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[Published by Little, Brown and Company; 1966]

This is a novel about the OverMountain men and their involvement in the Southern Campaign. I disliked it quite intensely. There isn't even one major character whose fate interested me; several of them I would have been quite happy to shoot myself. After a hundred pages or so I gave up and just skipped ahead to read the Tarleton scenes.

Ban makes a few scattered appearances through the second half, mostly showing up out of nowhere to give Mason's heroes a tough time at places like Moncks Corner and Lenud's Ferry. He's in full "Bloody Ban" colors, but at least he has a bit of personality. I get the impression that Mason believed all of Banastre's bad press but liked the kid anyway. At one point, for instance, a main character comments, "Nevertheless, Light-Horse Harry swears Tarleton's the best cavalry leader on either side." ... "Wish to God we'd Tarleton fighting against the Crown. He's a remarkable man, no matter what you think of him."

The most amusing element of Mason's interpretation is that his Tarleton speaks like a stereotyped British colonel from some old, Hollywood-produced, British-in-India movie. He never actually says "Pip, pip, cheerio, old chap" but only, I imagine, because Mason couldn't figure out how to fit it into conversations which consist mainly of orders to slaughter people. (Writing natural-sounding dialogue is not Mason's strong suit at the best of times.)

Mason can be a decent writer, so I expect I disliked the book for its topic more than for flaws in its storytelling. It seems well researched, if ridiculously biased. It reads more like a frontier, "Indian fighter" novel than a RevWar novel, and so should appeal to fans of that genre.