Paradise Sky
by Joe R. Lansdale
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jun 16 2015 | Archive Date Jul 16 2015
Description
Young Willie is on the run, having fled his small Texas farm when an infamous local landowner murdered his father. A man named Loving takes him in and trains him in the fine arts of shooting, riding, reading, and gardening. When Loving dies, Willie re-christens himself Nat Love in tribute to his mentor, and heads west.
In Deadwood, South Dakota Territory, Nat becomes a Buffalo Soldier and is befriended by Wild Bill Hickok. After winning a famous shooting match, Nat's peerless marksmanship and charm earn him the nickname Deadwood Dick, as well as a beautiful woman. But the hellhounds are still on his trail, and they brutally attack Nat Love's love. Pursuing the men who have driven his wife mad, Nat heads south for a final, deadly showdown against those who would strip him of his home, his love, his freedom, and his life.
Advance Praise
“Paradise Sky is a rowdy, funny, suspenseful, and often quite moving yarn.” —Booklist (starred)
“This fast-paced Western with its multicultural cast of characters is a winner.” —Library Journal (starred)
“[A] picaresque Western from a master of the form . . . Goes down smooth and easy as a vintage sarsaparilla.” —Kirkus Reviews
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780316329378 |
| PRICE | $26.00 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Victoria K, Librarian
Willie, an African-American, looks at a white woman and that one act sets in motion several deaths and Willie's transformation into Deadeye-Dick, hero of dime novels. Lansdale's exquisite language and character development contribute to the book's quality..
steven s, Reviewer
Brilliant recreation of the post civil war west. Told in Landsdales unique voice this story af an ex-slave and his adventures out west trod familiar ground but in a fresh manner. Fast paced and utterly absorbing. Highly recommended.
Cheryl S, Reviewer
Wild West lollapalooza
Former slave young Willie Jackson started on this incredible misadventure by simply looking at the rear end of a married white woman. Her husband thought this was such a grievous crime that he spent years trying and sometimes succeeding in hurting Willie and killing the ones Willie loves.
On the lam, Willie ends up being taken in by a man that teaches him to shoot plus many other needed life skills and Willie honors the man by taking part of his name and becoming Nat Love.
This is the story of Nat's younger years, dodging the irate (read also crazy) husband, gaining friends and wisdom and the nickname of Deadwood Dick.
This story, loosely based on the true-life adventures of Nat Love, is a romp, a lollapalooza, a wild tale full of names you've heard before (Wild Bill for one) with adventure, tragedy, and a heaping helping of the dark humor Lansdale is famous for.
The characters are so vivid you would recognize them immediately if you ever met them. Lansdale's dialogue, full of patois, is a pleasure to read. The descriptions of the countryside and the people of the Wild West are colorful and even educational.
Joe Lansdale is the writer I'd like to be stuck on a desert island with. I am quite sure that he would have enough stories to tell so that neither of us would ever feel the want of entertainment. He is a storyteller extraordinaire. And since I'd rather read a good book than eat, food on the isle wouldn't be my first consideration either. (Of course, Lansdale might have other ideas on who he'd rather be stuck with.)
He has written some of my very favorite books of all time - A FINE, DARK LINE; THE BOTTOMS; and THE THICKET. I don't rate PARADISE SKY quite as high as those treasured reads but it definitely is well worth reading.
NOTE: I was lucky enough to get this book from Mulholland Books through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
