Northern Lights review
Back in Gettysburg!
Today I will be presenting my thoughts on what could possibly be the best historical fiction novel of the Civil War. It's called Northern Lights, and it's about five young men in a boy band who get teleported back to 1862 during a concert when a bolt of lightning hits their stage equipment. They then go on to become prisoners of the Union Army, eventually meet President Lincoln, and perform for the Union Army. The climax occurs when they go to Fredericksburg just in time to witness the battle, and...you guessed it, the northern lights.
1.) The name of their boy band: LightStar. Note that it's one word, and gay as anything they could possibly have thought up. I literally laughed for 15 minutes when I read the name of the band.
2.) The fact that young men aged 26, 24, 23, 20, and 18 do not swear, laugh at the cheesiest jokes imagineable, and are treated by every other character in the book as though they are half their age.
3.) The cheesiest "time travel" scene I've ever seen, read, heard about in my life. Apparently, the author thought that lightning could create a door that leads to 1862. Oh, wait, that lightning has to be combined with electrical equipment, my bad.
4.) One of the first ideas they have to explain their predicament is that they have time traveled. You know, it's all the rage with the boy bands these days...lol.
5.) Apparently, Union cavalry patrols keep shackles on them at all times, in case they come upon some time traveling singers and have to arrest them without cause or provocation, which also appears to be standard operating procedure amongst Union cavalry.
6.) Briggs, the twelve year old Union soldier who takes a liking to the LightStar guys. Apparently the fact that he's twelve doesn't bother anyone in his unit, or President Lincoln for that matter. Lincoln seems to have a penchant for using young boys as his courier to and from the LightStar fellows.
7.) The fact that, as the book progresses, we see that literally everyone on the North American continent knows who Major Thomas is. As far as I can tell, he was a one-dimensional secondary character, and yet without being told who he is, men all over the country, from Fredericksburg to Elmira, NY seem to know who he is. Even President Lincoln knows who he is. The sad part is, that after reading the book, I don't know who he is...
8.) The girl that the Southern LightStar members shack up with, who's parents were killed by Union troops because they dared to resist the efforts of the soldiers to take some food. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time THAT happened in the Civil War, man...I'd have about 20 dollars, tops. ;)
9.) The amusing way the Federals set up camp at Fredericksburg. According to the book, there was a sniper's lair lodged right square between the Federal camp and Burnside's Headquarters. Observe this image to see what I mean. Poor little Briggs (the 12 yr. old) was shot off his horse in there, and only the Superman pendant that one of the LightStar guys gave to him saved his life. It was a gutwrenching scene.
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2263/nlreviewpic9hv.png
10.) The ending. It leaves this story open to so many options. We already know that a sequel is on its way, and I for one cannot wait. I urge you to find one of the six or so known copies of this book and read it. It will change your life. ;)