Sex, Lies, and Vampires

A national bestseller. “A riveting tale of the American past and a brilliantly realized journey into the heart of darkness.” —The Boston Globe

Winner of the Chicago Tribune Heartland Literary Prize

When Robey Childs’s mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the Civil War, she does the unthinkable: she sends her only child to find his father on the battlefield and bring him home.

At fourteen, wearing the coat his mother sewed to ensure his safety—blue on one side, gray on the other— Robey thinks he’s off on a great adventure. But not far from home, his horse falters and he realizes the enormity of his task. It takes the gift of a powerful and noble coal black horse to show him how to undertake the most important journey of his life: with boldness, bravery, and self-possession.

Coal Black Horse joins the pantheon of great war novels—All Quiet on the Western Front, The Red Badge of Courage, The Naked and the Dead.

“Gripping . . . echoes the work of Cormac McCarthy.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A remarkable creation.” —Chicago Tribune

“Exciting . . . a grueling adventure.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Gorgeous and moving.” —The Washington Post Book World

“A singular and poetic addition to the Civil War bookshelf.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Olmstead makes the ride and exciting one . . . Reminiscent of Crane’s Red Badge of Courage.” —NPR’s All Things Considered

“Harrowing . . . [Olmstead] writes like a man on fire.” —The Denver Post