IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY

Martin offers a fictionalized rendering of the extraordinary 19th-century cross-country “Voyage of Discovery” headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

Private Nathan (Nat) Daniel Luck, the upbeat, first-person fictional narrator of the author’s retelling of Lewis and Clark’s two-year exploratory North American adventure, has finished his day’s work at their winter camp in the small village of Cahokia, Indiana Territory, where the members of the expedition have been preparing to head up the Mississippi as soon as the ice melts on the connecting Missouri River. Arriving at the local tavern, Nat spots his friend, Charles (Charlie) Floyd, waiting for him outside the door. Charlie has disturbing news to impart: He has learned from Captain Clark that there is a saboteur who has infiltrated the ranks. Clark has assigned Charlie the task of secretly watching all members of the crew to ferret out the infiltrator, and Charlie wants Nat to help him with this task. The novel is based on records from the expedition, including detailed diaries from Lewis and Clark, and selected historical publications and websites. What Martin brings to the story are his imaginative and dramatic renditions of the personalities and interactions among the many voyage participants, particularly their individual responses to the life-threatening experiences they encountered. The fictional saboteur provides a lingering background tension even to scenes that are otherwise tranquil and joyful. A skillful wordsmith, the author crafts descriptions of the Missouri River that give the powerful waterway the status of a full-fledged character: “It was a potent brown entity with as many different moods and personalities as those of us who traveled upon it.” Portrayals of the Indigenous tribes encountered by the explorers, while generally respectful, reveal the depth of European prejudice against the native peoples.

Lively, entertaining, and historically compelling, with a final clever twist.