Copperhead: The Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles: Book Two

This is just a gripping story. It's amazing how the author gets one into the period. Nate Starbuck has his work cut out him as a Bostonian fighting for the Confederacy. On the outs with his father, a well known preacher in Boston, and trying to reconcile with his brother James, he goes North to meet with his brother after having served a stint in jail. What he really wants is to rejoin the Faulconer's Legion, and when he heads south again to the Confederacy he is joined by Col. Lassan, a French "observer," a fascinatingly drawn character who wants to go to the South to see that side of the conflict and talks Nate into taking him back across the lines.There are more battle scenes, always so well described by Cornwell, and plenty of interesting characters, such as the whore Sally, daughter of one of the Legion's officers, Tom Truslow, for whom Starbudk has affection. There are the missionaries, the Gordons, who minister to wounded soldiers, and the unlikely friendship that develops between Julia Gordon and Sally Truslow, Never a dull moment here! I highly recommend this book!

If one is too insistent on the principal figure having a consistent psychology, then this book is not for you. It does have an interesting mix of characters, and it gave me a sense of the personal dynamics of life during the Civil War (when one thought of distance and transportation in terms of being on the back of a horse). The depiction of battle from the perspective of a regular soldier, with the killing being an entirely local phenomenon, the continuous confusion, and no picture of the greater strategy (are we actually dying for some good purpose, or is my commander an idiot?), is well illustrated. I don't know if I will bother with the rest of the series, but I thought this book was worth the read. Having been at Manassas/Bull Run, I also found the first book of this series interesting.

Bernard Cornwell is the best writer of historical fiction around, and although his Starbuck Chronicles aren't necessarily his best, they are really excellent. I highly recommend them. Definitely read them in order. Hopefully someday he'll finish the series, but each novel is basically a standalone.

I enjoyed this book! The fictional story fits right I to the historical events. Cornwell stays true to the history, and writes realistically, not sparing anything. It is not a book for the faint hearted. If you are offended by strong language, blood and guts descriptions, maybe you should choose something different, but you will miss a wonderful series.

As described in my review of book 1, this series shows strains of Richard Sharpe, but it is very different. There is a more subtle characterisation within the protagonists, there is more of a psychological feel to the story - understandable as it describes the emotions of men and women facing civil war, where brother fights brother and love is torn asunder. As ever, the action scenes are well developed. I particularly like the way actual history has been used, not abused. Fiction rules, but historical fact is not traduced. At times I found the story dragged a little but that was not in any way a detraction from the unfolding story.

I enjoyed the story and grew to really like Nathaniel Starbuck. He is torn from his strict Boston Christian upbringing and decides to side.. with the Confederacy

This is another excellent novel by Bernard Cornwell. This is the second of four novels in this series and it is an great read just like all of the other three. Bernard Cornwell is one of my favorite authors, his books almost never disappoint.

I started reading Cornwell's Viking series and read every one of those books. Then I bought all the aurthurian books and loved them as well. This series is just as good. If you like historical fiction, there's no one that does it better. Full of good writing and excellent battles. I plan to buy all the Sharpe books when I'm done with these. If you're looking for comparisons...I'd say similar to Conn Iggulden

I love long sagas and this one is the last of the Starbucks's chronicles. Bernard Cornell is a fantastic writer who is able to make his characters come alive and develop through the different stages of the stories. I hate it when I finish them as I feel as if I have lost a friend.

The Starbuck chronicles consist of three books and each one is so full of gripping reading. Battles that were fought in the US North and South. but with a characters put into the story whom you are following, will they survive to live to fight another day? I thoroughly enjoyed the three books, and EVEN my wife enjoyed them.Great reading the attention to detail and the odd snippet to make one smile is a real touch of Bernard Cornwell.

I've read a lot of Bernard cornwell books and am a huge fan.This is probably one of the poorest of the series that I've read. Saying that it's, as usual, a great way of learning some history wrapped in a good yarn. The main issue to me is that I struggle to sympathise with the main character.I would still say go for it if you're a fan, but if not go for his dark ages novels. They're much better

I'm a big fan of Cornwell but I found this book a bit tedious at times. As always, the battle scenes are brilliant but there were times in between when I had to put the book down out of boredom. I've read the first two in the series now and I thought the first was better than the second.I will read the last two at some point.

Starbuck is Sharpe of the American civil war, but more cultured. Bernard Cornwell has developed a tortured hero, fighting for friends rather than the cause. This second book moves at a fast pace, developing the character of Starbuck and laying the foundation for further trials and tribulations. Looking forward to the next instalment.