Plot

‘A Fatal Mercy,’ is the story of Drayton FitzHenry, the middle son of prominent South Carolina planter and politician, who circumstance forces to participate in a conflict of arms that he himself doesn’t fully believe in. The novel follows him through the years, from 1860 until 1913, and in it’s pages, weaves together the hopes and dreams of youth with the pain and regret of age, and how a life spent in grief and anguish over its role in the war can maybe just find peace after the dust settles. Because as you will see once you read it, his war never ended. My summary here doesn’t do it justice, but I can only say so much without spoiling the book.

Theme & Genre

A Fatal Mercy is a piece of literary fiction disguised as a Civil War novel. In fact, I would argue that while the War Between The States was the central event in the main character’s life, and the event that much of the novel is set in, it is really a novel about Drayton’s interior life and how he responds to things like duty, personal honor, pride, and even love… especially love.

There were times that I felt the work drifted from the realm of prose fiction into historical lecture by the author about the circumstances of the day, and while the inclusion of these passages can be informative to readers who may be unaware of the history, I found it unnecessary and at times cumbersome, what you might call a historical info-dump. While these occasional disruptions to the plot were present, they were hardly unforgivable, and more than once, I even found myself learning something new.

The author did a great job of interjecting historical views of the day into the characters in a very natural way without it coming off as the thinly veiled pontification of a partisan’s pen (something that many novels of the war suffer from). This wasn’t just true for the politics and historical perspectives in specific, but that the entirety of the complex plot and all of the characters were brought to life with equal tact, and I thoroughly enjoyed the cast. I was especially tickled to see William Gilmore Simms come to life on the pages.

Style

The style of the first chapter threw me for a bit of a loop. What I mean by that, is I was caught off guard by the use of third-person present progressive tense, which is something like “John Smith is watching the Indian, as a friend arrives beside him. His friend turns to face him… etc.” Just something that I wasn’t accustomed to seeing in a work of prose fiction. That being said, this didn’t persist, and as far as I can remember, it didn’t continue further in the novel at any other point, and the author promptly returned to a more traditional third-person past tense.

Apart from the somewhat strange tense that chapter one was written in, I found his style approachable and smooth. Very seldom did I think that the dialogue was clunky or unrealistic, and these few instances may very well have been due to the difference the author’s age and my own.

I was very impressed with how Mr. Moore was able to play with time and being by having the chronological order of the chapters and occasionally character perspectives change frequently throughout the book. To do this and keep it all coherent from chapter to chapter is no easy feat for a writer, and I found this quite enjoyable. It was also heart-rending to see the trials and triumphs unfold in this manner, as I often found myself privy to information that the character wasn’t aware of yet.

Final Thoughts

I found this book to be quite enjoyable, and there was a certain point where I went from reading it to really devouring it. The history is well researched, the prose is clean and well written, the plot is complex and well executed. I really don’t have many complaints at all, and those that I do have, I will fully acknowledge are me nitpicking. However, I will say that the fact that I have to nitpick to find flaws should indicate to you dear reader, just how strong the work is.

I think if you enjoy good writing and novels centered around the War Between The States, this is a great book to read. I laughed, and toward the end, even cried. In some ways I found that I could really identify with Drayton FitzHenry and his reluctant acceptance of duty under the circumstances of life or perhaps more likely, the providence of God. All in all, I thought it was a great read and look forward to reading it again down the road.

You can find ‘A Fatal Mercy’ here for purchase.

While they were there, the Gorgas sisters were keen to learn more about the Nobel Prize winner and bonded over their shared trauma of having to flee in the wake of a vicious invading force, the Gorgas sisters fled Richmond in 1865, and Sigrid her home in Lillehammer, Norway in April of 1940.

During their conversation, Strode noted that “She had made a considerable study of the personalities of the War Between The States, partly because her eldest son Anders, whom the Nazis killed, revered Robert E. Lee as his favorite hero in all history.”2

Their conversation would go on to Jefferson Davis, and it was this very meeting that would cause the great Hudson Strode to write his incredible three-volume biography of President Jefferson Davis. That being said, we aren’t here for Strode. We are here for Anders, a Norwegian Second Lieutenant who would die fighting an aggressive expansionist neighbor. How was it that a young officer in Norway would come into contact with the memory of Robert E. Lee?

There are a few men to thank for this: Fremantle, Wolseley, but perhaps none is more to thank than Sir Fredrick Maurice. Specifically, for his military biography of Robert E. Lee titled, ‘Robert E. Lee: The Soldier.’ For it was this work that evangelized the capability and character of our beloved General to Europe and her sons.

About The Author

A short biography of the author is in order, as Sir Fredrick Maurice (1871-1951) was not an ordinary historian with an axe to grind against consensus, like so many court historians in our modern day. Rather, he was a Major-General of the British Army, was knighted by King George V, and made director of military operations during the Great War. However, his career was not to last, as there arose a public controversy between himself and the British Prime Minister Lloyd George over the strength of the British Army in France. At the time, he demanded a Courts-Martial to dig through the records, hoping to be vindicated for his claims, but was denied. Ultimately, he was forced to resign over this in 1918. After the war, he would ultimately be proven correct after later investigations.

Unlike many officers who are forced out of service for one reason or another, Maurice’s reputation remained untarnished, and he found a career writing as a military correspondent and as a historian of note in his era. I find this very encouraging, as his appraisal of Lee isn’t biased, as so many American authors are, but comes from an intense study of the source material and the unfamiliar eyes of a foreign military officer of high achievement.

Sir Fredrick Maurice knows war; he knows history, and he can approach this work with no preexisting attachment to Lee beyond their shared experience as Generals and soldiers. For this reason, I find his book so compelling. I am not alone in this appraisal, as the Bostonian biographer Gamaliel Bradford said of the book,

“The singular value of General Maurice’s book consists in his own large military experience, and above all in his bringing the most intimate observation and knowledge of the great European War to bear on Lee’s career and military achievements. It is really remarkable to see how the Southern leader anticipated the developments of fifty years later, how great were his versatility and originality, in short how thoroughly he was stamped with the mark of a genius in the art of war.” - Gamaliel Bradford, The Atlantic, June, 1925

Not to mention the endorsement of the great Virginian Douglas Southall Freeman (1886-1953), author of the seminal four-volume biography ‘Robert E. Lee.’

“He writes more authoritatively perhaps than any serious student of Lee’s campaign has ever written” - Douglas Southall Freeman, Virginia Quarterly Review, Summer, 1925

Scope

The title of the book is fitting, as the military career of Gen. Robert E. Lee is the primary focus of the work. Although there is a brief introduction to the General’s family and personal history at the beginning of the book, and again at the end, we find a very short overview of his postbellum activities. However, this is first and foremost a military appraisal of General Lee’s conduct in war, and of war. This includes scrutinizing his leadership, style of maneuver, disposition in combat, etc. With the aim of ultimately trying to appraise the quality of General Lee’s conduct and leadership at the head of The Army Of Northern Virginia, or as it is stated in the book, to see whether or not General Lee deserves a place among the great generals of history.

Style

The book, at times, can come off stiff; however, I found certain passages, such as the Seven Days and the Overland Campaign, to be riveting. In addition to this, there was more than one time when the biography deeply moved me, especially in the telling of Lee’s first message to the Armies of the Confederacy after becoming General-In-Chief in February of 1864.

Although I had a hard time getting through some dense passages that seemed to drag on endlessly at times concerning military details highlighted by a seasoned professional officer, I think the moments of brilliance in Maurice’s writing more than make up for the dry passages. Despite its short length, the section on the withdrawal of Gettysburg alone would make the book worth it for me. Especially as the author wasn’t trying to relitigate the battle, but rather, study Lee’s conduct in its wake.

Something else that I greatly appreciated about the book was the author’s reliance on source material. There were many quotations from a variety of sources and placed in such a way as to give the impression that he was truly speaking as an expert on the subject matter. In other words, no quotation was out of place.

Scholarship

One would be forgiven if one thought that this book lacked the nuance from a multiplicity of sources that modern research has made available to today’s military biographers. For that person would be mistaken about the scrutiny that Sir Fredrick Maurice put into his research in writing this book, as he cited over 85 volumes in the study for this book. That would be including the 52-volume ‘Official Records Of The Union And Confederate Armies.’ Reading the bibliography in the rear of the book is enough to convince any doubter that he did more than enough research to produce a thorough military history.

