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A Novel of the Civil War #2
Salvation
Pvt. Ian Campbell, a deserter from the Confederate army, has abandoning family and cause, to rescue his Yankee lover, Drew Conrad, from the cruel abuses he endured as a prisoner of war. During the chaotic spring of 1865, the mismatched comrades make the arduous trek to the presumed safety of Ian's home. But the territory they must cross is not only hostile to recreants and Northerners but to those few men who understood what Walt Whitman meant by "And your very flesh shall be a great poem." Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance, Salvation is an ideal read for those who will relish the passion of two men in love despite an era of brutal strife.
290 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2014
3 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Mann
105 books89 followersJeff Mann’s poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in many publications, including Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Laurel Review and The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide. He has published three award-winning poetry chapbooks, Bliss, Mountain Fireflies, and Flint Shards from Sussex; two full-length books of poetry, Bones Washed with Wine and On the Tongue; a collection of personal essays, Edge: Travels of an Appalachian Leather Bear; a book of poetry and memoir, Loving Mountains, Loving Men; and a short fiction volume, A History of Barbed Wire, which won a Lambda Literary Award. He teaches creative writing at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 17, 2016
Warning:
Salvation is a sequel to Purgatory: A Novel of the Civil War, it is not a stand alone. So, please, don't read it if you don't know what happened in the previous book.
I know now WHY this book won the 27th Annual Lambda Literary Award in the category Gay Romance.
*** If you read Purgatory and found it too dark and t0o brutal to enjoy, you should give Salvation a try. It is different.
*** If you read Purgatory and LOVED it as much as I, you'll be surprise.
Jeff Mann's prose could be not ONLY heavily atmospheric, extremely intense, highly emotional, terrifically realistic, physically painful and sincerely beautiful. (It was Purgatory for me).
Jeff Mann's prose could be also quiet, tender, soft, culinary(I told, you'd be surprise!) and very VERY romantic. It is what Salvation made me feel.
Though if you think that the author wrote a sweet good-night story this time, you're mistaken!
There are TWISTS in this book, that brought me close to a heart-attack. It was MEAN. But I'm an experienced reader, I WAS prepared, because I KNOW, IF everything looks too good, the evil is on its way.
The ending is beautiful, and moved me to tears of joy and happiness...How could it not be?!- The best written Lambda Gay Romance of 2014, remember? And that means... HAPPILY EVER AFTER!!!
With these two brilliant historical novels Jeff Mann won a secure place in my heart.
March 23, 2016
Normally I think the books I read should've been shorter :) Or not longer, in the best case. Well, with Salvation I wanted it to be endless. Like for real, I would love to read and read it, every day a new chapter, no need of some great adventure for them guys, just their everyday life, and I wouldn't ever get bored with it. Well, at least that's what I think now :)
But really, the book was so unbelievably *sweet*. Yes, there were some dangers and sadness but
Yeah, and I was googling like mad everything everyone cooked in this book. Drooling meanwhile, too.
But really, the book was so unbelievably *sweet*. Yes, there were some dangers and sadness but
Yeah, and I was googling like mad everything everyone cooked in this book. Drooling meanwhile, too.
December 22, 2018
4.5 stars for the book, 2 for the narration.
This is the second book to the Civil War novel by Jeff Mann. It is a very different kind of novel than the first book, Purgatory. This tells of Ian and Drew’s journey to Ian’s home in West Virginia. There is still savagery and violence but not the torture of the first novel. There are great descriptions of time and place as well as all that befalls these two as they make their way east. All kinds of great and terrible characters that they meet, become friends or enemies with on their way. Some characters repeat from the first book.
The narrator speaks very slowly. I found I had to set the speed on 1.5 in order to listen to this book. I really missed the first narrator’s accent and pace.
The ending seems almost idealistic and in some respects I find hard to believe and some I can accept. Eventually there is a HEA.
I think this could make a great movie.
This is the second book to the Civil War novel by Jeff Mann. It is a very different kind of novel than the first book, Purgatory. This tells of Ian and Drew’s journey to Ian’s home in West Virginia. There is still savagery and violence but not the torture of the first novel. There are great descriptions of time and place as well as all that befalls these two as they make their way east. All kinds of great and terrible characters that they meet, become friends or enemies with on their way. Some characters repeat from the first book.
The narrator speaks very slowly. I found I had to set the speed on 1.5 in order to listen to this book. I really missed the first narrator’s accent and pace.
