Oh brother.

Tim O'Brien and Dirk Powell already put out an excellent CD a couple of years ago called "Songs from the Mountain."

I say "oh brother" because frankly, I thought the book SUCKED. Now, I know, it was a NY Times Bestseller and the critics just loved it, and all that, but I really, really didn't like it. The whole time I was reading it, I felt like I was up on a mountaintop with low-power binoculars watching the action. The story didn't grab me and suck me into it, and I really didn't care for Frazier's writing style. I found it empty and gratuitous. He was writing for a 20th century market that expects things like swearing and naked breasts.

To add insult to injury, I see they're filming it in Romania. What, they couldn't get North Carolina? Last of the Mohicans was filmed in North Carolina. I have a hard time believing there was nowhere in the US for them to make this movie.

If you want to read a really good Civil War novel, try The Black Flower by Howard Bahr instead - much more deserving of a motion picture. And if you don't have the aforementioned CD - Get it!

Now, that being said, I'll probably go to the movie, and love it. Or not......... ;-)