As the Judge and Historian Blanton Fortson (1882-1968) said of the work,

“The standing of the author, his evident fairness, his logical analysis, must insure the work a high place among the histories of the world’s great strategists.” - Blanton Fortson, Georgia Historical Quarterly, June 1926

Sir Fredrick Maurice doesn’t leave anything unsaid; he knows the material and simplifies it for the reader in the way that only an expert can. I would also argue that his proximity to the conflict was a strength rather than a weakness, as he would have been able to converse and study with those who were only a generation removed from The War Between The States.

This Edition

My copy of the book came from ‘Tall Men Books,’ and is a 2024 printing. It is a beautifully done reprint of a book that needed to be in circulation again. However, there are a few complaints that I have regarding the formatting of the included maps and photos, and a fair number of typographical errors. This being said, by no means does it make the book unreadable, and frankly, if you are intelligent enough to digest a book that breaks down campaign strategy and battle tactics, you should be able to read around these issues.

Conclusion

I would highly encourage you to pick up a copy. This book is a classic of military history and should be celebrated as such. If you are interested in reading this book, you can find it online here. You won’t regret it.

I am also aware of a few stores that carry this book, but the only one that comes to mind as I am writing this would be Crossroads Country Store in Harrisonburg, Va., if you prefer to buy things in person.

‘Tall Men Books’ is doing very important work in preserving out-of-print books like ‘Robert E. Lee: The Soldier’ and others, and making them available again. I highly encourage you to check out their website here and pick up a copy or ten.

And as always, If you would like to follow them on X, you can find them here.

Thanks for reading. God bless and Deo Vindice. — J.R. Dunmore

I would like to thank George Bagby, the CEO of ‘Tall Men Books,’ for sending this book to me for review, and even moreso, I would like to apologize to him for the delay in getting this review published. If you are reading this, God bless you, Mr. Bagby. More will follow this!

Plot

Victory Ruins follows the stolid and dutiful Arlen Breckenridge as he struggles between the duty owed to his family and the duty owed to his country at the outbreak of World War II, and continues to tell the story of these diametric loyalties as he marches across Europe and ultimately ends up at the place he started, even though that place is very different than he remembers it.

Theme & Genre

The book is a genuine piece of Southern Literature. Dealing with the immense pressures of place, identity, and tradition as they could only materialize in the rural South. These themes were presented in a way that only someone who grew up haunted by these same ghosts could do. Like Arlen, I can’t explain in words what ties me to the way and place of my fathers, but if you know anything about that way of being, no explanation is required. Yet, unfolded in the pages is the inner turmoil over such things that I, and so many others who grew up in the rural South are intimately familiar with. It was a beautiful thing to see that sentiment put into words, yet it still lacked a definition, because words alone can’t define such a thing, only feeling, duty, and tradition can.

This book is Agrarian Literature, but it is also equally Historical Military Fiction. Both elements are done equally well, and I was certain that the author was a veteran himself after reading how well he presented the interior life of a combat veteran. To my surprise, when I asked him, he told me that he had never been in military service. This alone was very impressive to me, for it shows that Mr. Brenegar has an intuitive understanding of human nature, grace under pressure, and what extreme duress can do to the human psyche.

Style

Victory Ruins reads like a classic piece of Southern Literature, and I would not have been surprised at all if someone had told me the book was written in the late 1940s. That is not to say that the writing is antiquated, but that I was completely immersed in a world that was presented so well that I swore the author had intimate knowledge of it. That is no small feat. In other words, this wasn’t a tale to be told, but a life lived and written out.

His prose is clean and not a single word was out of place. Frankly, the quality of the writing is better than just about every piece of mainstream fiction I’ve read in a very long time. If I were the head of one of the major publishing houses and the Victory Ruins manuscript made it to my desk, it would be published and distributed immediately.

The book is coherent with a strong plot, and there is a continuity in the interior life of Arlen that keeps our feet firmly planted on the ground when chaos seems to be everywhere else. These interior thoughts and struggles were an integral part of the style, as they often laid bare the truth that Arlen so desperately attempted to conceal in his exterior conduct and language.

Also, all of the characters were living people. Not just well-developed or well-written. I came away with the distinct feeling that each and every one of the characters was alive, or at least had lived once, and were dancing in Arlen's memories.

Final Thoughts

If the review has seemed brief up until this point, you would be correct. All of the usual categories of appraisal are strictly material, and unlike previous reviews in the magazine, there is nothing experimental about the writing that requires an explanation for the uninitiated.

This is where I want to interject with my own opinions and be completely and totally subjective.

Without exaggeration, Victory Ruins is the best book I’ve ever read, and at this point, it is my favorite piece of literary fiction. So much of what Arlen has felt, I have felt. So much of what Arlen has feared, I have feared. So much of what Arlen has struggled with, I have struggled with.

I laughed with Arlen, I cheered for him, I celebrated with him, and I wept with him. You know a character is good when you look back on the time spent with them, not as a time reading a story about an abstract personality, but the accumulation of memories in years of relationship with a dear friend, remembering their story as if you really had a part in it.

If you would like to buy this wonderful novel, you can buy it here.

If you are interested in the author, you can find his X account here, and his Substack here:

Books by Troop

(Mostly) Fiction by Troop Brenegar

By Troop Brenegar

SPOILERS BELOW

For those who don’t know me very well, I grew up on the remains of a farm, no longer active during my childhood. My grandfather bred horses, and my father was into cattle in his youth, trading it for crop in his maturity. In the span of three generations, the family farm was divided and shrank from about 70 acres to just 12. Most of that was done in my grandfather’s time. I don’t blame him, money was tight, and what’s a few acres here and there, right? Either way, like many old men, he didn’t have to deal with the results of those decisions. He sold land and he got money to live. I am certain he wasn’t thinking that his grandchildren wouldn’t see a penny of it or the land he sold to get it.

We still farm, just on ground that isn’t ours now. The old homeplace is still in the family, but I wonder if it will remain in the family by the time my childless aunt and uncle who live there pass.

Although this story isn’t totally sad, we have very recently relocated to 40 good acres not far from our original homeplace after a few years of sojourning in the nearby town. That is to say, I understand what Arlen is afraid of because it happened to us. Nobody who has an inextricable tie to the land wants to be parted from it. Going forward I aim to make a new legacy on this new ground for generations to come.

When Arlen is forced to mortgage the family farm or lose it at the end of the book, he does so to protect it in its entirety. A better prospect than selling it off one section at a time. I really admire him for that, and the author for writing him that way.

This is what I meant by a metaphysical quality and living characters. Arlen and I are the same, if not in reality, then in the way we are.

Maybe it’s my favorite book because it was written for me…

Thank you for reading this review. Now go get a copy of Victory Ruins!

What defines Dixie Noir isn’t just its Southern setting or its gritty aesthetic—though the brooding heat, slow Southern drawls, and swamp-bound corpses certainly help. It’s a genre that speaks directly to the soul of the Southern ethos, rejecting the clinical detachment of traditional Noir in favor of something far more visceral. In the South, justice has always been personal. The concept of “self-help” that Dunmore describes—the willingness to take justice into one’s own hands—isn’t just a plot device; it’s a way of life.

This is the fundamental break between the stoic detectives of Raymond Chandler’s world and the protagonists of Dixie Noir. The hard-boiled detective is a man trapped within a crumbling system, resigned to play by the rules even when those rules betray him. The Dixie Noir protagonist, by contrast, sees the system for what it is—a façade—and steps outside it without hesitation. To him, loyalty, justice, and family matter more than laws ever could. Both protagonists are acutely aware of the system’s corruption. For the traditional Noir detective, this corruption is a tragic byproduct of poor governance. For the Southern Noir hero, it’s simply the way things are. For the Northerner, Tammany Hall was a tragedy; for the Southerner, it’s just politics as usual.

And here is where Dixie Noir sets itself apart. It rejects the cynicism and fatalism of traditional Noir. Instead, it clings tightly to a sense of hope—not in institutions, but in individuals. Where traditional Noir might leave its heroes broken or dead, Dixie Noir allows them to emerge transformed. Scarred, yes. Haunted, certainly. But alive, and all the better for the fight. If traditional Noir is the story of a man struggling to survive within a broken system, Dixie Noir is the story of a man who decides to break the system himself. It’s a genre for those who refuse to go quietly into the night.

As Dunmore points out Dixie Noir carves has its own aesthetic identity. It trades the dark, seedy underbelly of Northern cities for the suffocating humidity of the Gulf Coast, the rhythmic tap of rain on tin roofs, and the shadowed secrets of small towns tangled in kudzu and Spanish moss. It offers readers an invitation to a world where beauty and violence are forever intertwined, where dirt roads wind through landscapes as haunted as the histories of the characters who traverse them.

