Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara

Gods and Generals:

Jeff Shaara made a bold move by stepping into his father's footsteps and transforming the Pulitzer prize-winning historical novel The Killer Angels into the centerpiece of a what has now come to be regarded as the quintessential fictional account of the American Civil War. The Trilogy stands as a triptych in every sense, with each part holding sway over a piece of history unique unto itself in the depth of humanity found and the profundity of the effect it had upon the formation of the Nation born from that War.
Gods is a slow building lullaby to the ebbing innocence and naivety of a generation seeing fulfilled the true extents of man's inhumanity to man. Charting the origins of the conflict very loosely, through he eyes of a blizzard of the men who would go on to shape the coming events and never again see the world with the same eyes again. The leisurely pace lets us discover the identities and motivations behind the souls only briefly sketched in Killer Angels. In doing so, we are able to see the onset of hostilities through a brilliantly realised rendition of the period's mindset, unfettered by modern reasoning and latter day revisionism.
General Lee is of course presented in much the same manner as he was in Shaara's Father's work; but with a much keener sense of the likelihood of failure. Perhaps this is simply a result of the wide study, rather than Shaara's craft; but the effect is to rid him of the slightly befuddled old man we were presented with at the close of The Killer Angels. Similarly, Chamberlain benefits greatly from the more seasoned personality on show, which befits his status and rank on the battlefields. Only 'Stonewall' Jackson; a newcomer to the narrative, comes with a fully clean slate, allowing Shaara to stretch his wings and let loose an entirely original characterisation. Bitterly stoic and driven by a religious fervour that is as unflinching as his own will. Through these new eyes and those of Hancock, that we truly gain insight into the socio-economic implications of the conflict and its effect upon the landowners of the South and the farmers of the Potomac. As younger, married men, born of action, their tales are the bones around this story, to which Lee clings as the meat and Chamberlain the wine.