The Keeper's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #1) [Hardcover]

Homer Hickam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

In 1941, Killakeet Island of the wind-swept Outer Banks of North Carolina is home to a tiny, peaceful population of fishermen, clam stompers, oyster rakers, and a few lonely sailors of the Coast Guard. Dominating the glorious, raw beauty of the little island is the majestic Killakeet Lighthouse, which for generations has been the responsibility of one family, the Thurlows.

However, Josh Thurlow, the Keeper's son, has forsworn his heritage to become the commander of the Maudie Jane, a small Coast Guard patrol boat operating off Killakeet. Josh is still tortured by guilt, seventeen years after losing his baby brother at sea. Then his life is complicated by the arrival of the beautiful Dosie Crossan, who has journeyed to lonely Killakeet to escape the outside world and perhaps find a purpose in life. While Josh's heart is stirred by the often-vexing Dosie, he continues his search for his brother, even after a wolfpack of German U-boats arrives to soak the island's beaches with blood and oil.

One of the U-boats is captained by Otto Krebs, a famed and ruthless undersea warrior. Krebs, a man also scarred by lost love, comes to Killakeet, however, with more than torpedoes and plans for war: He may also have the answer to the mystery that haunts Josh Thurlow.

The Keeper's Son is a rousing, romantic tale of the power of the human heart forever searching for redemption.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A gutsy Coast Guard officer battles German submarines and 17 years of unfettered guilt on the North Carolina coast in 1941 and 1942 in this high adventure yarn. Hickam, the author of the memoir Rocket Boys (which was turned into the film October Sky), knows a great deal about submarine warfare in WWII, as evidenced by his 1989 nonfiction naval history, Torpedo Junction. This is the first novel of a planned series about rough and tumble Coast Guard Lt. Josh Thurlow and his unusual patrol boat crew during WWII. Josh, 31, is a career officer assigned to Killakeet Island, along North Carolina's treacherous Outer Banks. Both he and his father-the keeper of the Killakeet Lighthouse-are haunted by the loss at sea and presumed death of Josh's two-year-old baby brother 17 years earlier. Shaken from his brooding by the appearance of German U-boats, Josh must try to protect the merchant ships torpedoed every night offshore. His patrol boat is small and ill-equipped, and his crew is a wacky group of casual islanders who aren't sure they really want to fight anybody. A talented U-boat commander named Krebs becomes Josh's honored enemy, but another U-boat skipper is a far more ruthless and dangerous adversary. Josh must fight both, as well as his suspicions that his little brother may not be dead after all; the reappearance of a childhood sweetheart leavens the mix. Hickam provides a vivid and convincing portrayal of life under the sea in a U-boat, as well as on the surface in a fragile patrol boat. Well-crafted characters, gripping naval warfare and colorful island life come together in this dynamic and exciting tale.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This excellent story of World War II on the Outer Banks will surprise no one who remembers Hickam's Torpedo Junction (1989), his nonfiction account of the U-boat war off the American coast in 1942. Drawing on his research for that book, Hickam deftly crafts a romantic, even melodramatic story, occasionally venturing beyond the limitations of historical factuality but always presenting consistent viewpoints for both American and German characters. The former include the title character, Coast Guard Lieutenant Josh Thurlow in his 83-foot patrol boat, the Maudie Jane; her motley crew; and the inhabitants of Killakeet Island. The Germans are hard-driving but ethical Captain Krebs, commander of U-560, and his crew, one of whom, Harro Stollenberg, may be Josh's brother, Jacob, who was lost at sea 17 years earlier. The pacing, the building of character with carefully chosen detail, and the masterful construction of a setting are as much strengths of this novel as they are of Hickam's other books. He evokes with great skill a time and a place that is passing out of living memory, and if he completes his projected series about Josh Thurlow and those who went down to the sea in Coast Guard cutters, he will have made a very notable addition to American maritime literature, indeed. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

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• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312301898
• ISBN-13: 978-0312301897
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Homer Hickam (also known as Homer H. Hickam, Jr.) has been a coal miner, Vietnam combat veteran, scuba instructor, NASA engineer, and now a best-selling author.

Homer has always loved to write. In the third grade, his teacher, after reading one of his short stories, predicted he would make his living as a writer. He did a lot of other things and had a lot of other interests but writing was always his true passion. After returning from Vietnam, Homer started selling his work. At first, he mostly wrote about his scuba diving adventures for a variety of different magazines and then branched out into writing articles on history, mostly World War II but also some NASA-related work. His first book, Torpedo Junction (1989), the story of the U-boat war along the American seaboard during World War II, was a military history best-seller. It was published by the Naval Institute Press and Bantam. It is still popular and in print.

In 1998, Delacorte Press published Hickam's second book, Rocket Boys: A Memoir, which became an instant classic. It is often studied in schools and picked as a community or library read of the year. It has been translated into a dozen languages, most recently Vietnamese and Chinese.

In February, 1999, Universal Studios released its critically-acclaimed film October Sky, based on Rocket Boys. When speaking to groups, Homer often apologizes to the young women in the audience for not actually being Jake Gyllenhaal (Jake played him in the movie). Jake Gyllenhaal, when speaking to groups, often apologizes to adult women for not being Homer Hickam. They're actually good friends.

