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 Review #4800695 |
 | A Drummer Boy - In Christ, With Victory  [E] “The Story of a Drummer Boy in the American Revolutionary War”  |
| (3.5)| Hello, Polaran  . This is a review of "A Drummer Boy - In Christ, With Victory" by invitation from "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" !  I have the following comments to offer. Reader ExperienceWhy do soldiers fight? How can they overcome their fears? Rousing speeches by trusted commanders and the beat of a drum by a brave drummer boy lift the experience of war above the blood and gore of the battlefield... Commentary: Content, Characters and PlotThe enemy like the good guys here is unseen and undescribed, ethereally lurking in the mist. The phrase raining down fire implies they have the high ground. Volleys imply that they are using some kind of rifle or musket. The presence of a 12-year-old on the battlefield dates the story back hundreds of years. Your description places this in the American Revolutionary War fighting the British. The heroes of this piece are Major Thomson doing his speech and the drummer boy who inspires the men. I wondered how much time there would be for stirring speeches in a just-before-dawn attack when presumably surprise was the key military consideration. Surely a speech would raise the attention of the enemy. But then I suppose many of the revolutionary troops were amateurs not trained professional troops and lacked the discipline and training to hold the line in an attack without some kind of extra motivation. This did not sound like war to me. You focused on the positive spiritual experience of overcoming one's fears rather than situating the piece on an authentic battlefield. Here the scenery is the grandeur of nature and seems unspoilt. It contrasts with the cratered battlefields of World War One for example with corpses tangled up in barbed wire staring blankly into the mist. There was nothing of the smell or the sounds of battles. The thud of bullets in mud or bodies. The zing of a bullet going past an ear. The screams and agony of the wounded. The smell of exploded ordinance, or men who have spoiled their pants in the act of dying. There is none of the blood and gore that are sprayed around when a bullet hits its mark. This is instead a boy's own glorification of war, of fears, overcome and purpose achieved. It is the recruitment story that causes a young man to join up not the experience of it. Despite the inauthentic feel of this piece, I did find it quite inspiring. The onward Christian soldier vibe, done with actual weaponry, is encouraging. Maybe it is a longing of all of us to win a battle, for the right reasons, with the kind of courage that people could pin a medal on. I just wonder how many Christian soldiers would describe a real battle in this way when they had lost brothers to the fight, were traumatized by the memory of the field, and were simply grateful for having survived it. If your intent was a parable of praise for the soldier's call, reflected in the courage of the drummer boy then this is adequate. If you were talking about war then it does not work for me. Mechanical issuesThe mist of dawn lay thick upon the field, as the sky prepared to welcome the sun. - if the sun is not yet up it is technically twilight. If the sky is still preparing for sunrise the sun has not yet risen. yet man stood as one who could never partake in such peace. - if it is man singular then he is just one man. But the language implies a group of men so I think you meant men, not man. War had taken root amidst the grandeur of nature, contrasting with the frailty of humankind. Last paragraph - The first light of dawn crept over the horizon - now the sun comes up replacing twilight with sunlight Thanks for sharing.
"WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group"  My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!" .
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You responded to this review 02/17/2025 @ 5:32am EST