But its most important distinction lies in its relationship with the past. Dixie Noir inherits from its Southern Gothic roots a kind of spiritual PTSD that transcends generations, manifesting in the form of magical realism. This separates it from its more grounded, urban-centered Noir counterpart and gives it a sense of mystery and weight that feels uniquely Southern.

The South has always been a place where the line between the natural and the supernatural blurs. It is a land where the veil between the spiritual and temporal is disturbingly thin, where ghosts linger on front porches, family curses twist fate, and the land itself pulses with the memory of what once was. In Dixie Noir, this undercurrent of the uncanny doesn’t just add atmosphere—it actively shapes the narrative. It hangs heavy over its characters, influencing them in ways both subtle and explicit, without an attempt at rationalization.

In the South, the land breathes with a life of its own, whispering the secrets of the past to those willing to listen. Storms don’t merely rage—they become omens, manifestations of wrath or redemption. And the characters, even the most pragmatic among them, move through a world where signs and superstitions carry as much weight as fingerprints and shell casings. This haunting spirituality defines the genre, rooting the fight for justice in a landscape where the spiritual and the corporeal are irrevocably intertwined.

If you would like to read the first two Dixie Noir novels you can find p.c.m. christ’s book Give Up The Ghost here, and Mr. Slaughter’s book Crimson Veil here.

If you would like to follow Mr. Slaughter on X, you can find him here.

If you would like to read more of ’s work you can find it below:

Old South Repository

Welcome to “The Old South Repository" a multifaceted blog that weaves together the rich tapestry of Southern culture, insightful political analysis, and captivating fiction.

By John Slaughter

I want to thank my dear friend for this response. It is beautiful and captures everything that I failed to in my article on the emergent new genre of Southern Literature that is becoming known as Dixie Noir.

I can’t wait to see what you write next, John. — J.R. Dunmore, EIC Virginia Gentry Magazine

This was the creative capacity that Adam had been given in the Garden of Eden—the naming of created things. Yet, this function of Adam—his exercise of creative power—was merely the recognition of the works that God himself wrought in blood and bone and spirit. In other words, Adam’s contribution to creation was to be an observer and give recognition to the transcendent reality of being. Likewise, below you will read my observation and recognition of the organic development of something that is both old and new and beautiful…

Definitions are important

Before we go any further, we need to define our terms, Dixie, and Noir. As a writer, I believe that words and definitions are important, if they weren’t, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. So, Dixie: the colloquial name for the South (Per common usage), and Noir: a genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity (Per Google definitions). You would think that the combination of these terms and their definitions would be an accurate appraisal of this new genre, but you would be mistaken.

Observations and Recognitions

I think the fundamental break between traditional Detective-Fiction/Hard-Boiled Noir like that of Raymond Chandler and what authors like and are doing lies in the differences of the Southern worldview… let me explain.

American crime Noir was a genre that was defined by the attitude and aesthetics of the dark underbellies of big cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s. Noir of this kind usually features a detective struggling to wade through the mire he is surrounded by, attempting to solve crimes in a corrupt police department with intelligent enemies and beautiful women who happen to have a foot in the same underworld that he is fighting against. The detective is usually a cynic, he sees no hope, but the fight against entropy keeps him going, at least until he is killed by his foil, or until his rampant alcoholism and nicotine addiction kill him.

In short, like all Puritans and many Yankees found in these cities throughout history, he is a systems man, and he is willing to fight the darkness as best he can within the parameters set for him by his moral and ethical code. What makes this kind of Noir is the fact that the system is unable to resolve these aberrations, and he is stuck, unable to find redress for the crimes he sees daily, but his ethical code won’t let him resort to self-help (taking justice into his own hands).

The Southern disposition doesn’t struggle with this aversion to deviation from the system. We are relations people, not systems people. What a Yankee would look at as blatant corruption in a small-town cop overlooking his cousin’s moonshine operation, a Southerner would be more likely to call it family loyalty. Likewise, if a teenage girl was raped in the North, the police would be expected to deal with the entirety of the aftermath, whereas, in the South, more than a few families would become judge, jury, and executioner. I believe this is the fundamental difference between Noir and Dixie Noir for no other reason than I believe that it is the difference between the dispositions of Northerners and Southerners. That is to say, Dixie Noir is about men who are not afraid to resort to self-help for the resolution to their challenges, justice system be damned.

However, the differences do not end there. If we look at the adjectives used by Google to describe Noir I think we can recognize that Dixie Noir is a subversion of its traditional counterpart. The words used to describe Noir by Google are cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity. Now, both Give Up The Ghost and Crimson Veil, maintain a harsh grittiness and realism about the depths of human depravity, but I would not accuse either work of being cynical, fatalistic, or morally ambiguous.

Where traditional Noir is hopeless, Dixie Noir is hopeful. Where traditional Noir is resigned to its fate, Dixie Noir is willing to fight to achieve its aims. Where traditional Noir is morally ambiguous, Dixie Noir maintains the dichotomy of good and evil, and it is this dichotomy that makes the operation of the protagonist outside of the system justified. In traditional Noir, there is no greater good than the system or institution. That symbolic structure that the protagonist finds himself in is at war with darkness and itself, a mirror of the hero. In both examples of Dixie Noir that I’ve reviewed, the institution is secondary to justice. Both AR and JD are willing to break the law to do what’s right. Over and over again. That implies that there is an objective good and evil, an objective sense of justice, and an objective best way to fight the antagonists. The more I think about this as a unique genre, the more I think the protagonist could never be a cop or detective, at least not a cop or detective who wasn’t willing to take the law into his own hands. It would seem Dixie Noir is the genre for the righteous outlaws.

There is also the rejection of defeatism, there is no resignation to fate, there is only putting the world into order, one way or another. As Christopher Sandbatch said in a Xeet recently,

In 2025 the sad boys of literature are gonna bring back the happy ending.

Both of these books have “happy endings.” That is to say, they don’t end with hopelessness. I don’t know if either book has an ideal ending, they are still subject to the realistic and gritty consequences that dealing with the underworld comes with. Yet, the protagonists are not helpless, they are fighters who emerge from the underworld transformed not defeated.

Like I said, self-help vs systems.

There is also the matter of Aesthetics

Dixie Noir doesn’t have to take place in a big city, but it must take place in the South, or Southern adjacent regions. It is marked by the hot nights with loose women on balmy summer evenings, brooding reflections by the hero under the sound of rainstorms on old tin roofs, and bloated corpses floating up in the swamps that span across the Gulf coast. It incorporates the beautiful prose that the Southern Literary Tradition is known for, and isn’t afraid to use equally beautiful language to describe a murder in exquisitely visceral detail. It acknowledges the burden of the past on the South and her people as all great Southern works do. Not fearing the confrontation of her scars and their contemporary implications in the narrative.

I’ve been rambling for a while, I think this is just the beginning of a new Southern Literary movement and I very much look forward to seeing where it goes next.

If you want to follow the two pioneers of Dixie Noir that were mentioned above, you can find them here:

Heretical Realism

By p.c.m. christ

Old South Repository

Welcome to “The Old South Repository" a multifaceted blog that weaves together the rich tapestry of Southern culture, insightful political analysis, and captivating fiction.

By John Slaughter

Please feel free to comment, I would be interested to hear your thoughts about Dixie Noir. Let me know if you think I am onto something or missed the mark. I am sure I will write more about Dixie Noir as time passes, but I wanted to address this phenomenon in real time.

Yet, time and time again I was blown away. Honestly, there were a few times when I was taken aback by how effortless the prose felt. Very seldom a clunky sentence would catch me off guard and break my trance, but I think that says something about the quality of the prose overall. The few times something felt dissonant, it was obviously an aberration, and no sooner did I read the sentence the next line would pull me back in even deeper than I was initially.

All in all, Crimson Veil was an absolute pleasure to read.

Plot

Set in Arcadia on the Alabama-Georgia border in the years following World War II, Crimson Veil follows the life and career of JD Hooks, a lawyer’s son, and private eye as he is offered a case to find a missing person. Yet, as he digs deeper into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance he begins to uncover terrifying realities about the place he calls home.

Theme & Genre

This is a bona fide thriller and another great installment of Dixie Noir. I often found myself rushing to get back to the text after work or doing things around the house, as any good thriller should make you want to do. However, to break it down to a designation so simple would not do the work justice. Although this book is a thriller, and “Dixie Noir,” it is so much more…

More than a few times, the prose began to venture into the fray of consciousness, conflict, and being, ala Cormac McCarthy. One could only assume the musings found within the narrative of Crimson Veil were planted inside of the author at some point during his deployments to the Middle East and the combat experiences he had there as a US Marine. Something about being engaged in “the ultimate trade” stirs a man to a reflection few others are capable of apart from the experience of war.

