[Previous entry: "Will Grigg on "Why Our Rulers Hate America""] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Journalist Greg Palast in hot oil with Homeland (Achtung!) Security"]

09/13/2006 Archived Entry: "The Hunt for Confederate Gold -- Cool book!"

HOO BOY! I LOVE IT WHEN A FREEDOM BOOK ends as great as it begins. The book in question is one I mentioned last week, The Hunt for Confederate Gold, Thomas Moore's debut novel.

Since this is obviously intended to be the first novel among many, the news is even better. My review is below.

THE HUNT FOR CONFEDERATE GOLD
By Thomas Moore
Fusilier Books, Alexandria, VA, 2005

The Hunt for Confederate Gold tells three parallel stories:

• April 1865. The South is falling. Confederate Secretary of the Treasury George Alfred Trenholm (a historic character) hatches a plan. While he retreats by train with a modest, but tempting, load of the Confederacy's gold, he'll send his soon-to-be son-in-law, naval lieutenant Edmond Marchand (a fictional character) on a perilous sea journey to hide a much larger amount of gold. The intention: to help the South rise again -- some day.

• The present: George Trenholm Bolitho -- "Bo" -- returns from military service in Iraq. Although he's from a family with a proud military tradition, his ideals are shattered, his aims unclear. He enters a Ph.D. program in History, but remains lost -- until he begins research on his ancestor, the Treasury secretary. (Research which is done in conjunction with another Ph.D. candidate, the lovely Iona Herrick.)

• The present: Prof. Parker T. Hastie is a politically incorrect, but highly engaging, history teacher -- the kind who (gasp!) actually encourages students to think. He's also co-founder of The Fellowship of the South, which aims ... well, that's something you'll discover as you read. But because of his activism and his non-PC views, Hastie becomes the target of trumped-up federal charges.

These three stories come together as Bo discovers a coded document that might, just might, point toward the long-rumored cache of missing Confederate gold.

The book, a well-made trade paperback, is professional in every sense, from effective cover art and fine typesetting to a solid, very intriguing plot.

Its storytelling is smooth-flowing, passionate, articulate, and impeccably constructed.

It definitely shows signs of being a first novel. Some characters could be better drawn (we see that Bo is eventually attracted to Iona, but since her major actions are foolish or spineless ones that put "the good guys" in jeopardy, I'm not sure what the attraction is). An intriguing character named Noddy Law remains mostly undeveloped, but I hope he'll turn up and play a larger role in future sequels.

Because Moore aimed for a meaningful story, as well as an action-oriented one, we do get a few lectures. But they don't slow the book down. (Aaron and I faced the same problem when writing RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone, so I definitely empathize.)

Regardless of small flaws, The Hunt for Confederate Gold is a page-turner for sure. It's also a novel of hope for both Southrons and independence-loving Yankees and Westerners alike. If you can't already tell, I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it.

I was going to end by quoting a long passage from pages 118 and 119. But I think I'll just end now and encourage you to find and enjoy that passage (and many others) for yourself.

And hey, Tom Moore, KEEP WRITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Claire @ 03:20 PM CST
Link