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A Sinister Splendor: A Mexican War Novel
Pairing extensive research with a brilliance for reviving the past in gripping narrative, Spur Award-winning author Mike Blakely has penned an epic, historical novelization of the Mexican-American War in A Sinister Splendor
1845. Texas joins the union. Mexico threatens war over the disputed Texas border. But much more than the Rio Grande Valley lies at stake—expansionists dream of an America that sprawls all the way to the Pacific Coast. Can a conflict with an already war-torn Mexico satisfy this lust for territory?
President James K. Polk sends troops the Texas border to test Mexico’s appetite for war. General Zachary Taylor, known as “Old Rough and Ready,” leads the invasion south. A 24-year-old lieutenant named Ulysses S. Grant gets his first taste of battle. Texas Rangers John Coffee Hays and Sam Walker expand their reputations as fearless fighting men. An Irishman, John Riley, quits the U.S. Army—along with hundreds of other mistreated immigrant soldiers—and forms a Mexican battalion of U.S. deserters. Army laundress Sarah Bowman is celebrated as a heroine on her way to becoming a frontier legend. The infamous Mexican warlord, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, returns to power through intrigue and political persuasion.
The Mexican-American war becomes the heroic proving ground for future Civil War generals and presidents of the United States, Mexico and the Confederacy. But the glories of victory are tempered by the horrors of war—lives lost, bodies battered, souls shattered, dreams crushed, whole cities razed and innocence forever dashed. With a sinister splendor two very different cultures clash in an epic adventure of duty, patriotism and courage to the death.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
1845. Texas joins the union. Mexico threatens war over the disputed Texas border. But much more than the Rio Grande Valley lies at stake—expansionists dream of an America that sprawls all the way to the Pacific Coast. Can a conflict with an already war-torn Mexico satisfy this lust for territory?
President James K. Polk sends troops the Texas border to test Mexico’s appetite for war. General Zachary Taylor, known as “Old Rough and Ready,” leads the invasion south. A 24-year-old lieutenant named Ulysses S. Grant gets his first taste of battle. Texas Rangers John Coffee Hays and Sam Walker expand their reputations as fearless fighting men. An Irishman, John Riley, quits the U.S. Army—along with hundreds of other mistreated immigrant soldiers—and forms a Mexican battalion of U.S. deserters. Army laundress Sarah Bowman is celebrated as a heroine on her way to becoming a frontier legend. The infamous Mexican warlord, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, returns to power through intrigue and political persuasion.
The Mexican-American war becomes the heroic proving ground for future Civil War generals and presidents of the United States, Mexico and the Confederacy. But the glories of victory are tempered by the horrors of war—lives lost, bodies battered, souls shattered, dreams crushed, whole cities razed and innocence forever dashed. With a sinister splendor two very different cultures clash in an epic adventure of duty, patriotism and courage to the death.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
- GenresHistorical FictionWar
435 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 19, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 15, 2026
A good novel about the Mexican-American War.
April 21, 2019
The Mexican War is effectively portrayed using a dozen characters, mostly historical.
January 24, 2020
If you’re interested in the Mexican War or have enjoyed Blood Meridian or In The Rogue’s Blood, you will really enjoy A Sinister Splendor! Truly well written historical fiction!
July 28, 2019
A great historical fiction novel of The Mexican War by Spur Award winning author Mike Blakely that I would highly recommend to others.
February 7, 2020
This was an absolutely fantastic read. I could hardly put it down at points, especially the last quarter of the book. Cannot wait for a sequel!
January 14, 2025
THE SINISTER SPLENDOR is an excellent historical novel. Highly recommended.
The Mexican-American War (1845-1848) is the most underappreciated war in American history. As a result of it, the United States acquired much of the land in the West. The war began as a fight over the location of the border between the United States and Mexico. An earlier treaty between Mexico and the nation of Texas setting the border between the two countries was subject to differing interpretations. The United States identified the Rio Grande as the border between the two countries. Because Mexico called that river Rio Bravo, it considered the border to be the Nueces River. The strip of land in dispute was that between what is now Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande.
I’ve read two books about the war in the past few months. “Robert E. Lee, A Life” delved in the part of the war that took place in the south between Veracruz on the coast and Mexico City. Mike Blakely’s THE SINISTER SPLENDOR chronicles the war in Texas and northern Mexico.
An interesting aspect of the Mexican-American War is significant players in the Civil War 15 years later fought in the war: U.S. Grant and Jefferson Davis under Zachary Taylor in the north; and Robert E. Lee under Winfield Scott in the south.