Yet, it was not all despair for the fallen state of men and the reckoning of the chaos that pours forth from them. Very evident throughout the story is the tangible possibility of redemption. Crimson Veil, like all good myths, is fundamentally about sacrifice and transcendence. In pagan/secular myth, Odin, Horus, and Faust had to give something valuable up to gain a revelation about their being and reality. In the only true myth, Christ had to be crucified for those undeserving to achieve greater glory for all, and JD Hooks has done a little bit of both. Losing himself in the darkness that surrounds him paying the price of his soul for forbidden knowledge, and sacrificing himself in an attempt to save the undeserving and unaware.

*Note: J.R. Dunmore is a devout Christian who believes that the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection are the one place in human history where myth met reality in the divine person of Jesus Christ. Think of it as a hyperreal synchronicity if you will, or where the meta-narrative and historical narrative collide.

This would come as a surprise if it was from a secular author, but as I know and his deep faith in Christ, I realize that these themes whether intentional or not make themselves manifest in the work as a result of what is inside him. The effects were obvious, and frankly, they were a breath of fresh air. To have a gritty protagonist that was impossible to hate is rare. Most of them are insufferable and cliche, but in JD Hooks, I found someone who I could always relate to as a man, even though I couldn’t always relate to all of his experiences. Reading his story was very much like reading the story of King David. Selah.

Style

has a unique way of writing, and I believe from reading the text it is apparent that he is a very visual thinker. This style is most evident when he is transitioning scenes throughout the book. I think his way of doing this would lend itself incredibly well to film, and with minor adaptation, Crimson Veil could easily be a screenplay. Perhaps even the next season of True Detective? Make no mistake though, Crimson Veil is a piece of literary fiction, it is just the author’s style that lends it to the medium of film.

As far as the composition of the story goes, it was executed well, it never felt amateurish, and the foreshadowing was subtle, which made the climax much more enjoyable. I often figure out the plot of a movie while I am still watching the first half in the theatre, but I was unable to divine the direction of the narrative and it was glorious. This is an indictment against the mainstream writers and a compliment to Mr. Slaughter.

In addition to this, Mr. Slaughter like so many great Southern writers who have gone before him, excelled at creating interesting characters who felt real. Other than the protagonist, I was most impressed with his hero’s paramour, John has an uncanny ability to write believable women that come to life on the page before you.

Another pleasant surprise was the technicality of his writing. I’ve only read a few books that have come out of the Twitter/X sphere, but those that I have read thus far have blown me away. What has most impressed me about Mr. Slaughter is his evident lack of experience writing long-form fiction, as pointed out by the great author Tom Edgemon about Crimson Veil,

“Slaughter has delivered a fine piece of Noir with all the trappings of great fiction. Given this is his first novel, if his subsequent ones are any better, he very well may put the rest of us out of business.” — Tom Edgemon

There really isn’t much more I can add to that. Reading Crimson Veil was very much like what I imagine a college football scout feels like when he goes to a no-name school in a rural town and finds the next Tom Brady or Brett Favre.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, if there was anything I could leave you with, it would be to buy the book. So far as I can tell, Crimson Veil is an instant classic of Dixie Noir. Well-written and beautifully composed, I would encourage everyone to read this book.

If you would like to buy Crimson Veil click here. If you would like to follow on X click here. You can also find his Substack below.

Old South Repository

Welcome to “The Old South Repository" a multifaceted blog that weaves together the rich tapestry of Southern culture, insightful political analysis, and captivating fiction.

By John Slaughter

Thank you for taking the time to read this review today. If you enjoyed reading this, please share it with a friend, word of mouth is how we grow. God bless y’all, and Deo Vindice. — J.R. Dunmore, EIC

I wanted to make a gift guide for the upcoming Christmas season, so here it is. I realize that most of the gifts on the list will probably appeal to the readers of the magazine and not their spouses, parents, or friends, but please feel free to send the list to them to give them some ideas. If you are reading this list because someone you care about sent it to you, please take a minute to read over it. I hope there is something here that will help you in finding a gift for your loved one. — J.R. Dunmore, EIC

Our Third Category is Miscellany

1. Monument Avenue Coin Series. This coin set is absolutely stunning. Originally created in response to the heinous destruction of Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. In buying this collectible coin set, you will not only be preserving history, but also supporting a Southern-owned small business found in Harrisonburg, Virginia (Confederateshop.com).

Note* The coin stand is not included with the purchase of the collection, however, it is also for sale here.

2. Confederate Shop Christmas Ornaments. Another entry from Confederateshop.com, these Christmas ornaments will make any tree come to life. My personal favorites are the “Flags Of The Confederacy Ornament” and the “Robert E. Lee Monument Ornament.”

3. Confederate Gentleman’s Necktie. A perfect tie for a Southern gentleman who isn’t afraid of his heritage. The Confederate Gentleman’s Necktie is a handsome addition to any wardrobe. If you work in a more politically or historically sensitive environment, there is also the equally dashing “Old South Confederate Necktie.” (The Old South Necktie is pictured blow the Confederate Gentleman’s Necktie.)

4. Bookmarks. The final Confederateshop.com listing, is the extensive collection of historical bookmarks produced by Old South Institute Press out of Harrisonburg, Virginia. With over 100 options to choose from, I am sure you can find a suitable bookmark for whatever you are reading. Here is one of my personal favorites, the “George Washington Bookmark.”

5. Civil War Era Confederate Minié Ball Bullet. This is an Etsy listing, so get it while you can, but look at this entry as “artifacts from the War Between The States wherever you can find them.” Make sure you buy from someone reputable and that they will ship in time for Christmas.

6. Civil War Soldier Dad Hat. This is a great hat for casual wear. This made the list after my wife had got one for me as a Christmas gift last year. Comfortable and subtlety stylish this is a great casual hat that doesn’t look ugly. Another Etsy listing, albeit from a different seller.

7. “The Heat Reminds Me Of Mexico Sticker.” One of the most quotable lines from the epic film Gettysburg, this sticker is well produced and a fun addition to your back-glass or water bottle. Again, from another Etsy seller.

8. The Paintings Of Dan Nance. The most expensive entry on the list, these paintings are gorgeous and available in different formats from FineArtAmerica.com. below you can find his panting Fury At The Wall.

9. The Copperhead Pin. A beautiful reproduction handmade by the folks over at “creative cockades.” This is a piece that the reenactor and the modern day Copperhead would both love.

10. A Virginia Gentry Magazine Subscription. We are beginning to offer paid subscriber only content and we don’t want anyone to miss it! Keep your eye out for it! Deo Vindice, and have a Merry Christmas!

I wanted to make a gift guide for the upcoming Christmas season, so here it is. I realize that most of the gifts on the list will probably appeal to the readers of the magazine and not their spouses, parents, or friends, but please feel free to send the list to them to give them some ideas. If you are reading this list because someone you care about sent it to you, please take a minute to read over it. I hope there is something here that will help you in finding a gift for your loved one. — J.R. Dunmore, EIC

Our Second Category Is Magazines & Online Subscriptions:

Print Subscriptions:

1. Chronicles Magazine. Chronicles is the quintessential Paleocon magazine. With an Editor-In-Chief like the great Paul Gottfried, how could it not be good? I encourage every sensible American to read this one. It is a great magazine that would make the perfect gift for someone.

   

   .

2. New American Magazine. “The New American magazine, published twice a month in print and daily online, is the essential news source for freedom-loving Americans.” This quote taken from their website is a fair description of what The New American Magazine has to offer. A great publication that I was exposed to by a good friend, I am sure this one would make a great gift.

   

3. Frontier Magazine. This new quarterly magazine is one of the entries that I am the most excited about. Frontier is a new magazine being produced by the fine folks over at The Blaze. As far as I can tell, it is tapping the pulse of Heritage America with input from the rising crop of writers that the disaffected regions of America is producing. While the physical copies can only be attained through the (pricey) annual membership to The Blaze. If you can afford it, The Blaze membership is worth it for Auron MacIntyre alone, let alone this great new magazine

   

Print Non-Subscriptions:

4. The Double Dealer. The Double Dealer is a magazine from the South publishing fine fiction. A great magazine that is easily accessible through Amazon, and with it not being distributed via subscription, it is easy to procure and read through at your own pace. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t run by friends of Virginia Gentry, but in my mind that is all the more reason to start collecting it.