The ending seems almost idealistic and in some respects I find hard to believe and some I can accept. Eventually there is a HEA.
I think this could make a great movie.
January 27, 2019
Heavy but Excellent!
July 15, 2022
DNF @ 22%
While I enjoyed the first book, this one didn't work for me. In the ending of Book 1, I got annoyed that Ian and Drew's conversations were very cheesy and overly emotional and this pattern continued in this book. While Book 1 involved Drew being gagged for much of the story and their situation forcing Ian to restrict the sappy love talk, this book didn't have such restrictions. As a result, nearly every conversation Drew and Ian have is cheesy and filled with overly emotional love declarations that didn't resemble how a real human talks. In addition, it felt like the author had no idea what to do with Ian and Drew in this story. They barely do anything except have sex and declare their undying love for each other. The side characters are much more interesting than them, which isn't what I wanted.
I also got tired of the author's relentless anti-Christian stance in this book. Every devout religious person is evil while every good character isn't overly religious. While he did the same thing in Book 1, it didn't bother me as much because Sarge and George's hypocritical actions regarding their strong Christian beliefs were aided by their complex backstories. But in this book, the Evil Christian Character had no interesting backstory. He's just selfish and greedy because he wants to be and misuses Christianity for his own desires because he can. As in Book 1, none of the good characters express strong religious beliefs. Not only did I dislike this childishly simplistic view of the world but I got tired of the author constantly shoving his personal issues into the story when he had already made his point and beaten it to death. Not to mention that it was ridiculous that the small, rural Southern towns that Ian and Drew were going through were filled with people who were only casual Christians, which wouldn't make sense in the present day, never mind in the 1860s. The author twisted every detail so it would fit with his personal agenda of bashing Christianity and I got tired of it.
In addition, I didn't like Ian and Drew's behavior in this story. Drew is a Yankee and Ian has deserted the Confederate army, so they're not individuals who the small town Southerners would look kindly on. The boys know this so they deliberately lie to everyone they encounter and claim they're Southern soldiers on leave so the townspeople would be willing to share their limited food/clothes supplies with them and open their homes to them. My issue with this was the deliberate deception on their parts. Drew expresses guilt at one point but Ian brushes it off by referencing Drew's former captivity and saying he had paid whatever price the townspeople might think Drew had to pay. But the thing is, Drew didn't pay that price to the townspeople. In fact, he's not giving them a choice whether to accept him or not. This deception left a bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, the story was way too boring, the writing wasn't as good as in Book 1 and other low rated reviews indicate that the boys continue being side characters in their own story, so I'm going to drop this.
While I enjoyed the first book, this one didn't work for me. In the ending of Book 1, I got annoyed that Ian and Drew's conversations were very cheesy and overly emotional and this pattern continued in this book. While Book 1 involved Drew being gagged for much of the story and their situation forcing Ian to restrict the sappy love talk, this book didn't have such restrictions. As a result, nearly every conversation Drew and Ian have is cheesy and filled with overly emotional love declarations that didn't resemble how a real human talks. In addition, it felt like the author had no idea what to do with Ian and Drew in this story. They barely do anything except have sex and declare their undying love for each other. The side characters are much more interesting than them, which isn't what I wanted.
I also got tired of the author's relentless anti-Christian stance in this book. Every devout religious person is evil while every good character isn't overly religious. While he did the same thing in Book 1, it didn't bother me as much because Sarge and George's hypocritical actions regarding their strong Christian beliefs were aided by their complex backstories. But in this book, the Evil Christian Character had no interesting backstory. He's just selfish and greedy because he wants to be and misuses Christianity for his own desires because he can. As in Book 1, none of the good characters express strong religious beliefs. Not only did I dislike this childishly simplistic view of the world but I got tired of the author constantly shoving his personal issues into the story when he had already made his point and beaten it to death. Not to mention that it was ridiculous that the small, rural Southern towns that Ian and Drew were going through were filled with people who were only casual Christians, which wouldn't make sense in the present day, never mind in the 1860s. The author twisted every detail so it would fit with his personal agenda of bashing Christianity and I got tired of it.
