do with your story?

Outlaws of Time is a brilliant piece of work, but no surprise there. Full of vivid characters, and a striking sense of place. You feel the scorching sun, and hear a rasping voice over your shoulder, sense the bond of true comradeship at your elbow. All these things Wilson has done time and again in his 100 Cupboards series, Ashtown Burials and others. His writing is drenched in the glory and magic of the universe, ringing with truth and decision, hardships and bubbling joy. As always it is a strong story of good versus evil, and of making your stand, not because you know you will win, but because it is the right thing to do. The story follows Sam Miracle on an adventure filled with sacrifice and loss, change and responsibility, allies and enemies. He travels through time with a new friend, Glory, and across the wild west. He develops a strange, inseparable partnership with a couple of snakes, and meets Wyatt Earp, along with a few other unforgettable characters. Faced with the chance to save his sister, and possibly the whole rest of the world, Sam has to make hard decisions, not to mention overcome a great many difficulties in his path. It's a grand story, riddled with humor and filled with hope, as well as good old fashioned adventure. And on a side-note, the publishing was beautifully done. The hardback is gorgeous--colors, texture, gold-stamped letters--the slipcover is soft and touchable, complete with raised lettering and intriguing illustrations. Right down to the blue and gold color scheme, this book is a joy inside and out.

There are no original stories- at least, that's what Middle school English teachers like me have been told. However, Outlaws of Time, the Legend of Sam Miracle is an exception to this rule. Combining multiple genres and themes into a compelling and riveting tale, author N.D. Wilson weaves time travel, American fable, Wild West, Native American elements, and Sam Legend's broken arms with rattlesnakes for a truly original tale. Most importantly, it's a rich story that I can read to my 6th graders in our Language Study Workshop to analyze character development (Sam's transformation from hapless orphan to accidental hero), conflict-solution, setting, etc. Be forewarned that the book deals with revenge, evil, wild west-style shootouts, and mass destruction. As a dad, I also appreciate that Outlaws touches on ideas that there are greater forces for good at work, even in a world of evil and fallen characters. I'm also interested to see more depth from characters as they deal and struggle with the ramifications of the violence perpetrated by the Vulture in future volumes. An all-around fun and original tale, and I'm anxiously awaiting a sequel. I guess I'll have to read 100 Cupboards until then.

Ok: This is a totally awesome book for a lot of reasons, but I'll narrow it down to 5: 1: Stunning prose. Kind of makes you feel like the book is a window to his amazing world, which brings me to my second point: 2: Fantastic worldbuilding!!! Wild-west meets time travel. Sweet!!! 3: Real characters! Sam isn't just some cool cowboy dude, he's also equipped with a relatable backstory. Father Tiempo, The Vulture, Tisto, Manuelito, Cin and Speck, and, of course, Glory, are all beautifully illustrated and portrayed!!! 4: Cool message; clearly a battle of good versus evil. Always good to see evil portrayed as filthy as it actually is, as is good portrayed as good. 5: SNAKE ARMS!!!! Now i wish i was his other awesome sidekick in my imagination, with like, an eagle head, or horse legs or something, although i'm not so sure that would work out well. Sam should stay unique. And i don't wanna look like some Egyptian god. And while we're at it, make it six for the sweet action scenes. Whenever sam gets shot I literally cringe. Thanks for the cool read and keep up the good work!!!!

“If you could stand still in time, you would feel it hissing around you like wind made of sand.” From the prologue to Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle From the first sentence of this first book in N. D. Wilson’s new Outlaws of Time series, we are swept up (in wind made of sand?) into yet another of Mister Wilson’s masterful blends of fantasy and reality. Sam Miracle, a twelve-year-old boy with stiff, straight arms that don’t bend at the elbows, lives at St. Anthony of the Desert Destitute Youth Ranch with several other Destitute Youth, spending much of his time rereading old westerns and daydreaming about cowboys, runaway stagecoaches and guns. What he doesn’t know is that those daydreams aren’t just daydreams. They’re memories, his memories, from another time. He’s died many times trying to defend the world, and, with the help of a time-walking priest, a girl called Glory and two bizarre rattlesnakes, he’s going to have to give it one more try. N. D. Wilson paints a three dimensional, real, rough-hewn world with vultures and exploding trains and cowboys and guns and wicked outlaws, a brilliant time-hopping western adventure, deftly mixing fantasy and fact and history and wild imagination. His message, if you wish to start extracting nicely packaged little messages from dynamite fiction, is that with great power comes not only great responsibility, but often great personal discomfort, as well as an obligation to lay down your life in the line of fire, if it comes to that. In Mister Wilson’s stories, there is always a cost. It’s not just fluff, like so many other middle grade novels published nowadays. It’s wonderful, mind-blowing stuff, fiction with a good message, if you like, but, honestly, fiction that’s just plain fun to read.

Growing up I loved all types of stories and speculations about time travel. I was fascinated by time travel until I stopped being fascinated. I realized it was all just speculation and now tend to stay away from time travel (even though I watch DC comics The Flash tv series). Not so with N.D. Wilson. This isn't a time travel story. Time is definitely involved. Travel may or may not happen. But even if it does, this is so much more than time travel. It's a battle for eternity. The entire human history hangs on this boy named. What is everyone willing to give up to help Sam? What is Sam willing to give up to save the world? I give this book a five star because: The writing is engaging and unique. It's style is fresh and enjoyable. The plot is captivating and fun. You just want to keep moving forward. The characters feel like family... Well, not all the characters. But you'll find out soon enough. And the overall feel is a wild west, superhero epic battle for all of humanity. Don't let time travel dissuade you. Don't let time travel entice you. Read Outlaws of Time because you may one day have to make difficult decisions as well... Or just enjoy the snake arms.

N. D. Wilson is the Master of American Magic. There is no other middle-grade author who writes such powerful fantasy with an American accent. And I don’t mean Wilson’s own accent, though he does go in for hard Rs. I mean the stories themselves. They are the kinds of tales you can’t imagine being narrated by one of our cousins from across the pond. How many fantasy stories do you know like that? His stories are wide open and wild, full of fastballs and six-shooters. The settings are Kansas, Wisconsin, Arizona, and (best of all) West Virginia. In his latest fantasy, Wilson has given us a Miracle, and more than that, Glory. Sam Miracle and Glory Spalding find themselves caught up in an old war between Father Time and Fate, trapped in a recycling series of calamities that always leave the evil Vulture cackling over the bones of his victims, including Sam’s sister. Sam and Glory are not in a race against time, but a war across time, and every line in their adventure is punctuated by pain. Pain? But I though this was a kids books. Pain. Yes. Lots of it. This story isn’t safe. But it’s good. It’s very good. I loved Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle. My kids (both female and male he created them) loved it. My wife loved it. They read the paper version and I listened to (American) Macleod Andrews perform the audiobook with energy and mastery. I highly recommend it. Get this.

A big fan of ND Wilsons work both fiction and non. He is a man who takes words seriously. I've found myself having dreams again since reading through this book. His use of words create widening imaginative spaces. Helping us to see the world and those around us afresh. I am really enjoying the ups and downs, following Sam Miracle and his friends and foes. I will be lending this book to my younger cousin. But this is not just a book for children. Many gems in this book for adults.

Great beginning of a new series. Upset I have to wait for the next one! Kept me interested from page 1.

Emocionante, envolvente, engraçada, especial: esta obra é muito boa. Surpreendente. Se você quer ler ficção nova e de altíssima qualidade, leia Outlaws of Time!