Dinosaur Heaven (Dinosaur Heaven Quintet) - Softcover

Joseph, Henry

9781681209166: Dinosaur Heaven (Dinosaur Heaven Quintet)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1681209160 ISBN 13: 9781681209166

Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions, 2016

Exceeds maximum length of 2000 characters; Bobby Joe Looney and Deveraux LeDux are retired ‘herb’ smugglers who made a considerable fortune during their working days. Bobby Joe possesses second sight, a gift passed down from the Choctaw side of his blood line. He is dark of eye and skin, mercurial and intense. Dev is possessed of preternatural physical strength, violet of eye and light of skin, laid-back and gentle - unless crossed. Along with Jack Lee, with whom they have a long friendship from their days at the University of Georgia, they are both handy in a tight spot. Bobby Joe is the one who comes up with the idea of going to Brazil, and who dubs himself and Dev “dinosaurs” and Brazil a fitting “heaven” for their final retirement. Behind it is the fact that he has discovered he has relatives there. They are descendants of a group called ‘confederados’, who left for Brazil at the end of the Civil War rather than surrender. Upon meeting them, his family reunion turns out to be an event that shakes his world. Meanwhile, Jack Lee barely escapes with his life when the law raids his cabin. Warrants have been issued relating to the time he investigated the murder of his old partner in the ‘herb’ Trade, and Jack is forced to go on the run. Bobby Joe and Dev invite him to join them in Brazil, where they have been set up in style by another old friend. He is a former exchange student who also attended UGA, and who presents the public persona of a successful businessman and political fixer, but is in reality something else altogether. Jack makes it to Brazil, but with the law on his trail. The dramatic tension in this novel derives from the collision of these outlaws and the extra-legal U.S. agents that are sent to deal with them, and from the wild card involvement of a renegade agent with his own agenda: the settling of scores with Bobby Joe and Dev, whom he considers to be the source of his very special misery. The ‘outlaws’ survive to fight another day, but they have been bloodied, and storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. The quiet retirement that Bobby Joe and Dev had hoped for seems to be elusive, and Jack’s desire for a quiet place to meditate seems to be out of reach.

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About the Author:

Henry Joseph wrote six picaresque novels (pi.ca.resque-adj: relating to the adventures of rogues) between 1992 and 1999. The first, 'Bloodwork: The New Rugged Cross', was published in hard cover in the U.S.A. and was broadly acclaimed by critics and fellow writers alike. “. . . the most powerful first novel I've read in years. It's wonderful,” said James Crumley, author of 'The Mexican Tree Duck and Border Snakes', to whom Henry has been favorably compared. “. . . sheer storytelling brio,” declared Frank Wilson in 'The New York Times Book Review'. “. . . riveting . . .compelling. . . foreshadows a long, successful career,” said Bruce Southworth in 'The Drood Review of Mystery'. In France, Cedric Fabre, in 'L'Humanite' said of 'Dinosaur Heaven', the second book in the series, “startling and magnificent, beyond jubilation: we enter a part of ourselves we were unaware of: Joseph is a terrific smuggler of tears.” Yet, through the weirdness of modern publishing, 'Bloodwork' was the only book of Henry Joseph's to be published in English. His next five novels were all published (like the first) in France, with excellent critical review. This strange aberration is now to be corrected, with publication by Astor + Blue Editions of all of the 'Dinosaur Heaven Quintet' series in English. In 2001, Henry Joseph decided to retire from worldly affairs, including writing, focusing instead on a spiritual life of yoga and Buddhism. But now, at least, his acid, moving, and witty storytelling can be enjoyed more widely than before. They are true page turners – a world of outlaws, by which is meant anyone who toys with the idea that they are an outlaw. There may not be as many around as there should be, but maybe reading Henry's novels will change all that . . . [Taken, with apologies, from the Introduction to each work written by Peter Rubie, CEO, FinePrint Literary Management.]

Review:

Startling and magnificent, beyond jubilation: we enter a part of ourselves we were unaware of: Joseph is a terrific smuggler of tears.--L'Humanite

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