Ghost Riders is part of the Ballad Series by Sharyn McCrumb and focuses on a group of ghost riders from the American Civil War hiding in the Appalachian mountains. Rattler is an old Cherokee who has befriended the local reenactors and frequently visits their camps when they set up so he happens to be visiting when a young ghost soldier wanders through one evening. He also happens to be familiar with the group of ghost riders having seen them when he was younger. However, it also travels back to the actual war itself and focuses on two people. Zebulon Vance was a young poor country lad though he had a distinguished family line and he was ambitious. Following his ambition he studied law before moving into politics and it was because of his role in politics that he ended up serving briefly in the Confederate Army before being Governor. It was during his time in the army that he crossed paths with Malinda Blalock. Malinda was a young woman who was deeply in love with and devoted to her husband Keith and it was mutual. So much so that she decided to disguise herself as Keith’s brother Sam and follow him into the Confederate Army where they were both soon discharged.
I will be the first to admit that I probably only read this book because it was recommended to me but I will also admit that it ended up being a really enjoyable read. It was this weird mix of contemporary fiction and historical fiction that centered primarily around how this tiny region of Appalachia endured the Civil War and its aftermath and how events like that can haunt the people and the land long after the event itself. The thing that really caught my attention is how it deftly weaves back and forth between the two time periods in order to tell the full story. There were a few times where I was mildly confused due to the switching of narrators that also accompanied this though the time switching didn’t confuse me as much interestingly enough. I did feel like it was authentic, at least as much as any book can be, to the time period of the Civil War especially. It did a great job of portraying the confusion and doubts and just the general chaos that was undoubtedly present in the border states such as where the book takes place. I found myself more interested though by how it focused only on how the war affected this specific region and not the whole of the war. It allowed for a lot more detail about certain things even as it glossed over others. Perhaps the best part was how it smoothly blended our world with the hints of the supernatural in the form of the ghosts. I was rather impressed by that and am happy giving this book four out of five stars.
As I already mentioned this book is an interesting mix of contemporary fiction and historical fiction with hints of the supernatural sprinkled throughout. If you happen to be a fan of those genres then you really should consider trying this one. I also expect it to hold great appeal for readers who like books based in Appalachia or books about the American Civil War. There is some mild violence and other graphic content along with some mild adult references so I would caution younger readers to be careful but I would still say that this could potentially be read by readers as young as about fifteen or sixteen just fine. If it sounds interesting go ahead and try it and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.