Walking to Hell

The Story of a Confederate Soldier, Book 1 (The Story of a Confederate Soldier & Western Frontiersman)

By: Knud Hermansen

Narrated by: Jim Patton

Walking to Hell is the story of Ezekial McNair, a description of his Tom Sawyer-like upbringing and his life in the Confederate infantry, fighting in a war he didn’t understand, for a cause he didn’t know, but confident it was his path to heroism and glory. He did become a hero, but only by accident, in a battle that would haunt him his entire life.

Zeke’s story is one of humor, poignancy, and tragedy. It describes the every-day life of a Confederate infantryman and provokes contemplation on how attitudes have changed and not changed since the 1860s.

©2014 Knud E Hermansen (P)2021 James B Patton

Immersive story with professional performance

For me, narrators can make or break a story, and in this case, the narrator brings this journey to life. It was well-paced, atmospheric, and easy on the ears. Jim is a talented actor and capture's Ezekial's POV perfectly. I enjoyed the structure of this story--it allowed for great insights and reflections on both history and personal character. Highly recommend for history (and audiobook) buffs alike.

Brothers in arms

Walking to Hell is the first book in The Story of a Confederate Soldier and Western Frontiersman series of historical fiction novels set during the Civil War, written a few years ago by retired US Army major, Knud Hermansen.

At the beginning of the story we make the acquaintance of Ezekial McNair and his great great granddaughter, Sarah. Zeke is very old and he recalls, at Sarah‘s request, the events that took place when he fought in the War for Independence. You see, in the 1960s, Zeke was a very young man, a fresh Confederate infantryman and although he didn’t know what he was getting into, such as the real meaning of war and what ideals they were fighting for, he tried to be a model soldier to the best of his abilities.

This is just the first chapter of a larger adventure and I can say that I liked it a lot. Written with humor, but at the same time touching on truly dramatic events, Zeeke’s tale is entertaining and at times even thought-provoking.

New audiobook narrator Jim Patton delivers a balanced performance for Walking to Hell – The Story of a Confederate Soldier. He reads in a pleasant voice, he acts all the dialogues and action scenes with enthusiasm and talent, while at the same time bringing all the characters to life with suitable voices and accents.

This is the first time that I listened to Mr. Patton and I must say that I am impressed with his narration. I especially loved the seamless way with witch he can switch between the older and the younger protagonists. Also, he has a clear talent for storytelling, infusing the events with emotion at every step. I hope to see more and more audiobooks narrated by Jim Patton released in the future.

If you like well-written stories set during the Civil War, you will surely love this four hours long audiobook beautifully narrated by Jim Patton.
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