Title: Without Redemption: Slavery and that Elusive American Promise of a More Perfect Union
Author: C.D. Harper
Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
ISBN: 978-1647537890
Pages: 148
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: Philip Zozzaro
Hollywood Book Reviews
A man is on the run as the clock counts down on the scourge of slavery. The war between the States has turned in favor of the Union, emancipation has been proclaimed, yet the South clings to their lost cause. Joseph, a man who has escaped the clutches of slavery, is on the run, haunted by unfamiliar sounds, possibly ghosts from his not so distant past. He sees slaves on the run, a quick glance and then they disappear. Slave catchers are hot on their trail, until they reach the forest, and one by one a force befalls them. And so, begins Without Redemption.
The rumblings of slavery’s near extinction reaches the ears of Christopher. He has been living on a plantation nearly all his life. He needs to learn a trade, or so says Mrs. Princeton, his master’s wife. Christopher has lived a unique existence, kept close by the master and mistress of the plantation, but treated the same as the help when he goes into town with Mr. Princeton. Mrs. Princeton dotes on Christopher, but the relationship is twisted, as she gives affection that exceeds a maternal bent. As the death knell for slavery nears it last toll, the Princetons ponder their fate. Will their slaves remain or just leave altogether? Will they rebel and exact revenge for their treatment? What will Christopher’s future hold?
Walter is a liberated slave or freedman who still lives close to his previous home. He clings to thoughts of plantation life, regaling others with stories of the past with a certain pride. He was taken from his mother early in life and sold to a large plantation. The only English word he is acquainted with is a hateful slur. His new master attempts to break him in any conceivable way, but Walter is resolute in his defiance. The power of Walter’s story lay in his rebellion and his romance with Annie, who he meets on the plantation. Annie is Walter’s escape from the dreary routine of back breaking labor. They soon have a daughter, but Annie is soon gone and Walter doesn’t acknowledge his paternity.
The stories contained in Without Redemption offer a small glimpse at the harrowing experience of Slavery in the mid-1860’s. The “Peculiar Institution” is in its death throes, but the intolerance that enabled its growth wasn’t disappearing. Each story is unique in its depiction of horror, history and life as a bleak page of history is about to be turned. Author C.D. Harper’s book is well composed and thought inspiring. A fine historical fiction narrative from start to finish.