A Fine Likeness [Kindle Edition]

Sean McLachlan (Author)

Book Description

A Confederate guerrilla and a Union captain discover there's something more dangerous in the woods than each other.

Jimmy Rawlins is a teenaged bushwhacker who leads his friends on ambushes of Union patrols. They join infamous guerrilla leader Bloody Bill Anderson on a raid through Missouri, but Jimmy questions his commitment to the Cause when he discovers this madman plans to sacrifice a Union prisoner in a hellish ritual to raise the Confederate dead.

Richard Addison is an aging captain of a lackluster Union militia. Depressed over his son's death in battle, a glimpse of Jimmy changes his life. Jimmy and his son look so much alike that Addison becomes obsessed with saving him from Bloody Bill. Captain Addison must wreck his reputation to win this war within a war, while Jimmy must decide whether to betray the Confederacy to stop the evil arising in the woods of Missouri.

Length: 95,000 words (390 pages)

This is the first in the House Divided series of Civil War novels. Each book will be a standalone novel.

Sean McLachlan is the author of numerous books on Civil War and Missouri history, including American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics and Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean McLachlan is a former archaeologist who worked for many years on excavations in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Now a full-time writer, he specializes in history and travel. His main historical research interests are medieval weapons and the Civil War west of the Mississippi. For his travel writing, he focuses on historical destinations and adventure travel. Sean spends much of his time on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than 30 countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri. His website is seanmclachlan.com and he has a blog dedicated to the Civil War and Wild West at civilwarhorror.blogspot.com Sean is always happy to hear from his readers, so drop him a line!

Product Details

• File Size: 469 KB
• Print Length: 311 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1468004476
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006ANR3TM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,856 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical horror at it's finest December 19, 2011

By Scott

Format:Kindle Edition

A Fine Likeness by Sean McLachlan is a historical horror novel based during the Civil War. Jimmy is a young bushwhacker fighting for the South with his group, the Rawlins Rangers. The group of young men from the same town are a fairly successful ambush troop taking out Union supply caravans and destroying transportation and communication lines. Elijah, one of the members, also has the dubious habit of collecting the souls of the soldiers he kills in a special bottle. When the boys are offered the chance to join up with Bloody Bill Anderson, the most famous bushwhacker, they are eager to strike a meaningful blow for the Confederacy. What they see after joining up however terrifies them all (except Elijah) into second guessing if the South should actually win.

On the side of the Union you follow Captain Richard Addison. He is a good man who only joined the military reluctantly after he realized how badly he was needed. Dealing with his wife seeming to lose her mind after the death of their youngest son and none of his requests for assistance being granted, he has a heavy burden. When his patrol is ambushed by Jimmy he sees his son in the young Southerner's face. As he begins to try to hunt down Bloody Bill he secretly hopes that Jimmy can be redeemed, but the more atrocities he sees committed the more he doubts himself.

Sean has written several books about the Civil War the history of Missouri, so he has a lot of knowledge to share. The book is very well done using actual people (Bloody Bill) who were involved with the War in the area to add a layer of realism to the story. He does such a wonderful job with the weapon descriptions and battle detail that the book really comes alive. I had some interest in this time period in high school so it appealed very much to me. This is the only book like this I have ever read so I don't have anything to compare it to, but if he writes any more like this I will read them.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A rip-snorting historical horror story November 25, 2012

By KayAnn

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I generally don't read much long-form prose on my kindle, unless I'm trapped on an airplane but I was at home for this one. That says something about my experience with A FINE LIKENESS. Setting aside my downloaded newspapers and blogs paid off, because reading A FINE LIKENESS -- which must run over 85,000 words -- renewed my faith in both the e-reading experience and my attention span.

McLachlan sets his horror-history story well outside the norm, avoiding the tried-and-true territory from big clashes like Gettsyburg and Shiloh. I would like to see more stories set in places that are often overshadowed by the giant military maneuvers. By sidestepping the stereotypes, McLachlan takes readers smack dab into the guerrilla war of the trans-Missouri theater. This clears out the preconceptions that Hollywood has inserted into our minds and prepares readers for a singular story with hairpin turns.

McLachlan leads on with solid action and an especially deft hand for description. He clearly knows the terrain under his characters' feet and offers sensory impressions of the natural world that anchor the story in place and time. One well-handled account of riders approaching an abandoned camp through smoke and a screen of trees instantly conveys the creepy reality of the tale -- and there is real poetry here as well. Most tellers of swashbuckling tales tend to skip this stuff, and their stories often suffer as a result. McLachlan is at his best with description of this kind and with action -- much more so than with dialogue. One downside: I wish we had seen Bloody Bill sooner in the story, but it's tough to get everyone on stage, and set up the tale, which is braided together while being told from different perspectives.

Central themes -- spirit photography and spiritualism - serve to tie the story together and prove thought-provoking. I even found some relevance for our own times --contemplating soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan dealing with guerrilla warfare on very different terms.

I recommend.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read May 15, 2012

By ACLopez

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am not an avid reader but found this book both informative and exciting to read. Sean style of writing keeps you wanting to find out what happens next in this adventure of war. The details he gives of where the soldier & bushwhackers are and how they feel made me feel a part of the story. I hope to read other books by Sean McLachlan.
Recommended it to everyone.

More About the Author

Sean McLachlan is a former archaeologist who worked for many years on excavations in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Now a full-time writer, he specializes in history and travel. His main historical research interests are medieval weapons and the Civil War west of the Mississippi. For his travel writing, he focuses on historical destinations and adventure travel.

Sean spends much of his time on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than 30 countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri.

Sean is always happy to hear from his readers, so drop him a line!