ISBN: 0743255429
Simon & Schuster, 2003
The novel idea to publish the first novel written by a former president was apparently too good to ignore. Simon and Schuster should have passed on this one.
Despite Mr. Carter’s many literary accomplishments since his loss to Ronald Reagan, this novel indicates very few strengths. The emperor’s portfolio is bare. Dialogue is stilted. Southern colloquialisms are few and seldom ring true. Some descriptions are extensive; others merely a gloss. There is some good character development, notably in Ethan Pratt, Thomas Brown and Elijah Clarke. Other important characters are less finely drawn, and the supporting cast are cardboard cutouts, who seldom flesh out a scene.
The Hornet’s Nest, seven years in the writing, is meant to be an historical novel in the tradition of Jeff and Michael Shaara, Inglis Fletcher or Shelby Foote. Or, is it meant to be a novel of misplaced love, set against the swirling backdrop of the Revolutionary War? It fails on either count.
This is history text light. It is easily read and digested. If you know little of the events contributing to the main events of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas and Georgia, you may well consider this an acceptable introduction.
Simon & Schuster, 2003
The novel idea to publish the first novel written by a former president was apparently too good to ignore. Simon and Schuster should have passed on this one.
Despite Mr. Carter’s many literary accomplishments since his loss to Ronald Reagan, this novel indicates very few strengths. The emperor’s portfolio is bare. Dialogue is stilted. Southern colloquialisms are few and seldom ring true. Some descriptions are extensive; others merely a gloss. There is some good character development, notably in Ethan Pratt, Thomas Brown and Elijah Clarke. Other important characters are less finely drawn, and the supporting cast are cardboard cutouts, who seldom flesh out a scene.
The Hornet’s Nest, seven years in the writing, is meant to be an historical novel in the tradition of Jeff and Michael Shaara, Inglis Fletcher or Shelby Foote. Or, is it meant to be a novel of misplaced love, set against the swirling backdrop of the Revolutionary War? It fails on either count.
This is history text light. It is easily read and digested. If you know little of the events contributing to the main events of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas and Georgia, you may well consider this an acceptable introduction.
The history is generally solid, but, beware, for not all facts are true. The “inland waterway” (p. 188) may simply refer to streams behind the barrier islands, but it has an anachronistic ring: “inland waterway” or “intracoastal waterway.” Camden is correctly placed in South Carolina on the map; however, text on page 396 says it is in North Carolina.. On page 416 North Carolina is given Governor John Rutledge. Rutledge is one of the most historically significant names in South Carolina.
The opening chapters provide too much exposition at the expense of the story. The turgid prose is didactic in nature. Note the extended Socratic dialogue (pp. 20 – 23) to answer the question which “every educated person must understand…the difference between people who live in England and those who live over here?” In other instances, the action does not move forward, then suddenly moves at light speed. It takes Ethan only “a few minutes” with Epsey to decide to leave home and join forces with the Regulators. The marriage of Ethan and Epsey is wrapped up in five lines. Then “[Ethan] realized that he needed more time to make any binding decision,….” (p. 460) Within 24 hours “He was no longer doubtful about his future….”
The opening chapters provide too much exposition at the expense of the story. The turgid prose is didactic in nature. Note the extended Socratic dialogue (pp. 20 – 23) to answer the question which “every educated person must understand…the difference between people who live in England and those who live over here?” In other instances, the action does not move forward, then suddenly moves at light speed. It takes Ethan only “a few minutes” with Epsey to decide to leave home and join forces with the Regulators. The marriage of Ethan and Epsey is wrapped up in five lines. Then “[Ethan] realized that he needed more time to make any binding decision,….” (p. 460) Within 24 hours “He was no longer doubtful about his future….”
Spoken language is generally wrong. It is nearly always grammatically correct. Colloquial British or Southern phrases are noticeably absent. The backwoodsmen use very few curse words, and these, consequently, are jarringly out of place. Characters’ language is rendered sterile, lifeless. The language could just as easily fit modern times.
A lengthy cast of characters is provided. This is appropriate and useful, given the immensely broad scope of The Hornet’s Nest. As I read ploddingly along in pace with the story, I wondered how all these characters would be drawn together in the end. Mr. Carter does resolve all the strands but in a somewhat abrupt manner. A three-page “Epilogue” wraps up the Revolutionary War; Georgia’s recovery from its devastation; and sows the seeds which culminated in an even more devastating civil war. Mr. Carter brings the story into the present, noting that Ethan replaced his burned-out cabin with a new stone house. That house, the oldest in Georgia, still stands and remains in the Carter family.
A lengthy cast of characters is provided. This is appropriate and useful, given the immensely broad scope of The Hornet’s Nest. As I read ploddingly along in pace with the story, I wondered how all these characters would be drawn together in the end. Mr. Carter does resolve all the strands but in a somewhat abrupt manner. A three-page “Epilogue” wraps up the Revolutionary War; Georgia’s recovery from its devastation; and sows the seeds which culminated in an even more devastating civil war. Mr. Carter brings the story into the present, noting that Ethan replaced his burned-out cabin with a new stone house. That house, the oldest in Georgia, still stands and remains in the Carter family.
The death of Kindred, for example, works well in a myriad of ways. The wounded Kindred (read “kind” or “kindred spirit”) urges Ethan to safety in the river. This kind man, friend to settlers, Indians and British, is killed by the very soldiers whose side he is most closely aligned with. The death is well-constructed and appropriate, getting Kindred out of Ethans’s way. And, at this point, Carter has Ethan filled with remorse, not yet knowing the ultimate joy Kindred’s “sacrifice” will bring.
Mr. Carter notes in the “Acknowledgments” that he wrote The Hornet’s Nest over seven years while writing three other books. He continued to add “new information and ideas” about his ancestors and others. Better editing would have removed 1/3 of the text, tightened the story, and made the dialogue more realistic. To paraphrase Mark Twain, he should have taken more time to make it shorter. Less would have been more.
Mr. Carter notes in the “Acknowledgments” that he wrote The Hornet’s Nest over seven years while writing three other books. He continued to add “new information and ideas” about his ancestors and others. Better editing would have removed 1/3 of the text, tightened the story, and made the dialogue more realistic. To paraphrase Mark Twain, he should have taken more time to make it shorter. Less would have been more.
