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 familys 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 nearlypages 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.
I thought the details about life at the time were interesting, The characters seemed more like caricatures than real people,.out of. A VERY thick novel, in which I was so engrossed I devoured it quickly, A fascinating look at the nittygritty 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 rosecolored 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. 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 mustread 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 storystars! 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, 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,
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 instead of five is because I like tighter writing, Doc's sharp scalpel could have pared this book frompages towithout losing much of the story, 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.
This is a big book with a big story to tell, Following a prominent Arkansas farming family fromthrough, 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, Theres a little Carlos Castaneda present in Butlers 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, 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, Powerfully entertaining and worthy of five, 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 aboutone 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 thes 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, .