Critical Praise

"With his lush, incantatory voice, Robert Olmstead describes a boy thrust into one of the war's most horrific moments. . . . Gorgeous and moving passages."

—Washington Post Book World

"A riveting tale of the American past and a brilliantly realized journey into the heart of darkness. It's the kind of novel that you will want to read once simply for the storytelling . . . Then you will want to read it again to let Olmstead's prose wash over you."

—Boston Globe

"With a horse like this, you just want to ride. And with the descriptive power such as he displays here, Olmstead makes the ride an exciting one --- in lean prose, reminiscent of Crane's Red Badge of Courage, with just the proper amount of sharp description."

—Alan Cheuse, NPR’s “All Things Considered”

"Coal Black Horse, Robert Olmstead’s magisterial sixth book, is as sensate as poetry and forbidding as any squall, steeped in detail but bound by few storytelling conventions....A remarkable creation."

—Chicago Tribune