The Bloody Ground (Starbuck Chronicles)

'The Bloody Ground' is the last in the Starbuck chronicles and describes the events that saw the start of the South's retreat. Starbuck's numerous enemies have put him in charge of a group known as the Yellowlegs, due to their cowardness. Starbuck, along with his friend Lucifer, must fight against internal corruption as well as the Northern forces if they are to reach what was to become one of the bloodiest battles of the war in time.

I feel that 'The Bloody Ground' is a well written book that suffers from a couple of large problems. Firstly, the entire second half of the book describes a battle. As a fan of Cornwell I do like reading his battle scenes, but there was far too much here. Also this book was written in 1996 so we can safely assume that Cornwell has given up on writing any more Starbuck novels. However, rather than concluding Starbuck's career we are left with a hint of his future. I found this annoying and too open ended. Despite these flaws the rest of the book is pacey and exciting. It may not be up with the best of the Sharpe novels, but fans of Cornwell should check this out all the same.

Great read! (5/5 people found this helpful)

I recently re-read The Bloody Ground, the last Starbuck novel before Cornwell abandoned the series to cash in on the tv popularity of Sharpe by reinventing & rehashing the series (is it really almost 10 years!).
I had almost forgotten how much I enjoyed the Starbuck novels....this one is full of twists & turns as we follow Nate & all the various colourful characters that all come to life in the pages of this great read.
If you like Historical fiction...give this series a go!
Shame on Bernard Cornwell for selling out and shafting fans of this series...Sharpe should have been left alone. If you read the original series as I did in the eighties, you won't recognise Sharpe in the new books....it's Sean Bean!

Powerful novel describing the battle of Antietam (2/2 people found this helpful)

Cornwell captures the thrill, brutality and horror of the American Civil War in this fine novel. The plot is not his most exciting but the characters are well drawn and the narrative moves along. The final third of the book concerns the battle of Antietam - the bloodiest day in American military history. Cornwell does it justice.

Bring 'im back. (7/8 people found this helpful)

In spite of having rather repetitive plot-lines involving sinister types who hate our hero's insides and eventually fall by the way, these novels seem to improve as they go on. The characters, including the sinister, become more rounded. The battles are described with verve as you would expect from this author with not too much wallowing in gore. And yes you can read them at one sitting if you're not careful as they flow quite nicely. The running stories through the books are interesting and it's a great pity that the author seems to have tired of this series and they have petered out.
Perhaps you could give 'Sharpe' a rest Mr. Cornwell and have another crack at Captain Ahab?

A violent, yet exciting book (7/11 people found this helpful)

The Bloody Ground is all about a selection of characters during the American Civil War. It has more than it's fair share of violence and death (naturally) and is described in Cornwell's usual vivid way. Don't let this put you off since, apart from the battles, it also contains colourful characters, an exciting plot and moments of humour. I read this book more or less non stop from start to finish.

The Bloody Ground (Starbuck Chronicles)

Bernard Cornwell

Reader Reviews:

Over before it Began (3/3 people found this helpful)

Great read! (5/5 people found this helpful)

Powerful novel describing the battle of Antietam (2/2 people found this helpful)

Bring 'im back. (7/8 people found this helpful)

A violent, yet exciting book (7/11 people found this helpful)

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