Could you choose between love and freedom? Meet the American Revolution’s most endearing hero: Nathan Hale, the 21-year-old spy who "only regretted he had but one life to give for his country." Caught between honor and romance, Nathan must forfeit the woman he hopes to marry, even as a rival for her hand vows to win her at any cost. Their contest culminates in a British Artillery Park when Nathan hangs for espionage – but, in a surprising twist, still triumphs. Filled with love and conflict, murder and betrayal, Halestorm whisks readers into an era of wrenching choices and extraordinary sacrifices. Novelist Becky Akers dramatizes the characters and period through meticulous research, clever dialogue, and a fast-moving plot whose climax will stir your deepest emotions. “Halestorm reveals just how relevant the issues of the American Revolution remain today. Akers’ realistic historical characters make difficult choices that affect their personal happiness and the future of an emerging nation. This stunning tale emphasizes the true cost of freedom and the debt we owe to those who make the sacrifice.” — Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning Narrow Lives
Halestorm
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About the Author
Becky Akers is a free-lance writer and historian whose work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, Barron’s, the New York Post, American History Magazine, the Independent Review, Military History Magazine, the Ottawa Citizen, lewrockwell.com, forbes.com and many other publications and websites. Halestorm is her first novel.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Review first published by Tyler Tichelaar at BlogCritics August 17, 2012:
In the pageant of American history, the American Revolution is the ultimate pivotal moment, and the bravery shown by the early patriots cannot be denied when they fought for what they believed in--freedom from government control and unfair taxation. Many of those patriots died before ever knowing their cause had succeeded. Among those martyrs to the cause of freedom was Nathan Hale, famous today for his final words, "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." But who was Nathan Hale really, and what motivated him to die so bravely?
Becky Akers has brought Nathan Hale's past alive in her new novel Halestorm, a book with a clever pun in its title much like the puns she depicts Nathan Hale as having loved. In her Author's Note at the book's end, Akers admits she had to take a few liberties with her plot, but her fiction brings alive the time of the American Revolution in beautifully written prose and in a manner that nonfiction can never achieve.
Halestorm opens with Nathan Hale and his brother going off to college at Yale, while his stepsister Alice is deeply in love with him. Since Nathan's brother and Alice's sister have recently married, Nathan and Alice see no reason why their love cannot also have such a happy ending, but they soon find that their parents are greatly opposed to their marriage. Their attempts to be together and the obstacles that result--including Nathan's promise to his father that he will not marry Alice--make for many twists and turns in the lovers' lives.
Alice and Nathan's love story is played out against the rising disgust in the colonies with the British government and the conflict between loyalists and patriots. Guy Daggett, a dashing young man who sides with the loyalists, soon becomes interested in Alice and stirs up trouble for the lovers while managing to look innocent at every turn. And as the conflict with the motherland develops, Nathan prepares himself inevitably to fight for the cause of freedom.
Akers succeeds in keeping the reader turning the pages, constantly interested in the characters and their fates, despite knowing from history that Nathan must die in the end. Throughout the story, I cheered for Nathan and Alice, booed the villains, and was amazed by all I learned about the American Revolution and colonial life.
As a historical novelist myself, I greatly appreciated Akers' pacing and her research that she worked into the story to give it color and purpose while never lecturing or trying to teach the reader. Akers shines especially in writing dialogue, capturing the phrasing and sentiments of the period. The conversations between characters often made me stop and think, "What these people are upset about is the same situation we Americans are facing with our government today." That Akers makes the novel so relevant to the present day without ever overtly stating the parallels is the true mark of an expert novelist. Halestorm is a novel to read and enjoy, but also a novel to learn from, reminding us not to cave into living with a government our forefathers would have rejected and gave their lives to free themselves from. I especially admired Akers' use of dialogue to bring these comparisons between the past and present to life. Here is just a short sample:
"So you think we ought to take arms against the king, Master Hale?" The judge's voice climbed so high this time it cracked. By now, everyone in the room was craning to see him. "That--that's treason!"
Nathan shook his head. "We're free English citizens, aren't we? That means we have a contract with the government. We submit to it and obey the laws--"
"Hear, hear!"
"--long as--" He paused, allowing the tumult to die. "Long as king and Parliament honor their end of things. They've got to protect our lives, liberty, and property."
"'Course, and that's why the king disarmed that mob in Boston, to keep the peace, don't you see."
Nathan stood with arms akimbo. "How does a government impose its will on its subjects?" He waited for an answer, as if they were in class.
Zeke Simpson's father obliged. "By force."
"Yes, by force. We saw what happens when we don't want to pay taxes. The king sends soldiers here, with guns, to force us to pay. Only way to resist is by bringing our own guns against those soldiers. The king knows that, so his army marched against the stores at Concord to disarm us. A government deprives the people of their rights, it's a good bet they'll rebel unless it disarms them first. Tyrants always disarm the people."
"He's right!" Mr. Simpson shouted. "'Twill be our death the day they have more muskets than us."
Halestorm reveals just how relevant the issues of the American Revolution remain today. Akers' realistic historical characters make difficult choices that affect their personal happiness and the future of an emerging nation. This stunning tale emphasizes the true cost of freedom and the debt we owe to those who make the sacrifice. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is proud to be an American, everyone who is a lover of history, and everyone who cares about America's future.
In the pageant of American history, the American Revolution is the ultimate pivotal moment, and the bravery shown by the early patriots cannot be denied when they fought for what they believed in--freedom from government control and unfair taxation. Many of those patriots died before ever knowing their cause had succeeded. Among those martyrs to the cause of freedom was Nathan Hale, famous today for his final words, "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." But who was Nathan Hale really, and what motivated him to die so bravely?
Becky Akers has brought Nathan Hale's past alive in her new novel Halestorm, a book with a clever pun in its title much like the puns she depicts Nathan Hale as having loved. In her Author's Note at the book's end, Akers admits she had to take a few liberties with her plot, but her fiction brings alive the time of the American Revolution in beautifully written prose and in a manner that nonfiction can never achieve.
Halestorm opens with Nathan Hale and his brother going off to college at Yale, while his stepsister Alice is deeply in love with him. Since Nathan's brother and Alice's sister have recently married, Nathan and Alice see no reason why their love cannot also have such a happy ending, but they soon find that their parents are greatly opposed to their marriage. Their attempts to be together and the obstacles that result--including Nathan's promise to his father that he will not marry Alice--make for many twists and turns in the lovers' lives.
Alice and Nathan's love story is played out against the rising disgust in the colonies with the British government and the conflict between loyalists and patriots. Guy Daggett, a dashing young man who sides with the loyalists, soon becomes interested in Alice and stirs up trouble for the lovers while managing to look innocent at every turn. And as the conflict with the motherland develops, Nathan prepares himself inevitably to fight for the cause of freedom.
Akers succeeds in keeping the reader turning the pages, constantly interested in the characters and their fates, despite knowing from history that Nathan must die in the end. Throughout the story, I cheered for Nathan and Alice, booed the villains, and was amazed by all I learned about the American Revolution and colonial life.
As a historical novelist myself, I greatly appreciated Akers' pacing and her research that she worked into the story to give it color and purpose while never lecturing or trying to teach the reader. Akers shines especially in writing dialogue, capturing the phrasing and sentiments of the period. The conversations between characters often made me stop and think, "What these people are upset about is the same situation we Americans are facing with our government today." That Akers makes the novel so relevant to the present day without ever overtly stating the parallels is the true mark of an expert novelist. Halestorm is a novel to read and enjoy, but also a novel to learn from, reminding us not to cave into living with a government our forefathers would have rejected and gave their lives to free themselves from. I especially admired Akers' use of dialogue to bring these comparisons between the past and present to life. Here is just a short sample:
"So you think we ought to take arms against the king, Master Hale?" The judge's voice climbed so high this time it cracked. By now, everyone in the room was craning to see him. "That--that's treason!"
Nathan shook his head. "We're free English citizens, aren't we? That means we have a contract with the government. We submit to it and obey the laws--"
"Hear, hear!"
"--long as--" He paused, allowing the tumult to die. "Long as king and Parliament honor their end of things. They've got to protect our lives, liberty, and property."
"'Course, and that's why the king disarmed that mob in Boston, to keep the peace, don't you see."
