Customer Reviews

Sky Blue: A Novel

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Sky Blue by Travis Thrasher
Reviewed by Edee Wilcox (author,Saved Times Three)

Travis Thrasher delivers yet another powerful, heartfelt novel. One thing I love about Thrasher is his ability to pull out the rawest emotions of his characters. Sky Blue begins with Colin and Jennifer, a busy couple focused on their careers which keep them apart for weeks at a time. In their hearts, they want more from their relationship than two successful careers. They want a baby, but after numerous attempts and false hopes, Jennifer can't take the rollercoaster anymore. She's been asked to work on the biggest movie of her career with some of the biggest stars. Colin, on the other hand, is becoming more and more cynical about his profession - a literary agent. Everything in Colin's life seems to come at the wrong time. The only right time he can remember is when he met Jennifer. Everything else has been spinning downhill since then. Jennifer knows they're at a crossroads and the next move could determine their future so she convinces Colin they need to take a trip. The storms raging in on their tropical paradise are only a hint of the turmoil to come. What will become of Colin when all those things he complains about are gone?
That answer and more can be found in this story about life and the disappointments and surprises that come a long the way. Sky Blue reminds me a lot of Nicholas Sparks, but at the end, instead of crying, I felt hope.

Having been a fan of Travis Thrasher since his first book, I think he has outdone himself with Sky Blue. It was hard to put it down after the first page! The book has all the aspects of a great novel--romance, mystery, and the pain of disappointment and tragedy. But the clincher is the surprise ending that shows the work of God in someone who is totally empty and then given new hope in life. I heartily recommend it for all readers.

Sky Blue was a very touching story told through a man's perspective; which, made it that more intense. Travis Thrasher is awesome at weaving a storyline in the most unique way. The characters are well developed, the plot was suspenseful, and much of it brought me to tears. The main character experiences a gut renching transformation from being self centered, losing the love of his life, experiencing crippling depression, then finally finding redemption and love again at the end. I can honestly say that most of the books that I have read (aside from the few by Stephen King and John Grisham)have all been written by women. Travis T. has the ability to capture everyone's interest whether it be man or woman. Sensitiveness for the women and suspense and thrill for the men.

I am a die-hard horror/science fiction/fantasy reader, not much past that usually makes me want to sit down and read for hours on end. But, by chance, I had met the author of this book at my area bookstore while he was signing his latest book, Sky Blue and I was struck by his down-to-earth personality, his friendly one-on-one demeanor and the fact he wasn't taken aback that I had never read his works before. His sincerity so impressed me, I bought a autographed copy of Sky Blue and promised to read some of his work. After all, how often do you humiliate yourself in front of a literary talent? That said, I read the teaser on the back and thought....am I going to like this??? I can answer that....I did and further went out of my way to purchase this gentleman's WHOLE library....why you ask? The story was wonderful...this author has a unique talent for natural story development and fleshes out his characters in a way that makes them believeable and vulnerable, they are laid out raw and naked on every page...you feel their pain and suffer their wounds. The story is heartfelt, beautiful and carefully drawn...in my humble opinion, Mr. Thrasher is a literary genius and has taught me to overcome my reading prejudices, expand my horizons and try out new, formerly unbeknownst writers...to explore....Thrasher is just as noteable an artist as Nicholas Sparks, yet I had never heard of him....he is a gemstone in the field of fiction...find him, buy him and discover him for himself...okay, I am gushing, but the guy is good! The story revolves around protagonist, Colin Scott, successful literary agent at a top firm, the envy of many, or so you would think....slowly Colin's life is unraveling...he has become jaded by the literary world and its needy, selfish writers, life has become routine...on top of this, he and his wife have been desperately trying to get pregnant and that just isn't happening...he feels his wife is pulling away, their careers have had them away from each other and Colin is afraid he may be losing her. This is further ascerbated by her leaving on a business trip saying they need time apart....Colin begins losing valuable clients...things are as bad as they can get....or so he thinks...then his wife comes home and they decide to go on a much needed vacation to Cancun...where his fears quickly shift to nightmares as his life is drastically turned upside-down in one second where his life is tragically altered...forever....what develops is an amazing journey with an ending that makes everything worth it all....a serious, touching and tender story of incredible love and loss and finding the true meaning and worth in life....a truly beautifully wrought tale worth every penny of admission. This is truly an artist to watch! A+++++++++++

Sky Blue gives me yet another reason to name Travis Thrasher as among my favorite authors. This beautiful story not only leaves you on the edge of your seat, but it also makes you think and evaluate what truly is important. Colin and Jen find themselves in the same place as many married people do--in a place of unrest and overwhelmed with the demands of work, life, and marriage. Their story is one of surprises, and an ending I didn't see coming. All of Travis Thrasher's books have that wonderful combination of excitement, honesty, humor and are thought provoking. Sky Blue is beautiful....read it! You will be glad you did!

