This Scorched Earth: A Novel of the Civil War and the American West by William Gear

This Scorched Earth: A Novel of the Civil War and the American West Reviews

• 
  Tammy

  This is a big book with a big story to tell. Following a prominent Arkansas farming family from 1861 through 1868, the Civil War is the centerpiece of this novel. This is not a sugar coated portrayal of the Civil War. The butchery, madness, murder, violation and starvation of both sides (civilian and military) are quite sobering. Butler furnishes a “you are there” view of the battles at Shiloh and Chickamauga which eventually push him over the edge of sanity. There’s a little Carlos Castaneda present in Butler’s story. Philip (Doc) tries to save as many people as possible on and off the battlefield. The carnage is beyond imagining. Their sister, Sarah, does everything she can do just to survive and many of the things she does would never have entered her mind prior to the war. The youngest sibling, Billy, unable to cope with what he felt was a tremendous failure becomes the devil incarnate. In short, all are deeply scarred by their experiences. In some ways, this grand tale is a timely novel. The impact of the Civil War can still be felt today as cities across America debate, remove and relocate symbols of the Confederacy.
• 
  Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.)

  William Gear's "This Scorched Earth" is a terrific novel of the Civil War and post-Civil War period. I meant to provide this brief review after I finished the novel in January or February of this year, but failed to do so. He focuses on a family from Arkansas and follows them through that tumultuous time. Gear and his wife have collaborated over the past twenty some odd years on a series of novels focusing on the settlement of North America by Native American peoples and their research and historical accuracy are renowned, and Gear brings that same attention to detail and accuracy to this novel. I really enjoyed it.
• 
  Theresa

  This Scorched Earth
  by William Gear
  William Gear is not a new name to historical fiction and with connections to his more famous historical fiction books Coyote Summer, and the Morning River, this is a magnum opus of stories. The dynamic characters bring these controversy to prominence, drawing the reader into changing their mind of the history we learned in school. He dives right into the conflict and controversy of the Civil war. Not from the Northern or the Southern opinion but from the good men and women affected by a war they did not want to join the battle for ideals. He defines his characters as a family that does not agree with slavery. Yet they find themselves forced to rationalize it in defense of their home. His characters are affected profoundly by the politics, and effects of the war. William Gear looks at so many parts and controversies of the turbulent history connected to this battle for freedom, life and choice. The Civil War was a battle of wills, ideals, and controversy that made men fight battles against violent, diversive ideals that tore at the fabric of America. Its repercussions have not yet dissipated in the waves of the world history. William shows the brutal reality of the battles, with the repercussions of technological developments of weapons and tactics that are devastating in their effect. He looks into the medical developments before and after the war that changed society, from surgical practices, to the care and maintenance of prisoners. Particularly the mental health changes that have repercussions with our military today like PTSD and other war time affects. The later half of the book looks into the personal changes that happened to those who survive not only the battles but prison camps, and jayhawkers, and other war atrocities. This family is torn apart limb from limb by the war, as all parts of it is divided and devoured by the evil brought from both sides of the conflict. And just surviving is not an option. This book will bring a new light to an old conflict and show men and women today how the whitewashed history books got it all wrong. War is not glory, it is not fame, it is not ideals but a touch of insanity in a world without reason.
  
• 
  Brian Durfee

  Gripping. Brutal. Loved it. Not since Lonesome Dove was I moved by a piece of historical fiction so much. Now off to re-read Gear's Spider trilogy!!
• 
  Jane

  3.5 out of 5. A VERY thick novel, in which I was so engrossed I devoured it quickly. A fascinating look at the nitty-gritty of the Civil War and its effects on a simple farm family from Arkansas. Each of the siblings reacts in their own way and afterwards, the siren call of the West pulls them there. I don't think I'll ever look through rose-colored glasses at the Civil War again. They all make new lives for themselves there. I wondered how authentic the author's descriptions of the Indians were later in the novel, when one brother lives among them. Too much sexual description disgusted me in the last half.
  
  Recommended.
• 
  Lili Naghdi

  I was at the airport waiting for my flight when I realized I'd left the book I was reading at home, so I picked this book from the store shelf and started reading it! I should confess that I really enjoyed reading the whole thing during my whole trip. This is a must-read Civil War epic, in my opinion. I couldn't stop reading it and I think the realistic view of William Gear makes it truly intriguing. "War" can ruin anyone and anything as we all know, but, unfortunately, what it does to the survivors is another world to explore. The main characters are interesting and the plot by itself is inviting. You can get connected to the characters and feel their extent of challenges in a realistic way. Gear put lots of effort into creating this work and I am pleased to give this story 5 stars!
• 
  Julie Stauss

  I liked the story of this family. The description of the war is very disturbing but true. What I didn't care for was that the story could probably have been told in half the words.
• 
  John Baker

  Interesting theme tracing three brothers and a sister from western Arkansas through the Civil War. Story concludes in 1868 Denver.
• 
  Marylee Lannan

  I thought the details about life at the time were interesting. The characters seemed more like caricatures than real people.
• 
  Sandra The Old Woman in a Van

  Epic 4.5 star novel. This book is billed as a novel
  of the Civil War but it is much more. The first half follows an affluent family in northern Arkansas through the prelude and actual fighting of the war. The writing is excellent and the Arkansas perspective was especially interesting as this region is rarely covered in Civil War fiction. It seems well researched as every aspect I did further research on supported the novel. The author, rather than presenting a heroic battle fighting story, focuses more on the impact of war on individuals. The reader of course knows the war’s outcome but the detailed descriptions through the eyes of his characters makes the experience so vivid it is not for the squeamish. The second half of the book is where I was completely drawn in though. Very little is written about the impact of the Civil War on westward expansion. This book ties together the trauma and related pathology to individuals and how many of those severely damaged people went West. They did so because they no longer had homes or more likely because they were so damaged,hurt, disillusioned by the war they left the East. These individuals and their pathos fed the Indian Wars, the gambling houses, the brothels, the competition for resources and the outlaw mentality of the late 19th century Wild West. This thesis the detailed exploration of individuals through the experiences of one family was masterful. If you enjoy history and psychology and are comfortable reading a graphic exploration of war and its aftermath, or if the HBO series Deadwood hooked you, you will likely appreciate this novel. I check Arkansas off my 2019 50 state challenge. For more states to get to.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Carolyn

  I really enjoyed this book. It is long, 700 pages, but it held my attention the whole time. The story centers on the Hancock Family, living in Arkansas, focusing on the four siblings from 1861, before the Civil War, until 1868. The War takes each member of the family far from the path they ever imagined.
  Philip, the eldest, studied Medicine in Boston, planning to establish himself as a doctor for those who could afford his services, enlisted as a way to make some money. He remained a field doctor for the entire war, feeling he was inadequate to help, and was scarred with the senseless loss and destruction. Butler, had planned to teach, but was drawn into the war. Initially he acted as a secretary, helping formulate strategies and defenses. When his general is injured he had to assume lead, and the fruitlessness of the fight, and the responsibility of command, left him a different person. Sarah and her mother remained at the homestead with Billy the youngest. They sent Billy away to the woods to protect the animals, and to avoid being conscripted. He knows his duty is to protect the women as best as any 15 year old can and supply them with food from his hunts. Their homestead is taken over and used as a hospital, stripped of anything valuable, such as food and building materials, and attacked by rogue units of the confederacy. The Civil War was a brutal war, leaving so many dead, and changing the landscape and way of life. Post traumatic stress syndrome is recognized now, but clearly left many, many effected in previous wars.
• 
  Vic

  Powerfully entertaining and worthy of five stars. First and foremost, I couldn't stop reading the story. Solid characters driving an interesting story that covered a lot of ground in a relatively short span of time. From Arkansas at the beginning of the American Civil War to San Francisco seven years later. Second, solid characters to care about—one family's series of tragic events and how the war changed the lives of four siblings and all their dreams of the future. Third, did I mention the characters?
  
  Gear is a wonderful story teller. Don't be fooled by the lack of publications under the name William Gear. Look up W. Michael Gear and there are literally dozens upon dozens of stories ranging from first class science fiction to the history of Native Americans. A prolific writer who came to fame literally writing a history of Native Americans with his wife Kathleen O'Neil Gear. Elements of this work, This Scorched Earth: A Novel of the Civil War and the American West, have appeared in various other stories over the years and long time fans will recognize his unmistakable writing style.
  
  The story of the Hancock family as war came to their part of rural Arkansas is nothing short of an American tragedy. It's relevance in the timeline of our nation's history strikes a particularly macabre note as current day Americans bandy about talk of another Civil War, most likely by those ignorant of history. Ignorant of the wreckage of lives and loss of personal property that resulted from rich white men insisting on the right to enslave another human being, but needing the poor to do the fighting. Dress it up any way you choose, but the southern states in the 1860s were willing to blow up our fledgling nation for the right to own people.
  
  Gear is very particular in how he portrays war. Without judgment or delving into issues of morality, he instead focuses on the impact of the war on the soldiers. Bodies being blown to bits in graphic detail. The extreme devastation of life and limb. And like with all wars, it's often the young and innocent who bear the brunt of the maiming and killing.
  
