Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: The Men From Echo Creek
AUTHOR: N.R. Walker
NARRATOR: Glen Lloyd
PUBLISHER: BlueHeart Press
LENGTH: 8 hours and 32 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 17th ,2024
BLURB:
In the winter of 1882, a boy from the mountains has to prove himself a man.
When Albie Bramwell’s father died, he was left with two thousand hectares of mountain to farm, and little help to run it. Abandoned by all but two of his workers, the whole town of Alpine Falls called him too young to run the farm alone.
Young, yes. At just nineteen, he was determined to prove them wrong. Even if it killed him.
In search of a new life, Percy Collins found himself in a small mountain town where he ran into a man not much older than himself and scored a job at Echo Creek. A property full of misfits, or so the townsfolk had called it. But what Percy found was a home.
What Albie found was something he never thought possible. A man to love, and a man to share his dreams.
But times were tough, the winter harsh, and money scarce. Albie and Percy would need to do more than prove themselves worthy. They’d need to not only prove themselves better than anyone else. They’d need to prove it twice.
REVIEW:
This western set in the Southern Alps region of New South Wales in 1882 is part historical fiction and part M/M love story and all to the good.
We first meet Albie Bramwell at his father’s funeral. Due to an accident while his father was helping a neighbor, 19 year old Albie is left to run his 2000 hectare (roughly 5000 Acres) ranch in a mountainous northern part of New South Wales. Left is the operative word. Most of his father’s ranch hands don’t imagine that a mere lad is up to the task, and quit on him immediately after the funeral.
Enter Percy Collins, a lad a bit younger than Albie who’s been forced to leave his family’s sheep ranch home and who’s now running short on funds. After Percy sides with Albie in a squabble in town, Albie hires him on. So begins a working relationship which soon becomes much more.
The 1880s were not exactly a broad minded time and same-sex relationships were in NO way acceptable. Seeing these two lads sort of invent their relationship themselves was charming. The counterpoint of having two women in a similar relationship as supporting characters was a great means of highlighting that. It also helped keep the overall mood lighter than it might have been. N.R. Walker’s talent of writing main characters that you enjoy spending time with is on full display here.
Percy is described as a cheerful soul who counters Albie’s more dour outlook. Their balance may be why this tale actually seems lighter than the events it recounts. Also the supporting characters are mostly likeable people that you don’t mind spending time with. With the exception on one minor character that we see get his comeuppances, there are no real villains in this low-angst tale.
Glen Lloyd’s narrates the audiobook. Glen’s narration accentuates the Aussie nature of this book. The narrative sections are clear and well paced. In the dialogue sections it’s always clear as to who’s speaking and the voices are appropriate. Glen’s doesn’t really “act” dialogue as some other narrators but his delivery works well for this material and his native accent certainly helps flesh out these characters.
Some personal notes: 1) Before listening to this I’d just finished and enjoyed Jay Hogan’s modern-day tale, The Art of Husbandry. Finding a book by one of my favorite authors, N.R. Walker, that dealt with that same region, with a number of common elements, but set in the past made me very curious. 2) As a born Michigander I was a bit surprised that folks in New South Wales played Euchre in the 1880s 3) I also learned that folks ate (or at least used to eat) Galahs (Rose breasted Cockatoos)
Overall I enjoyed this, and though I listened to a copy available through the HOOPLA service at my local library, I’ve added it to my wish list on Audible as I can see this entering my continually expanding re-listen list.
RATING: 
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