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Rebel (2001)

Rebel (2001)

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Rating
3.78 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0060934611 (ISBN13: 9780060934613)
Language
English
Publisher
harper perennial

About book Rebel (2001)

Nord und SüdWegen einer Eskapade mit einer Frau hat Nathaniel Starbuck seine Ausbildung zum Pastor abgebrochen. Sein Vater, ebenfalls Theologe, ist nun überhaupt nicht gut auf seinen Sohn zu sprechen. Und so will Nathaniel lieber zum Elternhaus seines besten Freundes Adam reisen. Dass Adam aus den Südstaaten kommt und Nathaniels Vater vehement gegen die Sklaverei predigt, stört Starbuch nicht weiter. Lieber will er für die Konförderierten kämpfen als bei seinem Vater zu Kreuze zu kriechen. Doch kaum angekommen im Süden wird Starbuck als Spion verdächtigt und nur durch eine glückliche Fügung wird er vom Vater seines Freundes gerettet. Dieser, Washington Faulconer, ist sehr wohlhabend, sogar reich genug, um ein eigenes Regiment aufzustellen. Faulconer bietet Nathaniel einen Offiziersposten an, welchen dieser zunächst recht unbedarft auch annimmt.Der Beginn des amerikanischen Bürgerkriegs wird hier erzählerisch beleuchtet. Nathaniel Starbuck ist schon ein ziemlicher Haudegen. Zweifelhaft, ob er sich viele Gedanken um die Politik gemacht hat, als er in Faulconers Regiment eintritt. Nicht unbedingt denkt er, dass diese kleine Privatarmee wirklich ins Kriegsgeschehen eingreifen wird. Und so ein paar kleine Scharmützel wird man schon überstehen können. In seiner recht ungewöhnlichen Situation als Bostoner auf Seiten der Konförderierten kämpfen zu wollen, schlägt sich Nathaniel Starbuck zunächst recht gut und gewinnt das Vertrauen Faulconers. Doch schnell kommt es auch zu schwierigen Situationen.Teilweise sehr spannend schildert der Autor die Anfangsphase des Bürgerkrieges. Wie unbedarft die Beteiligten zunächst mit dem Krieg umgehen. Fast noch in Schussweite wird getanzt, könnte man sagen. Teilweise aber auch sehr gemächlich schreiten die Ereignisse voran. Kleine Nebenhandlungen werden eingeflochten, die es manchmal etwas erschweren, die Orientierung zu behalten. Dennoch sobald der Autor zum Höhepunkt des Romans, der ersten Schlacht von Manassas oder Bull Run, kommt, zieht er den Leser mitten ins Schlachtgetümmel. Der 21.07.1861 ist ein markantes Datum des amerikanischen Sezessionskrieges, denn der Sieg der Konförderierten hat zu einer Verlängerung der Auseinandersetzungen geführt, von denen man meinte, sie könnten Ende des Jahres abgeschlossen sein. Deutlich wird auch hier die Grausamkeit des Krieges. Den Soldaten wird alles abverlangt, der Kampf Mann gegen Mann wird schonungslos geschildert. Als erster Teil einer Trilogie um den amerikanischen Bürgerkrieg bietet dieser Roman einen vielversprechenden Anfang, der das Interesse an den weiteren Erlebnissen des Nathaniel Starbuck weckt.3,5 Sterne

A colorful and entertaining start to Cornwell's Civil War historical tetralogy. Young Bostonian and Yale theology student Nathaniel Starbuck finds himself in Richmond, Virginia just as Fort Sumter is falling. Why he's there and not at Yale is an amusing aside that gives a little insight into the character's impetuosity. Unfortunately for Starbuck, he finds himself on the wrong end of a Southern mob as he's discovered to be both a Northerner and the son of a prominent abolitionist preacher. In the midst of a good old fashioned tarring and feathering, he's saved by his friend's father and Virginian, Washington Faulconer. Faulconer is trying to raise his own legion (regiment) of soldiers to fight for the nascent Confederacy.The wealthy Faulconer has dreams of glory, however unrealistic, and is determined to realize them, whatever the financial cost. Cornwell always does a wonderful job of writing over-eager dandies and fops and martinettes and his ability to imbue that with a Southern flavor here is VERY entertaining.Much of the novel covers the forming and training of the Legion and culminates in the Battle of First Bull Run. Less convincing is Starbuck's decision to actually join the Legion against the Union. He's appropriately conflicted later in the novel as the realization of actually fighting against the U.S.A hits home, but it never quite rings true that he'd be SO willing to just up and join the rebel cause (however impetuous he may be). And the odd attempt at a romantic subplot between Starbuck and the 15 year old prostitute daughter of one of his Sergeants is poorly executed.All in all though, a very entertaining novel and Cornwell covers the battle with his usual deft and clarity. A great start to a series. Overall,

