From Publishers Weekly
This monumentally ambitious novel covers in exquisite and graphic detail one of the bloodiest two-day engagements of the Civil War. Carter, the author of nine YA novels and 20 works of nonfiction, is confident of his materials in his first adult novel, masterfully describing massive military maneuvers while also shifting to the viewpoint of individual after individual caught up in the horrific action. The Battle of Stones River on the outskirts of Murfreesboro, Tenn., is not a clash as familiar as Gettysburg or Antietam, but it was a compelling, brutal episode in Civil War history. From December 31, 1862, to the morning of January 2, 1863, the Union forces under William S. Rosecrans engaged the troops of Confederate commander Braxton Bragg. When the smoke cleared, both sides declared victory. Among the combatants was Ambrose Bierce, at age 20 a topographical engineer with Rosecrans, who witnessed horrors he later would write about: "The two lines have achieved a frightful equilibrium in the trading of deathâ"an exchange that, if left undisturbed, might eventually lead to the last two men in the world killing each other." In a series of brilliant vignettes, Carter pays homage to Bierce's tales of the war such as A Horseman in the Sky. While Carter provides backstory for his many characters, he lacks a major love story that might help the novel rival such commercial successes as Cold Mountain. For a depiction of war, however, this is as good as it gets.
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In the waning days of 1866, the demoralized Union army needed a resounding victory. The public was quickly losing faith in both the army and the president after the crushing defeat at Fredericksburg, and Britain and France were threatening to recognize the Confederacy. Acknowledging the fact that European recognition would certainly doom efforts to restore the South to the Union, Lincoln demanded immediate action. Poised on the outskirts of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Army of the Cumberland, led by the seemingly recalcitrant General William Starke Rosecrans, seemed to be the North's last hope. A defeat of General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee would lend renewed credibility to the Union cause. Carter's stirring fictional account of the pivotal Battle of Stones River crackles with action, suspense, and drama. The prominent historical characters fairly leap off the pages, and the common soldiers resonate with a potent humanity as they engage in acts of heroism, cowardice, and simple faith on the incredibly bloody battlefield. A must-read for Civil War buffs and fans of realistic historical fiction. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"BRIGHT STARRY BANNER transports me into the thick of the Stones River campaign and enables me to see the tragic battle and its personalities in a new and dramatic way. Bravo!" -David J. Eicher, THE LONGEST NIGHT -- Review
About the Author
Named to the Wisconsin Library Association's list "Notable Wisconsin Authors" in 2002, Alden Carter joined the company of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Carl Sandburg, Sterling North, George Shannon, and Kevin Henkes among the state's finest writers. His nine novels, twenty nonfiction titles, and six picture books for children and young adults have won numerous honors including six ALA Best Book Awards.
