Book Blurb:
Being a student of American history, with a leaning toward the United States' western movement, the author has made A Man Called Ants as historically accurate as possible. He has interwoven his characters with men and events that actually took place during this period. The town of River Fork did not exist, but many similar towns did, only to die and become ghost towns, or disappear entirely. The horror of the Wilderness battles are known to a great extent and the greed of the cotton merchants did happen. The tears as well as the pride of the Choctaw and other Indian nations can never be forgotten. And Judge Isaac Parker did indeed bring law and order to over seventy-four-thousand miles with only a handful of deputies. This historical novel puts one right in the room when Lincoln was talking to Grant. It gives insight into the life of an 1800s outlaw who was forever changing his name. Was Ansel Anderson Earley, known to most as Ants, an actual person? You decide.
Book Buy Link: https://mybook.to/amancalledants
Author: Gary E. J. Kain
Editorial Review:
Gary E. J. Kain, the author of A Man Called Ants, wrote this novel out of his love for history, particularly in relation to the history of the United States West during and after the Civil War period. First and foremost, the reader is introduced to Ansel Anderson Earley – 'Ants' – and is swept up, at first, by the proffered information from the author that he acquired the story from the actual man, himself, and set about writing down the story. But, as all storytellers do, you are left wondering if this actually happened or if, indeed, the author is stretching the boundaries of actual history with his own imaginative narrative. To be able to leave the reader stumped as to the actual truth is, in itself, the showcase of a promising story.
While this small, 194-page book is easy to read on an afternoon, it takes you on a rip-roaring ride through the wild west, along Ant's journey, but as much as the book is enjoyable, it also has its slight faults which as a whole do not distract from the overall story, but stand out enough to leave the reader a bit confused at points about who the story is actually about or how to sort out the events happening – like putting a puzzle together. For a whole section of the book you are riding alongside a group of outlaws-turned-cattle-rustlers who do have a connection to Ants, but for a big chunk you are learning more about their adventures and misadventures rather than what happened to Ants after a big shoot out at River Fork. Not to mention, the underlying sinister story lurking of a series of murders which happen in the small town. The story does eventually come back around to him, and the dots are connected, but with him being the main character, there was several times I flipped forward to find out if he was coming back into the action at some point. For a long time I felt more drawn to the story of the Dalton brothers (the notorious Dalton brothers) whose outlawing ways were right up there with the James' brothers. The second caveat to the narrative was the delivery of some of the historical information which, at times, felt more non-fiction than fiction as a few of the characters in the book wanted to just tell the story of what happened or what they knew of a person instead of the reader getting the full immersive enjoyment of showing rather than telling. I did enjoy the connection the author brought between Ant's assignment from President Lincoln and General Grant and his relation to the Civil War, but the abruptness in which the war ends in the narrative is quite curious, and leaves questions about Ant's involvement in the mission he was sent.
However, in all of this, Mr Kain's passion is evident in the way he tells the story, and shows a lot of promise as a writer and author. He even adds that he has more to tell even he is getting a bit long in the tooth. In a positive light, this book reminded me quite a bit of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, which I guess puts it in admirable company since Lonesome Dove won the Pulitzer Prize. River Fork, a little western town is reminiscent of the dusty Texas town, and Ants is comparable to the cowboys of that book, all framed within a narrative consisting of heroes, outlaws, whores, ladies, Indians, settlers, horse thieving, cow rustling, and even the strange appearance of Saint Elmo's fire lighting up the sky, as well as a man attacked by cottonmouths in a river. Despite the few concerns, as a whole the story entertains and is as lawless as the Old West where everybody carried a gun and shoot-outs in the middle of the street at noon were the norm... which seems to be the new norm again in modern-day society, thus giving the reader a connection from the past to the present.
With this being said, here are a few of my favorite lines and passages from the book, and as the author says in his blurb... was Ants a real person? And I will add to that another question... is this a worthy read for an afternoon? You decide. For my part, I give the book, 3.5 stars out of five.
Quotes:
***
“General, as you know,” Lincoln said, “I have two cats, Dixie and Tabby. And I have to say that Dixie is smarter than my whole cabinet! And furthermore, she doesn't talk back. I'm in trouble now with my Molly, though, as I fed Tabby from the table during a formal dinner recently. Can you imagine? Molly told me it was shameful and embarrassing. But I thought if the gold fork was good enough for former President Buchanan, then it was good enough for Tabby.”
***
The light would not rise and seem to take the shape of soldiers who continued to cry out to him not to enter this ground. There had been no rain for several weeks, and the temperature was unseasonably hot. What he most feared was the pitched battle in that hell, with the wounded being burned to death from fires started by their own muskets.
***
Shortly after the war and during a time of peace in River Fork, the divide between the North and South became shared grief for those who did not return and thanks for those who were able to return without any regard of what uniform they wore.
***
The sky began to darken, with flashes of lightning repeating. Blue fire now started to dance around the horses and riders. The riders were all accustomed to Saint Elmo's fire just prior to storms, but this had an unearthly feeling. The tips of the horses' ears became luminous fire, and as AJ put his hand through it, the fire darted away, then returned, as if to play a game of sorts.
*****
“A Man Called Ants” by Gary E. J. Kain receives 3.5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company
*****
Posted with approval of the author.
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