The storyline offers contrasting views of Texas frontier life from 1853 to 1866 in the eyes of an orphaned Irish youth as he grows to maturity. The author has created an innovative literary technigue, breaking the mold of Civil War/Western genre novles to make historical accounts real and stirring for the reader.
The Camel Boy is a fictional account of historical realism centered on the life of Riley Murphy as he experiences army fort life, the wonders of camels at Camp Verde, the political and social forces on family life, guerilla warfare, the emergence of the Civil War, and the last battle of the Civil War fought at Palmito Hill.
As Riley grows to manhood, one sees the inevitable forces that mold his character as he experiences a complex range of emotions and attitudes about the war that shape his attitude and opinions.
Excerpt
Young Riley stood next to his horse, the reins now loose on the ground. He appeared like a sentinel over the fallen soldier. Ford could only speculate what was going through Riley's mind, in this hushed moment of life as subtance, melts into a shadowy existence. Feelings better imagined than described Ford thought to himself.
Riley could not have known at the time that the young private, John J. Williams,from Company B of the 34th Indiana Regiment, would be recognized in history as the last man killed in the Civil War.
The calm was broken by a Union shell cannon shell fired from Brazos Island. The shell fell like a spent candle and sputtered out harmlessly on the ground. Seething with firey aggression, Riley pulled his Sharps from the scabbard on his saddle and fired a shot in the direction of Brazos Island.
"Take that you Yankee bastards" he said with pent up emotions.
Ford's officers gathered around by this time and witnessed Riley's returning fire. "That may have been the last shot fired in the the Civil War." Ford said. "Let's go home, the war is over for us."
Professional Reviews
Bandera Bullentin
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Let yourself take on a sexy adventurous read, walk on the sensual dark side of human adventure through the shadows of your mind. And, challenge your senses of the normal versus the paranormal, and the abnormal. Accept the quest, get onboard and disco
The FBI Inspector (380 pages) is a collection of 25 short fiction crime novellas involving the law enforcement services of FBI Inspector Joe Giralo along with his three government agents, Sal Velardi, Arthur Orsi and Dan Blachford.
The quaint little town of Pinecrest in the mountains of Arizona faces its most harrowing challenge yet—a chilling murder that sends shockwaves through the community.
Marcus Lee, Pinecrest's newly appointed police chief, finds himself at the cente