Nathan stood with arms akimbo. "How does a government impose its will on its subjects?" He waited for an answer, as if they were in class.
Zeke Simpson's father obliged. "By force."
"Yes, by force. We saw what happens when we don't want to pay taxes. The king sends soldiers here, with guns, to force us to pay. Only way to resist is by bringing our own guns against those soldiers. The king knows that, so his army marched against the stores at Concord to disarm us. A government deprives the people of their rights, it's a good bet they'll rebel unless it disarms them first. Tyrants always disarm the people."
"He's right!" Mr. Simpson shouted. "'Twill be our death the day they have more muskets than us."
Halestorm reveals just how relevant the issues of the American Revolution remain today. Akers' realistic historical characters make difficult choices that affect their personal happiness and the future of an emerging nation. This stunning tale emphasizes the true cost of freedom and the debt we owe to those who make the sacrifice. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is proud to be an American, everyone who is a lover of history, and everyone who cares about America's future.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Most of us know that Nathan Hale was the revolutionary hero who upon being faced with his execution for treason against England declared that his only regret was that "he had but one life to lose for his country." But most of us do not know much else about the man or about his life. Though this is a fictionalized account of his life, Becky Akers has done a marvelous job researching the era and describing the background for his story. Clearly, she has gone back to first source documents for much of the language used by her characters, and though their dialogue comes out of her wonderfully creative imagination, it is highly believable, and definitely makes for an engaging story.
In fact, it was so exciting that toward the end, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading until I had finished it in the middle of the night. It is not often these days that I do that! Usually I pick up my book and in ten minutes my eyes are closing no matter how much I think I am interested in the subject.
I've enjoyed reading Becky Aker's other works, and am happy to see her branching out into the historical fiction genre. I'll be watching to see what she comes up with next.
In fact, it was so exciting that toward the end, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading until I had finished it in the middle of the night. It is not often these days that I do that! Usually I pick up my book and in ten minutes my eyes are closing no matter how much I think I am interested in the subject.
I've enjoyed reading Becky Aker's other works, and am happy to see her branching out into the historical fiction genre. I'll be watching to see what she comes up with next.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Vaughn Kraft
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A young American novelist, Becky Akers, tells us the story from page to page how it was to live in American revolutionary times. She so courageously tells us about the value of liberty. It was not just the Americans, but also the Brits living in America at that time, who wanted to break away from the tyranny of the King. I thought that it was Nathan Hale who was Alice ("Ally") Adam's paradigm of liberty...and that consumed her love and soul. However, the story of Ally's and Nathan's love for each other is not your usual love affair. Instead, Ally is kept from her Nathan almost throughout, and because he remains honorable to his father's wishes not to marry her, he thus obeys his wishes, almost without thought. It is not until Nathan becomes a spy (not the most honorable profession) for the "cause" that he realizes that those principles will be violated if his love for Ally is greater than the wishes of his family. However, Ally's love is anchored to Nathan regardless of the obstacles that stand in her way; his Father's disapproval, her arranged marriage, and the "cad" who tried to "monkey wrench" everything good.
The story has such beautiful prose and cadence, one feels he is marching into the arms of liberty. Mrs. Akers does something in her novel that I would bet you won't find in other novels of this period. Throughout the book, she peppers her prose with anarchistic principles: "taxation is robbery!"; "But government takes our money and says it'll spend it better than we can. It says it's doing it for our own good, whether we approve of it or not..."
My favorite quote of all: "Why should a country be run?"
From these fiery expressions we hear a cry for independence from the State that most other scholars would dare to discuss. This beautiful American novelist is talking to US.
The story has such beautiful prose and cadence, one feels he is marching into the arms of liberty. Mrs. Akers does something in her novel that I would bet you won't find in other novels of this period. Throughout the book, she peppers her prose with anarchistic principles: "taxation is robbery!"; "But government takes our money and says it'll spend it better than we can. It says it's doing it for our own good, whether we approve of it or not..."
My favorite quote of all: "Why should a country be run?"
From these fiery expressions we hear a cry for independence from the State that most other scholars would dare to discuss. This beautiful American novelist is talking to US.
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