I'm a new fan of Travis Thrasher, hence the reason I'm just now discovering this gem of a work!
Thrasher's gift is he creates characters that feel real. Sky Blue is no exception. Colin(my Nephew's name) felt real to me. A flesh and blood character, unlike the one dimensional ones found in most popular fiction. Someone I would want to hang out with. His love of classic literature is easy to relate to, and made me want to jump in the book and carry on a conversation about our favorite books.
Books can do that when handled by the right writer. They can grab us, transport us, and make us care. Good ones should do that. Thrasher does that with flair with this novel.
I don't want to give too much of the plot away. Telling too much would spoil an ending I didn't see coming. Let me say I thought Colin was losing his mind. Things happen to him that are supernatural in nature. Just read it and you'll understand.
I've purchased all of Thrasher's books now, and can't wait to experience all of them. I'm also plugging him to all my friends. The praise is warrented.
Well worth the money. I just started Isolation, and am already hooked!
Jim Pennington

Travis Thrasher is one of my favorite authors. I love his writing. I do. I love that he does different things in style like use stream of consciousness in the middle of dialogue or scenes. His voice is his own, identifiable, and, yes, usually angsty, but so real. Unique. Gratifying for this reader.



Sky Blue was published by Moody Publishers in 2007, and it's vintage Travis Thrasher. The basic storyline is difficult to pinpoint, the risk of revealing too much ever present. I have to say this novel reminded me of Chris Fabry's Dogwood only because the hints of where it's going are so subtle you're supposed to miss them. And like Dogwood I'm not sure I "approve" of the ending, but the journey is well worth the trip through the pages. And even that journey is part of the book's experience.



The chapters of this book are titles of famous novels and the main character, Colin Scott, is a cynical literary agent at a top firm. When the story opens, he and his wife Jennifer, who designs costumes for movies, have been unsuccessful in starting a family, and this struggle weighs on their relationship. Jennifer decides she needs time and space and leaves Colin to work on a film, only this time she doesn't know for sure when she'll return. Colin is in the process of losing clients and hating most of his authors and their self-seeking drivel. With the lack of a family issue presiding over his melancholy and his wife's frustration and pain, he's lost the fire for his work.



When Jennifer finally returns with a tentative hope for their marriage, at Colin's insistence, the couple takes off for time together in Cancun. His only work-related chore for their visit is to read a novel by his agency's top bestselling author. They arrive in soaking rain and the bad weather hangs around them like dread until their final time there when Jen elects to go parasailing.



This is a story of love, loss, struggle, and pain. Told from Colin's first person often snipey and arrogant point of view, we watch him deteriorate while scaling the sheer cliffs of depression before plunging off the deep end of utter despair. Tossed into the strange mix of emotions he experiences two wannabe authors who use opposite tactics to attempt to get his representation. Faith issues surface, but he wards them off with a stubborn rebellion. When reality finally claims him back from his self-imposed exile, life embraces him in a fullness he only dreamed.



The title Sky Blue holds dual meanings. The publishing picture painted in the pages of this story lays bare the potential ugliness in a business that can of course be all about the money. Travis does a masterful job of capturing the cynicism and cutthroat breed of some people in the biz plus depicting Colin's struggle with the common problem of managing work and family and being able to define what's truly important in his life.



If there's a weakness in this story, it's Jen. Her fading in and out without reasonable explanations or a desire to arrive at--or to insist upon--concrete evaluations of who they are and what they intend to do in their relationship frustrated me. However, since the story was told through the eyes of her husband and his skewed observations of so many things, it also fit the storyline which I know sounds like a contradiction. You'd have to read the novel to understand this dichotomy.



I've read a couple of Travis's novels that I didn't like, but I always enjoy the way he tells the story. He's a favorite, and Sky Blue presents one of those stories that lingers after you read the final page. I might not have liked certain elements of the story in the final evaluation, but I loved the journey and the writing to get to "The End".

I just discovered Travis Thrasher this year. I chose Sky Blue as my first book to read (Travis recommended I start with it). All I can say is AMAZING!! I was hooked from the first page and the ending blew me away. I am now reading my third book and plan to read every book he has written. So glad I discovered Travis thru Jimmy Wayne who is co-writing a book with him due out next year called Paper Angels!! :):)Read this book...You will be hooked. Everyone I have passed the book to has thanked me!
K. McGee

Writing is an art; it's intensely personal and soul-baring. Publishing is business; it's intensely public and sells its soul to the highest bidder. Colin Scott, a top literary agent, deals in the latter but at least makes an attempt to respect the former. But after years in the business and managing many top-name authors, Colin's idealism is conflicting with his industry and his cynicism mounts as he sees good art sacrificed to make good money. That fire to discover new talent just isn't there anymore, and on a personal level things are falling apart as well.

Then the straw that broke the camel's back comes when tragedy strikes: Colin's life is changed forever. He loses everything. His passion, his job...maybe even his mind. Sky Blue is a novel of love, loss, and how one man finds his place in the world.

Author Travis Thrasher has long contended that Sky Blue is his favorite novel to date, and I can see why. Travis has worked on both the business and creative ends of the industry, and that experience shines through as he navigates Colin through his rise and fall in the business of books. Part drama, part supernatural mystery, part romance, Sky Blue is an engaging story with an incredible twist - one I never saw coming and had to read through a couple times to wrap my mind around. It's another solid offering from Travis Thrasher that again carries the great themes of hope and restoration.

This was my first Travis read- was introduced to his work through my book club. I was hooked from the beginning and got more addicted the further I went. Travis tells a wonderful story about finding yourself and what is truly important in life. It came at a time when I was struggling with some of the same issues as his main character and I felt like God put this book in my hands for a reason. I also enjoyed the insights into publishing, as an avid reader it was fun to think about how a book makes it through the process and into my hands. Got a chance to meet Travis at our book club and he is as engaging in person as his writing is. I bought every other one of his books and can't wait to read his most recent- Every Breath You Take- have to buy it directly from him at [...]. Bottom line- read this book- you'll be glad you did!