Historical fiction at its most enlightening and entertaining; a must-read for American history buffs.
The adventures of Belle Boyd, real-life Civil War scout and spy, come alive in this blend of fact and fiction that takes readers for a ride on the Confederate side.
Filled with hatred for the Union after the man she intended to marry is killed, 17-year-old Isabelle “Belle” Boyd quickly finds revenge by shooting the soldier who raids her house and assaults her mother. News of her notorious act quickly spreads from her hometown of Martinsburg, Va., through Rebel and Union camps alike. While caught between forces, Belle nurses the wounded in the local military hospital—a vocation that ostracizes her from “polite society” even before she moves on to work as a courier, a scout and ultimately a spy for Turner Ashby of the 7th Virginia Cavalry. Along with her keen mind and a rare courage that leads her across battlefields and on midnight rides, Belle finds a crucial asset in her curvy figure, which beguiles many a soldier and officer into giving away Union plans. The fictional narrative moves swiftly along, following well-established facts about the “War Between the States,” and Hamit offers insight into both sides, as well as the perspectives of the African-Americans over whose freedom the war is ostensibly fought. Particularly engaging is Belle’s servant, Eliza, who becomes no mean spy in her own right. The author built this compelling tale from what scanty facts exist about the real Belle Boyd, imbuing believability and gravitas to much of what must be only conjecture. The depictions of ragged, oft-drunken units awaiting orders, the frustrations and disloyalties of angry civilians, and the meetings of exhausted officers within hastily erected tents are so credible, readers feel a bit like spies themselves, listening in. And although the innocence of Belle and her female cousins may initially read as young-adult fiction, this impression slides into an adult sensibility, just as Belle, by necessity, grows stronger, harder and worldlier. She may view her ruined reputation with chagrin, but she wisely turns it to her favor, as her skillful methods of seduction—there’s nothing young adult about these racy scenes—yield valuable information that she successfully smuggles between breasts and under hoop skirts.
Historical fiction at its most enlightening and entertaining; a must-read for American history buffs.Pub Date: May 9, 2008
ISBN: 978-1595959027
Page Count: 433
Publisher: Brass Cannon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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