Not Racist Enough? My reaction to a 3-Star Review
Blood for Blood Review Response
This reviewer gave Blood for Blood at Nashville only three stars because they say it didn’t depict racism in the South enough during the American Civil War.
This same person gave me a 5-star review for The Perils of Perryville, for which I am grateful. I’m also grateful for this feedback and the 3 stars, although I wish they would have given me at least one more star to help my average.
I’ll start off by saying that Blood for Blood at Nashville features a historical, racially motivated massacre, a historical race riot in Detroit, as well as people being called the odious “n-word” throughout the entire book, so what more do you want? Even the Yankees are guilty of overt racist behavior in this novel because many of them were.
The personal experience of this reviewer is awful, and it makes me sick to my stomach reading it. So I am sympathetic and understand their feelings. However, they are talking about the 1960s at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
It would seem logical that things were worse a hundred years prior, especially at the end of the Civil War, when people were still legally enslaved in states that were still loyal to the Union and in Confederate-occupied lands. However, this novel predominantly takes place in Union-occupied Tennessee after the Emancipation Proclamation and on the eve of complete Union victory. This would have been when Federal troops were enforcing the newly won freedoms and civil rights for blacks, perhaps even out of spite, if not for the obvious moral reasons. In fact, black people had more rights and equality in the immediate aftermath of the war and through the following ten years during Reconstruction. They could vote, hold office, intermix with whites in society, and basically have rights that they would not see again until after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
So, what happened?
Out of fear of rekindling the war, the Federal Government cowardly abandoned them. They turned their backs, withdrew occupation, and allowed ex-Confederate States to pass “Jim Crow” laws which would strip blacks of their rights and drive them into social and economic destitution for the next hundred years. We are still feeling the effects of that today.
Was there plenty of racism then? Yes. Did I portray that racism in my book adequately? I like to think so, but perhaps not up to everyone’s standard.
In the end, I strive to portray history as accurately and objectively as possible. At the same time, I’m writing swashbuckling adventures in that history, and I tend to be a bit of a romantic. Trust me, though I am sensitive to our struggle with racism, then and now. I’m also excited about portraying heroism in my books, including with the black soldiers I feature in Blood and Blood at Nashville and the black characters in all my books.
I hope the person who wrote this review sticks with me. They called it an “Excellent Series” in their review of The Perils of Perryville. Perhaps I’ll be redeemed when they read Mexico, My Love. We’ll see.
In the meantime, if you’ve read any of my books, please give me some stars on Amazon and Goodreads, as many or as few as you feel I deserve, and perhaps write a few lines about what you liked or didn’t like. It helps level out the averages in the algorithm. By the way, I blotted out this person’s name to protect their identity. I would do the same for you, especially if you gave me a bad review.
Haven’t read any of my books yet? What if I gave you one for FREE?
I’ve written a novella just for that purpose. It’s to grow my email subscriber list. Click here to join: https://subscribepage.io/EngdahlHouse.
You plug in your email address, and you’ll get a copy of The Underground Railroad Ball in about a month when it’s ready. It’s already written. We’re just editing it now. It’s a 21,000-word novella that’s an immediate prequel to Rampage on the River: The Battle for Island No. 10.
Also, I promise not to spam you or give your email address to anybody else. It’s just a way I can update you when I have new releases, specials, or public appearances.
Check out a preview of Blood for Blood at Nashville here:
