So far, I'm enjoying the book. It was a little hard to get into at first, but I think the more I read, the more I will enjoy it. ( )

At first glance, the reader might think Hallam's War is only another war story; but it very much is not JUST any war story. True, the novel does take place immediately prior to and at the beginning of the Civil War - or the "war between the states" as it was then called. Yet the Civil War quickly takes a back seat to the ethical struggles of Hugh Hallam, who has been forced to make some moral compromises due to being caught up in a maelstrom that leaves him no acceptable choices... so Hallam's War becomes the story of two very different types of war, both of which are fought by one resiliant and resourceful man.

While there is some romance involved, it is low-key, as befits a married couple with three children, one of them in his teens. Of far more prominence is the detail of the Civil War battles and the ethical and moral choices faced by the protagonist. Real historical figures make some brief appearances in this captivating and dramatic novel that grips the reader from the first page and doesn't let go until the last page is finished.

I can highly recommend this well-written and accurately researched novel to all readers of historical fiction from ages 18 and up. Due to some mature themes, readers under age 18 should check with their parents or guardians before reading this splendid novel.

This review was previously published on Dragonviews ( )

Seems like, with all the novels that have been written about the Civil War, we would have difficulty encountering a fresh voice or a new perspective. Both of these goals are achieved in Elisabeth Payne Rosen’s first novel, "Hallam's War". Hugh Hallam is a Mexican War veteran turned farmer. He has moved his family from civilized Charleston to rural East Tennessee and is keenly aware of the increasing anger of his neighbors as the events leading up to the Civil War unfold.

But, Hugh is not quite in synch with his neighbors. His farming practices are more advanced and his crop yields are higher. He sees his slaves as human beings and is uncomfortable with the prevailing view of fellow Southerners. He knows war is coming and worries about his wife, Serena, and their children. His restlessness is highlighted when the Hallam family hosts John Varick, a Northern journalist, sent South to write a series of articles for his newspaper.

When war breaks out, Hugh becomes a valued Confederate officer and is involved in the Battle of Shiloh. His oldest son, Lewis, also joins and Serena is left to hold things together on the farm. As the war wears on the Hallam Family endures, but at a price.

Payne’s characterizations are strong and true to life. Hugh Hallam’s war is one that is within as well as unrelentingly around him. Each character resonates with the reader and Payne’s writing feel fresh and clean, and skillfully portrays their thoughts and feelings. This is tremendous accomplishment for an author making her debut. I look forward eagerly to future endeavors ( )

The story starts off with Hugh leaving his home, bound for somewhere, but then drops into the past--by the time we finally get to the point he leaves, I'd forgotten the beginning in the first place.

That said, the characters of Hugh and his wife are likable folks that developed very well, and until I put the book down I did care about them. The descriptions of the characters and their surroundings were very vivid, and I almost feel like I was there.

The book was a slow, scenic wander through the storyline. If you like your tales descriptive to the point you can picture the characters and their surroundings in your head, know the protagonist like your own family, and don't care how long it takes to mosey from point A to point B, this is the book for you. If you're looking for a more direct route, you'll probably put it down like I did. ( )

To describe Hallam’s War as an interesting, substantive Civil War novel is to explain both its strengths and weaknesses. Elisabeth Payne Rosen writes well, knows her subject matter, and has crafted a story that explores the ambiguity of racial and political issues at the center of the Civil War. Through her efforts, the book rises above the requisite hoop skirts, hollerin’, and hacksaws of all Civil War novels, but not by enough to transcend the genre and become a novel of general appeal.

First, in the hoop skirt, or antebellum, section of the story, Rosen includes the necessary Southern belles, genteel society, class structure, loyal house slaves, angry field hands, and King Cotton. But the twist is that the Hallam family has turned its back on the charms of coastal Charleston for the quiet pleasures of their west Tennessee log home. There, Hugh Hallam experiments with modern farming methods in order to produce high quality cotton without destroying the land, with the dream of making his farm profitable without the need for slave labor. It is this angle that makes the book worthwhile.

Second, there is plenty of the typical hollerin’ in the way of demands for secession, complaints from teenagers that the war will be over before they are old enough to fight, rebel yells, and the cries of men wounded in battle. It is Rosen’s detail-laden coverage of the war as it moved through Tennessee that is either the best or worst part of the book, depending on the reader’s inclinations. For Civil War buffs, these details give the book the depth lacking in other novels; for general readers, these sections feel like being trapped in a Ken Burns documentary.

Third, in the hacksaw segment of the book, Serna Hallam, like all Civil War heroines, volunteers in the army hospital where she assists surgeons in amputating limbs using household tools and no anesthesia. Everyone is exhausted, the fields are barren, food is scarce, and profiteers smuggle luxury items to the spoiled elite. Rosen sticks to formula in this part of the story, which, while dramatic, feels like a time killer while waiting for the war, and the story, to wind to an and.

Which is a general problem with any book about a real war – everyone knows how it ends. Rosen chose to end her story with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, rather then the end of war itself, but the resolution of the personal story seems likewise arbitrary. It feels like the Hallams’ story wraps up because Rosen was coming to the end of the book, rather than the book ending because she had come to the end of their story.

For readers enthralled with all things Civil War, Hallam’s War will be a real treat. General readers may find the personal story compelling enough to finish the book, but it is no page-turner. ( )