Liss' historical novels are just about the best I've read. This one combines enough real events and people with imagined events and people to create a thoroughyl delightful work. ( )

I received an ARC of "The Whiskey Rebels" by David Liss through LibraryThing. It was the second Liss novel I have read.

From Booklist, as part of a review by Bill Ott, via Amazon.Com, here is a rundown on the plot:

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It’s a tumultuous time, with Hamiltonians sparring with Jeffersonians, and Hamilton himself hoping to secure his position with the establishment of the National Bank. Into the mix comes Ethan Saunders, a celebrated spy during the war but now living a dissolute life in Philadelphia as a drunkard and gambler. Attempting to come to the aid of his former lover, the wife of a stock trader and associate of Hamilton’s, Saunders falls in with the “whiskey rebels,” back country moonshiners furious with Hamilton’s whiskey tax and ready - with the help of the wily Joan Maycott, wife of one of the whiskey boys - to foment trouble in the financial markets, possibly causing the failure of Hamilton’s bank.

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Now, I never intended to read Liss's work again. His first three novels, and then his fifth, are all historical fiction based in Europe, mostly in Victorian England, and deal with national finance. Though his writing is fantastic, I found the one novel, it's story and mystery, not my cup of tea. But seeing that this story takes place in early American history, I wanted to give it a try. I don't really remember that whole description, and probably glanced over it, because I don't remember this having to do so much with finance. But it did.

One thing that I feel needs to be pointed out, is that many historical figures play small to medium size roles in this book. Alexander Hamilton as mentioned above, along with Hugh Henry Brackenridge, William Duer, Maria and James Reynolds, Aaron Burr, and a brief cameo by George Washington.

The chapters, for most of the book, go back and forth between Ethan and Joan. Both are in first person. Ethan's follow the here and now of the story. Joan's starts back to her days as a precocious teen. Joan's chapters were far more interesting at the beginning of the book. They tell a story. It's not a mystery/thriller. Sure, there are some thrilling moments. But it's a great story of a couple as they grow up, get swindled, and make the best of what they can and make new roads and friends. But soon the two stories merge, and it all becomes a financial mystery, though with some more intrigue.

Like the other novel I read by Liss, his writing is amazing. He seems to know how people spoke during that time. I don't doubt he really knows. This is due to exhaustive research, or so I assume. It just seems to me that he did a great job making the story real. But his prose is excellent as well. He is very descriptive, and actually at times that hinders the story. Too much of it dragged the story down at times. And overall, the story seemed too long. It never became boring. But it slowed, and at times things, though at least keeping the story moving, seemed superfluous and unneeded.

For those interested in American history, this is basically a fictionalized reason behind the Panic of 1792. Duer is the man behind it, but things have been changed. As one that is not too terribly familiar with this part of American history, or the Whiskey Rebellion that later followed, also supposedly involving some of these characters of the story, it didn't bother me. It grabbed enough of my attention, and gave me a realistic feel. But I'm not sure other who are more familiar with this event would be happy with it. Also, the last chapter made me laugh at how absurd it was. I hate to give it away, but it basically places Joan as the bug in Aaron Burr's ear to shoot directly at Hamilton during their duel that eventually killed the man on the ten dollar bill. Thankfully it was done as a wrap-up, and didn't hurt the overall feel of the story. But probably, in my opinion, should have been changed.

So it's a well written, complex novel. But not necessarily following something that really interests me, but makes me want to show my respect for it.

David Liss' work has impressive historicity and is exceptionally interesting. His characters are typically flawed but compelling (mostly because they are flawed). The Coffee Traders was great and excited me for The Whiskey Rebels, which takes place in the early days of the United States' existence as a nation.

Unfortunately for me, the interleaved stories here did not drive me through the book as those in his other works did. Ethan is flawed but compelling; Joan just seems to talk all the time. There's lots going on in her world, too, but there is way too much time spent in her head and not enough out in her world. I struggled to make it through and the conclusion did not do enough to satisfy my early frustrations. This is likely a function of my own impatience, rather than a deficiency of Liss', but I was not as taken with The Whiskey Rebels as I have been with his other stuff. ( )

Not an easy to book to read at all. It was very hard to get into and at times confusing. But I persevered and got through it. A goo read. ( )

I had trouble getting into this book. Once I did it turned out to be pretty good, but it’s probably not something I’ll ever read again.

This was okay. I generally enjoy this time period, early Federalist in the years just after the Revolution. The plot revolves around Alexander Hamilton's Bank of the United States and the extremely unpopular Whiskey Tax.

There are two story threads going on at once (they eventually come together) first, a former spy for George Washington who was framed as a double agent and forced to resign in disgrace. He ends up in Philadelphia, occupying himself with drinking, gambling, and women. The "rake with a heart of gold" is played up a little too strongly, that gets tiresome quickly. Meanwhile, Joan Maycott is a pioneer woman facing the hardships of eking out living in the wilds of Western Pennsylvania, she's smart, independent, and has ambitions of writing an American novel. They both become involved with the financial speculators whose investments and the fate of Hamilton's bank are closely intertwined.

Grade: B-
Recommended: Eh, it's fine but not especially memorable. ( )

I loved this book. Liss takes charge and really nails the historical details. I enjoyed the different views of Ethan and Joan. After reading this I passed it on to a co-worker and he loved it. He was handsold this book to many many customers. I learned alot of interesting historical facts that I did not know. This happens alot with books by Liss. He fills the book with great storytelling, history, fantastic character development, and puts you in the setting. For any history buff or a lover a good storytelling this book would be a great choice. I like the fact that Liss visited the American Revolution. There are so many fiction titles that cover the Civil War and WWII, but this was something different and enjoyable. ( )

I enjoyed the book far more than I thought I might - I liked that the chapters were short, as well as the changes in "voice" between Saunders and Maycott. I found it occasionally confusing in terms of differences in time between who was doing what - sometimes the timing was close (Saunders is doing something in New York while Maycott is actively doing something concurrently in Philadelphia), but, for example, sometimes you'd have instances where one chapter is about a party they were both at, and then the next chapter is several weeks/months before. I could follow, but it required a wee tad bit more concentration than I necessarily like to have to put forth when reading for pleasure.

All in all, I found the characters interesting if slightly flat, the plot interesting, and the pace ran along fairly smoothly. For an advanced copy, I wasn't too bothered by the typos or grammatical errors I'm presuming were cleaned up for the final cut. ( )

I hands down loved this book. Loved it, loved it, loved it! I've read several of Liss's previous books (he is one of my favorite authors by far), and this one was very different from his other novels. I won't go into a full synopsis, but I will say that the book shifts between characters and narratives, and I found myself quickly drawn into both Ethan's and Joan's lives, wanting to know more about them and how the story would play itself out. I was not disappointed! It's an exciting book and hard to put down -- one of those books you want to read cover to cover until you finish it (well, at least I did!). Even up to the last chapter, I wasn't sure how the story would resolve itself. (I'm not giving away the ending, you'll just have to read it for yourself!) The American Revolution is one of my favorite periods of history, and I thought Liss did a fantastic job of bringing the post-war period to life in a very realistic, engaging way. Can't wait to see what he has in store for us fans next! ( )

It was not the favorite of books which I have read of Liss in the past, but it was entertaining. Very involved in the financial world in the dawn of American history and the dalliances of characters which left me a bit flat. ( )

I think it's funny that a lot of people here said that they weren't sure they were going to read it and I was the same way! I saw it on LTER and thought it sounded cool, but when it came I was wondering why I signed up for this one. So I (stupidly) put it aside. T hen LT made a page showing books we've received and I saw I hadn't read it and obviously not reviewed it. Well, they gave me the book in good faith I'd read it and review it, and so that's what I did. For that I am SO glad. This was a wonderful book. I checked on Amazon to see the reviews there and I thought it was interesting- 55 gave 5 stars, 39 gave 4 stars and only 1 person gave a 1 star. I read the one star review and immediately dismissed it. The gentleman said that he didn't like it because he was 200 pages in and couldn't figure out the relationship between the two narratives. Well, I was 30 pages in at the time and was also wondering about the two narratives. HOWEVER, well before 200 pages you start to see connections between the two narratives such as places, events, and characters.

The book is told by two protagonists, Ethan Saunders, who is wonderfully dry and self-effacing. I love his dialogue with other people, particularly those who don't like him. The other is Joan Maycott, who has essentially been trodden upon by the financial system of our budding nation. At the beginning, chapters rotate between them and it took me a while to notice that they were being told at different times. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll only say what most readers would likely be able to deduce on their own. Yes, the time frames eventually coincide and of course the characters interact. It was how they interacted that was the kicker! This novel had a lot of mystery to it and many things I couldn't unravel until they were explained to me in the book (and sometimes I had to double check!). My only major drawback for this book was that the ending seemed to all of a sudden wrap this story up very quickly and somewhat implausibly. Though I realize that to end it any other way would have been abruptly or many, many chapters more.

The characters are sympathetic and the setting was perfectly done. I felt as though I had traveled back in time. The hardest part with this novel for me was following the financial talk. I decided to read the money stuff at face value and not try and speculate myself on how best to handle their fortunes. I loved how major American players at the time were present throughout, and they were done in a way that makes sense. This was superior writing. I've already shared many quotes and recommended this book to quite a few people. The book looks daunting, but it's simply wonderful. You'll be glad you read it within a few pages or chapters. ( )

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss is set in Philadelphia and rural Pennsylvania in the 1780s and 90s, a period of history not visited often by novelists. The story does involve financial conspiracy. (And here's my one complaint about that: I don't get it. I'm only about 200 pages into this book and I'm hoping my brain can sort it all out, the conspiracy part, and how financial ruin is imminent for the country. But so far, no go. I'm sure it's me.)

Never mind that, though. The story is told with two narrators. The first is a Ethan Saunders, a former soldier and spy for Washington, who was accused of treason in the waning days of the war and drummed out of the service, and who is drunk for much of the first few chapters. We meet him stealing a watch and contemplating his own imminent death at the hands of a man he has cuckolded.

Okay, so likable, daring loser on the one hand who is rescued and sent off in search of a missing person. And on the other is Joan Maycott, the book's second narrator, a woman who is young when we meet her first. (Here, the book goes back in time, and many readers will miss this jump and misunderstand what's going on because of it.) Maycott is forceful and smart and knows what she wants. What she wants most is to be a writer, to write a uniquely American novel. This is a major narrative risk, and it's almost a red herring, but that it gives this woman reason to study all the things she's going to need to know to take part in this national banking crisis later on, many years and chapters later as she either aids or hinders Saunders when they finally meet. Of course, that's not for many, many chapters. In the meantime, we follow Maycott and her husband from New York City out to the hinterlands of western Pennsylvania, where they hope to do some farming. They are cheated and find themselves as near slave-labor on an unworkable plot of land. There are several chapters in which their lives are threatened again and again, not just by the elements but by the corrupt men who run their settlement. In this lawless settlement, certain men think nothing of raping a woman in her own home as a way of intimidating her husband. Joan Maycott is a wonderful character and readers have to stand by and watch her driven half mad by all she endures in these few years in this settlement. To avoid starvation, the Maycotts turn to making whiskey, like so many of their neighbors.

This part of the story is the most interesting, for my part, as it shows how people could be so cheated by the system, under what circumstances this territory was cleared for farmland, where that labor came from, and also why people made whiskey in the first place. Why would farmers turn grain into whiskey? Primarily because crops could not easily be transported to cities and sold, but booze could find a ready market anywhere. The better the booze, the higher the price. When the volume and the price are high enough, a tax will follow. All of this is at the heart of the plot.

Above all this information hovers another set of ideas about how a revolution cannot create a country. In the wake of the war, crucial decisions had to be made to create and maintain an economy, a banking and monetary system. The story (so far) also highlights the bitter feud between Hamilton and Jefferson over federal versus state rights, and what a federal government has the right to do, and which friends of the important decision-makers will be allowed to line their own pockets. You can draw a straight line from that feud to the Civil War and to presidential politics today.

Somewhat less interesting for me is Saunders' story (again, so far), although he continues to be witty and swaggering and troubled and drunk, and he meets with Hamilton, runs into Adams, and faces his own set of dangers and heartbreak, too. He is an easy companion to lead a reader through the part of the story that takes place near this new federal government. What I always want in an anti-hero is for him to have a chance at love and redemption. (I'm a sap, so sue me.) I have hope for him on the redemption front. Love? I'm not so sure.

More on this when I've finished the book. Meantime, I like it a lot. It's smart and scary and entertaining almost all the time. ( )

Alright, I'll admit -- upon receiving this book from the LibraryThing draw, I passed it along to my father, as it seemed to be more his cup of tea. So this is his impression below.

Liss does not disappoint, even if The Whiskey Rebels does not have the same pace as some of his other works. If you can make it through the intricate discussion of eighteenth century finance, you will find this to be an excellent historical fiction which should be a delight for any Revolutionary War-era aficionado. ( )

I loved the characters and thought the story was very interesting, it kept me hooked. However, I did have problems following some of the events, I was a little lost as to how some of the characters jumped from one conclusion to another. This made it a little less enjoyable, but overall I definitely recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction. ( )

A departure from Liss' Coffee Traders and the Conspiracy of Papers. While not as exciting as his earlier works, it was a good read. ( )

I ordered this while high on repeat viewings of "1776" and the build-up to the elections, but when it arrived, I had to ask myself "WHAT was I thinking?" This is not my style at all. I don't care much for thrillers or mysteries, and while colonial and post-revolutionary history interests me, it's not a passion.

I must say, Liss did catch my interest immediately. His hero, Ethan Saunders, comes from a great tradition of intelligent rogues with secret sorrows. He also has created a heroine in much the same vein in Joan Maycott. Not so much of the secret sorrow there, but she's young when we meet her, and hasn't had time for many sorrows.

Given that Liss' central characters are smart, reasonably interesting characters, I'd have hoped that the narrative would live up to them. Unfortunately I wasn't as captivated by it as I had hoped I'd be. It jumps about a good deal, which is disorienting, and it's dry and often difficult to push through. It's not bad, it just requires a good deal of work, which I'm not entirely sure it rewards in the end.

