Denis McDaniel

I loved Driftless and Jewelweed. Painting Beyond Walls is a very satisfying and worthy final sequel, although the writing is occasionally unpolished and some of the dialogue is stilted compared to the prior books. I gather that Rhodes was battling illness for much of the time he wrote this book (he passed away shortly after its release). Occasional prose issues aside, the book is a phenomenal achievement of imagination and storytelling. And, like any good sequel, it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone work- though of course you’ll get a deeper satisfaction if you’ve read the earlier books.