Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

David Fitz-Gerald's Rathuun: King of the Prairie delivers a western epic with a hero’s heart and four hooves, a compelling classic that follows an iconic creature. Set in the 1800s, the story follows Rathuun, an American buffalo born with a white spot on his chin. He survives a grizzly attack that kills his twin, leaving him alone to die. But he lives, and through grit, he grows up among the animals. As a young buffalo, he migrates, exploring the prairie, and dares to go places no buffalo ever went before. He grows stronger and gains wisdom at the same time that wagons, locomotives, and telegraph wires transform the landscape around him. An obsessed buffalo assassin drives his kind toward extinction and sets his eyes on Rathuun. He must outmaneuver cruel humans with rifles and guide his “brum” to the safety of the canyon sanctuary.

David Fitz-Gerald's Rathuun: King of the Prairie captivated me with the clever use of anthropomorphism, presenting a relatable hero in an animal. Rathuun feels deeply, thinks thoughtfully, and acts with wisdom. The author’s prose is elegant, and the vocabulary pulls readers into the consciousness of the buffalo. It is a tale of survival that can be read as an allegory of what happens when innovation and technology invade spaces that have always been sacred. Faced with a crisis, Rathuun becomes innovative and inventive himself, using his creativity to lead others to safety. The emotion kept me listening, and the author deftly renders expansion as an ecological tragedy through the eyes of a brave animal that readers quickly like.

The audio version of Rathuun is professionally executed, and John McLain’s narration is delivered in a clear voice that captures the rhythm of the story and the changing seasons. Readers easily feel the thrum in Rathuun’s heart and the balance between the glimmer of hope and the harrowing tension. The narrator's voice captivates and makes you fall in love with the hero.