Ridges of the Clouds

Ridges of the Clouds is a gripping account of how war changes everything. The Civil War affected more than those who fought on the grisly battlefields. When Remington Clark and a slave, Fatback, are ordered by Zif Baron, the controlling overlord of all of Chestnut Valley, to make a delivery of weapons to some Southern sympathizers in the North, their injection into enemy territory nearly costs them their lives. When they accidentally become entangled in the troop movements and the subsequent battle at Antietam, Fatback finds he cannot begin to understand the carnage: the needs of the moaning and dying soldiers exceed his compassion. He internalizes the brutal battlefield scenes but nightmares about 'da dead boys' continue to affect him until a surprising turn of events at the end of the book. Remington's love for Anna Meerstrom and the memory of what they shared when they were alone is vivid in his mind. When he returns, he finds that she has moved into the Zif Baron mansion. Bitter, he enjoins a local regiment and is nearly fatally injured at the Battle of Fredericksburg. After an extended stay in the hospital at Richmond, Remington falls in love with his nurse Millicent McFarland. Their stormy affair ends when she refuses to leave the other injured soldiers. When he is released, he finds nearly everything in the Valley has been destroyed by renegades. Anna Meerstrom appears on the scene again using her inherited wealth and some clever tactics to keep Remington subdued and available for her every desire. Xavier Somerfield has written a loving account of a slave by the name of Fatback. You will not soon forget the man and you will laugh and cry on this journey appropriately titled, Ridges of the Clouds.