Some interesting tidbits:
1. In the fourth paragraph of the novel, we learn Ulysses S. Grant’s actual name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. Through a clerical misunderstanding, he arrived at West Point registered as Ulysses S. Grant. Because he was U.S. Grant, his classmates called him Uncle Sam Grant or Sam Grant for short. He goes by Sam Grant in the novel.
2. About the same time drums of war were beating along the Texas-Mexico border, rumors of war circulated around a possible war with England over the border between the United States and Canada. Many Irishmen in the United States (including Irishman John Riley) hated the British. They enlisted in the American army for the purpose of killing Englishmen. Instead of being sent to Seattle as they hoped, they were shuttled south to fight against Mexico.
Early Americans were mainly English descent, and had an ingrained dislike of the Irish and the Germans, and weren’t too fond of Catholics either. Many American officers badly mistreated the Irish soldiers under their command. Consequently, some Irishmen, including John Riley, deserted the American army and fought with the Mexican army to kill Englishmen.
3. Sarah Bowman (Aka Sarah Borginnes) is an amazing figure. She was a laundress, a cook, and a seamstress for the Army. Because unmarried women were not allowed to travel with the Army, soon after her soldier husband died from disease (Many American soldiers died from diseases), she quickly married another soldier so she could stay with the Army. Sarah was tall (over six feet tall), and could fight and shoot better than most men. Among other things, during the heat of battle, with bullets and cannon balls falling around her, she delivered hot coffee and food to men on the walls. (Not in the book, but my research indicates Sarah was given the honorary title of Colonel after the war.)
4. The American Army had the better weapons. The Texas Rangers were a fierce fighting unit, made more successful because they carried revolvers that could shoot six rounds before reloading while most Mexican soldiers carried single-shot weapons. Texas Rangers John Hays and Sam Walker became legends in their own time.
5. Similarly, the Mississippi Rifles under the leadership of Col. Jefferson Davis (destined to become President of the Confederate States of America) were a courageous lot that used the accurate firing “Whitney” rifles.
6. Ringgold’s flying artillery may have been ridiculed before actual fighting started, but more than proved their worth in battle. Ringgold’s flying artillery consisted of smaller cannons towed by fast horses. They could move to where they were most needed or useful, shoot off cannons, then when their job was done or when the Mexican army had them in range, the flying artillery would fly the coup (you might say).
7. Santa Anna – that sucker is back again. I thought Sam Houston ruined his ambitions at San Jacinto ten years earlier. Well, he lost again – the war and a leg.
There’s more in this excellent book. There’s gripping details of bloody battles by brave (and scared) Americans and brave (and scared) Mexicans that fought and died on those bloody battlefields.
Author Mike Blakely has published thirteen novels before A Sinister Splendor, with one, “Summer of Pearls,” winning the Spur Award as Best Western Novel of the year 2001. I hope to read that one soon. In addition, he is a respected singer-songwriter in the Texas Hill Country.
A Sinister Splendor is an excellent historical novel. My rating: Five Stars.
The Mexican-American War (1845-1848) is the most underappreciated war in American history. As a result of it, the United States acquired much of the land in the West. The war began as a fight over the location of the border between the United States and Mexico. An earlier treaty between Mexico and the nation of Texas setting the border between the two countries was subject to differing interpretations. The United States identified the Rio Grande as the border between the two countries. Because Mexico called that river Rio Bravo, it considered the border to be the Nueces River. The strip of land in dispute was that between what is now Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande.
I’ve read two books about the war in the past few months. “Robert E. Lee, A Life” delved in the part of the war that took place in the south between Veracruz on the coast and Mexico City. Mike Blakely’s THE SINISTER SPLENDOR chronicles the war in Texas and northern Mexico.
An interesting aspect of the Mexican-American War is significant players in the Civil War 15 years later fought in the war: U.S. Grant and Jefferson Davis under Zachary Taylor in the north; and Robert E. Lee under Winfield Scott in the south.
Some interesting tidbits:
1. In the fourth paragraph of the novel, we learn Ulysses S. Grant’s actual name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. Through a clerical misunderstanding, he arrived at West Point registered as Ulysses S. Grant. Because he was U.S. Grant, his classmates called him Uncle Sam Grant or Sam Grant for short. He goes by Sam Grant in the novel.
2. About the same time drums of war were beating along the Texas-Mexico border, rumors of war circulated around a possible war with England over the border between the United States and Canada. Many Irishmen in the United States (including Irishman John Riley) hated the British. They enlisted in the American army for the purpose of killing Englishmen. Instead of being sent to Seattle as they hoped, they were shuttled south to fight against Mexico.