   

5. Go West Magazine. Similar to The Double Dealer, Go West publishes fiction about the American Frontier and Old West. As a revitalization project ourselves, we really appreciate what they are doing and encourage all of you to get their first issue for yourself, or someone you love.

   

6. IM-1776. Arguably the most influential of Dissident/Paleocon publications online, IM-1776 produces beautiful quarterly hardcover magazines from great authors. A more serious entry compared to the two above, but just as readable. These would make great gifts for the conscientious reader.

   

Online Subscriptions:

7. The Old South Repository is written by our dear friend . He truly is the best of us.

   Old South Repository

   Welcome to “The Old South Repository" a multifaceted blog that weaves together the rich tapestry of Southern culture, insightful political analysis, and captivating fiction.

   By John Slaughter

8. Poiema is written by the greatest Southern humorist alive in my estimation. I could only hope he applies his gifts to writing a novel in the near future.

   Poiema

   Telling Stories (While Poking the Zeitgeist with a Sharp Stick)

   By Nojesuittricks

9. Ruins Of Corotoman is written by one of the most insightful Southerners I’ve ever come across, the great Lafayette Lee.

   Ruins of Corotoman

   Visions of Plantations in the Air

   By Lafayette Lee

10. ArthurinCali’s Thoughts is an interesting collection of essays and articles written by a Texas GWOT veteran, and we fully endorse him.

    ArthurinCali’s Thoughts

    GWOT veteran that writes on news, politics, history, and culture from a Right-Wing perspective. Also, military stories from time to time.

I wanted to make a gift guide for the upcoming Christmas season, so here it is. I realize that most of the gifts on the list will probably appeal to the readers of the magazine and not their spouses, parents, or friends, but please feel free to send the list to them to give them some ideas. If you are reading this list because someone you care about sent it to you, please take a minute to read over it. I hope there is something here that will help you in finding a gift for your loved one.

All gifts will be hyperlinked to their names in the list with the exclusion of Gone With The Wind. All books are linked to paperback editions, if you want a hardcover, make sure to check to see if the option is available. — J.R. Dunmore, EIC.

Our First Category Is Books:

Fiction:

1. Gone With The Wind By Margrett Mitchell. I didn’t include a link with this first entry because the newest editions of the book have added introductions that degrade the book as vile for its subject matter. I encourage you to find an older edition of the book that excludes the inaccurate CRT reading of the history foisted upon it by the so-called social justice warriors of our day and age.

   

2. Shiloh: A Novel By Shelby Foote. In his first installment on this list, we have Shelby Foote’s vivid fictional retelling of the battle of Shiloh. A great book by a great Southern author.

   

3. Cold Mountain By Charles Frazier. A book often called The American Odyssey by the up-and-coming Southern author . Cold Mountain is the fictionalized retelling of William Pinkney Inman’s real travels back home to his beloved at the end of the War Between The States.

   

4. North And South By John Jakes. This is the book series that inspired the famous television miniseries starring Patrick Swayze and James Read.

   

5. Traveller: A Novel By Richard Adams. Perhaps the strangest title on this list, Traveller follows the experiences of the American Civil War from the perspective of Robert E. Lee’s horse Traveller. A unique read to be sure.

   

6. Victory Ruins By Troop Brenegar. Penned by an up-and-coming author from North Carolina, this book comes highly recommended by some good friends. We here at Virginia Gentry hope to review it in the near future.

   

7. Give Up The Ghost By p.c.m. christ. I can’t say enough about this book. It was written by a native Georgian who just happens to be the best contemporary Southern Horror author I’ve come across. This was his debut book and it blew my mind. You can read my spoiler-free review here.

   

Non-Fiction:

8. The Civil War: A Narrative By Shelby Foote. This is the quintessential history of the American Civil War. Similarly to Cold Mountain, the author has rightly called this series The American Iliad. Foote brings to life a war that we are over 150 removed from in a way that no other author could. If you are shopping for someone who isn't a big reader, you could always get the two most famous subsections of the III volume series, The Stars And Their Courses (The Gettysburg campaign) or The Beleaguered City (The Vicksburg campaign).

   

   Note* The Stars And Their Courses and The Beleaguered City are only available in hardcover.

9. Recollections And Letters Of General Robert E. Lee By Robert E. Lee. It is undeniable that General Lee is the paragon of everything that a Southern gentleman should aspire to be. Here you will find the words of the General and the reminisces of his son Robert E. Lee about his father. It is the book that every Southern man should read at least once other than the Holy Bible

   

10. Deconstruction And Reconstruction By Richard Taylor. Written by the son of President Zachary Taylor, this book is an incredible first-hand account of the War Between The States and the brutal Reconstruction that followed from a unique perspective.

    

Young Readers:

11. Robert E. Lee: A History Book for Kids By Anne Wilson Smith. A great picture book written for children ages 5-9, this book is a great way to give your children an early appreciation for General Robert E. Lee.

    

In addition to this, you can find many other pro-Confederate children’s books and some beautiful bookmarks at Confederateshop.com.

p.c.m.: Well, it’s my first long-form, so that was an important part of it. Originally conceived of what I call Dixie Noir. As far as why, I am very much… I guess they call it a gardener type of writer. Where I just kind of follow thoughts rather than have anything laid out. So, other than knowing there was going to be a murder in the South. I didn’t know much else. Everything that came after was the result of following that notion.

J.R.: That’s impressive considering the depth that you went into, at least philosophically speaking. It’s a really good book, and your inclusion of Blakean ideas in a work that wasn’t plotted is admirable.

Where did you get the title Give Up The Ghost?

p.c.m.: It was originally going to be called Terminus, which was the original name of Atlanta, Ga., but as I kept writing and saw the themes emerge and the more spiritual side of the book then Give Up The Ghost, you know being after the death of Christ in the KJV seemed appropriate in all regards. It’s a beautiful phrase.

J.R.: Beautiful and extremely loaded too. Much like when you put the words of William Blake in red letters.

p.c.m.: It preps people for what they are gonna get a little bit I think (chuckles).

J.R.: I mean, I think it’s a brilliant choice, that reminds me of what I said in my review of the book, it’s subversive, but not tasteless.

Here is a question for you, how did Atticus come to you in writing? Or did you always have this character in your head, and you were just looking for the right setting?

p.c.m.: To be honest with you, I really don’t know. It must have been in there somewhere. I knew that coming from the mountain, I knew who he was, in a way. He is a pure being that comes down into the mortal world and experiences our tragedies. A lot of the book is him responding to those things. With his name, I think it makes things distinctly Southern in a lot of ways. So, I knew who he was, as far as what he would be doing, and going through, before I knew him as an actual character.

J.R.: He is very much a messianic figure, even if he doesn’t realize it. What I found the most impressive thing about AR, is that I know people just like him. You were able to portray a certain type of person very well, and he is a person that I have met many times before.

p.c.m.: There is an interesting aspect to America especially. I don’t know that Europe has this. A lot of people associate the South with the “white trash” stereotype, which is completely inaccurate. It is closer to mountain men, and rednecks. In other words, it’s the cowboys before they were cowboys. Yet, the interesting part about that, that a lot of people don’t give them credit for, and this almost goes back to early America, [Allen] Bloom talks about this in The Closing Of The American Mind, that one reason democracy worked and the American project worked was because that Americans were among the most literate people on the planet. For example, in stagecoaches, there were the works of Shakespeare, and next to it was the Holy Bible. Traditionally, the blue-collar class in America, and still today in the South, people are very familiar with the Bible. With the importance of that document, it does offer a perspective and education that a lot of other demographics don’t have.

J.R.: Absolutely. Whether or not someone believes the Bible is literal, the utility of Scripture is obvious.

Did you face any challenges in writing this book? What were some difficulties you had in getting this story out?

p.c.m.: Well, it was my first long-form, my previous work under the name p.c.m. christ, like the short stories you’ll find on my Substack, were my first projects after coming back from a years-long hiatus, and every story found there is an exercise of some kind. So, a lot of them were very focused, pretty short, and pretty dense and distilled. Just because I was after one thing. With my first long-form project (Give Up The Ghost), which I offered as a free PDF, and also sold as a paperback book. I knew people would be reading it, and it would require their time. Then the most important thing is that I was a newcomer to plot, in the sense that I had only written one long-form piece before I was p.c.m., and I was a much different writer and much younger as well. So, that level of consideration of the reader was not something that I had taken into account as p.c.m., that’s one reason it took me a while to write even though it isn’t incredibly long. I essentially had to learn plot, foreshadowing, tension, pacing, and drama, rather than a “tour de force” that came out of my ideas for the project. That was probably the most difficult thing from a technical standpoint. Its also a book that “looks into the void” so it has that kind of toll to it as well.

