Author: Gerald Lund
I hadn't read any Gerald Lund books since I gave up on the Work and the Glory series back after the second book. When I picked up this book and saw that it was (gulp), more than 800 pages, I wasn't excited about reading it (which is why I put it dead last on my list). But I shouldn't have let my the length of the book, or my history with Lund's previous books, color my perspective too much, because I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. I even cried at the end. The Undaunted follows the typical GL modus operandi-- inserting a fictional family or two into a historical event in the church's history. This time, the fictional families are the Dickinson/Drapers and the McKennas, and the historical event is the journey of the Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers, who traveled from Cedar City to settle a Mormon community on the banks of the San Juan River.
Also standard GL fare: using twenty words to say something that can be said in ten (the book is 800 pages long), a significant romantic plot, and lots of talk about spiritual things. Honestly, the talk about spiritual things was probably the strength of the novel. I think that most authors have a hard time writing about conversions and spirituality, but David Draper's conversion to the gospel (which took place 10 years after his baptism) is what kept me turning the pages, especially since Lund called the book the story of the Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers, but they didn't even set out on their journey until the book was more than half over. It wasn't a perfect book and was too long by about 300 pages, but I'm still glad I had this one to read me through to the end of the Whitneys.
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