Underground Airlines

"Ben Winters’ work of alternate history imagines the Civil War never happened. Instead, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before he took office and, in an act of compromise, four states were allowed to maintain slavery. The other states all agreed that any escaped “Persons Bound to Labor” must be returned to their corporate plantation. That’s where Victor comes in: He’s a bounty hunter who’s adept at his job because he’s black. The world Winters conjures up is chillingly credible. As a white author, he has imagined himself into the consciousness of Victor. These days, that’s a controversial move, but the exceptional novel that results seems justification enough for this act of creative crossing."