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DarkHorse Trilogy #3
Something in Madness
Appomattox ended the war with a penstroke...
but the struggle for freedom had only begun.
1865. After the Civil War, Durksen Hurst and three black friends return home to a devastated Mississippi, the sole survivors of a Union colored cavalry regiment. But instead of peace, they find unregenerate Confederates who reject emancipation still in charge.
Undeterred, Durk opens a law practice to help disenfranchised freedmen only to be threatened by powerful planters and nightriders. A black school is burned; a petition march to Jackson is terrorized. And when one of his friends goes missing, Durk is horrified to discover Black Codes being used to force freedmen into brutal servitude. Clever Durk schemes to liberate them but must contend with armed ruffians and a rigged court system. Will fire and bullets prevail?
In this concluding chapter of Ed Protzel s DarkHorse Trilogy, Something in Madness illuminates Reconstruction, the least understood epoch in American history, exposing the origin of America s ongoing racial divide.
but the struggle for freedom had only begun.
1865. After the Civil War, Durksen Hurst and three black friends return home to a devastated Mississippi, the sole survivors of a Union colored cavalry regiment. But instead of peace, they find unregenerate Confederates who reject emancipation still in charge.
Undeterred, Durk opens a law practice to help disenfranchised freedmen only to be threatened by powerful planters and nightriders. A black school is burned; a petition march to Jackson is terrorized. And when one of his friends goes missing, Durk is horrified to discover Black Codes being used to force freedmen into brutal servitude. Clever Durk schemes to liberate them but must contend with armed ruffians and a rigged court system. Will fire and bullets prevail?
In this concluding chapter of Ed Protzel s DarkHorse Trilogy, Something in Madness illuminates Reconstruction, the least understood epoch in American history, exposing the origin of America s ongoing racial divide.
261 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2020
2 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Ed Protzel
5 books44 followersEd Protzel is the author of four novels, all published by Open Road Media: the Southern historical DARKHORSE TRILOGY, centering on the friendship between an abolitionist hustler and a group of escaped slaves between 1859 and 1865 (THE LIES THAT BIND, HONOR AMONG OUTCASTS, SOMETHING IN MADNESS); and THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER suspense thriller. Ed is a graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in English literature/creative writing.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 8, 2021
Ed Protzel paints a descriptive, gripping tale of post-Civil War Reconstruction!
Read full review in the 2021 March issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2021 March issue of InD'tale Magazine.
December 9, 2020
Something in Madness is the third, and final, installment in the DarkHorse Trilogy. Set in post-Civil War Turkle, Mississippi, Durk Hurst and his companions find themselves in a South that is still fighting to hold on to it’s way. Durk opens a law practice while attempting to recover the rights to his lost plantation.
This is a gripping work of historical fiction, which creates an action-packed depiction of American life in the Reconstructionist Era. Protzel does a remarkable job of highlighting the prejudice and violence faced by newly freed slaves suddenly thrust into a tumultuous world. The dialogue is well-crafted to portray the speech patterns of the time period. The story is well-paced. I was captivated from beginning to end.
While exploring a particularly dark period in our nation’s history, the story comes to a hopeful conclusion.
This is a gripping work of historical fiction, which creates an action-packed depiction of American life in the Reconstructionist Era. Protzel does a remarkable job of highlighting the prejudice and violence faced by newly freed slaves suddenly thrust into a tumultuous world. The dialogue is well-crafted to portray the speech patterns of the time period. The story is well-paced. I was captivated from beginning to end.
While exploring a particularly dark period in our nation’s history, the story comes to a hopeful conclusion.
May 26, 2021
This is the final book in the Dark Horse trilogy. I haven't read the first two but, helpfully, this one begins with a recap of what has happened in the previous two volumes so the reader is able to catch up with the story, for the most part. I say for the most part because what is not mentioned in the blurb is the other threat to Durk and his friends, the confused and confusing character of Devereau French.
Devereau's story is a huge part of the narrative and, whilst the introduction makes clear what has happened to this character up until now, I felt that in order to really understand Devereau I needed to see the character in action in the previous two volumes. Inevitably, I think, when one hasn't read the beginning of a series, some nuance and understanding of the characters is lost. It is clear from Volume Three that Durk, his partner Antoinette, and Devereau have a long and complicated history, which is neatly resolved here.
This book challenged me in many ways. It is unsparing in its depiction of the brutal treatment of technically freed slaves, and pulls no punches when showing the attitudes of those in the South who felt that the war was not over and resisted all attempts to change and improve society and the lives of the former slaves. These scenes made for compelling reading, though not necessarily comfortable reading. I applaud the author though for not shying away from such issues.
I've already mentioned Devereau, but I didn't come away from the book feeling that I'd really got to know the other main characters and, again, this might be because they've had two previous books in which to tell their story and I only met them in this, the final part of that tale. I wonder, though, if it was also because of the author's habit of presenting several points of view within the same scene? This technique is quite uncommon these days, where writers usually stay with the point of view of one character throughout an entire scene. Once I'd got used to this habitual switch from one POV to another, I had no problem with it and, in the final scenes, it was used to good effect and one POV would actually have lessened the drama. (In fact I must say that the plotting generally, and the action scenes, were clever, artful and gripping.) But I think this technique also had the effect of preventing me from really getting to know the characters and pinpointing where my sympathies should lie, especially with Devereau whose story was complicated to say the least (I can't say why because that would be a huge spoiler).