In addition, I didn't like Ian and Drew's behavior in this story. Drew is a Yankee and Ian has deserted the Confederate army, so they're not individuals who the small town Southerners would look kindly on. The boys know this so they deliberately lie to everyone they encounter and claim they're Southern soldiers on leave so the townspeople would be willing to share their limited food/clothes supplies with them and open their homes to them. My issue with this was the deliberate deception on their parts. Drew expresses guilt at one point but Ian brushes it off by referencing Drew's former captivity and saying he had paid whatever price the townspeople might think Drew had to pay. But the thing is, Drew didn't pay that price to the townspeople. In fact, he's not giving them a choice whether to accept him or not. This deception left a bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, the story was way too boring, the writing wasn't as good as in Book 1 and other low rated reviews indicate that the boys continue being side characters in their own story, so I'm going to drop this.
May 24, 2017
Considering as soon as I finished Purgatory and realized there was a sequel (God bless Jeff Mann), I got the ebook and finished it within 24hrs. That and only having 4hrs of sleep between because I have just fallen in love with Ian and Drew.
The author definitely takes a slightly lighter tone than what was present in the first installment. There still is Jeff's amazing descriptive ability where you can just feel like you are seeing through Ian's eyes. Sometimes it's almost as if I truly believe that Ian and Drew really existed and this is part of some crazy autobiography.
I'm so glad that he included the happenings for Jeremiah and Rufus. As for George, I'm still a bit "meh" on it... only because I really wanted him to get his just desserts (despite being the catholic school boy I am =P). Some of the other characters are almost as real like Tessa.
I was still hoping for more angst and hurt/comfort like in Purgatory, but I am also happy that the author gave them a break in a way. Unlike some fan fiction that's out there where the protagonists some crazy epic in the grand Chinese tradition where everyone dies, goes insane, or a mixture of both A & B (I don't think my sanity could hold out that far if he did), there are so many little treasure moments that are just so sweet and almost innocent.
So, I definitely love the sequel! I enjoyed it if not more than the first since it's a Disney ending when in reality so many did not attain during the Civil War. I appreciated what Jeff gifted us readers with. A far from perfect couple in a near to impossible situation and let love dictate. Part of me wishes there would be more of them, but the story of Ian and Drew is imperfectly perfect the way it is.
The author definitely takes a slightly lighter tone than what was present in the first installment. There still is Jeff's amazing descriptive ability where you can just feel like you are seeing through Ian's eyes. Sometimes it's almost as if I truly believe that Ian and Drew really existed and this is part of some crazy autobiography.
I'm so glad that he included the happenings for Jeremiah and Rufus. As for George, I'm still a bit "meh" on it... only because I really wanted him to get his just desserts (despite being the catholic school boy I am =P). Some of the other characters are almost as real like Tessa.
I was still hoping for more angst and hurt/comfort like in Purgatory, but I am also happy that the author gave them a break in a way. Unlike some fan fiction that's out there where the protagonists some crazy epic in the grand Chinese tradition where everyone dies, goes insane, or a mixture of both A & B (I don't think my sanity could hold out that far if he did), there are so many little treasure moments that are just so sweet and almost innocent.
So, I definitely love the sequel! I enjoyed it if not more than the first since it's a Disney ending when in reality so many did not attain during the Civil War. I appreciated what Jeff gifted us readers with. A far from perfect couple in a near to impossible situation and let love dictate. Part of me wishes there would be more of them, but the story of Ian and Drew is imperfectly perfect the way it is.
December 1, 2014
This book continues right were the previous one ended. So it was just as well that I did a reread of the first book.
The story follows the boys on their journey home. A lot of not so nice things and some good happen a long the way. It was not always pleasant to read because it is so realistic. But very well written and well worth it in the end.
So this one is not beach reading either but I can recommend to people who want to read something different.
The story follows the boys on their journey home. A lot of not so nice things and some good happen a long the way. It was not always pleasant to read because it is so realistic. But very well written and well worth it in the end.
So this one is not beach reading either but I can recommend to people who want to read something different.
bought-it-now-read-it
January 12, 2015I had no idea a sequel was out. I am so freaking ecstatic!!
June 6, 2017
This books picks up immediately from the end of Purgatory - so read that one first! I honestly didn't know that there was a sequel and as soon as I discovered that I got this book immediately. It's a wonderful conclusion to the plight of Ian and Drew as they escape together and continue to try and get their way back to Ian's home in West Virginia.
The world comes to life around the characters and there are some great additions to the cast that I would love to know more about (even though it is unlikely I would love to see a story about Loren and Tessa). Overall, this story is a very successful conclusion to their plight and I will definitely be rereading this one again in the future!
The world comes to life around the characters and there are some great additions to the cast that I would love to know more about (even though it is unlikely I would love to see a story about Loren and Tessa). Overall, this story is a very successful conclusion to their plight and I will definitely be rereading this one again in the future!
September 15, 2015
Slooowwww and repetitive. If I hadn't become so invested in Drew and Ian in book 1, I would have bailed about 40% in but, with some skimming, you can get to the good parts and it's an enjoyable read. Secondary characters were awesome especially Tess, the black free woman. I love my boys so. So happy they, and other soldiers I became very fond of, got their happy ending. Goodness knows they deserved it.
June 8, 2015
Loved everything about it!
January 19, 2018
I have a lot to say but it will have to wait for later.
January 30, 2021
Its like time traveling for men who are civil war buffs but are into other men on many different levels of both love and Carnal desires and hatred as well.
I've just finished re reading this novel and the book before it named purgatory. During a time like these now as we all
live with a possible civil war raging all around us.....here is a novel about big and small ideas of the bear community and a description in depth about life and love and hard
Ships of both the confederates and the Yankee soldiers.
Heartwarming and suspenseful, full of intimate silences and booming battlefields and yet so descriptive down to the authors descriptions of the sounds of falling leaves in a quiet forest. He's a great writer and he knows and loves his his history.
I've just finished re reading this novel and the book before it named purgatory. During a time like these now as we all
live with a possible civil war raging all around us.....here is a novel about big and small ideas of the bear community and a description in depth about life and love and hard
Ships of both the confederates and the Yankee soldiers.
Heartwarming and suspenseful, full of intimate silences and booming battlefields and yet so descriptive down to the authors descriptions of the sounds of falling leaves in a quiet forest. He's a great writer and he knows and loves his his history.
June 15, 2019
...Eh...*shrug* Minor spoilers ahead.
The ending was good, satisfying. No burying-your-gays. Could have done without all the hair descriptions. Liked the addition of them and of a woman disguising herself to fight in the war, also liked that it was a biracial couple. The talk Tessa has with Ian and Drew about slavery is a jarring af. Feel like it might've been done better somehow.
Side characters were, again, okay and there were downright a few horrible/hilarious moments with them. No pitched battles in this novel. Though the fact the MCs sleep through and thus miss the end of the war is also one of the books (probably unintentional?) hilarious moments.
The ending was good, satisfying. No burying-your-gays. Could have done without all the hair descriptions. Liked the addition of them and of a woman disguising herself to fight in the war, also liked that it was a biracial couple. The talk Tessa has with Ian and Drew about slavery is a jarring af. Feel like it might've been done better somehow.
Side characters were, again, okay and there were downright a few horrible/hilarious moments with them. No pitched battles in this novel. Though the fact the MCs sleep through and thus miss the end of the war is also one of the books (probably unintentional?) hilarious moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2019
Not as well structured as Purgatory, which had better stakes that drove the narrative and kept the impending threat front and center. Salvation tends to meander more. Granted, Salvation is trying to mirror The Odyssey whereas Purgatory refigures Achilles and Menelaus feuding over Briseis, but i don’t think the use of Homeric imagery worked as well here as it did in the preceding novel.
October 15, 2025
Two Civil War soldiers on the run share multiple secrets: they're deserters, they fought on opposing sides--and they're in love. Precise period details, spicy scenes, and an open vulnerability carry the reader through their sometimes harrowing journey to safety.
May 5, 2017
Sweet and slow. I was missing some suspense, some action, something happening. But very sweet all in all.
Read
September 25, 2020Good reading, hard life, how cruel they were during the civil war, but these two guys , a rebel and a yankee and how they made it through was beautiful
May 29, 2021
A great sequel to purgatory. If you liked purgatory you will like salvation too.
March 17, 2022
Characters were fun. Performance on Audible is really good.
August 10, 2024
I love Mr Mann's writing style, and the audio book had delightful singing of the old songs. It really was a delight.
March 18, 2021
Astonishingly Beautiful
Following up on the brutal and brilliantly lustful "Purgatory," Jeff Mann has delivered a slightly less violent and more deeply nuanced love story in this remarkable tale of a Rebel and a Yankee caught up with each other during the Civil War as it begins to wind down without them knowing.
