Red Grass River: A Legend [Hardcover]

James Carlos Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

A masterful chronicler of the violent, restless and outcast, James Carlos Blake now transports the reader to early twentieth century Florida with stunning and lyrical prose, as he spins a powerful and breathtaking saga of the Ashley clan, and, specifically, of young John Ashley, whose slaying of a drunken adversary forces him into a life of crime. Relentlessly pursued by a betrayed former friend-turned-lawman over the span of two decades, John goes from petty criminal to bank robber and rum runner, gaining a deserved reputation as Florida's most notorious outlaw and mastermind of a raucous gang of "swamp rats" foolish-brave enough to take on the Chicago Mob. Against the background of a wilderness in transition--as thieves and opportunists move in to rape a magnificent land in order to build the glittering dreams of Miami and Palm Beach--is the story of two sworn enemies on opposite sides of the law whose personal vendettas compel them to strike mercilessly at each other's weaknesses. In the end, nothing will be spared--including the singular passion of John Ashley's life: a love as feral and sensual as the Everglades itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Evoking the primal extravagance of the vanished South Florida wilderness, L.A. Times Book Prize-winner Blake (In the Rogue Blood) offers up a spellbinding tale of an outlaw, the scion of a family gang, and his exploits in the first quarter of the century, narrated by an old man who knew the hero from an admiring distance. In 1911, delivering whiskey for his bootlegger father, 18-year-old John Ashley kills a drunken Indian in self-defense and is forced to become a fugitive, partly because of a romantic rivalry with the sheriff's son. After he flees to Texas, boredom, more than necessity, prods Ashley to rob a bank, and he returns to Florida flush with cash. In and out of jails and prison over a short span of years, young Ashley becomes Florida's most famous outlaw. Serving a 17-year sentence at the beginning of WWI, he escapes and resumes his exploits as a hard-drinking, whore-hopping rum runner and bank robber. Inevitably, he is dealt a long overdue, but not unwelcome, comeuppance when he falls head over heels in love with a beautiful swamp Amazon who is more than his match. This outlaw family saga is set against the infamous development and despoilation of the Everglades as papa Joe fights off the local law and the Chicago mob's invasion of the rich bootleg liquor market. Family loyalties, feral mysticism and the inexorable erosion of a way of life are grandly imagined in this vivid saga of a freewheeling past. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Blake, whose previous novel, In the Rogue Blood, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, proves again to be a master at detailing the life of the desperado. He now tells a story, set in the early 1900s, of a family of violent outcasts. The Ashley clan is busy pursuing a life of crime and hiding out in the dank Florida Everglades. Considered untouchable by local law enforcement officers because of their deadly reputation and because it is impossible to find them in the jungle-like islands of the Everglades, they soon earn the enmity of the local sheriff. After young John Ashley kills a man in a drunken fight, the family is relentlessly pursued by the sheriff. Blake tells of two decades in the life of this family as John Ashley evades capture and goes from petty criminal to bank robber and rum runner. An explosive climax occurs when Ashley gets mixed up with the Chicago Mob, which is secretly working with the sheriff. A great story: well written, fast paced, racy, enthralling, and full of surprises. Readers can't help but enjoy. Kathleen Hughes

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (T); 1st edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380974932
• ISBN-13: 978-0380974931
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 4.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars non-stop action in prohibition-era florida, September 20, 2002

By 

Michael W. Kennedy "insane book lover" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Red Grass River: A Legend (Paperback)

You could say I've been lost in the Florida everglades for the past few years but it's always a pleasure to discover a new author that one enjoys reading, even belatedly, and James Carlos Blake is such an author for me. His novel, Red Grass River, comes at you like a runaway freight train with non-stop action. There are fist-fights, knifings, stompings, gun battles, stalkings, bank robberies, truck robberies, smuggling and even some steamy sex for good measure. The shotgun and the BAR seem favorite weapons in Blakes's prohibition-era Florida. We watch the tenacious Ashley gang thrive and survive as bootleggers, bank robbers and rum runners. They are as good with the ladies as well as their fists and, as such, incur the emnity of the Bakers, a family of tough lawmen, in a decade-long feud. The reader is soaked in the atmosphere of Florida from 1911 to 1924. You can hear the mosquitoes buzzing in your ears, feel the sweat pouring off your skin, see the gators waiting in the swamp grass. People refer to Blake as as writer of historical fiction and certainly Red Grass River makes another time and place come alive. Girls, this is a great guy book and would make the kind of gift the manly man or would-be manly man in your life will appreciate. I give this one four gators out of five.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Violent splendor, February 18, 2001

By 

"harlansy" (Springfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Grass River: A Legend (Paperback)

Wow - If you like gritty historical fiction with a decidedly violent bent, this is for you. I've never written one of these reviews before, but felt compelled to. Blake's imagery is stunning, making the everglades come alive and drawing an astonishing picture of a tight-knit family of moonshiners, bootleggers, bank robbers and killers in early 20th century Florida, near the site where Miami is being carved from the swamp. The period details are great, and they blend seemlessly with the truly outstanding story. One of those rare books where both the plot and the writing are top notch. Can't wait to read Blake's other books.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Got Florida, December 13, 2004

By 

John J. BAIN (Staunton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Red Grass River: A Legend (Paperback)

This is an excellent example of Blake's ability to spin a yarn mixing fact and probability to take a reader on a fantastic journey of surprise, shock, adventure, history, fact and a bit of fiction to glue it all together. This non-stop thrill ride takes you throughout Florida in the days when it was easy to get lost ten miles from the center of any city. In the centers of any of these cities it was easy to get away with murder or be murdered. Ride the highways, the swamps, the backroads; even the bounding main running rum. Keep your weapon handy, you'll need it.