Death was the rule, life the exception. Life was at best a transitory dream, set in a universe that was entirely indifferent to his fate.” The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance.

Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil. It is then that Brown informs us of a chilling fact: on the day that the Graves family officially left for California, the 1st of May was three weeks behind them. There are some books that make you want to run outside, open your arms to the sky, and twirl in the cool breeze and sunlight… And there are some books that desperately make you want to stand with your fridge door open, in your heated/air-conditioned house that does not have bugs falling through the roof, with all your curtains shutting out nature, staring at all your processed food, and marveling that you don't have dysentery. I am not sure that I will able to play the Oregon Trail so callously ever again. The Indifferent Stars Above is an ideal pairing of talent and material…With tragedy of this scale an unadorned telling of the events speaks loudest…The understatement of simple circumstances delivers the emotional wallop all by itself.”The speaker of ‘ A Dream of Death’ establishes that this will be the retelling of a dream they’ve experienced. They dream of someone passing away in a “strange place,” and describe that no accustomed hands are nearby. By this, it is likely meant that there are no hands nearby that they are used to, suggesting they are alone in a strange land. They are not given a name, they are simply “one,” suggesting there is little or no personal connection between the deceased person and the narrator. This could be a reflection of the dream landscape, where individuals are often difficult to recognize.

The party, therefore, that manages to get to safety consist of only two men (William Eddy and William Foster), but all five of the women (sisters Sarah and Mary Ann Graves, Amanda McCutcheon, Sarah Foster, and Harriet Pike). More on this interesting gender division later.The author unfortunately seems to not consider Indigenous People human beings. The racism isn't at all subtle and it is grating. When all is said and done I think the story tells us that hope is the heroes domain, not the fools. Because we dare to hope, even when doing so might undo us. We leave the worlds we create behind us, swirling in our wakes, eternal and effervescent with the beauty of our aspirations.”