J.R.: I think this was mentioned in the review. The book definitely demands something from you. It’s a powerful book, and very short but you don’t lose the essence of the philosophical. It reminds me of a philosophical allegory more than just a novel with philosophical themes.

p.c.m.: For sure.

J.R.: What made you decide to become an author, or decide to start writing fiction in the first place?

p.c.m.: Well, I’ve always loved fiction specifically. I enjoy philosophy to a small degree, but fiction has always sort of been my bag. I have read constantly throughout my life, but I never really would draw comics. Other than when I was a kid. I never really considered being an author, for whatever reason. I didn’t know any [authors]. You know what I mean. That’s kind of part of it too. Not knowing anyone won’t give you any ambitions, but once I discovered modernism in college and its experimental nature of the higher approach to it just really appealed to me. I’ve also said, fiction is philosophy in the context of a human being.

J.R.: Absolutely.

p.c.m.: That appeals not only to my heart but also it appeals to a certain pragmatism that I have, where I can understand abstracts and I have fun with them. However, when telling a story, the idea of it being more relevant, the idea of people living it is more appealing to me. I also think that more than anything is just the level of creativity that it allows as opposed to just thinking intensely. You know, to create is an act of God I think. It’s a gift that we’ve been given. Fiction allows me to put all of those sensibilities in one package. I love art in general, like art is really it, right? But words and stories have always appealed to me at a level that has no identifiable origin.

J.R.: That’s the essence like you said, “art being an act of God.” I mean, I consider writing art. Nonfiction even, to a point, philosophical and theological work I would absolutely call art. You know, the manual for a Chevy C30 is less so. However, in the actual construction of the engine, you could argue is an “act of God” or creative art as well.

p.c.m.: Engineering is art for sure.

J.R.: That’s probably as close as we can get to this mortal world to what Adam had in the garden. Being a co-creator of sorts, if you want to call it that. It is the distilled essence of truth displayed tangibly with a variety of applications. I mean, fiction is incredibly powerful. I mean, frankly, that’s why the Bible is still so relevant outside of a religious context. Not that it is fiction, but that it is a written narrative. You know you can take some philosophical works, that are… let me say it like this, Nietzsche specifically is very important, especially to the philosophical right-wing, but Nietzsche’s ideas as aphorisms are only so good as when they can be applied in a tangible sense. That’s why so many guys on the right-wing love the classics like the Iliad and the Odyssey. You see the heroic fleshed out in a tangible sense.

p.c.m.: Yeah. For sure.

J.R.: I think that’s why the Bible has remained so relevant outside of a Christian or Jewish audience. Because it puts to narrative ideas that are fundamentally philosophical and theological.

p.c.m.: For sure, whether it comes from our limitations of a mortal perspective or not, even talking about art, the acts of God—and logos is incredibly important to the West as a concept—even the acts of God, or being this sort of entity that exists unto himself, and pulling from the ether to create new things and name them. It’s exactly that. Rather than philosophy, it’s not really… like, Nietzsche is kind of a guidebook, and you know people will be up in arms about that statement. However, generally speaking, he is more or less saying “Here is a way to live.” Whereas the acts of God, especially the older texts become the mirror of human life and human action much more so than expounding on what to do with what we have been given.

J.R.: I think that’s why Jordan Peterson blew up so much with his Bible interpretation videos. It’s unfortunate that it took him to get to the philosophical bedrock of Scripture, I guess you could say. But, it’s important, I mean all of the classic works of literature are. I want to say it was Seneca the Roman Stoic Philosopher who said this, but something to the effect of “Don’t tell me your philosophy, but embody it.” I think that is what makes fiction so beautiful.

p.c.m.: Agreed.

Are there any authors or books that influenced you? And, are there any authors and books that influenced your writing? I ask those two separately because I realize you may prefer to write more like one author, but your overall sense of story and feeling come from another.

p.c.m.: Well, I have my favorites. So, starting off with when I began reading classic adventure-style novels, like Treasure Island and Journey To The Center Of The Earth. The Three Musketeers was the first book I ever really loved. Sherlock Holmes was another. However, that changed as I got more into the experimental stuff. Although I didn’t have exposure to a lot of classic works for various reasons. I kind of pull from everything. I have a similar appreciation for music, it’s very broad, rather than just drilling down into one spot. David Foster Wallace is massive, Allen Moore is still my favorite author of all time. I mean, he is the first author I’ve ever loved, and I just don’t think I’ll ever get past him.

As far as writing style, that’s a weird one man. Because of my origins, I’m not a classic author, I never studied the classics or went to school for it. I mean, I don’t have a sweater. My learning and approach to writing has always been with the wildness of an autodidact. Almost totally unstructured and learning as I go. So, I don’t know how to answer this exactly, because I learn very much through osmosis. I read very wildly, and my foundation is in the Bible, but I’ve never sat down and tried to mimic an author’s style. Even someone like Faulkner, I mean I’m Southern, and Give Up The Ghost is a definitively Southern book, but I don’t know if I would consider myself a Southern writer like Faulkner, because this is the first Southern story I’ve ever written.

J.R.: I can understand that sentiment.

p.c.m.: So, talking about the influences on my prose I can say this. Whether it be more of the Southern Tradition, you can see it in Faulkner or even McCarthy, but I have a Bloomian love of aesthetics when it comes to prose. I guess that’s the closest thing I can give to a real answer. So, any author that has that kind of emphasis on prose has more of an influence on me and I appreciate that more than the prose of someone like Hemmingway. Although I do like Hemmingway, I would never write like him.

J.R.: He’s too simple. (chuckles)

p.c.m.: Yeah. Hard in it’s its own way, but I don’t want to do that to words. He does what he does for the story, I am interested in the words.

J.R.: From reading your book, I can see that. It’s apparent that there are multiple levels of depth with your influences. I can see that manifest in the juxtaposition between the narrative of the visceral tangible murder mystery and these absolutely intense vivid visions or hallucinations of Atticus and his father. If you went and picked up a “normal” book off the shelf at a bookstore, you would typically get one or the other, but you have done an excellent job of tying those seemingly conflicting realities together.

p.c.m.: Yeah, man. Thank you. Binaries and dualities are something that I’m kind of obsessed with, and struggle with.

J.R.: I can tell.

(Both Laugh)

p.c.m.: Yeah, so, it’s the same as I’ve said in a few other interviews, I don’t really think that we are gonna find a lot in capital-R-realism anymore. Whether it’s sort of the awakening of the ancient perspective I’ve talked about in my essay Cthulhu Turns Right or, whether it’s just acknowledging that we live in two realities now with the internet.

J.R.: Even without the internet, if you think about two realities as a metaphysical concept, and maybe this is because I grew up in a very religious household that was very big on symbolism. You know not Blakean, in that sense, but it was very visceral. Even when I read something that tries to be materialist, I can always see past it. Maybe I am seeing things that aren’t really there, but I feel like, and maybe this is Jung’s influence on me, but I can see below it. If that makes sense.

p.c.m.: That’s the thing though man, that’s empowering.

J.R.: It’s terrifying.

p.c.m.: That’s right-wing postmodernism. You are given agency through your interpretation, and that’s power. Do you know what I mean? That’s being re-moralized. I think that’s a huge thing.

J.R.: Thankfully, I didn’t have to work on that too hard with your book.

p.c.m.: I’m not subtle. (chuckles)

J.R.: I love it though. Because I am a deep thinker, and there are times when I’ll get hung up on an event, whether it is a book, film, or anything where I can get lost in a spiral where that’s all I am thinking about for weeks. During that time, I keep trying to deconstruct and reconstruct what was actually being said, and I have to reminding myself that the author I am reading is probably not that deep. However, at the same time, that doesn’t mean that what I am wrestling with is not the reality of what they have written. They may not be aware of what it is that they are tapping into. That’s terrifying too, but anyway.

p.c.m.: Anyway.

(Both laugh)

J.R.: How do you balance, or how do you manage to balance writing with your other responsibilities?

p.c.m.: That’s a lot less sleep.

(Both laugh)

p.c.m.: That’s the only way you can do it, man.

J.R.: I would argue that being sleep-deprived helps the creative process because you get to that place where you are almost hallucinating, and you can really get to the core of the thing.

p.c.m.: I will say, Give Up The Ghost was completely written at night.

J.R.: You know what, I think I only read it at night. I think I might have read the first two chapters during the day, but everything else I read in the dark. That probably made it more real for me.

p.c.m.: That’s cool to think about.