Ian, the Rebel philosopher and Drew the Yankee acolyte. are two of the most deeply developed characters in any M/M romance that I have ever read that takes place during a war. That these two capture your heart is right there on the covers of both novels--opposites in every way except in their lust and love for each other.
I wish I could detail their journey but it's the kind of story and book that demands you take your own sweet time. There are some who might think it's a bit too southern biased, but that's because it takes place there and the point-of-view surrounds our heroes.
In the end, however, if you really want to know what this war was all about, get yourself to Purgatory first and then find your Salvation in this one.
Simply astonishing.
Following up on the brutal and brilliantly lustful "Purgatory," Jeff Mann has delivered a slightly less violent and more deeply nuanced love story in this remarkable tale of a Rebel and a Yankee caught up with each other during the Civil War as it begins to wind down without them knowing.
Ian, the Rebel philosopher and Drew the Yankee acolyte. are two of the most deeply developed characters in any M/M romance that I have ever read that takes place during a war. That these two capture your heart is right there on the covers of both novels--opposites in every way except in their lust and love for each other.
I wish I could detail their journey but it's the kind of story and book that demands you take your own sweet time. There are some who might think it's a bit too southern biased, but that's because it takes place there and the point-of-view surrounds our heroes.
In the end, however, if you really want to know what this war was all about, get yourself to Purgatory first and then find your Salvation in this one.
Simply astonishing.
February 28, 2017
What can you but Awesome story telling
There is no words to describe this story and how Jeff wove the story to bring it alive. The characters came alive and you felt the love they had for each other and the pain they went through from the war and from cruelty of others who was just plain folks but at the same time the love and the help of total strangers.
It was hard to sit this book down and I am sure you enjoy it as much as I did
There is no words to describe this story and how Jeff wove the story to bring it alive. The characters came alive and you felt the love they had for each other and the pain they went through from the war and from cruelty of others who was just plain folks but at the same time the love and the help of total strangers.
It was hard to sit this book down and I am sure you enjoy it as much as I did
July 29, 2016
There are many aspects of this book that are superior to that of its predecessor. The prior book felt a little bit repetitive with the torture scenes and insular due to being in the camp the entire time. This book benefits from being more of an adventure story as the soldiers in love, who escaped in the prior book, travel back home evading capture and overcoming obstacles. They meet several colorful characters along the way who greet them hospitably. The multiple descriptions of southern cooking aroused my appetite. The story and quality of writing, especially of the 'celebratory' scenes at the end, are a good read.
Unfortunately, the author injects more convoluted politics into this novel than the prior that tarnish it and did not sit well with me. Obviously this story is fictional and is not meant to be historically accurate. However, the author created a character of a freed slave who has a relationship with her former master, a woman who adopts a male identify in order to fight for the confederacy (it does not appear that she is trans based on the writing). The freed slave and the confederate soldier spout some drivel regarding the south just wanting to be free to run their own affairs, and handle abolishing slavery (as compared to upholding it) in their own time. The protagonists bond with this character and they eventually relish that they found each other and celebrate their queerness together. The simultaneous inclusion of 'Lost Cause' ideology with a multicultural familial bond of fellow LGBT people is absurd. I expected to put aside some political thoughts and opinions in order to enjoy the fantasy, but the author's decisions did not allow me to do so.
Unfortunately, the author injects more convoluted politics into this novel than the prior that tarnish it and did not sit well with me. Obviously this story is fictional and is not meant to be historically accurate. However, the author created a character of a freed slave who has a relationship with her former master, a woman who adopts a male identify in order to fight for the confederacy (it does not appear that she is trans based on the writing). The freed slave and the confederate soldier spout some drivel regarding the south just wanting to be free to run their own affairs, and handle abolishing slavery (as compared to upholding it) in their own time. The protagonists bond with this character and they eventually relish that they found each other and celebrate their queerness together. The simultaneous inclusion of 'Lost Cause' ideology with a multicultural familial bond of fellow LGBT people is absurd. I expected to put aside some political thoughts and opinions in order to enjoy the fantasy, but the author's decisions did not allow me to do so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2021
This book left me so satisfied that I love it unconditionally! Whereas the last book kept me begging for more about what happened to our protagonists this just heaps up all of my expectations and more and made for an almost happy ending ("almost" only because I know that from the ending there is probably going to be a third installation in the series).
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews