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Product Description
Set during the American Civil War, this book follows the confrontation of North against South. Nathaniel Starbuck is a Northerner, but fleeing his family after the disgrace of his involvement with a French actress, he turns to his best friend, Adam Faulconer.
From the Back Cover
In the summer of 1861 the armies of North and South stood on the brink of America’s civil war, 'Rebel' tells how a northern boy, Nathaniel Starbuck, came to be fighting for the southern cause.
Jilted by his girl and estranged from his family, Starbuck arrives in Richmond, Virginia, capital of the Confederate South. He is rescued by the rich and eccentric Washington Faulconer, who is raising his own elite regiment to fight against the Yankees. Starbuck enlists in the Faulconer Legion, even though it could mean fighting against his own people.
Others face similar dilemmas, but soon all confusion will be resolved by the shocking violence of the war which broke America in two.
'Rebel' marks the beginning of a magnificent new series from the best-selling creator of Richard Sharpe.
“A sure-fire best-seller”
FINANCIAL TIMES
“His series of Sharpe novels earned him almost every accolade possible from British newspapers. This is even better”
DAILY MAIL
“What Cornwell really likes is battles…you will be duly rewarded with the smell of quality cordite rising from the pages”
DAILY TELEGRAPH
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First Sentence
THE YOUNG MAN WAS TRAPPED AT THE TOP END OF SHOCKOE SLIP where a crowd had gathered in Cary Street. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE YOUNG MAN WAS TRAPPED AT THE TOP END OF SHOCKOE SLIP where a crowd had gathered in Cary Street. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
At first i was dissapointed, both in the amount of time it took to get anything to actually happen to Starbuck and the character of Starbuck himself. This is a slow and very slightly boring book but vital if you want to enjoy the delights of Cornwell's American Civil War series which is easily as good as his famous Sharpe series. Starbuck takes the entire book to transform from the indecisive, lost little preacher's son to the intelligent, decisive rebel captain of the next book. As an introduction to the series i was almost put off but i persevered and was grateful for doing so, Starbuck ends up just as strong and entertaining as the great man, Sharpe himself and i'm already eagerly searching for the next book in my series. The end of the book is well worth the wait though and the battle scene is wonderful, describing the ineptitude of both armies and the emotions of the men fighting their first war. The Starbuck chronicles are great and i strongly recommend this book to get into them.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of my favorite writers of historical fiction kicks off his Civil War series with this remarkably tepid tale. A number of flaws make themselves manifest over the course of the book, the foremost of which is an unlikable hero. Cornwell seems to have decided to take the hero of his wildly successful Napoleonic era series, Richard Sharpe, and make his new hero come from the exact opposite background. Unfortunately, while one is naturally inclined to root for an orphaned, gutter-bred, ill-mannered rogue who rises through the ranks due to sheer merit, one is much less likely to root for the privileged scion of a Boston abolitionist preacher who joins the Confederate forces as an act of rebellion against his strict upbringing! Indeed, while Sharpe grows and learns a little in each book, the only thing Starbuck seems to learn in this first volume is to devalue human life! Indeed, his overall transformation seems rather forced.
It doesn't help that Cornwell appears to be creating the same setups as in the Sharpe series, giving his hero a dangerous and loyal sidekick, a passel of idiotic officers, with one or two sprinkled in who recognize the hero's value. There's even a tempting woman to lead all the men astray! It's also rather slow and plodding compared to the Sharpe books, although granted, it appears to be designed more as a prelude to the series than anything else.
The story follows 20ish Nate Starbuck, as he enlists in a local Confederate force being mustered by the fabulously wealthy and dangerously vain father of his best friend. The book sees the slow build to war, as the "Faulconer Legion" equips and readies itself, before finally getting into action at the Battle of Manassas (aka Bull Run 1). The battle/action scenes are adequate, but not as gripping as his Napoleonic stuff. I suspect this may be because the Civil War is more familiar to us Americans-we've seen it in print, on TV, in film, even reenacted!-whereas the Napoleonic battle has the allure of something new.
As always with Cornwell, there's a ton of interesting little details, and various historical figures popping in and out of the plot. He does seem to play rather loose with a number of facts, but it is fiction after all. I'll read the next in the series, but this one was a serious disappointment for this Cornwell fan!
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A rather ropey start sets this novel of the American Civil War off on the wrong foot, but stick with it few the first half dozen pages and you're in for a treat. Good characterisation and wonderfully patient description rub shoulders with high action in a novel which shows Cornwell is capable of a good deal more than the Sharpe novels which brought him to fame. Rebel is the first of a series of novels (subtitled The Starbuck Chronicles) which chart the history of Nathanial Starbuck, a Northerner who turns his back on his own kind to join the Confederate army of the South. In addition to the jibes and aggravation of his new brothers in arms, Starbuck must deal with the ethical problems of fighting against friends and family through some of the biggest battlkes of the conflict. All in all a cracking good read and highly recommended to anyone with an interest in America's most turbulent times.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
did not really come alive until the battle scenes
This book did not really come alive until the battle scenes near the end. Considering that few authors manage such scenes at all, it is surprising that in this instance that is the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Aberter
not easy to put down
Typical Cornwell adventure that is easy to read and hard to put down, looking forward to reading the rest in the series
Published 19 months ago by BOOKLOVER
Rebel (Starbuck Chronicles) Bernard Cornwell
If you are interested in the American Civil War then this book is definitely for you. I read the third book in the series (Battle Flag) first and was so impressed that I had to... Read more
Published on 15 Dec 2009 by A. Johnson
Far-fetched nonsense
I found this book a real struggle to get through.
It begins with the son of a famous Boston abolitionist (Nathaniel Starbuck) finding himself in Virginia as the state... Read more
It begins with the son of a famous Boston abolitionist (Nathaniel Starbuck) finding himself in Virginia as the state... Read more
Published on 13 July 2009 by K. Roberts
Good book
The best part of this book is from about half way onwards. The start can be a bit tedious but it is worth it to carry on! Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by S. L. Hunter
Won't be buying the sequel
Having seen bits of the Sharpe series on tv I always thought about looking at a Cornwell book, so seeing this one as the start of another series seemed ideal. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2008 by Ron Drewry
Enjoyable enough
Bernard Cornwell is best known for his Sharp books, set in the napoleonic war. I've never actually read any of those, but I've seen the TV series (it still counts). Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2008 by D. Hughes
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