Marching Through Georgia Reviews
I have read the first two Alphonso Clay mysteries (John Brown’s Body and The Battle Cry of Freedom) and simply had to read the third! WOW! Margaret Mitchell would be ever so impressed with the way you portrayed Sherman’s march and the burning of Atlanta! I am. I cannot get enough of Clay and Duval. What a pair of characters. One who has “un-natural” gifts and another who is stimulated by gore and blood. Martin makes you cheer them on in honor. This has to be the best Civil War series I have ever read.
- CJ Loiacono
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Murder on the March By Jack Martin
By Sevard Jones
Very well written! A mystery novel based on the civil war. Although a fiction Novel, the civil war places and people are factual with a few exceptions. Great Story!
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By T. Graziano
Marching Through Georgia is even more riveting than it’s two predecessors in the Alphonso Clay series by the Master of Civil War mysteries, Jack Martin. Set in the context of General Sherman’s devastating sweep through the South to destroy its agricultural and industrial capacity and, consequently, its ability to maintain the Confederate Army, this book gives a strong feeling of the desperate desire of both sides to end the war. The fictional characters are quirky, and the historical characters are true to the known facts about their personalities. Alphonso Clay’s behavior gives hints of his unnatural background. His actions are sometimes brutal to the point of being evil. Teresa Duval’s evil is driven by greed and revenge. These two characters see each other for the dangers they represent, and their plotting intertwines with the hunt for a traitor to the Union Army whose actions are responsible for uncounted deaths. As Clay uses to advantage some of the enhanced abilities he was born with, he must also struggle to control the dark traits and maintain his standards of honor by the force of his will. Duval, on the other hand, has no honor and chooses to do evil to further her selfish goals. In the end, Clay is left in the amorous clutches of Duval, and, perhaps, that is the only justice either of them deserves.
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Marching Through Georgia
By scrapmom
Somehow or another I have gotten hooked on Jack Martin’s series. This isn’t even my usual type of book. But the writing is so interesting to me that I can’t put it down once I start reading. There is something spooky about the main character in the series and I will have to keep reading to find out what it is. I really like getting the history thrown in there too. Also at the end each military leader is written up and I find that very interesting to read. Thanks Mr. Martin!!
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By patricia
Jack Martin brings to life the Civil War, to his readers. He does not romanticize war or its ugliness, but he truly does capture the reader’s attention.
I have read all his books, loved them all, and look forward to more.
This is an author you will want to read!
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In Jack Martin’s latest book, Marching Through Georgia, he continues his story of the rather strange Alphonse Clay and his cousin, Jeremiah Lot. Mr. Martin creates imagery that reflects the horror of the Civil War without subjecting his readers to detail descriptions of the actual blood and guts.
The story is integrated with actual events so skillfully that the reader sees the reality of history as a believable backdrop upon which the story plays out. Each of the intricately interwoven events portrayed in this book build on the reality of the situations of the war and on the peculiar characteristics and abilities of Clay and his opponents to find a murderer. The source and cause of Clay’s more than human abilities shows its ugly face in this book by being a party to the horrible death of Clay’s best friend, Jeremiah Lot. Clay, who is not the most stable of men, is pushed to the edge of his endurance by his loss.
The book portrays the historical characters as accurately as possible, allowing some latitude for the progression of the story. The characters, both historical and fictional are well developed. Mr. Martin uses those historical characters’ personalities to drive the background of the Civil War while Clay and Lot apply their investigative skills to catching the murderer and preventing the outcome of the war to be affected by the actions of the murderer, as was part of his intentions.
Mr. Martin has again created a suspenseful and believable tale of what might have been. Please read the first two books in this series, John Brown’s Body and The Battle Cry of Freedom, to learn more of Alphonso Clay’s peculiar abilities and personality deficiencies.
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Historic events enhanced by fictional characters
Marching Through Georgia by Jack Martin is part of the “Alphonso Clay Mystery of the Civil War” series, novels which feature historic figures with all their idiosyncrasies, foibles, and underlying personality quirks. This is enhanced by a unique cast of fictional heroes and villains that fill in the context and enhance the drama. It is not necessary to have read Martin’s previous books or even high school American History books to enjoy this one.
In this installment, set in 1864, readers drop in on Major General William Tecumseh Sherman as he gallops across a dusty field. The events of these times are written in letters of blood, and all hope that this is the last chapter. Bodies of hundreds of soldiers lay like so many leaves covering the ground; masses of torn flesh stain where living men had been moments before. Into the mix of the genuine and the horrifying, come the fictional Major Alphonso Clay and Lieutenant Jeremiah trouble-shooters, as well as Teresa Duval nurse, caregiver, and spy.
The story unfolds mostly from the “Northern” point of view as Sherman and the Union Army advance through Southern territory. Martin takes readers into the life and death of the times amid the bustle of a large army camp. A train slowly shudders to a stop, emitting a final burst of steam that sounds like the dying gasp of a wounded beast. The slight, sickly odor of decay permeates the air, and soldiers perch precariously on crates containing the infamous army crackers.
Marching Through Georgia is a fictional depiction of a dramatic and traumatic time in the history of The United States. It is compelling both from a fictional perspective and an historic one as well. Scars of disastrous events so long ago remain to this day. Marching Through Georgia may not be a book for every reader. It is not a book to read casually, no matter on which side one’s ancestors fought, and in many cases, ancestors fought on both sides. This book is fiction, but the tone, the atmosphere, the devastation, and the trauma are authentic.