J.R.: In the review, I tried to tell everyone how I think it’s best read, and I think I said that it should be read in 1-4 sittings. No more than four, because I think that there are certain breaks in the story that make sense to stop at for the night, for example, the first page of chapter 7, and let me look through it here to see where I have it marked, I have the book sitting in front of me.

p.c.m.: That’s the real part, about finishing a book and seeing people buy it. Knowing it’s on bookshelves.

J.R.: Certainly. Give Up The Ghost is sitting next to Faulkner on my shelf.

p.c.m.: That’s cool, man.

J.R.: Certainly, brother. How did you approach the publishing process?

p.c.m.: Well, I knew, especially since it was my first long-form, that I was going to self-publish. To be honest with you, I really just wanted complete control over it. Especially with it being my first novel. It’s a good feeling, man. For example, I designed the cover, I did the promo videos, and the approach was really to have complete control, but to also have fun. I didn’t want to lose control with traditional publishing.

J.R.: For sure, books edited by major publishers can become a gross distortion of the original work.

p.c.m.: The cover too, I am really proud of it.

J.R.: It is a beautiful book. I love the green spine.

p.c.m.: I do love the look of that spine on a bookshelf.

J.R.: It’s a good book, obviously were are here to discuss its contents, but just the physical book itself. It looks great. A simple but striking cover, and the margins are pretty good, I like the more traditional serif font that you included.

p.c.m.: Yeah, that font is “Georgia.” I didn’t think there was anything else that I could use honestly. (chuckles)

J.R.: I can’t argue with that. What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are working on their first book?

p.c.m.: It’s gonna take longer than you think it will and you should be alright with that. The big thing is to just put your butt in the chair, that’s really what it takes. With a short story or a poem, you can be overtaken by creativity and inspiration, but with a book, you really just have to put in the work, there is no way around that. The other thing would be to get people that you trust and respect to read it, especially before you get too deep into it. I have a couple of readers that I’ve always had, and I had sent them the book when I was about 20 pages in. Kind of like, before I go and add a hundred more, do y’all agree that there is something here? Fortunately they did this case.

Writing is an interesting thing. especially nowadays if you’re writing for an audience that is online, which we basically all are. Then the sort of classic solipsism doesn’t apply as much. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that there is a ready made community made for people and I think people should use it, whether it’s for feedback, challenge each other, or just to learn.

I also think people should do whatever they can to remove themselves from the book regarding ego. I personally am not one that is impressed by “acrobatics,” which has been driven since the 1960’s with postmodernism. I get the idea that you gain creative freedom, right. You should revel in the fact that you can do anything with art, but a lot of writers start doing the “acrobatics” for status, and it’s incredibly fleeting. That’s something that I see a lot now. People either aren’t willing to step away, from a tradition that they consider themselves ensconced in, or they are simply trying to show off, and when you show up like that you clap once, and when you try to emulate an older tradition, you kind of melt into it. What the Novel as a medium needs to remain relevant is to show new perspectives on the world and on life.

J.R.: Here is a follow up, Did you write yourself into the story? If you did, do you think it was a good or bad thing? If I were to ask another question on top of that, how do you prevent yourself from doing that, and should you prevent yourself from doing that?

p.c.m.: Most authors, when they write themselves into a story, are going to do a singular character. Maybe it’s my “retardation,” but for me writing is a creatively liberating exercise, the best way I can put it is, if I am in there, my voice and my assertions are there, but I think that I am probably spread throughout all of the characters. I tend to write from a conviction, from each place that I inhabit or each perspective that I present. To be honest I cant really define myself through any of them.

J.R.: That’s an interesting perspective. Let me think about that for a little while. From reading it, it’s almost like you are at war with yourself on the pages, but that makes for great conflict because you know your weaknesses better than anyone else, I suppose. It makes for great reading.

Do you have a favorite part or scene of the book?

p.c.m.: All of my favorite parts are the ones I consider the most beautiful. I am very fond of the pig scene. Just because I was in a flow state on that one, and I had no idea it was coming. I think the pig scene is what cements the whole book. It’s almost like, okay, now I know what I am getting myself into.

J.R: The pig scene was like a punch in the gut, but in the best way. It caught me off guard, and I think I said this in the interview but it didn’t feel abrupt in a bad way. It was more like, oh, we’re here now. I think I said something like, you can’t tell if it’s psychosis, supernatural, drug induced, or what. It was very interesting. Also the last vision that AR sees of the angle and the woman getting stoned. I need to re-read it because I don’t feel like I caught all of the details.

p.c.m.: That scene at the end with the tome is kind of a shift, to where everything in that, except for her revelation takes place outside of nature, and it’s someone else encountering the spirit-world and believing in it. She has the same conviction as Cillian does, by the end AR will get there too. That was a pretty big shift. I don’t know if I put it in the correct spot. Another thing, just because it is a beautiful memory for me, was when I took my kids to a park and that was when I wrote my favorite prose, a little paragraph which is the first date AR and Marlin have. Specifically when it talks about a summer romance.

Most of the book was written at night when I was deep in my thoughts. That particular scene was written as I sat there and watched my kids play. That was kind of special. When I finished writing it, I thought to myself, wow, where did that come from. It might be the most beautiful part of the book beside the baseball scene.

J.R: Yea, the baseball scene is beautiful, and I don’t even watch baseball.

(Both laugh)

p.c.m.: But now I do.

(Both laugh)

J.R.: How do you feel now that your first book is out there?

p.c.m.: Pretty good, man. Pretty good. Before I became p.c.m. christ, I used to write under a different name, but there was a years long hiatus between where I didn’t write. So, this book, as far as having finished a book is a long time coming for me.

It’s strange to release even though it’s right at the end of novella and beginning of novel length wise. It’s a little strange to release a book in a time where nobody really reads because they have goldfish brain.

J.R.: I’ll tell you what. No goldfish brain here, I won’t be forgetting this. It really did a number on me.

p.c.m.: Well you made it through. (chuckles)

That’s the one thing I’ll say, I think that if people will read it, then I don’t think they will forget it. At least it will speak to them or they will enjoy the experience or reading it. It’s just getting them to read it.

J.R.: The moment for me that really made me say, okay, I have to finish this, is the first vision that Cillian AR’s father has. It wasn’t even the vision so much as the response to it. I don’t quite remember how exactly the scene played out, but he vomited…

p.c.m.: Oh, when he was drunk and he puked over the porch railing.

J.R.: Yes! It was so vivid in my head. That’s when I said to myself, I need to see where this is going. That and the pig scene of course. (chuckles)

What do you hope readers will connect with most in your story?

p.c.m.: That’s a hard one. Like we talked about earlier, putting the two together, disparate aspects in approaches to writing. What I attempted was to make a story that someone could really enjoy in regards to the prose as a novel and the story itself without being overly concerned with the meta. The meta is there, but my thing is when you think and when you feel you know you’re alive. Those are the greatest gifts. So, my approach to the whole thing was on one level to give people access to feeling and to caring and being invested into something, and also if they would like something to think deeply about, that is available there too.

J.R.: Here’s another one, did you have any writers block, while working on Give Up The Ghost.

p.c.m.: I suppose so. I try not to believe in writers block, in the sense of, I just can’t think of what to write. I’ve found two things while writing this book, the cure for so-called writers block for me was just always to switch mediums. By that I mean what I write on, so, I usually type just to keep up with the speed of thought, but any time I was stuck on a scene and didn’t know what to do, I would just switch to writing by hand. This is something that I picked in writing long form, and that seemed to fix my writers block every time.

J.R.: I’ll have to try that, next time I am stuck on a project.

p.c.m.: It worked for me, man. The other part of it, and I don’t know if it was the relationship I had with the world. I mean, this was a consuming thing for me, even though I wasn’t writing every single day. For some reason or another, I would tend to find things as I kept reading, a lot of people won’t read while they are writing, at least other fiction, but as I would read, and I would find things that, from the perspective of the book would inspire me, and maybe this shows how Give Up The Ghost was all encompassing. When I would read things, there was an approach from when I was writing the book, because at that time I had the ideas and knew what I wanted to do with it, but I would find something that was relevant to give further inspiration to what I was writing.

J.R.: That’s great, brother.

You’re a Georgia boy, ain’t ya?

p.c.m.: Yes, sir. I don’t live there anymore though.

J.R.: Are you still in the South?

p.c.m.: Yea, but a litter further north than I would like. I do miss it. As I was writing, I realized pretty late into the book, that it was a love letter to Georgia, and to the South.