In 2011, Rocket Boys the Musical continued development on its march to Broadway (www.rocketboysthemusical.com). Homer is co-writer of the musical.

Homer's first fiction novel was Back to the Moon (1999) which has proved enduringly popular for more than a decade.

There are three more books in the "Coalwood" series after Rocket Boys (aka October Sky). They are The Coalwood Way, Sky of Stone, and We Are Not Afraid.

Homer also has a series of popular novels about Josh Thurlow, a Coast Guard officer during World War II. The series began with The Keeper's Son (2003), followed by The Ambassador's Son and The Far Reaches.

In 2008, his novel Red Helmet, a romantic love story set in a West Virginia coal town, was published. My Dream of Stars, the memoir of Anousheh Ansari, was published in March, 2010.

The Dinosaur Hunter, a mystery/western novel set in the ranch lands of Montana and reflecting Homer's love of both Montana and paleontology, was published in Nov. 2010.

His next novel, titled Crater, is set on the moon 120 years in the future and will be published April, 2012. It is the first in a planned trilogy known as the Helium-3 series.

Mr. Hickam continues to love the sea. He scuba dives and snorkels in the world's oceans. A new avocation is amateur paleontology. He has discovered two of the approximately forty T.rexes ever found.

Mr. Hickam is married to Linda Terry Hickam, an artist and his first editor and assistant. They love their cats and share their time between homes in Alabama and the Virgin Islands.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for Everyone, October 13, 2003

By 

Marilyn Puett (Huntsville, AL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Keeper's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #1) (Hardcover)

In his seventh book Homer Hickam expertly blends facts and fiction to entertain his readers with a love story set in some of the darkest days of US history. This is very different from Mr. Hickam's successful memoir books such as Rocket Boys but is a book that this reader believes will appeal to both men and women alike and earn him a new group of fans. The main plot revolves around Josh Thurlow, son of the lighthouse keeper, and Dosie Crossan, who has returned to the island to find herself. Years before, Josh's baby brother had been lost at sea and throughout his life, Josh had blamed himself. His every thought and decision in life was painted with the brush of guilt and an attempt at redemption for his actions. The book has a large cast of characters including Krebs, a German U-Boat commander with a conscience and Vogel, a Nazi commander without one, Harro, a young seaman under Krebs' command, Doc Folsom, the island's doctor, Willow, the local "hoo-doo," and Rex Stewart, a Hollywood cowboy stuntman ineligible for the draft but 'drafted' nonetheless into the coastal horse patrol. Even though Otto is the enemy, he and Josh form a strange bond and respect each other professionally. And though Josh doesn't know it, Otto may hold the key to his brother's disappearance. This book is well researched with wonderful characters. The action holds your attention and shows a realistic picture of life at sea. It also describes day-to-day life on a remote island with such realism that you can smell the salt air and feel the sand in your shoes. Mr. Hickam writes with such attention to detail that the climactic battle scene will have you gripping the arms of your chair. The Keeper's Son should appeal to everyone. It has history, romance, local color and charm, eccentric characters and battles on land and sea. It will be a great book for the upcoming cooler weather. Curl up in your favorite chair with a cup of hot chocolate and be entertained and educated. This is the first book in a series and I anxiously look forward to the next book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going Home to the Outer Banks, November 10, 2003

By 

Gerald S. Peabody (Amherst, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Keeper's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #1) (Hardcover)

I read this wonderful book in one day! I've walked the beach, swam the waters, watched the waves and the sunsets on the Outer Banks, and Homer Hickam takes me back there with "The Keeper's Son." The irascible, independent islanders of Hickham's Killikeet are people who live on in my imagination, and that's the sign of a great writer - someone who creates characters so real you're sure they could be part of your life if only you could get inside the pages of a book. But Hickham has gone one better, he's given us a rousing tale of World War II and the courageous islanders who fought off German U-Boats that tried to cripple shipping along the eastern coast of the U.S. Sometimes a narrative gets choppy when an author jumps back and forth between two main characters' points of view, but not Hickam's. Both the sub captain and the Coast Guard ensign are men you come to respect and care about. Added to all this is a series of love stories, the love of brothers and of fathers and sons, the love of a man and a woman, the love of a community has for its own, both native and adopted. And wait, that's not all - Hickam has added a mystery that has you guessing until the very end - is the long lost son really lost or has he come home. Hickam has hinted this will be only the first in a series of books about his Killkeet Islanders and I can't wait to get back to them. This is one book (or series of books) I'll buy for myself and not just rely on the public library to supply me. In fact, I'll probably buy it for my daughter who spent a summer working for the National Park Service on Cape Lookout as a loggerhead turtle monitor. She's going to love it because it will mean going home to her too.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winner!!, October 28, 2003

By 

Amy Leemon (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Keeper's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #1) (Hardcover)

This book has something for everyone. The mystery of a lost son, romance between 2 very appealing characters, humor (Once & Again), the quirks of a fishing village (especially the moms), German U-boats and some little known history of events that took place off our coastline in WW2.

A tremendously great read - it would make a good movie if they only leave the storyline alone.

Enjoy!