Northern Wolf

By: Daniel Greene

Narrated by: Bradford Hastings

It is late 1862, and the United States has been ripped apart by civil war for over a year with no end in sight. The war is a distant thought to Johannes Wolf, a young German immigrant with a crippled leg keeping him off the muster lists.

Desperately dredging the gutters for recruits, Wolf cons his way into the depleted, demoralized, and poorly run Union army, and is promptly placed in the undesirable F Company of the 13th Michigan Cavalry.

Wolf's company find themselves riding with Custer and the Michigan Brigade on a collision course with master horseman J. E. B. Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia in a small town in Pennsylvania, called Gettysburg.

Will they stand tall against the knights of the South and prove themselves worthy? Or will they fall beneath screaming bullets and sweeping blades, becoming more bloody fodder for a lost cause?

Northern Wolf is a thrilling, historical pause-resister packed with detailed passages of battle, the horrors of war, and the struggle to discover oneself. Fans of Bernard Cornwell will be captivated by this powerful new series.

©2019 Daniel Greene (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Decent story sabotaged by mediocre writing

I've listened to every single one of Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novels. Twice. Sometimes three times. Loved his characters and those books.

This book doesn't hold a candle to even the worst of them.

I found the granular details of the Battle of Gettysburg to be interesting. The characters were predictable and not particularly engaging, but I could have tolerated them.

However, the writing is ridiculously flowery, to the point that it reminded me of early 20th Century pulp fiction novelists who were paid by the word. No noun is allowed to appear on its own without an adjective. No naked verb is permitted when an adverb can be found to embellish it.

Okay, I'm exaggerating slightly, but this author is in need of a decent editor.

For instance, one female character was described as having "orbs for eyes." I don't even know what that means. Soldiers were described as dying while emitting "desperate gurgles of expiration." A rebel soldier "sneered with missing teeth." Before one battle, a Union soldier observed that "[w]e've drawn the angst of the enemy." Small cannons shot "balls like wicked walnuts of death". The last straw for me was a soldier whose "bittersweet blood" was dripping out of his mouth and then -- about 5 sentences later -- more "bittersweet blood" was staining his sash. Aargh.

If this hadn't been a free title included in my subscription, I would have rated it even lower and returned it. .

Surprisingly good action listen

Don’t normally give a 5 but I found myself highly interested in the the story of protecting the Union rear at Gettysburg, and the details of the fighting. Good action descriptions and I found myself eager to get back to the book. Historically informative.

Few books on Calvary in civil war

Well done, good knowledge of tactical overview, only book I have read about Calvary at Gettysburg

The story captivated me!

I got very emotionally involved with the main character Wolf and his German father figure. Even though the story left me wanting so much more, it had so much impact. it took me right into the battles.

Amazing story.

This story was awesome. Everything about it was intriguing and kept me wanting more.

Helps Scratch that Sharpe Itch

The gold standard for 19th-century historical war fiction is Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe series. That was also my introduction to the genre/sub-genre, and it's made me picky. When I saw this title, I immediately wondered if it could scratch my itch for Cornwell-esque historical fiction. Thankfully, it did! Is it as good as, say, Sharpe's Rifles? I wouldn't say that, but I did enjoy it in much the same way I enjoy Sharpe books.

I was a bit unsure of it at first, especially since it starts before our protagonist is even in the Union Army (I guess I was hoping for something more in medias res). However, once it got rolling it was quite entertaining and engrossing. I felt the same about Bradford Hastings' performance. Once I got into it I was impressed by his capabilities as a narrator.

I listened to this first book for free, bought the second one, and used a credit on the third. I think it's solid and worth my time.

war

great history. to much like today. we must be a single country again. let us hope

A slow start but stick with it-it gets better!

Nice details about a soldier's life in tge Union army. The part about Wade Hampton was a bit stretched. Narration was satisfactory

An enticing Civil War story!

While historical, civil war fiction is not my first pick of genres to read, I was pleasantly surprised by this gem. Along with main character Johannes Wolf, other characters (some fictional, some non-fictional) wove a remarkable tapestry from one of this nation’s most horrific time periods. Very well done, Mr. Greene!

well done

would love to continue this read. hope I find more books by this guy. great story.