I, Quantrill [Kindle Edition]

Max McCoy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Bloody Bill Quantrill was one of the most notorious and brutal guerrilla fighters for the South in the Civil War, riding with the James brothers and slaughtering his enemies mercilessly. Now, Quantrill tells his side of the story...

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 342 KB
• Print Length: 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (May 8, 2008)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001974DGK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,740 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Max McCoy is an award-winning novelist and journalist. He is best known for his westerns (which have been described as "western noir") and his original Indiana Jones adventures.

He won the Spur award in 2008 from the Western Writers of America for his novel, "Hellfire Canyon." It's the story of a 13-year-old boy and his mother who walk across Missouri during the Civil War and become part of the gang led by Alf Bolin, the notorious Ozark serial killer. "Hellfire Canyon" was also named a Kansas 2008 Notable Book.

McCoy is the author of sixteen other books, including four original Indiana Jones adventures for LucasFilm and the novelization of Steven Spielberg's epic miniseries, "Into the West."

His fiction debut, "The Sixth Rider," about the 1892 raid on Coffeyville's banks by the Dalton Gang, was published by Doubleday and won the Spur/Medicine Pipe Award for Best First Novel by the Western Writers of America.

USA Today has described his writing as "powerful." In addition to westerns and historical fiction, McCoy also writes contemporary adventures. Publishers Weekly called his novel, "The Moon Pool," an "intelligent thriller... tightly drawn characters, a vile villain and a satisfying, thought-provoking conclusion make this a compelling read."

McCoy grew up in Baxter Springs and most of his books are set in Kansas or Missouri. He began his career in journalism at the Pittsburg Morning Sun and writing for pulp magazines such as True Detective and Front-Page Detective. Most recently, he was the investigative writer for The Joplin Globe. He has won first-place awards in investigative journalism for his stories on serial killers and hate groups.

His latest book is "Canyon Diablo," a sequel to "Hellfire Canyon." McCoy's an assistant professor of journalism at Emporia State University. His newest book, "Damnation Road, will be released in September 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, October 12, 2009

By 

Patsy Terrell "Patsy Terrell" (Hutchinson, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I, Quantrill (Paperback)

This is the first of Max McCoy's books I've read, but it won't be the last. He has created a story starring Quantrill, giving the reader a human look at this hated/loved figure. I'm not well-versed in the western genre, but I know a good story and this definitely qualifies. Once I started reading I didn't want to stop.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiction made real, July 19, 2011

By 

Loren C. Gruber (Marshall, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I, Quantrill (Paperback)

Granted, I, Quantrill is fiction, and Max McCoy creates a believable Quantrill whose first-person narration reveals the strengths and weaknesses of a man both revered and hated. First-person narration is always unreliable, which makes McCoy's novel all the more interesting to those who have read about the historical man. For the most part, the story is well-crafted, although I would have preferred a shorter denouement. The woman in black is a nice touch. Max McCoy drew me into Quantrill's world and his view of himself. I found the novel to be a page-turner.

5.0 out of 5 stars "You will remember the spot,won't you?" I asked."Lest everyone else forgets.You will mark it?", August 6, 2009

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I, Quantrill (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this excellent novel.It is the first thing I've read by Max McCoy;and found him to be a terrific writer;and am looking forward to reading more from him.Although I've read some Civil War things,watched a lot of movies and historical documentries about the War,and am continually coming across things that happened during the War in reading Westerns and history;I am certainly a rank novice when it comes to details of the War;and totally unable to separate truth from fiction and legend.
That being said,I found this an engrossing read of one of the famous personalities associated with the War.The author draws you into the personality of Quantrill,revealing his inner thoughts and without doubt,makes you understand what went on with these events ,and what Quantrill,himself,felt about things.The author has an uncanny ability to develop the characters involved so that the reader really feels that they actually know and understand them,lifting them out of being just historical names,but real people.
As I said,I am not knowledgeable to any extent on Civil War history.I was really taken by Hyacinth (Blue) Fugate.I did not even know if Quantrill was ever married.A check of Wikipedia shows that he married Sara Catherine King in Blue Spring,Missouri and that she was only 14 at the time;and that she was 17 when Quantrill died.She is not mentioned in the novel.However Quantrill meets up with Blue Fulgate in Troublesome Creek,Kentucky ,shortly before he dies.Again a check on the net shows that there was a family of blue people by that name in Kentuckey at that time,and there were many descendents who were blue skinned.At the time of Quantrill's death,June 6,1865,after being shot and critically wounded on May 10,1865,he was only 27 years old.The picture on the book's cover is the same as shown for him on Wikipedia,thus it is a true likeness.
I suppose there is a lot to sort out between Quantrill's destruction of Lawrence Kansas,and his journey back to Kentucky,and his death;there is no doubt about this being a great novel about a greater than life, historical person.