 |
|
New Release
Nina Vida's new novel The Texicans, published by Soho Press, was released in early October, 2006. It is Ms. Vida's seventh novel. The Texicans has been widely acclaimed as much for its literary excellence as well as for its departure from the sterotypical western novel format, concentrating instead on the real settlors of Texas who led dangerous and exciting lives.
A trade paperback edition will be released in October, 2007.
Audio recorded by Recorded Books, LLC; CD and cassette; narrated by George Guidall. The audio is unabridged. The audio can also be purchased and downloaded through www.Amazon.com, itunes and from www.audible.com
The Texicans has been enthusiastically received by major prepublication reviewers. Both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews gave The Texicans highly coveted starred reviews. The prestigious Library Journal recommended The Texicans to America's libraries.
The full reviews can be found by pressing the "Press" link to the left. Postpublication critic reviews in newspapers and magazines can only be described as being extraordinary. They are all listed below and on the "Press" link.
|
___________________________________________________
Recent Newspaper and Magazine Reviews for THE
TEXICANS:
IN THE DECEMBER 29, 2006 EDITION OF THE MONITOR (MCALLEN TEXAS), THE TEXICANS WAS CHOSEN AS THE BEST TEXAS FICTION OF 2006 WITH THE COMMENT:
"The Texicans by Nina Vida. Previous novels on early Texas marginalize the plight of those who've been here since the land belonged to Mexico. Vida's novel puts them at center stage, and creates a vivid picture of the heartache and isolation settlers' endured."
IN THE NOVEMBER 3, 2006 EDITION OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, THE TEXICANS WAS "A" LISTED FOR OCTOBER WITH THE COMMENT:
"A dry wind of magic realism blows through this thrilling novel that follows a young Mexican woman as she finds love and adventure in the Texas hill country of the 1840s."
______________________________________________________________________
Hear Nina Vida interview on KUHF Houston Public Radio November 20, 2006:
www.kuhf.org/programaudio/thefrontrow/2006/11/061120Texicans_128k.mp3
_____________________________________________________________________
" 'The Texicans' is a genuine pleasure to read. Its crisp, lyrical style is a nice blend of commentary and exposition...The story has a strong penchant for magical realism, not unlike Gabriel Garcia Marques and Isabel Allende...The narrative has a cinematic feel. You can visualize each scene....Vida is a natural story teller. "
EL PASO TIMES
El Paso, Texas
By John Pate
" For a Californian, Nina Vida sure knows Texas, right down to the live oak-lined vistas and mesquite-scented prairies...That Vida brings so much fresh energy to the timeworn Western genre - complex characters, engaging stories, cutting edge historical revisionism - is no small feat...Her decision to mess with Texas - Texas history, no less - is a bold move for an author who seems to have something of the plucky, fighting spirit of her characters. Whether Vida settles in this area of genre fiction or not, she's done a good job of kicking up some dust."
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
FREDERICKSBURG, TX NEWS
By Amanda Maria Morrison
" Just when you thought the great Texas novel has already been written and any more attempts would be just running over the same armadillo again and again, comes the Texicans, a tremendous historical novel set in the aftermath of the Texas' independence and its burgeoning statehood. ...The author's ability to reveal the human heartache that plagued so many settlers in their cabins and on their ranches drives the novel's convincing plotlines....
....Vida's work should be placed on the same shelf with Lonesome Dove, Texas, and Pale Horse, Pale Rider. "
THE MONITOR
McAllen, Texas
By: Martin Winchester
" This is rough-and-tumble Texas, lawless and chaotic, and Vida throws her characters against it, almost defying them to find their way through....she [Vida] is especially strong with dialogue and conveys to perfection the cadence of a foreign accent, the texture of a slave dialect and the wordy excesses of unschooled pioneers....any honest, atmospheric book like this one is always welcome."
VICTORIA ADVOCATE
Victoria, TX
By: Cindy Bonner
"...the book, set in 1840s Texas, is a completely engaging tale following a handful of remarkable settlers...together they struggle against the perils common in that day: disease, hunger, and outlaw bands of Rangers....the hill country purely of Vida's powerful imagination, shot with a dose of magic realism, with 'the clouds girdling the mountains in a rainbow of color' and the sun 'a golden button overhead. A-' "
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
By Tina Jordan
"It's not your typical Western, John Wayne doesn't come riding in with the U.S. Cavalry. And the Lone Ranger is certainly absent from the long list of characters. But that is what makes Nina Vida's book, 'The Texicans,' so refreshing. She paints realistic characters, focusing on the underdogs in the Old West - Mexicans, Native Americans, African Americans and women of all colors and creeds....Add comanches, renegade rangers and slaves and you have a potent cocktail for this interesting tale. "
LONG BEACH PRESS TELEGRAM
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
By Richard Irwin
" What happens to Aurelia and to the rest of this rough-and-ready cast of characters makes enthralling reading. It's the characters, full of rough edges and foibles and determination to survive, who propel this book forward. At times brutal, and always full of lively detail, Vida's carefully honed prose knits together this sprawling frontier world of lawless Texas Rangers, enterprising ex-slaves, warring Native American tribes and everyone else trying to survive in the early years of the Lone Star State. "
THE SEATTLE TIMES
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
GREATER MILWAUKEE TODAY
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
THE MIAMI HERALD
TAIWAN NEWS
SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
JEWISH WORLD REVIEW
By Melinda Bargreen
" For those tired of the old Texas story with cowboys and cattle drives, Rangers with white hats and the Alamo, 'The Texicans'is a must read.....Spanning 12 years, 'The Texicans' is an imaginative and thoroughly researched tale driven by intriguing characters, reminders of the largely overlooked but rich mix of men and women who helped shape the Lone Star State. "
DENVER POST
By Sybil Downing
" Nina Vida combines reverent tones of magical realism with the brutality of a Cormac McCarthy novel to create a captivating and original vision of the Texas frontier circa 1845....Like a wagon ride above the thin rim of a bottomless canyon, The Texicans threatens the reader with unexpected twists and unrelenting suspense. Vida brings the reader from the horrors of a cannibalistic ritual to the comforting banality of fresh-baked bread without ever slackening the reigns on her story.
" (In the years since it opened in 1993, KGB has become something of a New York literary institution. KGB has been named best literary venue in New York City by New York Magazine, the Village Voice, and everyone else who bestows these awards of recognition).
KGB BAR
By Jonathan Lachance
" The exciting plot is rich and complex, and the author successfully enables readers to see events from the viewpoint of the many well-drawn characters. "
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Fairfax County, VA
By Sandy Freund
|
 |
