Review: Ghost Riders

McCrumb has published several novels set in Appalachia - using historical themes and flashbacks and expanding on traditional stories of real people who lived in earlier years. The concept of "sight" - a notion that some persons possess supernatural powers of perception - is a continuing theme in many of her Appalachia novels.

The years of the Civil War from 1861-5 in the mountain areas of Tennessee and North Carolina were difficult ones. Families were split as some men chose the Confederacy, others the Union. Physical hardship was common, as a result of shortages of food, manpower, and necessary provisions.

Zebulon Vance was a real person - a North Carolina lawyer who argued against secession and hoped the war would not come. When it did, like many patriotic men of his generation, he realized his first loyalty was to the state which was his home, and he enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was eventually called to the political arena, and served as the state governor during the years of the war. As governor, he was acutely aware of the hardships of the people he governed, particularly those of the mountain areas.

Keith Blalock and his wife Malinda were two of those mountain citizens. Keith also enlisted as a Confederate with Malinda disguising herself as a young boy and joining him. But both chafed under the restrictive routine, and wangled a discharge. Returning home, they are outraged at the privations forced upon their neighbors and families. Blaming the Confederacy, they become Union outlaws, raiding the rebel armies and wreaking havoc on the mountain people who support the South.

In an intriguing "flash forward" style, McCrumb portrays present day "re-enactors" who spend their weekends dressed in Civil War garb, cooking and eating by the light of campfires, and disturbing the ghosts of those who cannot forget the bitter divisions of the times 150 years ago.

The action in "Ghost Riders" proceeds at a leisurely pace. The actions of Vance and the Blalocks are intriguing glimpses into a conflict which has not really been forgotten by the residents of the area. Nora Bonesteel, McCrumb's recurring visionary, makes a brief, authoritative visit to the re-enactors camp as the action concludes.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM

Book Review: Ghost Riders