Andersonville by Edward M Erdelac
Series: N/A
Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror, American Civil War
Pages: 272
Format: e-ARC
Publisher: Hydra (Aug 18, 2015)
Source: TLC BOOK TOURS/Publisher/Netgalley
Rating:
Synopsis
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.
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.
Advance praise for Andersonville
“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.
My Thoughts
Read as part of the TLC Book Tour Aug/Sept 2015
We are introduced to our protagonist Barclay Lourdes as he leaps onto a moving train transporting Union soldiers to the Confederate's prison camp, Camp Sumpter. He assumes the identity of a dead soldier and partners up with fellow prisoner Charlie. Together they attempt to find their place within the camp, quickly adapting to their environment in order to survive in their brutal surroundings where nobody or anything is as it seems.
There's not a lot more to add as the synopsis says enough without giving too much of the plot away so I'll leave it at that.
This is an extremely well written horror novel set in arguably one of the bloodiest times in American history. The true horror is that Camp Sumpter (Andersonville) was indeed a 'hell on earth' and that there can be no overplay of the horror and brutality these men suffered daily in their nightmarish struggle to survive death, madness, disease and starvation. My initial concerns were that Andersonville was going to evolve into a zombie style farce which in my opinion would belittle the credibility of the plot, but to my relief this didn't happen. Instead it took on a supernatural twist involving an occult detective which enhanced the dark menacing atmosphere of the camp and certainly didn't take anything away from the horror of the real Andersonville.
Erdelac's blending of factual and fictional characters together with a supernatural element is well measured without it becoming implausible or laughable.
The intensity builds at a steady pace increasing the atmospheric tension and creating a sense of evil foreboding. I felt concern and fearful for the camps inhabitants. Although I thought the pacing was a little slow at times Andersonville was a thoroughly compelling and engaging read. It is a unique piece of alternative history and certainly as good as the best from the likes of Stephen King and Joe Hill. I highly recommend Edward M Erdelac's novel to not only fans of the horror genre, but to anyone interested in the American Civil War with something a little different to their usual read.
Andersonville is currently available in kindle format at £3.47 at Amazon UK and $5.12 Amazon US. Why not enter the TLC Book Tours Giveaway below for the chance to win a copy of Edward M Erdelac's 'Andersonville' and judge for yourself.
Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of Andersonville was provided by TLC Book Tours via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.
About Edward M Erdelac;
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 LA area with his wife and a bona fide slew of children and cats.
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY LINK
Edward M. Erdelac’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, August 17th: Stephanie’s Book Reviews….100 Pages a Day
Tuesday, August 18th: Fourth Street Review
Tuesday, August 18th: Bibliotica
Wednesday, August 19th: The Reader’s Hollow
Wednesday, August 19th: Tynga’s Reviews
Thursday, August 20th: A Book Geek
Monday, August 24th: Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday, August 25th: Kissin’ Blue Karen
Thursday, August 27th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Friday, August 28th: Vic’s Media Room
Monday, August 31st: It’s a Mad Mad World
Tuesday, September 1st: SJ2B House of Books
Wednesday, September 2nd: Historical Fiction Obsession
Thursday, September 3rd: Kimberly’s Bookshelf
Friday, September 4th: Jenn’s Bookshelves
Monday, September 7th: From the TBR Pile
TBD: Kari J. Wolfe.
