I'm not familiar with the Andersonville prison since I'm not American, so I "enjoyed" getting a history lesson with a paranormal twist. It was truly awful how the people were treated there and making it a battle between good and evil was a very interesting plot. In real life it was just ordinary people acting like demons, here we actually have real demons. Barclay Lourdes is a great main character, in the beginning, you really don't know what he is up to when it jumps on the train boarded for Andersonville. Was it a mistake or does he have a plan? And, the reason for Barclay to be there is revealed as the story progress and I found it to be really intriguing to read about it all.

This is a really good horror book. The fact that it's based on a real place and the transgressions that happened on there makes it even better. It's an evil place and the paranormal part of the story is woven so well into the history of the place.

I hope this isn't the only book with Barclay Lourdes, I hope to see more book with him and those around him.

I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley and from TLC Book Tours in return for an honest review! ( )

Andersonville by Edward M. Erdelac is a horrifying book about a prisoner of war camp during the civil war. I gave it five stars.

It's about Lourdes Barclay who ends up there & is treated brutally. There is something evil & paranormal taking place there in addition to the cruelty of men against men.

"The stench of the place was the first thing to hit them, & a few of the soldiers doubled over in a wave of sudden, unexpected nausea & instantly heaved their guts into the mud."

I received a complimentary copy from Hydra & NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review. ( )

My review is at http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/blog/column-on-the-marches-of-dreamland-review.... ( )

Camp Sumter or Andersonville is already hell on Earth for the Union soldiers. Starvation, unsanitary conditions and fighting between the prisoners means that survivors are surrounded by constant death. For Barclay Lourdes, a black soldier, Andersonville provides even more struggles. Barclay’s first objective is to survive, but he is in Andersonville for another reason, too. Barclay is trying to figure out just why the conditions are so bad and if something supernatural is at play. Barclay starts to notice many strange things in the camp, lead and bone in the cornmeal and strange brands on the dead. When he finds out what is really going on, it is much worse than he imagined.

At first this book sucked me in as a piece of historical fiction. The descriptions of Andersonville, the treatment of the prisoners and some of the shady business that went on inside was written in a gruesomely detailed fashion and I had no problem imagining the emaciated men, the gross food and the array of characters that patrolled the camp from either side. Barclay Lourdes was also an incredibly intriguing character, a black Union soldier, but never a slave. He is hiding secrets from the very beginning, but those secrets are very surprising and layered. The introduction of the supernatural element was definitely a slow build, but worth it. This wasn't something I was fully expecting, or anything I had even heard of before. It was interesting to see how this element just intensified and fed off of all the atrocities that were already happening in Andersonville. Overall, a very well done historical fiction novel with a touch of supernatural horror that managed not to take away from what really happened at Camp Sumter.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

5 of 5 Stars Review copy

Edward M. Erdelac is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the author of six novels (including the weird western series Merkbah Rider) and several short stories. He is also an independent filmmaker, an award winning screenwriter, and sometimes Star Wars contributor. Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife,children, and cats.

In Andersonville, Erdelac has taken the story of the Civil War's most infamous prison camp and added a supernatural storyline that threatens to change the course of the war.

In the beginning, the writer plays it pretty straight, telling the tale of the horrors of the camp where more than 25,000 union soldiers, both white and black, are are treated so badly there are more than 200 deaths a day.

Andersonville is rich with a number of fully developed characters and presents the reader with quite an imaginative story. In less capable hands, things could have easily gone off the rails during the transition from the horrors of the rebel prison to a full-blown supernatural story, but Erdelac shows he is more than up to the task as he deftly weaves the two tales into one cohesive story.

The result is a completely entertaining experience for those who can stomach the horror of war with their dose of the supernatural.

Highly recommended. ( )