Early Americans were mainly English descent, and had an ingrained dislike of the Irish and the Germans, and weren’t too fond of Catholics either. Many American officers badly mistreated the Irish soldiers under their command. Consequently, some Irishmen, including John Riley, deserted the American army and fought with the Mexican army to kill Englishmen.
3. Sarah Bowman (Aka Sarah Borginnes) is an amazing figure. She was a laundress, a cook, and a seamstress for the Army. Because unmarried women were not allowed to travel with the Army, soon after her soldier husband died from disease (Many American soldiers died from diseases), she quickly married another soldier so she could stay with the Army. Sarah was tall (over six feet tall), and could fight and shoot better than most men. Among other things, during the heat of battle, with bullets and cannon balls falling around her, she delivered hot coffee and food to men on the walls. (Not in the book, but my research indicates Sarah was given the honorary title of Colonel after the war.)
4. The American Army had the better weapons. The Texas Rangers were a fierce fighting unit, made more successful because they carried revolvers that could shoot six rounds before reloading while most Mexican soldiers carried single-shot weapons. Texas Rangers John Hays and Sam Walker became legends in their own time.
5. Similarly, the Mississippi Rifles under the leadership of Col. Jefferson Davis (destined to become President of the Confederate States of America) were a courageous lot that used the accurate firing “Whitney” rifles.
6. Ringgold’s flying artillery may have been ridiculed before actual fighting started, but more than proved their worth in battle. Ringgold’s flying artillery consisted of smaller cannons towed by fast horses. They could move to where they were most needed or useful, shoot off cannons, then when their job was done or when the Mexican army had them in range, the flying artillery would fly the coup (you might say).
7. Santa Anna – that sucker is back again. I thought Sam Houston ruined his ambitions at San Jacinto ten years earlier. Well, he lost again – the war and a leg.
There’s more in this excellent book. There’s gripping details of bloody battles by brave (and scared) Americans and brave (and scared) Mexicans that fought and died on those bloody battlefields.
Author Mike Blakely has published thirteen novels before A Sinister Splendor, with one, “Summer of Pearls,” winning the Spur Award as Best Western Novel of the year 2001. I hope to read that one soon. In addition, he is a respected singer-songwriter in the Texas Hill Country.
A Sinister Splendor is an excellent historical novel. My rating: Five Stars.
February 6, 2022
***SPOILER ALERT***
This book was masterfully written. I reminded me a lot of KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara. Just the way the author brought those who fought in the Mexican American War to life. So vividly described it's like you were there.
I also was not aware about the nativist movement of the 1840s. I know about the 1920s, but not this earlier one that especially targeted the Irish. I also had no idea that so many Irish Americans deserted to serve the Mexican Army. it makes sense, I had just not known about it.
It was also interesting to see how those soldiers who would become famous Generals two decades hence in the American Civil War started their careers during the Mexican American War: Jeff Davis and Ulysses S. Grant. And I did actually know that many Civil War generals got their start during the Mexican American War before starting this book, but what I hadn't realized was that many of the generals in THIS war had gotten their start during the war of 1812: Zachary Taylor and General Wool.
Again, this was a beautifully written book. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys war fiction with lots of action and vivid characterization and description.
This book was masterfully written. I reminded me a lot of KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara. Just the way the author brought those who fought in the Mexican American War to life. So vividly described it's like you were there.
I also was not aware about the nativist movement of the 1840s. I know about the 1920s, but not this earlier one that especially targeted the Irish. I also had no idea that so many Irish Americans deserted to serve the Mexican Army. it makes sense, I had just not known about it.
It was also interesting to see how those soldiers who would become famous Generals two decades hence in the American Civil War started their careers during the Mexican American War: Jeff Davis and Ulysses S. Grant. And I did actually know that many Civil War generals got their start during the Mexican American War before starting this book, but what I hadn't realized was that many of the generals in THIS war had gotten their start during the war of 1812: Zachary Taylor and General Wool.
Again, this was a beautifully written book. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys war fiction with lots of action and vivid characterization and description.
July 14, 2023
Different points of view of [mostly] soldiers, both Mexican and American, in the Mexican War, which set up the boundary of Texas as the Rio Grande. I remember the barest facts about this little-known period in history from grade school, but it was good to fill in gaps in my knowledge. Many of these people were actual historical figures.
April 7, 2020
A great read. As a history fan, Blakey does an outstanding job of making the characters come to life in this little known part of history.
September 12, 2024
I love this author. I have read just about everything he has produced.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews