The Other Side: A Novel of the Civil War

by Kevin McColley

A historically precise and resolutely unsentimental look at the Civil War, The Other Side is an epic that follows one young man's harrowing personal journey from innocence through soul-destroying experience as he becomes a follower of Quantrill's Raiders.

An insightful look at a poorly understood epoch of the War Between the States, The Other Side is a brilliant re-creation of one of the darkest periods in history, and a stunning evocation of how the inhumanity of war diminishes the soul.

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2000

Reviews

[Sam Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is remarkable, but not in a good way. Thank God and Devil for libraries! Main character, Jacob, is loathsome, incompetent and just dumb coward. The level of depravity is quite high and some folks in there have a truly unique way of cussin' and do I not dare quote them in there. Also poor young Haywood Lee does his job of adding another level of depravity all by himself!
I'm adding another star only for Bloody Bill Anderson, who is the most sane and normal guy in all 390 pages!

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
There is a good story and some interesting characters in this saga of Quantrills raiders during the Civil War, but it is overwhelmed by excessive ,repetitive violence and gore. It is unfortunate that an editor did not guide the author to expand on the less excruciating aspects and cut out the gruesome crap. ,( There's a rotting corpse /ghost who haunts the MC and who is describing in explicit nauseating detail, over and over.) . It's a portrait of a damned c world.

[Lisa]

The Other Side: A Novel of the Civil War by Kevin McColley (2000)