Ultimately, though, any sense of slight detachment on my part was, I think, the result of my not having read the previous two books. Whilst the author was at great pains to allow latecomers to catch up by providing a summary of what had happened before, the difficulty of not having met the characters earlier is harder to overcome. I suspect that, if I'd read all three books, I'd have been hugely satisfied with the way all the strands were pulled together and sad to say goodbye to these characters.
So a good read - but start at the beginning!
Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
Devereau's story is a huge part of the narrative and, whilst the introduction makes clear what has happened to this character up until now, I felt that in order to really understand Devereau I needed to see the character in action in the previous two volumes. Inevitably, I think, when one hasn't read the beginning of a series, some nuance and understanding of the characters is lost. It is clear from Volume Three that Durk, his partner Antoinette, and Devereau have a long and complicated history, which is neatly resolved here.
This book challenged me in many ways. It is unsparing in its depiction of the brutal treatment of technically freed slaves, and pulls no punches when showing the attitudes of those in the South who felt that the war was not over and resisted all attempts to change and improve society and the lives of the former slaves. These scenes made for compelling reading, though not necessarily comfortable reading. I applaud the author though for not shying away from such issues.
I've already mentioned Devereau, but I didn't come away from the book feeling that I'd really got to know the other main characters and, again, this might be because they've had two previous books in which to tell their story and I only met them in this, the final part of that tale. I wonder, though, if it was also because of the author's habit of presenting several points of view within the same scene? This technique is quite uncommon these days, where writers usually stay with the point of view of one character throughout an entire scene. Once I'd got used to this habitual switch from one POV to another, I had no problem with it and, in the final scenes, it was used to good effect and one POV would actually have lessened the drama. (In fact I must say that the plotting generally, and the action scenes, were clever, artful and gripping.) But I think this technique also had the effect of preventing me from really getting to know the characters and pinpointing where my sympathies should lie, especially with Devereau whose story was complicated to say the least (I can't say why because that would be a huge spoiler).
Ultimately, though, any sense of slight detachment on my part was, I think, the result of my not having read the previous two books. Whilst the author was at great pains to allow latecomers to catch up by providing a summary of what had happened before, the difficulty of not having met the characters earlier is harder to overcome. I suspect that, if I'd read all three books, I'd have been hugely satisfied with the way all the strands were pulled together and sad to say goodbye to these characters.
So a good read - but start at the beginning!
Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
October 23, 2020
Something in Madness is the third and final book in Ed Protzel’s DarkHorse trilogy about America’s Civil War. In this action packed volume, we return to Turkle, Mississippi after the war’s end, where some of Turkle’s diehard confederates balk at the idea of freed black men.
Many of the good guys from the first and/or second book reappear in this finale, including Big Josh and Long Lou, former slaves. Both men are friends and business partners to Durk, the former drifter, but principled do-gooder who propels the story and wiggles out of more deadly situations than a magician has tricks up his sleeve.
Also returning in book three is Devereau the disturbed woman whose evil mother forced her to live a lonely embittered life impersonating a man. Predictably, Devereau, as well as others pay the price for this deception. A new villain and antagonist to Durk is Colonel Rutherford, one of Turkle’s power brokers who personifies the Old South’s most reprehensible pro-slavery positions.
The DarkHorse Trilogy is historical fiction and in Something of Madness, Protzel regularly treats readers to snippets of history, as when he writes: “Every Southern town had a “Jew Store,” a place to buy sundries like cutlery, pots and pans, Sunday suits, dresses and Easter bonnets.“
With Protzel’s vivid descriptions and realistic Southern cadence of black and white speech patterns, readers can imagine walking into the country store, or strolling along the river bank. For instance, Durk takes a brief impromptu tour of Turkle, and reflects on what war has done to the place he calls home:
“Before the war, sleepy Turkle had been familiar to him, like an old alligator sunning by the river. But in the light of morning it seemed more like a lifeless log snagged on trash…”
Despite the dark forces at work in Something in Madness, it is ultimately a tale of hope and determination against seemingly insurmountable odds. It is also a timely tale for these troubled times in our divided nation.
Many of the good guys from the first and/or second book reappear in this finale, including Big Josh and Long Lou, former slaves. Both men are friends and business partners to Durk, the former drifter, but principled do-gooder who propels the story and wiggles out of more deadly situations than a magician has tricks up his sleeve.
Also returning in book three is Devereau the disturbed woman whose evil mother forced her to live a lonely embittered life impersonating a man. Predictably, Devereau, as well as others pay the price for this deception. A new villain and antagonist to Durk is Colonel Rutherford, one of Turkle’s power brokers who personifies the Old South’s most reprehensible pro-slavery positions.
The DarkHorse Trilogy is historical fiction and in Something of Madness, Protzel regularly treats readers to snippets of history, as when he writes: “Every Southern town had a “Jew Store,” a place to buy sundries like cutlery, pots and pans, Sunday suits, dresses and Easter bonnets.“
With Protzel’s vivid descriptions and realistic Southern cadence of black and white speech patterns, readers can imagine walking into the country store, or strolling along the river bank. For instance, Durk takes a brief impromptu tour of Turkle, and reflects on what war has done to the place he calls home:
“Before the war, sleepy Turkle had been familiar to him, like an old alligator sunning by the river. But in the light of morning it seemed more like a lifeless log snagged on trash…”
Despite the dark forces at work in Something in Madness, it is ultimately a tale of hope and determination against seemingly insurmountable odds. It is also a timely tale for these troubled times in our divided nation.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews