--- product_id: 9885418 title: "Hell at the Breech: A Novel" brand: "tom franklin" price: "₨13848" currency: LKR in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.lk/products/9885418-hell-at-the-breech-a-novel store_origin: LK region: Sri Lanka --- # Hell at the Breech: A Novel **Brand:** tom franklin **Price:** ₨13848 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Hell at the Breech: A Novel by tom franklin - **How much does it cost?** ₨13848 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.lk](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/9885418-hell-at-the-breech-a-novel) ## Best For - tom franklin enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted tom franklin brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Hell at the Breech: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51CXWHAFU-L.jpg) ![Hell at the Breech: A Novel - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51W9tc9vigL.jpg) ![Hell at the Breech: A Novel - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31VIhiJxTbL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is a pretty good book *by C***D on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2023* I thought this was a pretty good book. About my only criticism is that it's about 20% more literarily more descriptive than it has to be...kind of slows things down when you get into the detailed descriptions of everything, too many words. Also, one glaring historical inaccuracy jumps out near the end when the posse is on a rampage and Oscar is described as having a bolt-action Winchester 30-06. This is supposed to have taken place in 1998 which is before Winchester was making bolt-action rifles and 8 years before the .30-06 cartridge was introduced (.30 caliber of 1906.) Of course, with the exception of Stephen Hunter every modern novelist who has firearms in the story manages to make himself look stupid at the very least once in the book. Other than that, it was quite enjoyable. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Crossing the Ditch" *by G***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 14, 2010* If you took Cormac McCarthy's bloody masterpiece, "Blood Meridian", moved it from the southern border lands to Alabama and gave it a soul, it would come out looking a lot like Tom Franklin's "Hell in the Breech," a grisly but beautifully poignant tale of an obscure slice of American history, The Mitcham Beat "war" at the close of the 19th century.Having first read Tom Franklin's short story, "Poachers," in Otto Penzler's "The Best American Noir of the Century," I had to find more of this steamy and brutal southern prose - a delicious southern scramble of Faulkner style and James Lee Burke readability. In the author's rendering, young orphan Mack Burke, with his older brother William, accidently kills the local storekeeper in a clumsy kids' play disguised as robbery, setting off an unanticipated chain of events. Given what I suspect are scant details of the feud that set dirt-poor sharecroppers and common thugs against the only slightly better off gentry, it's hard to determine how closely Franklin stays to the facts - but not to worry. This is a fascinating yarn rich with bleak background of a South still struggling to recover from the Civil War; bitter, unfathomably poor, and barely better off than the slaves that were emancipated three decades before. Franklin fills this desperate landscape of cotton fields and tin-roofed shacks with a terrifically rich cast: the two unfortunate brothers, their adopted grandmother - the almost supernaturally wise and prescient "grandma" Bates, the well meaning but aging sheriff Billy Waite, and a rogues gallery of country villains, including Virgil "Tooch" Bedsole, cousin of the murdered man and bent on revenge against the unknown killer. The tension is palpable as suspense builds at a slow but steady and intriguing pace through the first half of the book, paying off in an adrenaline-charged second half that cuts and weaves through treachery, deceit, unmitigated violence and cruelty only slightly blunted with the occasional act of black humor and valor.This is historical fiction the way it should be written - brilliant prose illuminating a fascinating niche of unvarnished American culture, told though the dialog of real, authentically flawed characters. Tom Franklin has the rare combination of a historian's eye for detail and a poet's skill in turning a phrase and painting rich portraits in prose. Bravo. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Carnage in the Cotton Fields *by W***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 12, 2012* 1898. Rural Alabama. A shopkeeper is killed on the road, and the "Hell at the Breech" gang is formed. They launch a war against local townsfolk.Loosely based on actual events, HELL AT THE BREECH is packed with beautiful prose and heaped with sharp characterizations. However, the plot suffers due to a lack of a central character. In fact, there are very few admirable characters in general.It's possible to tell a story like this one with several main characters (KILLING MR. WATSON by Peter Matthiessen comes to mind) and still have it hold together. Tom Franklin's novel is less successful in this regard. He appears to get lost in the details at times. It's structurally shaky.The most sympathetic players in this drama is a young murderer, a dissolute old Sheriff and an aged midwife. "Granny" Bates is somehow the most compelling of the characters, yet the story is never told from her POV, therefore the reader doesn't get to know her well enough. The Sheriff quickly loses his moral compass and is overwhelmed in his attempts to solve the mystery. The Kid's part of the book makes for the most interesting reading, yet in the final analysis he fails to live up to his promise.Despite its flaws, HELL AT THE BREECH proves to be strangely readable, and Franklin fans will relish in the author's ability to write gorgeous passages. He breathes life into this obscure historical corner with vigorous detail.It should be noted that the novel has a humongous body count. The descriptions in the final battle scenes are extraordinarily gruesome. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.lk/products/9885418-hell-at-the-breech-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/9885418-hell-at-the-breech-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Sri Lanka* *Store origin: LK* *Last updated: 2026-04-28*