The Rebel

A Novel of the Civil War by Bernard Cornwell

The Starbuck Chronicles

This series of books written by a renown British author was recommended by my brother last month. I could not find the four books in the Main P.L. but managed to run across Copperhead at the Highland branch. then, lo and behold while waiting for a computer at the Jeff branch I found the first book...The Rebel.

There seems to be a pattern in Civil War books. Start out with something very gruesome and then on to the story. This one was a tar and feather feature that introduced us to a characters that will remain through out the next three.


First of all, I have to give my bro a copy of Howard Bahr's book...Year of Jubilo, which is to date one of my favorite Civil War books. why? It made me cry and the ending surprised me, I did not see it coming through thinking back I should have. And I loved the dialect ....ah, this is about Rebel not Jubilo.

Anyway, ....characters. Nate, ok but everything an officer could be described by "Co. Aytch" (which I have recently found at the library book store in Memphis) as cowering in the back ground as war raged around them. Yet, he did okay.

Will I read the rest of the series? Not certain, but I must finish Co. Aytch as I see many of the Civil War writers have and use him as a guide when describing life as a CSA participant.

Back to Rebel. The character of Faulconer was great as I wanted to slap his face when he managed to steal all the glory for saving the CSA when it was actually his troops who did so, against his orders. He was fighting mad when he learned of their part in the Manassas battle.

many characters are memorable and from peaking at Copperhead, I see they are still around, so I guess not killed in the book between the first and third.

That's all I have to say about that.

Read Jubilo and the three books written by Bahr before this series. And read Jacob's Ladder before this one. And most definitely read GWTW before this one. Read The Killer Angels.