I'm not the one who's so far away, when I feel the snake bite enter my veins.

I started a new book the other night. This time I selected The Hornet's Nest by Jimmy Carter. This book is the first attempt at fiction by the former president. It's about the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War. The funny thing is that I do not recall a Southern theater of that war. Is this the reason that this book is fiction? Apparrently not.

So far, I have found that the characters are methodical in their actions. The author does not much emphasis in their thoughts or feelings. I am presently reading Chapter Five and since the colonists residing in North Carolina are getting pretty disturbed with the Stamp Act, perhaps a few boils will begin to fester soon.

I am impressed by Carter's period integrity in this read. His placing of of fictional characters in actual historical situations required extensive thought during the plot devolopment. I find that the details of of early American machinery, the construction of hand-made goods and agriculture are fascinating. A little known fact about is the Revolutionary Way is that the British used smallpox as an early form of biological warfare. Pretty dern sneaky, ehh?

The author's success as a micromanager shows in the easily readable 54 chapters with each coming to a clean finish. Jimmy Carter also has a knack for challenging one's current vocabulary by throwing in a more than occasional word from his elaborate lexicon. However, no matter how interesting the details, I still find myself hankering for a saga with conflict. I hope it starts in Chapter Six.