Hydra | Aug 18, 2015 | 272 Pages
Blurb
Readers of Stephen King and Joe Hill will devour this bold,
terrifying new novel from Edward M. Erdelac. A mysterious man posing as a Union
soldier risks everything to enter the Civil War’s deadliest prison—only to find
a horror beyond human reckoning.
Georgia, 1864. Camp Sumter, aka Andersonville, has earned a reputation as an open sewer of sadistic cruelty and terror where death may come at any minute. But as the Union prisoners of war pray for escape, cursing the fate that spared them a quicker end, one man makes his way into the camp purposefully.
Georgia, 1864. Camp Sumter, aka Andersonville, has earned a reputation as an open sewer of sadistic cruelty and terror where death may come at any minute. But as the Union prisoners of war pray for escape, cursing the fate that spared them a quicker end, one man makes his way into the camp purposefully.
Barclay Lourdes has a mission—and a secret. But right now
his objective is merely to survive the hellish camp. The slightest misstep
summons the full fury of the autocratic commander, Captain Wirz, and the brutal
Sergeant Turner. Meanwhile, a band of shiftless thieves and criminals known as
the “Raiders” preys upon their fellow prisoners. Barclay soon finds that
Andersonville is even less welcoming to a black man—especially when that man is
not who he claims to be. Little does he imagine that he’s about to encounter
supernatural terrors beyond his wildest dreams . . . or nightmares.
My Review
“Andersonville” by Edward M. Erdelac is a great historical
fiction read if you’re interested in the Civil War. It does not really give you
a lot of insight about the actual war, but you are able to clearly see the
inner workings of a Civil War Prison Camp. Andersonville was the most notorious
prisoner of war camp there was during the Civil War in America. The prisoners
were starved, abused, and not provided proper medical care. A lot of this had to do with the fact that it
was located in Georgia, which was controlled by the Confederacy, and it was
during a time in the war when the south did not have enough supplies to keep
their own troops fed and clothed properly, so obviously they were not going to
give the Union soldiers more than their own men were receiving. This novel
shows the prison through the eyes of a black man named Barclay Lourdes. Through
his eyes the reader is able to see how the prisoners were treated, and how the
racism towards blacks was shown not only from the Confederates who were in
charge of the camp, but also by many of his fellow prisoners. The author did a
great job of describing the suffering the men were going through, and what an
actual day was like as a prisoner within the walls of Andersonville. He
definitely goes into some detailed descriptions when writing about some of the sickening
things that happened while inside the prison camp, so if you’re squeamish be
prepared.
The reason I’m not giving it a full five stars has to do
with the elements of voodoo/supernatural within this book. I am completely fine
with reading about people practicing voodoo, and things similar to it, but when
the characters started talking about the guards and Wirz (the man who ran the
camp and was later convicted of war crimes) being actually possessed by evil
spirits and things like that, it was just a little too much for me. I think it kind
of took the historical fiction element away, and gave it too much of a supernatural feel for me, and I’m just not a fan of reading about the supernatural. Another
reason I could not give it a full five stars is because I read a different historical fiction book named “Andersonville”
around 10 years ago. This book is a lot like that one, but in my opinion, not
as good. So, while this book IS a good read, and I DO like it, I could only
give it FOUR out of FIVE stars. Definitely worth picking up to read if you like
Civil War historical fiction.
Reviews
“The true story of Andersonville is one of unimaginable
horror and human misery. It’s a testament to his unmatched skill as a storyteller
that Edward M. Erdelac is not only able to capture that horror but to add
another level of supernatural terror and reveal that the darkest evil of all
resides in the human soul. Highly recommended to fans of horror and history
alike.”—Brett J. Talley, Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of That Which
Should Not Be and He Who Walks in Shadow
“Andersonville is a raw, groundbreaking supernatural
knuckle-punch. Erdelac absolutely owns Civil War and Wild West horror fiction.”—Weston
Ochse, bestselling author of SEAL Team 666
About the Author
Edward M. Erdelac is a member of the Horror Writers
Association and the author of six novels (including the acclaimed weird western
series Merkabah Rider) and several short stories. He is an independent
filmmaker, award-winning screenwriter, and sometime Star Wars contributor.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he resides in the Los Angeles area with
his wife and a bona fide slew of children and cats.
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Author Links
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This is a part of history that fascinates me, and to set a supernatural story here is definitely intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour!