The Malagasy Tortoise [Paperback]

James Halon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

On a search for a rare, thought to be extinct tortoise, Jim Morgan, a Field Engineer for the Institute of Intuitive Thought, finds more than fun and high jinx during his personal hunt for incarnate happiness. Hired by an old flame, Eunice May North, Morgan expects to pick up the relationship that he shattered with a youthful and drunken infidelity two years earlier. Instead -- he finds new love, lots of new love, and a twisted romance that carries him all the way around the world from an icy Russian island in the Bearing Straits eastward back to Red Square one, in downtown Moscow.

Murder, mayhem, and beautiful women challenge Morgan to complete the expedition for the Malagasy Rex. The evil expatriated Russian, Margolova, has set her rattlers into action as she slips, venomously, below the equator to steal the Malagasy Tortoise if, indeed, one is ever found. Or is that her only clandestine goal?

The Island of Madagascar, once a stomping ground to the pirate, Captain Kidd, is hiding darker evils than portent by a Jolly Roger hoisted atop a three-mast sailing bark. There’s an estuary at Pimakeel Bay, an idyllic paradise on the Mozambique Channel, this bay is camp to a classified group of English C-5 undercover agents. They are there to research the inlet as a future, hidden, submarine base. Just what is it that Margolova really wants as she turns this island paradise into a mass grave of covert operatives?

Why should Morgan, a happy-go-lucky Engineer, be the one, self-elected, to stop the rampage of the mad bitch, Margolova? Is it Love? Revenge? Or just a simple case of -- "A man’s got to do, what a man’s got to do." Is Jim Morgan an adventurer, lover, hero, or -- idiot? The perspective choice will fall deftly into your own curious hands as you read, The Malagasy Tortoise, A Jim Morgan Adventure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book has intrigue, humor, romance and in the style of James Bond, action and adventure. Author James Halon has written an action-packed adventure novel in The Malagasy Tortoise. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Mr. Halon was born in Hammond, Indiana on August fourth, 1946. He served as a Weather Observer, Weather Forecaster, Solar Observer and Astro-geophysical Data Analyst before retiring from the USAF. He later worked for the Department of Defense as a Nuclear Scientist in Radiological Control de-activating nuclear submarines at the Bremmerton Ship Yards outside of Seattle, Washington.

Mr. Halon now resides in northwest Indiana where he wrote a lot of poetry and published his first book, "Poetry." He wrote for a radio program called CRY, Concerns and Resolutions for Youth while teaching English and Mathematics at a local college prep school. A dabbler in the arts, for the fun of it, he has published many cartoons, poems, and painted numerous paintings in water-based acrylics. He worked five years in the northwest Indiana steel mills as an Inspector on a continuous-roll galvanizing line.

Today, he just writes. He is nearing completion of the sequel to "The Malagasy Tortoise" and will title his second novel "The Maldives Island Incident" which is also a Jim Morgan Adventure.

Mr. Halon attended Chapman College in Orange, California; The University of Hawaii, on Oahu; Purdue University, Indiana; LaSalle University, Chicago; and the University of Wisconsin.

His interests lie in the para-normal and the Para-psychological. He is a consummate and varied subject research reader. His favorite authors are: Aristotle, Hume, St. Augustine, Henry Miller, John Galloway, Jr., E. Hemingway, Tolstoy, G.B. Shaw, and Stephan King.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: New Line Press (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097223490X
• ISBN-13: 978-0972234900
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,918,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Halon is a bestselling novelist, short story author, and poet. Mr. Halon is the author of 10 published books. He lives overlooking a lake in Northern California. Mr. Halon's books include, Poetry, The Malagasy Tortoise, Orchids to Die For, Evi's Blind Date, Jimmy Begood, 50 Going on 25, Mnomia's World, Expressions of Love, Creative Writing 101, and Grandpa's Cat. Mr. Halon is also the author of the Play, What a Difference a Little Gold Makes.

James Halon studied English at Chapman College in Orange, California. He studied Physics and Engineering (IET) at Purdue University and Mathematics at the University of Hawaii on Oahu. While working in the field of Meteorology, James was a tornado chaser between Oklahoma City and Saint Louis. He did wind-diffusion studies in micro-met for toxic fuels dispersion associated with Titan III rocket launches. Then, having worked as a Pilot Weather Briefer and Station Weather Forecaster, he went on to Solar Observing and Solar Flare Forecasting at the Palahua Solar Observatory as an Astrogeophysical Data Analyst.

James later worked as a Nuclear Scientist in radiological control associated with the de-activation of Attack Class Submarines for the Department of the Navy in Bremerton, Washington. James Halon began writing for small Gazettes as early as 1964, where he became known for his political cartoons. In the mid-1980's he began writing for the Ada S. McKinley Foundation where he wrote a weekly radio program called, CRY, Concerns and Resolutions for Youth.

Expressions of Love is James Halon's second poetry book. His first, Poetry, a hardback collection of selected works was published in 1992. His first novel, the first in the Jim Morgan Adventure Series, The Malagasy Tortoise was published in 2002. His second novel, Orchids to Die For (co-authored with Catherine Burr), was published in 2007. In March 2008, James Halon's novella Jimmy Begood, was released on Amazon.com Kindle books and was released on MobiPocket.com in March 2008 where it instantly became a bestselling short story and has remained on the Best-Seller list ever since. Also in 2008, Halon's short stories, Evi's Blind Date, Mnomia's World, and 50 Going on 25 were released.

James Halon is currently working on the third novel in the Jim Morgan Adventure Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Character driven story....., November 19, 2002

By 

Terri DuLong "Lost Souls of the Witches' Castle" (New Port Richey, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Malagasy Tortoise (Paperback)

Author Jim Halon has managed to create characters that enabled this reader to feel she knows them personally. A very well crafted story with laugh out loud writing. The humor the author displays throughout is refreshing and uplifting.

Halon has a wonderful ability to place the reader "there"...with exceptional description, one feels like they're partaking of the adventure right along with Morgan. The fresh prose delights throughout the story. "My steak disappeared so fast that David Copperfield, the infamous illusionist, would have been awestruck, and demanding that I eat another so he could pick up on my trick."

I was gravely mistaken when I initally thought this was a "man's" adventure story. Halon has combined adventure with a hefty amount of humor and romance. This reader was quite impressed with his choice of female characters...strong-willed, intelligent, competent, attractive and independent. Don't expect a damsel in distress in this novel. Halon's female characters makes this particular female reader exceptionally impressed with what he created. All of them, including Morgan himself, are realistic and believable. I sincerely give this novel a five star rating, only because six wasn't available. Order a copy, curl up in a comfortable spot and prepare to be highly entertained! This author has great promise and I look forward to the sequel.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Malagasy Tortoise - I couldn't put it down until finished., November 5, 2002

By 

Suzanne Lundy (Springfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Malagasy Tortoise (Paperback)

The Malagasy Tortoise was a thriller from the word go, kind of a Tom Clancy meets James Bond, only much better. This is one of those books a friend will borrow and you'll never get it back. And unlike all the ridiculous 007 books and movies, The Malagasy Tortoise was believable, as well as articulate and extremely well-written. James Halon, the author, has a diverse background, including military service, which is obvious in writing. A great read for anyone, though I found it particularly interesting since I live in the DC area, where a lot of the action takes place. Thank you Jim Halon for a great escape. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a novel this much.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Morgan's Tortoise, a romance for men, November 4, 2002

By 

Terry Wright "author-editor" (Lakewood, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Malagasy Tortoise (Paperback)

From the frozen Alaskan tundra to the bowles of a Russian prison, Jim Morgan seeks true love as cheif engineer on a scientific expedition into the heart of Madagascar in search of a rare tortoise purported to possess great powers. Eunice (Jim's ex-fiancé whom he had cheated on with a stripper) organizes the trek and sends him out with an open checkbook and a beautiful CIA agent named Sophie. (Lucky guy) Some say Jim Morgan is a womanizer, a wantabe James Bond. I think he's a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of change and not a clue about what he wants. He professes his love for Eunice and sleeps with Sophie all the while lusting for provocative English agent Tina Johnson. Then in a cruel twist of fate, Eunice shows up in Madagascar and Jim sleeps with Eunice while Sophie waits in the wings. Reminds me of the song "Did you ever have to make up your mind? Take up with one and leave the other behind." I wonder how many men have fantasized about having Jim Morgan's prowess with the ladies.

The bad guy/gal, Russian spy Margolova, leaves dead men everywhere she goes. Her sights are set on the Malagasy tortoise and Jim Morgan's body. I couldn't put this book down, mainly because I wanted to see how far James Halon would push Jim Morgan before he collapsed from sexual frustration. I needed to know who Jim Morgan would choose in the end...and who would finally possess the Malagasy Tortoise. Read the book to discover the stunning conclusion.