I would say that for those readers who are students of the American economic model, this might prove more interesting than it did to me. The story echoes the sort of questionable business practices which inform today's headlines. Fascinating as a news story, particularly when your livelihood is at stake, but perhaps not so much in novel form. Still, for readers who are fans of this sort of novel, I suspect it will pay off handsomely. ( )

Here is a book that I probably would not have read except Amazon was giving it away free on the Kindle. That said,

I really enjoyed the book. It moved a little slow in the beginning as it set up the characters, but then pick up the pace. I loved the way it captured the period in which it took place and mixed fictional characters with real people and events. The story is engaging and the plot twists are many. I may have to look at the authors other books after reading this one. ( )

Set in the years immediately following the American Revolution. The book follows Ethan Saunders, a disgraced soldier, and Joan Maycott, a young woman from the west. Saunders finds himself trying to help the woman he'd thought he'd marry when Cynthia's husband disappears. He begins to use the experiences he had as a spy for George Washington to find out what Cynthia's husband is up to. In a seemingly unrelated storyline, Joan Maycott and her husband have headed west only to find that they may have been swindled. It was an interesting book and really makes you want to go and read all the history behind it. ( )

This is the second of Liss's books that I have read - having just finished [The Coffee Trader] for a LT read. I have read reviews elsewhere about this book not being true to facts. I didn't notice that, not being an American history scholar. It was very timely to be reading about financial shenanigans at the time of the current financial crisis and controversy - seems a continuing conflict between those who make a living actually making "things" and those who make a living "pushing money around". Generally a good read, with well-drawn characters and a more plausible ending than that in the previous book. ( )

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss is the best historic novel I’ve read in a long time. I wasn’t expecting that. I expected it to be interesting, and informative, but not this much. On the other hand, it was not quite as much about the Whiskey Rebellion as I expected.

My complete review is on my blog, Nate's Library, specifically at: http://nates-library.blogspot.com/200... ( )

"Leonidis! Take a letter:"
Rare indeed is a compelling character who is given a rich plot to explore. Ethan Saunders struts, slouches, and is dragged through the book with equal measures of charm, wit, lies, and physical peril. The author may well have been influenced by both Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert B. Parker. Alas, a contrived final conflict ends the book on a weak note, but should in no way dissuade the prospective reader. For whose days could not be improved by the acquaintance of so honorable a rapscallion?

NKRS ZNK XKBOKCKX ( )

Liss's historical novels are noted for being very complex, but his writing is so skilled, that the books are very enjoyable. This particular book is set in the United States after the Revolutionary War. Liss peoples his pages with many known historical figures such as Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and many others. And his fictional characters are so real that they appear to have also been there. Liss also concentrates quite heavily on the financial world for his books, and that is certainly the case here. We get a first-hand look at the FIRST American financial panic which occurred in the early months of 1792. It was almost eerie reading this because of what is currently happening in the financial world. The panic of 1792 is eerily similar to what is happening today, even though the credit crunch now can be traced to mortgage loans this time. In 1792 it was scrips for bank stocks. This is such an excellent book. The fictional character of Joan Maycott is a very strong creation. A remarkable and a determined woman who does not forget a wrong done to her or to her loved ones or friends. The pace is quick even though the book is long. I highly recommend this book. ( )

This book was not what I had originally anticipated, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Set about 10 years after the American Revolution, this books centers on two fictional characters. They participate in actual events surrounded by historical figures making the story flow quite nicely. The plot revolves around the establishment of the Bank of the United States, not the Whiskey Rebellion (which is what attracted my notice). The intrigue and hidden manipulations by many people in the novel are quite fascinating. Each chapter follows one or the other main characters and how they intersect, work together and collide. The story moves quickly and the plot development is well conceived. David Liss tells a great tale. ( )

David Liss is carving out an unusual sub-genre for himself: the historical economics mystery thriller. This time, he has created new characters and placed them at the center of the action and conspiracies surrounding the creation of the Bank of the United States and the Wiskey Rebellion against federal excise taxes in the late 18th Century. The chapters narrated by our hero, Ethan Saunders, provide the historical background and the intrigue; alternating chapters narrated by chief whiskey rebel Joan Maycott provide a kind of Pillars of the Earth-style dramatic saga (with dastardly villains all begging to be played in the film version by Alan Rickman) full of human interest that Saunders, even in his most Raymond Chandler moments, can’t match. The characters and tone are often blatantly anachronistic (sympathetic gay characters, an independent-minded former slave, and enough sexy, capable women to stock several Bond films face a surprising amount of open-minded acceptance from their fellow colonials), but the result still manages to convince as a period thriller. It won’t be giving away too much to say that Liss leaves open the possibility of a Saunders-Maycott sequel; fans of Caleb Carr and Matthew Pearl will find themselves hoping he writes it. ( )