  In, This Scorched Earth, Gear follows the lives of three brothers and a sister whose lives are broken by the war: rape, human degradation, shattered souls and wounded hearts. Innocence lost. Minds lost. Love lost. As the war dragged on for years, evil was unleashed on America. Families torn apart. A lifetime of hard work stripped bare or burnt to the ground. Death, starvation, mental illness and permanent physical disabilities spreading like a plague as armies fought, neighbors turned on neighbors and bad actors pillaged and plundered with impunity.
  
  Each of the siblings suffered their own personal hell. Each absorbed tragedy after tragedy; and finding themselves traveling the road to perdition, each must look deep into heart and soul. Either find a way to carry on or give in to the darkness that has stolen the light from their eyes.
  
  It was not difficult to see where Gear was taking his story. He built, This Scorched Earth, around survival and redemption. Free from religious teachings about morality and sin, and by allowing his characters to simply react, respond and navigate their lives as human beings responding to circumstances, This Scorched Earth, is classic Gear: a novel showcasing the best and the worst of human nature.
  
  I thought the story had a little bit of a pulp fiction feel to it, only more complex and nuanced. In some ways his characters are archetypes and easy to identify with. Most everything is out in the open: low hanging fruit to be enjoyed without much effort, as well as deeper concepts and ideas to be mulled over. This Scorched Earth is another fine piece of writing that will only further cement Gear's standing as an outstanding American novelist.
• 
  Earl McDermitt

  This work is subtitled "A Novel of the Civil War and the American West." A number of reviewers have commented at length about the Civil War part (the first 300 pages). I felt much more drawn in by the American West portion (the last 400 pages).
  
  As many have stated, this is a dark and often bleak novel, yet there are windows of hope scattered throughout. The choices made by the protagonists were a mix of obvious, questionable, and infuriating. I found myself identifying with all four primary characters. I felt for them and with them, and I was rewarded by accompanying the Hancocks on this journey.
  
  This Scorched Earth was a Finalist for the 2019
  Spur Award for Best Western Historical Novel.
  
  
• 
  Veronica Shields

  All of the elements are there for an epic family story, but somewhere in the plotting, the author lost sight of the connecting thread that made this family’s story worth telling. In other places, the gravitas of certain events in the novel is undermined by weaker prose and muddled attempts at reflecting war, patriarchy, and poverty without having a clear image to what greater purpose the characters’ endless suffering serves to the greater narrative. Instead, we find ourselves meandering through disconnected storylines that are often poorly tethered to each other.
  
  Still, it was engaging enough for me to make it through nearly 700 pages of content. With a strong editor, this could have been a novel worthy of its page count, but I warn interested readers that you may find as I did that, while the attempt and ambition is laudable, the story may not earn the size of the investment required.
• 
  Patricia Stoltey

  Anyone who has ever glorified war should read This Scorched Earth. I couldn't stop reading, even though the battle scenes are gruesome (realistic instead of romanticized) and the horrors of war planted firmly in the lives of the main characters. This is the story of a family whose members are scattered to different parts of the country during and after the war, each surviving but damaged in different ways. The first part of the novel is the war, and the second part is the aftermath. The only reason I gave the book four stars instead of five is because I like tighter writing. Doc's sharp scalpel could have pared this book from 698 pages to 400 without losing much of the story.
• 
  Elgin

  A very interesting and entertaining story about a well-to-do Ankansas farm family and the devastating changes to their lives caused by the Civil War. Going off to war is bad enough, but this book describes the horror of actually trying to live where the war is taking place. Both confederate and Union and local renegrade militias swept through the family farm again and again, destroying property and lives. The family is scattered and Gears marvelous story follows them through the war and post war years. A bit bloody (especially the descriptions of battle scenes at Shiloh and Chickamunga) but well worth reading. Highly recommended.
• 
  Joseph

  This was the first book I've read by this author. The book is historically accurate, but is very graphic, both violently and sexually. The story revolves around the Hancock family during and immediately after the Civil War. Other than that, I can't say much more without giving away the plot. It took me a full week to read it, but I would consider reading this author again, just because the book is mainly set in the war's Western theater.
• 
  Julie

  My first by this author. I've read many historical fiction novels about the civil war and it's aftermath. This was especially poignant because we follow the Hancock siblings before, during and after the war in great detail including their unimaginable sorrow and how they individually coped with the pain. Particularly interesting since they each faced different trials and each coped with them in vastly different ways. One of the best books out there in this genre.