To continue my summer of horror reading schedule, the alternate historical fictional retelling of the Civil War prisoner camp Andersonville by Edward M. Erdelac was up next. The author’s extensive research into the conditions of this southern prisoner camp that held Northern soldiers in deplorable conditions would have made for an excellent non-fiction book, but he takes it into dark, supernatural depths that I absolutely love and thoroughly enjoy!
Barclay Lourdes sneaks onto a prison train bound for Andersonville, assuming the identity of one of the negro soldiers that has died on the train while on the way to the prison camp. While as a reader, you don’t know who Barclay is or why he must go to the camp for quite a few pages as his story is revealed slowly, the horrible conditions of such a place are vividly portrayed in the text in detail. You get to know all of the different people who work and reside within those walls as Barclay learns to navigate the different social strata within the confines. Barclay is a bit of an enigma himself–a black Union soldier who was never a slave, but yet he poses as one to uncover why the conditions are so deplorable in this prison camp. And when he discovers the truth, he’s in for the fight of his life.
The conditions and descriptions of Andersonville are very accurate. I could picture the emaciated soldiers practically stacked on top of one another, dirty and diseased with open wounds. It doesn’t make for a pretty picture, but it does make for a creepy back drop for an evil supernatural presence to grab hold. The characters in Andersonville are very layered and complicated–even the minor characters–and I really enjoyed that they weren’t two dimensional. This supenatural element wasn’t there from the start and it was slowly introduced, but you caught glimpses of it here and there. I really love subtle hints until it comes out full force.
I give Andersonville a four out of five. The oppressiveness, the horrible conditions, and the hopelessness of the Fort Sumter prisoner of war camp–they all show an accurate and thorough picture of what life was like for those soldiers in 1864 Georgia–with an added evil depth of supernatural forces at work in this book. The plotting was fast paced and the tension built quite nicely until it reached a fever pitch, and the ending was very satisfying. Overall, Andersonville leaves you questioning how much evil both men and devils do, and how much do men use the devil’s excuse for the things that they do. I highly recommend this book for history lovers as well as supernatural horror lovers.
About Edward M. Erdelac
EDWARD M. ERDELAC is the author of eight novels (including the acclaimed weird western series Merkabah Rider) and dozens of short stories. He is an independent filmmaker, award winning screenwriter, and sometime Star Wars contributor.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of children and cats.
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I’m not generally a horror fan (I’m a huge chicken when it comes to scary things) but the historical aspect of this book really appeals to me. I’m seriously considering picking up a copy … if I can get over my fear!
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