Until the End: A Novel of the Civil War

Look Away was my first book on Civil War. I continued with Until the End. Well, Mr. Coyle did a great job. Excellent books!!! I would highly recommend these books to anyone who loves history.

I give Until the End 5 out of 5 stars. It is an excellent novel about all the aspects of life in the civil war. It does not try to glorify war at all; in fact it describes the horrors of war very well. The author has obviously done a lot of research, and though the main characters are fiction, the actual events they are in are not, as can be seen by his explanation in the back of the book. Not only does he show life in the army for both the Union and Confederate soldiers, he describes a field hospital and the conditions they were in. He shows how the protective shield that is the myth of the glory of war breaks down from stress on the battlefield, exposing the soldiers to his previously hidden internal conflicts between sacrificing his individuality and honoring his sense of duty. The book also really engages the reader, and they feel a loss with the people in the book, like with the loss of their friends to enemy muskets. It also has a very engaging sub-plot dealing with the brother's lives and their eventual reunion. This is an excellent book.

Look Away and Until the End were my first 2 Civil War novels. I was not dissappointed. The battles are described in vivid detail. Coyle makes the 1860's come alive with wonderful plot AND character development. The only bad thing that could possibly be said about this book is that it is not "to be continued".

Until the End kept me at the edge of my seat. It is a gripping story that brings home the torment that families had during the Civil War. It brings together the Bannon family, again. Mr. Colye also leaves the door open for more about the newly expanded family after the war. It's one story that I will not forget in a long time. I recomend it to readers of all interests.

If you haven't yet read _Look Away_, which is the first novel in this series, then you're in luck...because you can now read both books consecutively, without a lapse in between. You will find yourself immersed in the lives of these two Irish immigrant brothers, James and Kevin, both fighting on opposite sides of the Civil War. I found _Until the End_ to be a much better written novel than the first, but both books are very strong in battle descriptions and a "you-are there" feeling. This second book develops relationships between the two brothers and the women in their lives, and this insight into the women broadens both the sensitivity and scope of the story. Kevin's love, Harriet Shields, is serving as a nurse for the Union, and her experiences and journal entries provide a real understanding of the human suffering. Mary Beth McPherson, James' girl, reflects the Southern experience and devastation as she struggles to keep her farm and cope with personal losses. Like _Look Away_, _Until the End_ makes no judgments about which side was "better" or "worse", "right" or "wrong". The reader gains a real understanding of the day-to-day feelings and activities of officers and ordinary foot soldiers on both sides of this devastating time period in our history.