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Rawlins, No Longer Young
Award-winning author Rick DeStefanis brings his storytelling talents to a new genre with this exciting historical fiction western set against the backdrop of the Civil War and the American West.
Virgil Rawlins is left without family or friends as he is swept into the maelstrom that encompasses the last years of the American Civil War. Lost in a world of brutality and inhumanity, the teenaged Rawlins matures--as did many of the Wild West's first outlaws--with revenge and hatred as his only motivations. He heads westward before the war's end, making his way to the town of Independence and the Oregon Trail, but along the way he meets the remarkably beautiful Sarah McCaskey and learns that the rights and wrongs in his life cannot be defined simply as blue and gray.
When Sarah tells Rawlins of her loss to Confederate guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson, Rawlins begins to question his own assumptions. Joining a wagon train as a hunter/scout, he heads westward into the raging Indian War of 1865. Along the way he earns a reputation as a well-respected fighter, and he must finally decide what kind of man he will be--outlaw, lawman, or perhaps, neither.
Rawlins, No Longer Young is guaranteed to stir debate and enlighten readers with the experiences of these turbulent years as seen through the eyes of a young Confederate soldier.
Virgil Rawlins is left without family or friends as he is swept into the maelstrom that encompasses the last years of the American Civil War. Lost in a world of brutality and inhumanity, the teenaged Rawlins matures--as did many of the Wild West's first outlaws--with revenge and hatred as his only motivations. He heads westward before the war's end, making his way to the town of Independence and the Oregon Trail, but along the way he meets the remarkably beautiful Sarah McCaskey and learns that the rights and wrongs in his life cannot be defined simply as blue and gray.
When Sarah tells Rawlins of her loss to Confederate guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson, Rawlins begins to question his own assumptions. Joining a wagon train as a hunter/scout, he heads westward into the raging Indian War of 1865. Along the way he earns a reputation as a well-respected fighter, and he must finally decide what kind of man he will be--outlaw, lawman, or perhaps, neither.
Rawlins, No Longer Young is guaranteed to stir debate and enlighten readers with the experiences of these turbulent years as seen through the eyes of a young Confederate soldier.
- GenresWesterns
306 pages, Paperback
Published October 5, 2018
About the author
Rick DeStefanis
25 books60 followersRick DeStefanis is an award-winning American novelist whose work spans military historical fiction, Southern fiction, and Western historical fiction. A former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division during the Vietnam era, DeStefanis brings uncommon authenticity, emotional depth, and lived experience to stories shaped by war, memory, loyalty, and the American South.
Born in Memphis and raised in the South, DeStefanis has worked a remarkable range of occupations throughout his life—including machinist, railroad conductor, construction worker, airline dispatcher, and business executive—experiences that lend his fiction a strong sense of realism and hard-earned humanity.
He is the author of multiple acclaimed novels, including the award-winning Vietnam War Series, whose titles include The Gomorrah Principle, Valley of the Purple Hearts, and The Birdhouse Man. His work has earned honors such as the Readers’ Favorite Award, the Kindle Gold Medal Award for Literary Fiction, and the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal Award.
Beyond military fiction, DeStefanis is also known for his Western historical fiction series The Rawlins Saga and his Southern novel Tallahatchie. Across genres, his writing is recognized for its vivid atmosphere, deeply human characters, and exploration of the emotional costs of violence, redemption, and survival. Reviewers have compared the emotional realism of his Vietnam fiction to early war writers such as Tim O'Brien and James Webb.
An avid outdoorsman and wildlife photographer, Rick DeStefanis lives in rural Mississippi with his wife, Janet, where he continues to write stories rooted in history, place, and the complexities of the human spirit.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 28, 2020
I loved this book. It is a story about a Civil War soldier and veteran who becomes a cowboy, even a bit of a gunslinger. The pace is perfect and the character development is exceptional. Time and again as I read, I felt like I was right there, same time, same place. Rawlings takes you from the Civil War South to the Great Plains, along the Oregon Trail.
There is plenty of action sprinkled with romance, justified vengeance, and heartbreak. Rawlings has the heart of a warrior and a gentleman. He also has a great horse! I don’t want to add any spoilers, but this is a great read and most anyone will truly enjoy it.
There is plenty of action sprinkled with romance, justified vengeance, and heartbreak. Rawlings has the heart of a warrior and a gentleman. He also has a great horse! I don’t want to add any spoilers, but this is a great read and most anyone will truly enjoy it.
January 26, 2019
Rawlins, No Longer Young
A very interesting accounting of the journey a young Southern boy into a wide and somewhat grizzled man, and the exploits that resulted in his aging! So many young men who went to war during the Civil War had to grow into men, at a very early age! I enjoyed the story of the happenings of what history of post Civil War took place!
A very interesting accounting of the journey a young Southern boy into a wide and somewhat grizzled man, and the exploits that resulted in his aging! So many young men who went to war during the Civil War had to grow into men, at a very early age! I enjoyed the story of the happenings of what history of post Civil War took place!
October 26, 2019
Wonderful
Absolutely wonderful read, it’s nice to read a book that has a great cast of characters and a good storyline that keeps you wondering what’s next, oh well on to the next one, thank you to the author.
Absolutely wonderful read, it’s nice to read a book that has a great cast of characters and a good storyline that keeps you wondering what’s next, oh well on to the next one, thank you to the author.
March 16, 2021
Good read
I totally enjoyed this western. I will definitely read more of his books. I read it in a weekend and had a hard time putting it down. This is the first time I’ve read this author.
I totally enjoyed this western. I will definitely read more of his books. I read it in a weekend and had a hard time putting it down. This is the first time I’ve read this author.
February 23, 2021
Excellent read
First read for Mr Destefanis, liked.that.he knows the story period. He kept me interested in book. Looking for next book in series.
First read for Mr Destefanis, liked.that.he knows the story period. He kept me interested in book. Looking for next book in series.
November 12, 2018
Rick DeStefanis has joined a great lineage of military veterans turned western authors, among my favorites – Ken Farmer, Don Bendell, Buck Steinke, Elmer Kelton, and Louis L’Amour. I think that military veterans have an advantage writing great western fiction, because ever since their youth they were often captivating story-tellers, generally starting with the preamble “No $hit, there I was…..” DeStefanis’ first western novel is great historical fiction, starting with the fight at Fort Pillow in the west, and follows a wounded/paroled confederate veteran and a young widow, both travelling west to “get as far away from the war as possible.” DeStefanis skillfully slips his story into the real history, real locales, and real people of the end of the Civil War, and the early lawman days of Wild Bill Hickock, with the lawlessness of the Jay-Hawkers, bush-wackers, renegade Indians, and ruthless outlaws who all terrorized western Missouri and Kansas. And he definitely understands “the nature of men in wars and the bonds they forged.” The author combines plenty of action, suspense, and drama. The action between Rawlins and the Indians and outlaws seems entirely plausible – probably related to the author’s experience with small-unit tactics. The characters are colorful. The dialogue rings true to life. The author blends violence with tenderness, and the reader is quickly moved to really care about Virgil Rawlins. RAWLINS is most certainly an American western version of Homer’s Odyssey. Congratulations from another 101st veteran.
November 7, 2018
Fans of Cormac McCarthy will love Rawlins: No Longer Young. The story is tough (and the author’s telling of the inciting events might well stir controversy.) But the story is supposed to be tough. It’s about war and the imprint it leaves on those who go through it. The Civil War and Western settings are new for DeStefanis, but this theme will be familiar to those who are already fans. DeStefanis makes the impact of conflict personal, as well as showing us how friendships can cross divides. With Tennessee Tories, Rebel bushwhackers, Union and Confederate soldiers, marshals, and trail bosses—there are no assured good guys. Plus, Sarah McCaskey might be the best love interest DeStefanis has written so far. Tucked inside the story are fine passages like this:
“Near their first river crossing, he had seen a half-buried cast iron stove. Flowers and grass grew through its burners as it slowly sank into the prairie—a dream too heavy to bear across a rugged land of raging rivers and snow-capped mountains. A silent testament to the sacrifices and hard times of thousands of immigrants before them, the abandoned stove would soon, like them, disappear forever.”
I encourage you to ride along with Rawlins as he negotiates life from the end of the Civil War, through Missouri, and further west on the trail.
“Near their first river crossing, he had seen a half-buried cast iron stove. Flowers and grass grew through its burners as it slowly sank into the prairie—a dream too heavy to bear across a rugged land of raging rivers and snow-capped mountains. A silent testament to the sacrifices and hard times of thousands of immigrants before them, the abandoned stove would soon, like them, disappear forever.”
I encourage you to ride along with Rawlins as he negotiates life from the end of the Civil War, through Missouri, and further west on the trail.
August 10, 2026
What an excellent intro book to the Rawlins saga. I had read a later book and was compelled to start at the beginning. The research this author did was obvious and his prose paint pictures from the horrors of war to the beauty of the western plains. Virgil Rawlins was just seventeen when the reality of war showed him the evil side of some people. The loss he dealt with at the hands of marauders set his future on a path that forced him to mature at an early age and face the ravages of the Civil War.
Fighting for the Confederacy though hard on his soul gave him the skills to overcome the perils he would meet on his journey.
Rawlins meets Sarah, who also has a tragic past, and their path merges into a future they head into together. Despite the challenges they endure, their relationship grows stronger and leads them into further adventures.
The writing is engrossing, making the reader reluctant to put the book down. There is lots of action and emotion in this book. I can't wait to dig into book two.
Fighting for the Confederacy though hard on his soul gave him the skills to overcome the perils he would meet on his journey.
Rawlins meets Sarah, who also has a tragic past, and their path merges into a future they head into together. Despite the challenges they endure, their relationship grows stronger and leads them into further adventures.
The writing is engrossing, making the reader reluctant to put the book down. There is lots of action and emotion in this book. I can't wait to dig into book two.
October 9, 2026
A Very Rewarding Book.
The author does a very good job of putting the story line together and the characters are developed. Rawlins and Sarah make a good couple. The story is mostly about the growing up Rawlins does with what happened in his young personal life, the fighting in the Civil War, being a scout for a wagon train and getting married at a young age. Sarah fills in the spaces of his life that makes him into a man and not an outlaw. You should enjoy this book even if you don’t care about Westerns.
The author does a very good job of putting the story line together and the characters are developed. Rawlins and Sarah make a good couple. The story is mostly about the growing up Rawlins does with what happened in his young personal life, the fighting in the Civil War, being a scout for a wagon train and getting married at a young age. Sarah fills in the spaces of his life that makes him into a man and not an outlaw. You should enjoy this book even if you don’t care about Westerns.
January 14, 2021
This book is as enjoyable as Rick's other books. Rawlins would be at home in any Louis Lamour story, and in my 77 years I have read most of them, many of them more than once. It is well researched historically and the characters, and action compliment each other.
April 23, 2022
demand is writes a pretty fair western!
Well told tale of teenage boy who lost his in family during the civil War, became a soldier himself, later a wagon train scout and husband of a beautiful woman but never could forget the sum raiders who killed his family.
Well told tale of teenage boy who lost his in family during the civil War, became a soldier himself, later a wagon train scout and husband of a beautiful woman but never could forget the sum raiders who killed his family.
October 9, 2022
A Great 1st of A Series Book
The reality of this story is felt by the obvious personal experiences of the author. Real and honest feelings are brought to life here.
By reading 📚 a few lines one can be 'hooked' on the story. You will not be sorry to have started.
The reality of this story is felt by the obvious personal experiences of the author. Real and honest feelings are brought to life here.
By reading 📚 a few lines one can be 'hooked' on the story. You will not be sorry to have started.
August 1, 2021
Excellent read
War, outlaws, cruelty, revenge, Indians, wagon trains, loss, and love are told in this well written account of a young man.
War, outlaws, cruelty, revenge, Indians, wagon trains, loss, and love are told in this well written account of a young man.
July 24, 2023
Good reading.
If you are a western fan than this is a must read. It is almost believable and moves with incredible speed. You won' t be sorry, read it.
If you are a western fan than this is a must read. It is almost believable and moves with incredible speed. You won' t be sorry, read it.
March 12, 2024
Great book
Well worth the time and enjoyed the story. Glad the war came to a end him. Would read more by the author.
Well worth the time and enjoyed the story. Glad the war came to a end him. Would read more by the author.
January 20, 2025
Great Story!
I loved the characters and the pace. Some of the story is very close to home for me. Thank you, Rick!
I loved the characters and the pace. Some of the story is very close to home for me. Thank you, Rick!
January 20, 2025
Great read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to the next one. This tale had little of everything. Nothing boring, and NO tyoos!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to the next one. This tale had little of everything. Nothing boring, and NO tyoos!!!
October 1, 2026
It's crazy what life was like back then.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews