Soldier of the Horse - Softcover

Robert W. Mackay

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1926741242 ISBN 13: 9781926741246

Publisher: TouchWood Editions, 2011

Synopsis

Winner of the Gold Medal for Military/Wartime Fiction at the 2012 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards

Winnipeg, 1914. Tom Macrae is working on his law degree and enjoying the company of his sweetheart, Ellen. When the call to arms comes, both Tom and Ellen are torn from their secure, settled lives in the prairie city. Tom finds himself hunched in the trenches, amid the mud and horror of the Great War, while Ellen faces an uncertain future in Toms absence.

His prospects bleak, Tom serves with the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, in the thick of the stalemated struggles on the Western Front. In addition to the soldiers comradeship, Tom discovers the strong bonds of trust between the soldiers and their horses. With his own horse as his closest companion, he dodges a hurricane of shells, machine guns and swords, and in the clamour, faces his finest hour.

Inspired by his own fathers story and letters about fighting in Picardy, France, Robert W. Mackay has written a novel that brings to life the great military history and traditions of the Canadian Cavalry.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert W. Mackay is the award-winning author of Soldier of the Horse, a historical novel set during the First World War, which won the Gold Medal for Military/Wartime Fiction at the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards. His interest in military history is deep in his roots. His father was in the Canadian Cavalry in the First World War, and his brother was a career naval officer. Robert is a former naval officer, submariner, teacher, and lawyer. He has lived above and below water on the west and east coasts of Canada, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the North and Mediterranean Seas. He lives in Surrey, BC. Terror on the Alert is his second novel.

Review:

[This] novel took me into the depth of those terrible battles and into the hearts of Sergeant Tom Macrae and the men and women of his day. Soldier of the Horse should be read in every Canadian History classroom. --Ben Nuttall-Smith, Member, B.C. Retired Teachers' Association.

-- (04/15/2011)

A galloping, gripping adventure, rooted in the tragedy and triumph of the Canadian cavalry in World War One. Robert Mackay has crafted a genuine page-turner that haunts and lingers in the mind. I loved it. --Ian Weir, author of Daniel O'Thunder.

-- (04/15/2011)

I enjoyed [Soldier of the Horse] a great deal. I found it credible, interesting, well-researched and exciting. It's a good read and a good story! --Keith Maxwell, Retired Air Force Colonel, Former Infantryman

-- (04/15/2011)

[A] graceful first novel...Mackay uses his novel not only to commemorate this father's service, but to delve into the lives of Canadian soldiers in a war that marked the coming of age of the nation of Canada. --Len Shurtleff, past President of WFA-USA and Honorary Vice President of WFA-UK

-- (04/15/2011)

Weaving emotions generated by wind, rain and memories of scars (physical and emotional) left with his father and those who survived, Mackay ably translates his impressions into a period tale which returns the reader to a by-gone era. --Cloverdale Reporter

-- (04/15/2011)

Robert W. Mackay's first novel, Soldier of the Horse, is a lovingly crafted account of such a time--a tour de histoire, if you will--above all, a heartfelt requiem for an entire rank of the world's youth, called upon to suffer a clash of titans in the First World War. --Vancouver Sun

-- (06/25/2011)

This book has clearly been well-researched and is well-written. . . . the characters feel realistic and the plot accurate. --David Tattersfield, The Western Front Association-- (11/20/2011)

Soldier of the Horse has been longlisted for the 2012 ReLit Awards.

-- (01/09/2012)

The tale of passion, war, camaraderie, bravery and history takes readers from love and legal wranglings in Manitoba to a young soldier's Great War survival in France with the famous WWI Canadian cavalry regiment, Lord Strathcona's Horse. . . . Weaving emotions generated by wind, rain and memories of scars (physical and emotional) left with his father and those who survived, Mackay ably translates his impressions into a period tale which returns the reader to a by-gone era. --Examiner.com

-- (02/29/2012)

About this edition

• Publisher: TouchWood Editions
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1926741242
• ISBN 13: 9781926741246
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240