1871: Ten-year-old Lucy Freeman and her family flee threats in Kentucky for a new life in the post–Civil War frontier. Their refuge is Zipporah Ranch, a hidden settlement founded by Black women and children that thrives, if the folktales are true, on magic. But a mob of bounty hunters is bringing hell to paradise, and it’s Lucy’s own secret magical ability that may be the only defense.
Tananarive Due’s Battle of the Round House is part of the Magic & Mystery collection, puzzle-box mysteries from top fantasy authors. They can be read or listened to in one enchanting sitting.
I’ve been working my way through the Magic & Mystery collection of Amazon Original Stories, this one was my first time reading Tananarive Due.
Lucy Freeman is just ten years old when her family is forced to start over out west, a few years after the Civil War. The place they set out for is Zipporah Ranch, a secret haven where Black women and children have carved out a life of their own and where there may be more than hard work keeping them safe.
I liked seeing the frontier from a young girl’s point of view, a ranch built and run by women was a setting I hadn’t come across before. The author mixes history and magic in a way that felt natural to this story. When men with guns and bounties come looking for trouble, it’s Lucy, of all people, who may be able to stand in their way.
An entertaining read and like the others in this collection, it’s short enough to read in an afternoon.
My thanks to Amazon Prime for a copy of this ebook.
