Working The Trapline — Highland Echoes, War On The Turtles Back, Age Of Discovery

Frontier Partisans know that Outlander is one of the most important stories in the Clan Cornelius mythos. And Bear McCreary’s score is celebrated in these parts, often serving (along with his magnificent Black Sails score) as a backdrop to the Frontier Partisan biathlon.

So it was with great interest that I heard the news that Outlander is getting the full orchestral performance treatment that it richly deserves…

Do you ever feel as if everything is pointing you towards something…space, time, history?

For longtime Outlander fans, these words feel like home. As the global phenomenon reaches its conclusion in 2026, its heart continues to beat on stage with Outlander in Concert. The officially licensed live concert experience was created in collaboration with its showrunner Matthew B. Roberts and original Emmy Award-winning composer Bear McCreary.

Like the stones of Craigh na Dun that carried Claire through time to Jamie, this symphonic experience guides audiences through love and loss, past and future, Scotland and beyond. The iconic score by Bear McCreary takes centerstage, performed live by an orchestra, while the series’ most stirring moments unfold on a cinema‑sized screen.

A global tour is planned, and I expect it will hit Portland, in which case, we will light the fiery cross and summon the Clan for a trek across the mountains.

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The UK publisher Helion & Co. has a forthcoming release that looks like a key volume for the FP library.

I think highly of their publications, though their scheduling can be frustrating. Books that are listed as forthcoming sometimes don’t show up for years. I actually emailed them to inquire about this and a couple of other titles and got a very prompt response indicating that this is slated December 2025 or January 2026. It clocks in at 396 pages, and Helion’s books are dense.

War on the Turtle’s Back examines all the campaigns fought by Woodland Indians of North America during the period of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) and beyond from 1752 to 1766. Using contemporary documents and accounts, and recorded oral evidence, research papers and published works by native scholars and others, the book covers the wars from the various viewpoints of Indigenous Peoples, putting their motives and military involvement centre stage from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi valley. Indeed, consensual choices made by people of sovereign tribal nations unacceptable to officials of France or Britain were to eventually lead to war between these European powers.

To enhance the appreciation of the part played by Woodland Indians during the French and Indian War, War on the Turtle’s Back gives contextual background information on daily life, governance, beliefs, dress, and the way war was carried out, from the initiation of a war party to its return home. Details of training, organisation, the role of women, campaigning and the actual tactics employed (as opposed to those portrayed in novels, movies and the media) are given. As well as descriptions of dress fashion at the time, contemporary illustrations and photographs help give a guide to the visual appearance of Indigenous Peoples.

Their volume on Robert Rogers — Scalp Hunter — is estimated for Spring 2026, as is a volume on the Matabele Uprising of 1896. Unfortunately, a title on Canadians in the Boer War and a title on the First Matabele War are delayed for 1-2 years.

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I mentioned in a recent post that the Age of Discovery is when my historical passions kick into gear. Well…