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paperknotbooks's review against another edition
5.0
We’re so pro-rebel for the revolutionary war in the US. I’ve lived in New England my whole life and so we praise literature and films honoring the birth of our nation. But what if the red coats? What of the slaves? This is a really fascinating peek into a side of the war we don’t often involve ourselves.
The story rotates around Octavian and a ton of shenanigans, which I found constantly entertaining. And yes, that thieving scene in the beginning of the novel threw me into a laughing fit! I will reflect upon the exchange fondly for years to come!
The story rotates around Octavian and a ton of shenanigans, which I found constantly entertaining. And yes, that thieving scene in the beginning of the novel threw me into a laughing fit! I will reflect upon the exchange fondly for years to come!
survivalisinsufficient's review against another edition
3.0
My rating for this book is probably mostly not the book's fault because it is NOT a beach read, and I brought it to the beach.
brissot74's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
ebin5446's review against another edition
3.0
This was really hard for me to get into at first. It really picked up for me about halfway through, though. Very thought-provoking and apparently well-researched.
rosamune's review against another edition
2.0
After enjoying the first volume so much, this one came as a big disappointment. The language I enjoyed before when used to describe the odd philosophical doings of the College of Lucidity became plodding when for nearly half of the book, it was used simply to tell me over and over that food was scarce, people were sick and dying, and that it sucked living on the ships of Lord Dunmore. Besides a trip into a burning town, the entire middle section of the book bored me to tears.
The first section of the book, I quite enjoyed, and the final climax was decent--except that it was tainted by my annoyance at what I had to read to get to it.
The first section of the book, I quite enjoyed, and the final climax was decent--except that it was tainted by my annoyance at what I had to read to get to it.
library_brandy's review against another edition
I'm not rating this because I can't be fair to it. It's an amazingly detailed, rich creation, with language that sounds so pitch-perfect to things actually written in the 18th century. But that made it so very difficult to get through.
And while I recognize this book's literary greatness, the story just doesn't do it for me, and I had a hard time caring about any of them. If this hadn't been an audio I wouldn't have gotten through it. So, a fantastic book if you like revolutionary war history, but not a fantastic book for me. I'm disappointed in myself.
And while I recognize this book's literary greatness, the story just doesn't do it for me, and I had a hard time caring about any of them. If this hadn't been an audio I wouldn't have gotten through it. So, a fantastic book if you like revolutionary war history, but not a fantastic book for me. I'm disappointed in myself.
thebrookelist's review against another edition
4.0
Much less strange and much more fascinating than the first book. I loved the real historical portrayal of the slaves who fought during the American Revolution. I came away enlightened and amazed!
yoominbean's review against another edition
3.0
After part one, this was somewhat of a letdown. While there were hints at a really interesting discussion about privilege and oppression, it never really got fleshed out. I found the meditations on the meaning of war and the goodness of humanity to be rather uninspired, given the wealth of material to work with and how interesting they could have been. The bleakness was merely bleak rather than interesting - and it could have been so interesting. In the end (and especially after reading the author's note), I wound up mostly feeling uncomfortable that this book (which does not, I might add, pass the Bechdel test) was written in large part as an intellectual exercise by a white man who left a lot of important questions about race and privilege entirely unanswered.
djrmelvin's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second half of Anderson's story about a Boston born slave who sees the start of the American Revolution not only from both sides of the conflict but as someone who has a different concept of liberty than your average historical fiction character of that era. Having escaped his master and being forced into a Rebel army, Octavian moves on to relative freedom in 1795 Boston. He is hired to play in an orchestra (music is still his first love), but when the British put the city under military law, he decides to take his chances with Lord Dunmore's Royal Ethiopian Regiment. Anderson brings an amazing amount of research to life through Octavian's fellow soldier's stories as well as his descriptions of what it was to be a part of that very unique part of the war. The weakest part of the book is the varied story telling techniques, moving from narrative to journal to letter writing, all under the guise that the book was created from assembled papers, but more obviously necessary to move the story along when Octavian would have been incapable of recording his own story.
hollycandlerhiggins's review against another edition
3.0
This book could have been twice as good if it was half as long. The middle 200 pages or so felt like a chore and, in my opinion, added little to the story. The beginning, end, and overall messages were a satisfactory follow-up to the first volume.