This Hallowed Ground

How much can war steal from one man?

Georgia, 1861. As the tides of war sweep south, Aidan MacAlister is drawn north like water up a reed by the inexorable pull to defend his land. After tragedy strikes at Gettysburg, Aidan spirals into unfamiliar, dark places of unbridled fury, earning him the nickname, the Fourth Horseman.

A hero to his fellow soldiers, Aidan's self-loathing consumes him, and every lesson his family taught him crumbles to dust beneath its weight. Aidan returns to the farm to find it ravaged by Yankee patrols. War has taken all-perhaps even his soul.

Aidan's one chance at redemption sends him West to fight the Native people who, like him, are defending their land. His sympathies lie with the people. His lieutenant demands he kill them all. But Aidan's encounter with the Lakota begins his transformational passage to a different life.

When love offers Aidan renewed hope, will his past thunder across the plains and steal everything from him again?

Dances with Wolves meets the story of Job in this gripping historical epic of tragedy, loss, and redemption.

Book Awards

BookFest Book Awards Gold Medal, Historical Fiction - Western.

Christian Indie Awards Silver Medal, Historical Fiction.

Selah Awards Finalist, Historical Fiction.

Historical Fiction Company Book of the Year Finalist.

Review from the Historical Fiction Company

As a reader and reviewer, I always highlight the most captivating and moving passages throughout a novel, and when the pages and pages of yellow glows in an endless stream, I know I've found something extraordinary. This Hallowed Ground is one of those remarkable and rare treasures...a stunning and epic page-turner...an incredible story of love, grief, extreme trauma of seeing loved ones die, and soul-stirring redemption. If this book doesn't move you to tears, I'm not sure what will, for Lane reached down into her soul and pulled out the words and feelings of a soldier on the battlefield, of the crushing agony of post-traumatic depression, plus the breathtaking details of not only the horrors of the battlefield but the unbelievable will that the human body has to keep living.

Every single page of this book will leave you enraptured with plenty of moments of pause to consider not only how Lane wove such beautiful passages, but it also causes you to reflect on your own life. This is what great historical fiction with a clear literary halo does for the reader... and when that happens, a book stays with you for days, weeks, perhaps forever after.

All the elements of fine fiction are present, with incredibly fleshed out characters with their Southern drawls and Scottish brogues, wrapped in a compelling storyline. Books like this one are a joy to read... but you must be prepared for tears. Plus, you will be simply astounded at the amount of research Lane put into the book, and I found myself shaking my head at moments and trying to figure out how in the world she described some of the scenes (especially the battle scenes) with such clarity.

At one point, the author refers to the biblical story of Job, and that is exactly what Lane has done. She has taken the question of faith, of hope, of love, of despair, and fixed it firmly in the tumultuous savagery of the war between the States.

This Hallowed Ground by Donna E. Lane receives five stars and the "Highly Recommended" award from The Historical Fiction Company.