Sitka: A Novel

Written by Louis L'Amour

Narrated by Jason Culp

BLOOD AND ICE
 
Majestically it rose from the icy waters, the gateway to the awesome wilderness of Alaska. Sitka drew all brand of adventurers, con men, criminals, and pioneers—men such as trail-tough, battle-hardened Jean LaBarge. He left the swamps of the Susquehanna behind for the rugged beauty—and deadly challenges—of this frozen frontier. But the empire-hungry Russians had already established a foothold in Sitka and they wouldn’t give it up without a fierce and treacherous struggle that stretched from San Francisco to the palaces of St. Petersburg. Now Jean faces the most dangerous fight of his life: a fight for a passionate woman and the right to claim Alaska for America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 29, 2025
• ISBN: 9798217067817

Reviews for Sitka

[tajohnson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of his better ones a full epic story based around historic Alaska.

[delightedlibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting introduction to Alaska for a 12 year old

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not a typical L'Amour western, Sitka takes place mainly in Russian-owned Alaska. Our protagonist, Jean LaBarge, is daring, smart, and interested in making his fortune trading with the Russian colony. Politics are ever-present in this book, but not annoyingly so. While not one of this author's better works, I did enjoy reading it.

[benjaminhahn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written in 1957, in the run up to Alaska statehood, Sitka is a useful frontier adventure story chock full of manifest destiny propaganda. Jean Le Barge and his triumph over the evil Russians back in the good ol' frontier days of Alaska, keep this book's pages turning. This is all typical L'Amour fare: rugged individualism, gun slinging heroics, women who need men to protect them ect. From a cultural history point of view, this book is great. Sitka encapsulates 1950's values and casts them back on a benevolent frontier past. The cold war parallels alone are worth the read if you are a student of American cultural history. The subtle resource metaphors are numerous and entertaining to unravel. Plus there are some classic tough guy one liners thrown in that had me laughing out loud.

[anotterchaos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good, solid L'Amour. The men are men, the women are women, and the furry animals are furry animals.