The Hunt for Confederate Gold

The Hunt for Confederate Gold, Thomas Moore's debut novel published by Fusilier Books LLC, is a wonderful, emotional, thought-provoking novel written with the tones and rhythms Southern writers have been known for since the South came into being. The book's characters are thoroughly Southern in nature. The plot is written with liberty-minded Southern sensibilites in mind. Its setting is more than a mere setting; there is a sense of place that many other authors attempt to define but regrettably and inevitably fall short of. In short, the novel is the perfect blend of story and life, of the reader reading the text and eventually becoming a character as well. The tale straddles two timelines and three plots, all three of which are inextricably entwined. The Hunt for Confederate Gold begins in April of 1865 with the fall of Richmond to the Yankee military. It then turns to 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq, thus bringing the main character, Bo (George T. Bolitho) to the readers. Bo is a young man who sees distinct and troubling problems with the American forces' actions in Iraq. His troubles lead him out of the military and into the classroom of one Parker Thomas Hastie, Professor at the University of South Carolina, where our hero is studying to obtain his Ph.D. When Bo finds a code which could lead him to the lost, legendary Confederate treasure and his Prof finds himself in his own troubles, an exciting adventure begins which leads Bo to a new outlook on life and a new sense of purpose and duty to his native home, as well to the greatest love of his life. The Good: The story is fastpaced and complex, but not confusing in the least for all of its complexity. There is a definite passion which bleeds from the author's heart to his written words, a passion which can easily cause the reader to weep at times. The Hunt for Confederate Gold is full of faith, conviction, and understanding -- the last of which doesn't always accompany the former. The Bad: At times, despite the passion of the story, it reads rather like a treatise outlining the many problems inherent in centralized government, specifically the American Empire's (aka the Federal Government's) list of domestic injustices. While enlightening in the extreme it does at times jar the reader out of the story. But, because this is a first novel, such jarring can be forgiven. Buy The Hunt for Confederate Gold by Thomas Moore. Read it and honestly consider the truths within while enjoying the story. You will never look at the world the same again.

~The Hunt for Confederate Gold~ is an action-packed thriller that puts the heroes on a suspense-filled search for a long lost Confederate treasure. What is particularly remarkable is that the Hunt weaves together two intricate tales in one, as the flashbacks to the late War between the State provide a backdrop to the story as it unfolds in our time. This tale packs quite a few punches. Hounded by corrupt federal agents, the protagonist Parker Hastie treks off on a treasure hunt with his compatriots such as George T. Bolitho, in an exciting suspense-filled story. Moore builds up your anticipation as you follow them on their trek. As a matter of historical fact, George A. Trenholm, Secretary of the Confederate Treasury had departed Richmond on train with a cache of Confederate gold right before the city fell. No one knows what happened to gold, but there has been no shortage of speculation. This is the backdrop for the story. For years, rumors have abounded in my hometown, Danville, Virginia, the last Capital of the Confederacy, of a lost Confederate treasure. Though, this is a work of fiction, it is a plausible work nonetheless. Thomas Moore is a master story teller and has weaved together a fascinating story. This is a must read book, and is destined to be a classic. I won't spoil good fiction by writing spoiler summations of it, so I encourage you to read the Hunt for Confederate Gold, and see for yourself. Clyde Wilson wrote the perrenial book review of the Hunt on LewRockwell.com (http://www.lewrockwell.com/wilson/wilson19.html) and the American View interviewed author Thomas Moore (http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=5), which gives a fascinating overview of this book.

Thomas Moore's new novel, The Hunt For Confederate Gold, is, in a word, spellbinding. Set both in the waning days of the War to Prevent Southern Independence and the present, the book presents well-developed characters who are truly believable. Moore focuses in large part on the trials of University of South Carolina history professor Parker T. Hastie, who is framed and imprisoned by the Feds (with the help of his university) for his membership in The Fellowship of the South, a modern-day secession movement (could there really be such an organization? Think I'll give [...] a try, just in case). The other main character is graduate student George Trenholm "Bo" Bolitho, a descendant of George Alfred Trenholm, Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, who finds a code in the old family Bible that shows the location of the buried Confederate gold. Moore sets up the gripping scenario involving Hastie, Bolitho, and their compatriots by interspersing into the novel the story of the transfer of the Confederate treasury from Richmond as the Yankees overtake the city. Switching back and forth between 1865 and the present is indeed one of the strengths of Moore's work. Our ancestors who hid the gold hoped that at some future time it might be used to continue the quest for Southern independence. The greatest fear of the Feds and the Empire is that the Fellowship will find the gold and use it successfully for that purpose. Their fear causes them to reveal themselves as tryants. Moore captures the chicanery and duplicity of the Feds with great accuracy. Once Parker Hastie is in federal custody on bogus charges of "terrorism" under the USA Patriot Act, Bolitho's quest to break the code and find the gold brings the young student into the ambit of The Fellowship, which hopes to find the treasure before the Feds and use it not only to mount a defense of Hastie but for the real reason it was hidden in the first place-to finance the South's bid for independence. Not wanting to give away the details of the plot, I will simply say that Moore has written a novel that ought to inspire every patriotic Southerner and all who love liberty and hate tyranny. I recommend you buy it today. But here's a helpful hint--don't expect to be able to put it down until you're finished.

Tom Moore's "The Hunt for Confederate Gold" is a page turning adventure story that will keep the reader up late into the evening. Moore's novel is layered and nuanced. He presents characters with character, the old fashioned kind; men with chests who stand for something beyond their own narcissistic pleasure. And, he places these contemporary heroes against modernity's most powerful entity; the "empire of the state." The author's nimble characterzations, his facile ability to describe the hinterlands of South Carolina, and his philosophical understanding that our society is fast approaching a dark and terrifying age are the necessary ingredients for an imaginative rendering of a very plausible and well executed novel. First rate!