J.R.: I may have said this before, but as I was reading, I felt like I had been there and met these people before in some way or another. Which I think is a really good thing. I think it’s hard to do that in a story, to make your characters seem real in that sense. I never felt like you were straining to create a personalities within the book.

Aright, just a few more questions.

What emotions did you experience as you were writing, and as you finished your book?

p.c.m.: During the writing it was a lot of oscillating between despair and elation.

(Both laugh)

It was a heavy mental process. I am hesitant to say that kind of stuff, because people romanticize their own experience. Like I am an artist and this is born out of my tortured soul, or something like that. It’s basic in that it is just about love, life, and death. Love and death are just the the involvement of other peoples lives. So, there was a lot of that.

When I finished the first draft, which was actually very different, like 10,000 words shorter, but that was a really crazy thing, because I did it in a flurry…

J.R.: Did you do your own editing?

p.c.m.: Yes. I had readers, but I didn’t hire an editor or anything. Some of my readers were more considerate of the the grammar, some were more considerate of their response as a reader. I probably should have hired an editor though.

J.R.: I think I said in my review that I thought there were a few points that may have been typos, but I don’t know for sure.

p.c.m.: There were a couple. That’s how you know it is a first edition.

J.R.: I can’t help but be a little pissed that my copy wasn’t signed, but that fine. (chuckles)

p.c.m.: I would if I could, man. You know, I had an idea with like the little ghost dude on the front cover. If I wasn’t anonymous I really wanted to send them out myself with stickers of the ghost dude, or just putting them around the city, that would be pretty sweet.

J.R.: Well, if you ever do, tell me. I’ll get my copy signed.

(Both laugh)

I want my jacked up, dog-eared copy too. I don’t want a signature on something new and pretty. I want the copy that kept me up at night.

p.c.m.: I got you, brother. (chuckles)

J.R.: Well, I am looking forward to the next novel, brother. That’s all the questions I had for you. Do you have any questions for me?

p.c.m.: I don’t think so. Just a lot of thanks, for the interview, the book review, the support, and interest.

J.R.: Of course, brother. Thank you so much for doing this with me, and reach out whenever you want. I’m always happy to talk to a friend.

p.c.m.: Of course.

If you enjoyed this interview, and are interested in p.c.m. christ’s work, you can find his Substack here: , and his twitter here: @plzcallmechrist.

Behind the strange cover art and mysterious pseudonym, I found a unique experience that is far greater than anything any contemporary author I have read has been able to deliver. You may be thinking that I am puffing up the book or overstating its merits to make this review more interesting, but I can assure you I am not. Give Up The Ghost is a psychedelic journey through hell and Southern Appalachia that leaves your innocence sullied and your perception of reality shattered.

Plot

The book follows the exploits of a young man named Atticus Remington Scutt as he wanders the South in search of his cousin’s murderer. All the while dealing with the demons that plague him and his family. In the interest of preserving the power of the narrative and not spoiling the story as it is written. I will stop my summary of the plot here.

Themes

Thematically, this book is a murder mystery with a strong touch of the wyrd. However, merely saying that would be an insufficient explanation at best and a disingenuous one at worst. What I came to realize in reading Give Up The Ghost, is that at its core it is equal parts manifesto and narrative. The underlying philosophy (and at times theology) is that of the heretical author, poet, and painter William Blake. Especially the notion that suffering is an integral part of a fully complete being. However, at times I found the book diverging from Blake, especially in its conception of evil as a reality and not just an experience necessary for development. Whether that was the intention of the author or not, I was unable to discern.

While Blake’s influence is very strong in the book, it seldom if ever felt preachy. As I finished the first chapter I realized that whether or not Blake’s insights into the metaphysical were true or not, in the world of AR Scutt they were more than just truth, but the bedrock of all perceivable and imperceivable reality. p.c.m. christ’s ability to manifest the world of Give Up The Ghost at times felt less like fiction and more like some kind of divination.

p.c.m. christ’s ability to manifest the world of Give Up The Ghost at times felt less like fiction and more like some kind of divination.

Upon reflection, there was no other way to write the narrative. The story demands this interaction with the fringes of reality and perception. It can’t exist without it. In a very real way, it is the story of a man’s descent into madness, while simultaneously being a story of that same man’s ascent to transcendence. A dirty and painful transcendence, but transcendence nonetheless.

Style

As far as style is concerned, the book does a number of experimental things. The most obvious is the use of red ink to denote the words of William Blake, regardless of which character is speaking them. While I am aware that this practice could be off-putting to my fellow Christians, it is my impression that it was done not as a slight against Christ, but rather to put emphasis on Blake’s words. In addition to this, there are micro-narratives that present themselves as experiences with hyper-reality or the supernatural at various points, these experiences at first caught me off guard, as they seemed to appear out of nowhere. I initially thought it was a bad practice from an inexperienced writer, but then I realized that the sudden slip into the realms of chaos was intentional. That revelation came early on as I realized that these jarring experiences were being perceived by the reader at the same time as the protagonist and in the same way. Not knowing if what you see before you is a supernatural vision, a bout of psychosis, or a tangible reality. Seemingly Incoherent in the moment, yet totally coherent with the story and, most impressively, coherent technically as good writing.

In a more technical sense, the book has respectable prose. I often enjoyed the conversations and thoughts of the characters. The plot is structured well, and even though there is some foreshadowing, it never was enough to definitively reveal the conclusion of the story. The characters are well-developed and lively. I feel as though they have been written by someone who has lived the life associated with his subjects. Frankly, I consider this much of a feat for a novella that is only 170 pages in length. A pitfall I often see writers from the city fall prey to, is struggling to write a convincing farmer, likewise, I often find people from the heartland find it difficult to write a convincing metropolitan. p.c.m. christ didn’t fall into any of these traps so far as I could tell. That is to say, he knows what he is writing because he has lived it. If not then he has me fooled.

There were a handful of potential typos that I noticed, but being that there are strange experiences in the book, I wasn’t sure if they were placed intentionally or not. I read the book in two sittings. So, if I overlooked or mistook something it was only because the story was so captivating that my focus was elsewhere (this is the mark of a great narrative). Generally, the pacing of the book was excellent. I think you should read it in four sittings at the most, and one at the least. This story isn’t a stifling slog, it is a chaotic and brutal dream. A final thought on pace, the last chapters were great, but I felt like the climax and conclusion of the story came too fast. That isn’t to say that it was bad, I believe he did a great job of tying things together, but I found myself wanting more. Another five to ten pages would have been enough to flesh everything out in a manner that still maintained the brevity of a novella without sacrificing the fullness of the story.

Final Thoughts

A wonderful thing about the book is his insights and their delivery, there were many times I had to physically put the book down because a single line grabbed me so thoroughly. I felt as though this Southern Gothic was possessed by the disembodied spirit of Fredrick Nietzsche doing “philosophy with a sledgehammer” (as Jordan Peterson once said of Nietzsche). It was the words of the author and not the red letters of Blake that had most affected me. For all of its faults mentioned and forgotten, I have never read a better debut from a modern author. It would seem that p.c.m. christ was able to revive a breed of tormented genius that is seldom seen in this day and age.

Finally, the most impressive thing about the book was its ability to be subversive while simultaneously being life-affirming. Subversive material is almost always heavy-handed parody and the quality of the work suffers for it. When subversive work isn’t an explicit parody, it is usually almost every single time gauche and vulgar. He was able to critique religious symbolism, Blakean philosophy, and modern Southern culture without demeaning or degrading them. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in his celebration of these things, they are critiqued (a critique being an appraisal of something) from a place of endearment and not a place of loathing, like most books by so-called “bitter Southerners.”

If you are interested in psychological thrillers, murder mysteries, Blakean philosophy, or good writing, I would highly recommend this book. You can find it for sale here. If you want to read any of his other work published online, you can find his Substack here. Finally, if you would like to follow him on Twitter/X you can find his account here.

I would like to make a disclaimer about the book, it deals with very mature topics, is explicitly violent, and can be heretical. Reader discretion is advised.

I would also like to make a disclaimer about the review, if you read this book and you find the experience very different from what I described, I apologize. That is not the fault of the book’s author, but of its reviewer. I wanted to give a concise account of a great book, I hope I have delivered that. However, I know your fault won’t be with the efforts of the author, but rather my understanding of what he intended. For that, I apologize in advance. If you read it, love it, and think my review hits the mark. You’re welcome.

Thank you so much for reading this review. If anyone who reads the book would like to comment about their thoughts below, I would encourage you to do so. Have a great week everyone. Deo Vindice. — J.R.