Ten years after being swept away from the Civil War and marooned in time on a hostile alien planet, Andrew Keane and his regiment strike a fierce blow against the invading Bantag army, only to discover that a sinister enemy from within could destroy the human race. Original.
William R. Forstchen (born 1950) is an American author who began publishing in 1983 with the novel Ice Prophet. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology.
Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the award winning We Look Like Men of War, a young adult novel about an African-American regiment that fought at the Battle of the Crater, which is based upon his doctoral dissertation, The 28th USCTs: Indiana’s African-Americans go to War, 1863-1865 and the "Lost Regiment" series which has been optioned by both Tom Cruise and M. Night Shyamalan.
Forstchen’s writing efforts have, in recent years, shifted towards historical fiction and non fiction. In 2002 he started the “Gettysburg” trilogy with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; the trilogy consists of Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant - The Final Victory. More recently, they have have published two works on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after that attack Pearl Harbor, and Days of Infamy.
In March 2009, Forstchen’s latest work, One Second After, (Forge/St. Martin’s books) was released. Based upon several years of intensive research and interviews, it examines what might happen in a “typical” American town in the wake of an attack on the United States with “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) weapons. Similar in plotting to books such as On the Beach and Alas Babylon, One Second After, is set in a small college town in western North Carolina and is a cautionary tale of the collapse of social order in the wake of an EMP strike. The book has been optioned by Warner Bros. and currently is in development as a feature film. The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R.-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistical portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.
Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina with his daughter Meghan. His other interests include archaeology, and he has participated in several expeditions to Mongolia and Russia. He is a pilot and co owns an original 1943 Aeronca L-3B recon plane used in World War II.
The lost Regiment series is a fabulous story set in the days of the American Civil War. It is basically the Civil War meets Planet of the Apes. It is one of those refreshing stories that no on has done before or since. The writing style is smooth and easy to understand, and the plot moves just right. A great series is one where the reader gets to grow with the characters and this one does just that.
Unlike the previous novel in the series, where it feels like Forstchen was simply phoning it in, this novel does a good job of zeroing in on a few characters and exploring their trials. With Keane mortally wounded, Pat O'Donald must take command of the forces of the Republic. He is sorely out of his depth as the grand campaign against Ha'ark the Redeemer devolves into a bloody, street-by-street conflict in the streets of Roum.
This is such a great series, not a clunker in the bunch. This book, as the others have, really show the true side of war. How long battles have a toll on the men on the front, how logistics and supplies can win or lose a battle, how to see a battle from your opponents point of few, and how precious freedom is. The characters of this story really go through some hard times, some are better for it and some are not.
The Lost Regiment series is probably my favorite SF series, as opposed to fantasy. Forstchen is great with the historical aspects of the series and knows how to tell a good story and introduce sympathetic and realistic characters. I like this series very much.
If you like the "displaced person in another world" stories then this is the series for you. Now we get an entire regiment of people on another earth. Fantastic story and awesome characters. Highly recommended
Wonderful, perfect. Great addition to great series. Each book is better than the one before. I'm going to hate to see the series end. Like when Buffy ended . . .