Rating: 
Summary: It will Linger
Review: This book has received a lot of reviews already, so I won't go into the details of the story and plot. I love historical fiction and this book, by far, has been the most haunting one that I've read lately. I've finished the book for days now, and I still find myself wondering what happened to some of the characters... it's unlike any other book that I've read as of late. It is realistically gritty, brutal, and at times hopeless. You can almost smell the streets of London and feel the rage that overwhelms the characters when you read the book (Ms. McCann's descriptions are so vivid). The book was disturbing to read, but the story really compelled me to keep going. There were a lot of unexpected plot twists - not all of them made me happy either. I was really moved by Jacob's plight, it made me think that we all have some skeletons in our own closet, things that maybe we wouldn't be too proud of. I was at times content with him, and there were definately times when he absolutely revolted me as well. The ending wasn't what I was hoping for, it left me feeling kind of detached. It was a good read, although as other reviewers have mentioned, if you like stories with a happy endings you won't find it here.
Rating: 
Summary: As Meat Loves Salt
Review: I really did not enjoy this book and completed it because I was already half way through and felt I ought to. I am a historical fiction junkie so this lack of enjoyment is unusual for me. For me the story was slow and did not hold me enthralled. I was always looking for the next piece of the puzzle. Sometimes that piece was obvious and I just needed to arrive at it, and at other times it never really arrived at all but just...bumbled on. There were no big Ah-Ha's! for me. I judge a good book by whether I pass it on. This would be a 'no'.
Rating: 
Summary: Sure to become a classic
Review: The love story between Jacob and Ferris, if you can call it that, is set against the English Civil War, a time of brutality and repression. A reader is normally sympathetic to the narrator; it's just in the nature of things, but Jacob is a brutal, self centered man you grow to loathe even as you realize he derves some pity from us. This outstanding piece of writing combines a story of mental deterioration with love - better call it by its right name - obsession. This is a book that will make you want to scream and sometimes cry or strike out at someone - but it won't leave you neutral. Do yourself a real favor. Spend the time this novel demands. The rewards are great.
Rating:
Summary: Wrenching and Moving
Review: This book's atmosphere resembles the description of the main character by the lover who find himself attracted to him like a moth to a black flame: "Dark but comely". Jacob Cullen is as attractive and morally conflicted as they come, struggling with his sins and crimes of passion in a period dominated by Christian morality and political upheaval. McCann's descriptions of 17th century England ring very true and provide an appropriately bloody and conflicted backdrop to what is essentially a tortured love story (undoubtedly the best kind!). The descriptions of Jacob brutally raping his own wife or tenderly licking the salt from his soldier-lover's shocked lips paint an unflinching portrait of an erotic anti-hero whom you want to hate but cling to against your own better judgement, like the characters in the book that have the misfortune to love him.
The main character is well drawn but his motivations sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, inspired by his murderous inner "Voice", which is never explained or integrated with the rest of his character. Similarly, sometimes the plot wanders. But I was hooked until the wrenching end by this brutal and tender "Samson" who is as horrified by his own crimes as we, and whose humanity and capacity for love is only amplified by them. He is his own greatest victim and inspired my deepest sympathy.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, masterly...devastating.
Review: I just finished this book a few minutes ago, and while still wiping tears from my eyes, I had to come sing its praises. The coming together of these two central characters, Jacob, the narrator and Ferris, his lover/nemesis/master/servant-- has tragedy written on it from the beginning. But oh how sweet the pain! Be warned, this book will devastate you. But you will be a better person for reading it. Though the main character is self-destruction personified, the author shows us the seed of his every torturous action. Jacob's rage and his cunning, his obsession and his madness make his moments of kindness and peace all the more poignant. The reader knows that these moments are just calms before the storm. I turned each page, terrified and compelled to continue reading. I haven't been this moved by a novel since Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Bravo, Ms. McCann!
Rating:
Summary: A Dark, Engrossing Read
Review: Jacob, the main character you will love to loathe, draws you in to the English Civil War in the mid 1600s, and exposes you to all kinds of cruelty, rage, jealousy and dark thoughts. Strangely, you will be entranced by his obsessive love for 'Ferris' and be enthralled with their love affair, all the while holding your breath hoping his rage doesn't harm the characters you feel sympathetic toward. Great character development, dialogue, and graphic description of the war, dirt and stench of Cromwell's England. Wonderfully researched, great attention to detail, and an enthralling book. Loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Fiction
Review: This book, with the underlying theme of an obsessive love relationship between two men, is not a "gay novel," though many gay readers would be interested in the book. This novel is a wonderfully written and disturbing story of love, pain and destruction. It is far superior than the typical "gay novels" available and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: An historical feast of admirable proportions
Review: In mid-Sixteenth Century England, the countryside is decimated by civil war, giving birth to the aptly named New Army. Marching behind the banner of Oliver Cromwell, the ragtag army of peasants and servants is hot in pursuit of Papists and idolaters, not to mention rations for the starving soldiers. Wherever the army's wrath rages, the land, people and booty are fair game. The marauding New Army, although mostly successful in their sieges, has been hindered by a lack of adequate supplies, as well as grievous injuries, kept in line by the promise of booty and women for their pleasure. On an isolated farm in the middle of the country, as yet untouched by the violence, Jacob Cullen lives with his two brothers, fallen on hard times since the death of their father. As a gambler, the father had lost most of the family fortune and left his three sons at the mercy of the debtors. Although raised as gentry, they have been forced to work as servants in the house of a local man to whom their father owed a great deal. Even in such reduced circumstances, the brothers are happy to have each other's company and, like many other peasants, they have been infected by the incipient rebellion across the land, reading forbidden broadsheets late at night, excited by the pending anarchy. As Jacob prepares for his wedding to another servant, he is full of the youthful dreams common to young men. By chance, Jacob sees a band of officials riding to the farm unexpectedly, possibly bearing a warrant for Jacob and his brothers. Jacob is convinced that he is suspected of crimes against the Crown as well as a recent murder. After stealing a horse and some jewelry, Jacob takes flight, along with his new bride and one brother. Unfortunately, Joseph's brother is wounded during the escape and they must take refuge in the forest. While there, Jacob indulges his lifelong lack of self-control, indulging his temper and intemperate appetite, ruining his future prospects. Finding himself alone the next morning, he stumbles ahead, alone and confused, toward safety. Jacob is found on the side of the road by a contingent of soldiers from the New Army, where he lies insensate, near starvation. He is saved by the good graces of Christopher Ferris, a Londoner, who takes Jacob under his wing until he recovers. Jacob is then trained as a member of the New Army and looks to Ferris for companionship and friendship, although he is unable to tolerate any of Ferris' other friends and finds himself sickened with jealousy.. Later, disgusted by the rigors of war and too much bloodshed, Jacob and Ferris sneak off in the dark of night, having seen all they ever hope to see of such sights. They return to London, where Ferris has rooms with an aging aunt who dotes on her only nephew. She takes them both in, grateful that Jacob has returned her beloved nephew to safety. Jacob reveals much of a personal nature to the reader as the novel progresses, a man with so little self-knowledge that he is constantly shocked by the consequences of his own actions. A blighted soul whose judgment is obliterated by passion, Jacob is driven by his lustful desires, aptly named by Ferris "The Bad Angel. Jacob is forced by circumstance to embark upon his most difficult journey, confronting his own nature and questioning his deepest motives, stepping blindly into uncharted territory. Jacob's spirit is so deeply flawed that he greedily sows the seeds of his own destruction, completely oblivious in his truncated spiritual development. Jacob is "The Bad Angel", but Ferris personifies the "Good Angel", moderate and thoughtful, respectful of the feelings of others. Ferris has long dreamed of living off the land in a community of others, imagining of a kind of Everyman's utopia. Hoping to teach Jacob the finer points of self-control and temperance, although Jacob is single-mindedly incapable of subtlety, Ferris commits himself to Jacob's education in the finer aspects of a refined life. Yet Ferris is himself seduced by Jacob's dark desire, until they are finally engaged in a constant struggle for dominance. Part love story, part exploration of the darkness at the heart of a man's soul, this novel tackles a most difficult aspect of human nature, exposing the many sides of love/obsession. For both Jacob and Ferris, locked in a battle between Heaven and Hell, consumed by their endless erotic adventures, their very humanity is stripped to its bare bones. In elegant prose, the author dares the reader to flinch. Luan Gaines/2003.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Disturbing & Excitng Epic
Review: The reviews below give you much of the sense of time and place (and in some cases a bit too much of the plot), but as an avid reader of what we might call 'gay fiction', few novels have touched, moved, angered, and enthralled me as Ms McCann's debut. Jacob Cullen is a protagonist hard to understand, hard to love. Yet we must dispense with our 'New Millennium' definitions of love, gender, and companionship to understand the life and longings of a man like Cullen. This is simply a terrific tale of the times before the concept of the existence of the loaded-word 'gay'. And besides all of that political jargon, this is just a damned fine and exciting adventure from a time long lost. Let yourself go and sit back to enjoy a rousing tale!
Rating:
Summary: Utterly Engaging
Review: I just finished reading this book, racing through it in complete thrall to the author. McCann has a grasp of the period which puts one in the moment and keeps one there.
I could almost think of this novel as the death of hope or a portrait of madness so well realized that it causes a derangement within the reader.
As sad as the outcome is, this is a must for anyone wanting complexity as much as distraction. I hope McCann will be writing more very soon. Read this book as soon as you can.
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