Matamoros


Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
419 Pages
Reviewed on 01/23/2020
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Author Biography


James Kahn is an ER doctor, novelist, TV writer-producer, and singer-songwriter. In addition to many original novels (including the sci-fi trilogy World Enough and Time, Time’s Dark Laughter, and Timefall) he authored the novelizations of Return of the Jedi, Poltergeist, The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

His television credits span the genres, from St. Elsewhere, to William Shatner’s TekWar, to Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a Supervising Producer on Star Trek: Voyager, Co-Executive Producer on Melrose Place, Emmy-nominated for his work on All My Children, medical advisor on Spielberg’s ET: The Extraterrestrial; and produced the feature film The Bet, which won Best Feature at the LA Femme Film Festival, 2013.

He’s previously released four Americana music CDs, including Waterline, The 12th Elf, Man Walks Into A Bar, and The Meaning of Life. Matamoros is the first simultaneous novel and CD release, and his first foray into deeply researched historical fiction.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

Matamoros by James Kahn is a rollicking Civil War adventure with strong hints of romance, set in the Rio Grande in 1863. It is a turbulent period with war going on. With the Confederate ports all blocked by the Union, Matamoros remained the only access to the outside world, a foreign port where a lot of smuggling went on and where all types of characters appeared: runaway slaves, cotton smugglers, spies, and rascals. It is here that Clay runs his gambling business, partnered with Allie, an ex-con artist. With the whirlwinds of change and their differences in political inclinations, can the romance between Clay and Allie survive?

Matamoros by James Kahn is a historical novel that captures a social situation, transporting readers back in time to explore a city where all sorts of people come and go and where all kinds of shady businesses take place. The reader gets a vivid glimpse of what this city looks like in times of war, with danger always close by. The author does a wonderful job of capturing the different elements of the setting, exploring the historical and social aspects. The prose is beautiful and highly descriptive, and readers will enjoy the social commentaries that punctuate the narrative. The characters are sophisticated, and I particularly loved the way Clay and Allie are developed. The characters have different layers of personality and I enjoyed how they survive the stress and dangers of Matamoros. This is an awesome read, fast-paced and filled with action. The author paints exciting images of a town flourishing in times of war and makes readers feel as though they were part of it.