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This is the first Cornwell book I have read. I am told I should start with the Sharpe series but I fell into this one so there you have it. I was immediately drawn in by the story. Nate Starbuck (I thought about coffee constantly during this book) is a yankee who hates his crazy, abolitionist preacher father. He steals money and flees to Virginia with his floozy girlfriend who immediately takes the money and leaves Nate. As it happens, Nate lands in Richmond just after the fall of Ft Sumter (For those of you non US types, this is more or less the opening battle of the US Civil War) To say the least, this is not the greatest time to be a Bostonian in Virginia. Nate is saved from a date with some hot tar by respected landowner Washington Faulconer, the father of his college friend. Faulconer, it seems, is forming up a "legion" to defend his beloved Virginia from the coming Yankee apocalypse. Nate joins the legion and is commissioned a lieutenant. At this point, we enter the middle third of the book which was a plodding, boring slog where you could see characters being slotted into the tracks they were going to take for the rest of the series. Only Cornwell's sterling reputation caused me to continue.After surviving the middle third of the book, I was rewarded by the first battle of Mannassas. Cornwell really shone in his battle scenes. They were exciting, fairly realistically grim and made the book well worth reading.Without the boring middle, this would be a 4.5 to 5 star book. as it is it gets a solid 3.5, recommended with reservations.
—Ed [Redacted]

This was the first book by Bernard Cornwell I ever read, and I did so in 7th grade. I've said for years that the Starbuck and Sharpe books were the only things that got me out of junior high in one piece.That being said, Cornwell's unflinchingly graphic with battle scenes, and though this one is two-thirds character- and world-building, the First Battle of Bull Run is no less bloody than any of Cornwell's other battles, and just as richly detailed.The need for Cornwell to introduce the characters and transform Nathaniel Starbuck from naive Yale divinity student to veteran soldier means that this book drags more than his others. Cornwell usually gives you an introductory battle, followed by another halfway through the book, before getting to the epic centerpiece of the novel, but here there's only First Manassas. No problem there, but this one is difficult to pick back up again once you've been through the others. When I reread the series next, I'm considering either starting up halfway through Rebel or skipping it altogether and going straight to Copperhead.If you've never read the others before, start here. It's the start of a hell of a journey.
—Brandon

I might never have picked up this book to read if it hadn't been written by Bernard Cornwell.I am not a big fan of Civil War novels, "Cold Mountain" notwithstanding. This volume is the first in the four book "Starbuck" series featuring Nathaniel Starbuck, a conflicted ex-theology student and son of a fiery abolitionist preacher. He is seduced by an actress who dumps him in Richmond, Virginia at the start of the Civil War. He is rescued from tar and feathering by his best friend's father Washington Faulconer. He joins Faulconer's Legion, a fictional unit and is caught up in the First Battle of Bull Run fighting against the North.The story starts slowly but picks up about 100 pages in and moves quickly after that.The thought process that Starbuck goes through to justify his choices makes his decision to fight for the Confederacy believable. I read another book years ago, the title of which escapes me, in which a Northern student at VMI ends up choosing to fight with his classmates rather than with the North. I am sure there are many other examples on both sides so Starbuck's choice is not that surprising.As always with Cornwell's books, there are a number of sub-plots which tend to make the story more interesting, in my opinion. There is also, as usual, a love interest for Starbuck, an uneducated, strikingly beautiful mountain girl. Lastly, the battle scenes are drawn with the usual realistic care that Cornwell brought to the Richard Sharpe Series. I believe that nobody writing historical fiction describes battles better than Cornwell, although Patrick O'Brian comes close in the Aubrey/Maturin series.I will withhold judgment on comparing the Sharpe Series with the Starbuck Series until I've read at least one more of the Starbuck books.
—Ed

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