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Lost Regiment #5
Battle Hymn
Swept through a time-space warp at the height of the Civil War, the 35th Maine found themselves stranded on an alien world. Now William R. Forstchen has written an all-new "Lost Regiment" adventure with an even more treacherous adversary.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
42 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
William R. Forstchen
117 books1,712 followersWilliam 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.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...
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.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 21, 2013
This is the fifth novel in the series, and the original concept, "Union Army heroes fighting hordes of aliens in space" is starting to wear a little thin. There are several problems.
By this time, the hordes are all giving up horseback and swords for rifles and cannon. Thus the excitement of the combat is limited. And the hordes themselves are getting more and more colorless -- this book has none of the mystic rituals, the intrigue, or the glamor of the first couple, when the Qar Qarth and his Shield Bearer had a complex relationship, and the hordes had rituals and a rich, unique culture of their own.
The new leader of the Bantags, Ha'ark, just is not a powerful enough character. He doesn't have the classic warrior dignity of Muzta in the first book. And he doesn't have the sinister backstabbing style of Tamuka in book four. He's like a geeky nerd who thinks he can do anything just because he knows about machine guns and cannons. Frankly, I never believed Ha'ark would have been ruthless enough to take over the Bantag horde.
Also, we keep stirring in more and more human races, Chinese Zulus and so forth. Forstchen has no time to really make us care about these people the way he did about the Rus in the first book.
The only time the book comes alive is during the great escape and locomotive chase. This is powerful and exciting action writing. The running fight is powerful and told in gripping detail. I just wish Hans Schuder did not chew tobacco, I find that really annoying to read about as a positive habit. I also wish that just for once Forstchen could write female characters who do more than make babies and stare at the men folk adoringly as they step into combat.
Overall, not as good as the first four books, but still okay.
By this time, the hordes are all giving up horseback and swords for rifles and cannon. Thus the excitement of the combat is limited. And the hordes themselves are getting more and more colorless -- this book has none of the mystic rituals, the intrigue, or the glamor of the first couple, when the Qar Qarth and his Shield Bearer had a complex relationship, and the hordes had rituals and a rich, unique culture of their own.
The new leader of the Bantags, Ha'ark, just is not a powerful enough character. He doesn't have the classic warrior dignity of Muzta in the first book. And he doesn't have the sinister backstabbing style of Tamuka in book four. He's like a geeky nerd who thinks he can do anything just because he knows about machine guns and cannons. Frankly, I never believed Ha'ark would have been ruthless enough to take over the Bantag horde.
Also, we keep stirring in more and more human races, Chinese Zulus and so forth. Forstchen has no time to really make us care about these people the way he did about the Rus in the first book.
The only time the book comes alive is during the great escape and locomotive chase. This is powerful and exciting action writing. The running fight is powerful and told in gripping detail. I just wish Hans Schuder did not chew tobacco, I find that really annoying to read about as a positive habit. I also wish that just for once Forstchen could write female characters who do more than make babies and stare at the men folk adoringly as they step into combat.
Overall, not as good as the first four books, but still okay.
April 29, 2012
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.
October 6, 2014
like another reviewer said, the premise is wearing a bit thin. I could not take the epic chase seriously and only focused in on discussions about how all these races came to be on this world together.
September 5, 2023
Forstchen can maintain both suspense and frenetic action for longer than any other author I can recall. This book starts in a very dark place with the protagonist (Hans Schuder) and everyone around him under imminent threat of becoming a blood sacrifice. In many ways, this is a more personal story than the earlier books in the series.
And again, nobody comes out unscathed.
If you like grimdark fiction with a solid underpinning of military action, this series is among the very best.
And again, nobody comes out unscathed.
If you like grimdark fiction with a solid underpinning of military action, this series is among the very best.
December 21, 2017
More good adventure
As behind on reading as I am I suppose I must now buy the next book and delay my others yet again.
As behind on reading as I am I suppose I must now buy the next book and delay my others yet again.
August 10, 2018
This entry is a refreshing change of pace from the formula of the previous four novels in the series. Once you get past the ridiculously long preface you are thrown into non-stop prison break action.
November 23, 2021
The best novel of the series.
July 28, 2010
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.
January 1, 2013
Another quality book in the Lost regiment series. This book does not depict a battle in a sense but the lead up to one, that said it is an exciting tale with prison camps, trains and blimps giving the story some weight.
February 5, 2016
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
July 16, 2020
This is the 5th book in the series, and yes you have to read these in order. What the author does so well is describebattle scenes and the thought and planning behind them. I felt too much of the book was ramping up to the scenes and recapping the 1st 4 books, but otherwise very well done.
January 26, 2015
Best lost regiment book since Rally cry!
July 4, 2013
Hans Schuder, Andrew Keane's mentor, leads a Great Escape from the Bantag Horde.
June 8, 2014
Wonderful. Each book is better than the one before. I'll be sad to read the final book in the series. This writer is very talented.
October 5, 2014
great alternate historical science fiction series. feel the read is similar to Destroyermen series from Taylor Anderson
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews