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Pale Horse Coming
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Plot Summary of Pale Horse Coming
"

Simon & Schuster, Oct 2001, 25.00, 487 pp.
ISBN: 0684863618

    By 1951 Thebes, Mississippi is a ghost town converted to a penal colony for Negro criminals. Once in you never leave as the only egress is by boat in a casket. The warden and guards run a tight operation making life miserable for the prisoners because the standard operating norm is whipping and torture. The men in charge use all sorts of diabolical devices to keep the prisoners in line and cowed.

    Attorney Sam Vincent travels to Thebes to meet a client, but is illegally detained by the law enforcement officials running the facility. Earl Swagger knows Sam is inside Thebes and sets out to free his friend. Earl frees Sam, but is caught instead. Big Boy, who runs the prison, periodically tortures Earl, who with a bit of luck escapes vowing to return to burn this little corner of hell to the ground.

    PALE HORSE COMING is a juicy thriller that shows how little freedom blacks had in the 1951 south. The novel shocks, excites, and enthralls the audience. The plot serves as a testament to the unknown heroes fighting injustice to make things right for everyone. Stephen Hunter is a fantastic writer who knows how to entertain and educate his fans.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Pale Horse Coming
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - kidnap/rescue
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here? - KKK/racist group

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - champion of justice
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a significant amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - police/lawman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Deep South
Misc setting - prison

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to torture
How many deaths? - 8 or more
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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