Check Out High-Desert Barbecue, a Novel by Reason's J.D. Tuccille
J.D. Tuccille is a recent addition to the Reason.com staff (he'll be heading up portions of our new-and-improved site that we'll be rolling out later this summer). You may know him from past stints around teh intertubez and you can check out his burgeoning Reason archive here.
He's also the author the novel High Desert Barbecue, described as "a tale of suspense, pyromania, and sexual tension." From the book's Amazon page:
Written in a style that might be described as Edward Abbey meets Hunter S. Thompson, conspiracy, arson and ineptitude threaten the desert West, and only a misanthropic hermit, a subversive schoolteacher and an unemployed business writer stand in the way. Living as a squatter on public land, Rollo has long waged a personal war against the Forest Service, so it's little surprise when rangers burn him out of his latest shack. But when Rollo is subsequently blamed for a disastrous wildfire, he seeks help from his close friend, Scott, an anarchically minded outdoors enthusiast, and Scott's girlfriend Lani, who dislikes Rollo but shares his distaste for authority. While investigating a suspicious new forest fire, the trio interrupts a bizarre but vicious gang of environmental terrorists. Chased through the canyon country of northern Arizona, Rollo, Scott and Lani must rely on their wits and skills to survive. Just steps behind, their pursuers compensate for incompetence and sexual eccentricity with fanaticism and official connections. Hanging in the balance is the fate of human habitation throughout the West – or maybe just peace and quiet in downtown Flagstaff.
J.D.'s book is also a finalist for book of the month over at the Freedom Book Club, which is dedicated to "making freedom a best-seller." Please go to site to vote for High Desert Barbecue or one of the other finalists (which include tomes by Mark Skousen, Johan Norberg, and Jeffrey A. Tucker). You can vote every day through June 30, so as they say in Chicago, grab all your living and dead relatives and vote early and often.
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"(he'll be heading up portions of our new-and-improved site that we'll be rolling out later this summer)"
If it ain't broke...
News aggregation is cool and all, but not at the cost of our link threads. Hint hint.
Your links are safe!
You know who else wrote a book?
Barry H. O'Bomb-a?
Those of us who are really old remember his first book, 'It Usually Begins with Ayn Rand'. Nuff said...
This is my son's novel, not mine. It's a terrific book and I highly recommend it.
I'm not going to buy this book.
Why not? The son is not responsible for the sins of the father.
(he'll be heading up portions of our new-and-improved site that we'll be rolling out later this summer)
Remember the "old and lousy" HampersandR? With no comment-threading, much less registration...and functional ampersands? I miss that site.
So JD doesn't have to do his own pimping? What is Reason coming to?
Maybe JD will pimp The Jacket's book in return.
The other day I recommended JD take lessons from the other writers about pimping a book. I guess he did me one better and just had them do the pimping for him.
"a tale of suspense, pyromania, and sexual tension."
Is this the story of John Boehner
and Nancy Peliosi's forbidden love?
No, that was written by SugarFree and all extant copies were burned for your sanity.
I thought it was a warm up for when the Elder Gods return.
Cthulu 2012 Campaign
The dark lord will be very upset that you have misspelled his name.
"a misanthropic hermit, a subversive schoolteacher and an unemployed business writer," aka Reason's target audience.
How's Sherlock Holmes and The High Desert Fire coming, Alan? Mad that JD beat you to the punch?
Why does this summary read like a new Glenn beck manuscript?
So I bought the book ($2.99 on kindle--the free market works!) and I'm halfway through it.
It's no hemingway, but it's better than 80% of the other airport novels out there. Sorry if that seems like a left-handed compliment, JD, but overall I'd say it was worth the price.
I'm no Hemingway, so I'll happily take the compliment!
So, I went to Amazon, saw that the Kindle edition was only $2.99, and bought on the spot. A minute later it's on my iPhone. I love technology.
Bought it on Kindle. Nice light, quick, fun summer read. Crazy farce with vivid, but one-dimensional characters. You probably have to have some sympathy for liberty or at least antipathy for government and/or green assholes to enjoy it, but ... no problems here.
J.D. suffers since I just finished rereading Tom Sharpe's The Throwback. Most of Sharpe's characters are one-dimensional as well, but he can stretch that dimension farther than most. His first novels (which got him thrown out of South Africa) are his most political and not his best (but, like J.D.'s, quite good if you are sympathetic.)
Keep writing J.D., and keep putting books up for $2.99. Definitely makes this reader receptive.