LINCOLN'S AVENGER

 

LINCOLN’S AVENGER

By Jonathan Sweet

Little Rapids Press

173 pgs

 

History records that the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was shot and killed on a farm in Virginia. The shooter was an army sergeant named Thomas “Boston” Corbett. Corbett’s later life was anything but peaceful. First made famous then later notorious, the man’s days were filled with emotional chaos that ultimately led to a sanitarium for the insane. After escaping that facility, he disappeared until decades later only to die in The Great Hinckley Fire of Minnesota.

 

The aftermath of that horrendous catastrophe is where Sweet begins his fantastic tale. His protagonist is Henry Stone, a reporter for a Duluth paper. Arriving at the scene, Stone, via several interviews with survivors, discovers Corbett’s fate. This leads him to the ruins of Corbett’s cabin shack and there he uncovers a steel box containing Corbett’s personal notes. They tell how Corbett, after his escape from the asylum, began to suspect the man he killed in Virginia was not Booth but rather someone posing as the notorious actor/assassin.

Are these the ravings of a madman? Mere hallucinations brought on by years of questions and public scrutiny? Unable to simply discount what he has uncovered, Stone returns to Deluth and begins his own investigating into Corbett’s past as well as the government’s records relating to Booth’s death. Soon he begins to suspect that a conspiracy exist managed by a group of Southern sympathizers whose motives he can only guess at and perhaps Booth is still among the living.

Writer Sweet weaves a tantalizing historical mystery that pulls the reader along. Building upon known facts whose eerie suppositions, if proven true, could alter the course of American history. “Lincoln’s Avenger” is pure pulp with great characters and an ending readers won’t soon forget.

1812 A Novel

 

1812

A Novel

By David Niven

A Forge Paperback

442 pg

 

First published in 1996, David Niven’s historical novel set against the tumultuous years of the War of 1812 is absolutely magnificent in capturing a crucial era in American history. This reviewer truly believes most students are naturally enraptured by the story of the American Revolution and it relates to the story of the birth our nation. Whereas, while continuing on through following decades, we faced the first actual challenge to that republic. A period that gets little attention in most classes. Except for a few paragraphs on the reasons behind the conflict, the mention of the Capital being burned and Andrew Jackson winning the Battle of New Orleans, little else is ever recalled or given any significant weight.

As a lifelong student of history, we were aware of our own lack of knowledge and eagerly picked up this tome. Though written as a novel for obvious dramatic purposes, Niven doesn’t stary from factual events and within these pages we learned lots more about soldier Winfield Scott and the battles fought in Canada against the British. All of which were totally a surprise to us. Then there is the political pitfalls President James Madison faced as most of the New England states were against the war and threatened to secede if it continued. That he managed to persevere is a testimony to his uncanny foresight in understanding the potential future for this new untested nation.

Finally, there’s Andrew Jackson, the backwoods fighter who dreamed of glory never realizing its true cost and the sacrifices it would demand of him and all Americans. 1812 is a captivating, exciting adventure with vivid battle sequences and insightful glimpses into the hearts of the men and women unwilling to abandon the goals of our Founding Fathers. It’s worth your time, dear reader. You’ll be the better for having read it.

CLIVE CUSSLER - THE SEA WOLVES

 

CLIVE CUSSLER – THE SEA WOLVES

By Jack Du Brul

Putnam Books

385 pgs

 

Of all the adventure pulp series the late Clive Cussler created, our favorite remains the Isaac Bell stories. Oh, we totally appreciated the Dirk Pitt tales. It’s always been our believe that they were the first in a resurgence of American pulp fiction. Still, the turn of the century setting established for professional Van Dorn Detective Bell appeals to our love of history. Cussler only ever penned the first Isaac Bell book, “The Chase.” The next eight were written by Justin Scott and he did a magnificent job with them. Now the baton has been handed off to Jack Du Brul, another “Cussler” writer. “The Sea Wolves” is his third Isaac Bell outing; making it the twelfth in the series.

As the drama begins, World War One is ravaging Europe, but President Woodrow Wilson is determined to keep the United States neutral. Still, he’s willing to aid our cousins, the British, with much needed war armament. Learning this, the German set about targeting these ships with their U-Boats patrolling the North Atlantic. Their retaliation is cautionary in that they only hunt British ships avoiding those flying the US Flag. Whereas their success rate of discovering and sinking those specific ships is uncanny. Enough so that a young Navy Officer, Joe Marchetti, suspects a German spy ring to be operating on the docks of New York harbor and responsible for identifying those ships to the German submarines.

Marchetti seeks out Bell’s help in not only finding the spies but determining exactly how they are getting their messages to the submarines. Once again, Du Brul narrates a suspenseful, fact moving thriller; at the same time capturing the feel of the period and the events that tragically led to America’s entry into the war. It’s a terrific read and highly recommended.