A Cruel Thing A Tale of American Spirits

A Cruel Thing: A Tale Of American Spirits is a 2011 war novel by American author C.S. Miller. Beginning during one of the earliest battles of the American Civil War in the eastern panhandle of Virginia, the complex and objective story follows the lives of multiple characters on both sides of the war as they serve, fight, and are changed in drastic ways by the consequences of this momentous conflict. The military characters personalities and perspectives are twisted by the constant horrors of combat: some rise to the occasion and are forged into a resilient temper of character, while countless others are shattered both emotionally and physically with tragic consequences. The story also closely examines the dire effects of the war on the Southern civilian population who were forced to survive the privations, carnage, and savage brutality with the majority of battles fought in their own back yards and farms fields. Several of the civilian characters are former slaves who struggle internally with their crisis of identity and the frightening yet all compelling desire for freedom. The novel is dedicated to this incredible generation of Americans who bravely fought, struggled, and all too often died for their country and cause.