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*WINNER OF A SPECIAL AWARD IN THE EFESTIVAL OF WORDS BEST OF THE INDEPENDENT EBOOKS AWARDS 2012* *GOODREADS UK AMAZON KINDLE FORUM BOOK OF THE MONTH* *ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT AUTHORS BOOK OF THE MONTH* *AS SEEN IN AMAZON UK VIDEO ADVERT FOR KINDLE PAPERWHITE*
"This is writing and literature at its best. Imagine Stephen King combined with maybe Cormac McCarthy and a bit of Edgar Allan Poe tossed in" Bestebookreviews.blogspot.co.uk
"Beautifully written...compelling...literary fiction/tartan noir/thriller/zany black comedy...Logan dances on a literary knife edge...blazing talent" Linda Gillard, author of A LIFETIME BURNING
THE SURVIVAL OF THOMAS FORD
Thomas Ford is the only survivor of the car crash which killed his wife. He is also the only witness who would be willing to identify the young, reckless driver who caused the crash. But the driver has no intention of ever letting himself be identified, not to mention what his father’s intentions are…or those of his girlfriend, Lorna, the hospital cleaner.
The young driver’s father is Jack McCallum, the powerful entrepreneur who has built a housing empire, McCallum Homes, on the high hills surrounding the city. Jack has his own dark secret to protect, as well as his business edifice to hold onto. There is no way in the world that Jack McCallum will ever let anything threaten the future of McCallum Homes.
Robert Ferguson, the passenger who was with the young driver on the day of the crash, curses himself for ever getting into the car. He watches carefully to see what the universe will do about it all, and he thinks he can hear the gears and chambers of the universe’s engine, rolling terribly towards them, out of the future, and he knows he can’t cope with that, not even if he takes his medication.
In the end, destiny will pull them all far out of the city, some of them to the moonlit hillside, where white butterflies and mysterious gas fill the air, and wild cats wrap themselves around cold trees. Jack McCallum’s trusted Polish foreman, Lanski, will recognise the place from the folklore-wilderness of his own childhood, a place where death can come stalking in the form of a white wolf, but perhaps also redemption can appear, for those like Thomas Ford who seek it.
In any case, the young driver has it in mind to take his destiny into his own hands now, which will soon lead to the life of a second young woman hanging in the balance, awaiting salvation or destruction, perhaps only the Fates, or the wind that blows through the trees, know which.
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John A. A. Logan is the author of five novels: THE SURVIVAL OF THOMAS FORD, STARNEGIN’S CAMP, AGENCY WOMAN, THE MAJOR, and ROCKS IN THE HEAD. He is also the author of STORM DAMAGE, a collection of short stories available on Kindle. His fiction has been published by PICADOR, VINTAGE, EDINBURGH REVIEW, CHAPMAN, NORTHWORDS, NOMAD, SECRETS OF A VIEW, and SCRATCHINGS; with reviews of his work in SCOTTISH STUDIES REVIEW, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY, THE SPECTATOR, and THE HINDUSTAN TIMES. His work has been published internationally in anthologies edited by A L Kennedy, John Fowles, Ali Smith, Toby Litt; and he has been invited to read his work at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. He wrote monthly columns and film reviews for the magazine, 57 NORTH, in Aberdeen, where he was also president of Aberdeen University’s Creative Writing Society for three years, while attaining his MA (Hons) English degree there, which included study under the novelist, William McIlvanney.
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Comments about John A. A. Logan’s work:
“Bold” SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
“New talent” THE HINDUSTAN TIMES
“Writerly prowess” THE SPECTATOR
“Logan writes in very original terms” SCOTTISH STUDIES REVIEW
“A blistering, tough book, tempered with tenderness and mystery” Alan Warner, author of THE STARS IN THE BRIGHT SKY
I loved this novel! Although the interiors are dark, this book has something for just about everyone.
It is a thriller, no doubt, with compelling action sequences. I kept reading straight to the end - it is a "page turner."
It is a strange romance between victims, thrown together by proximity and circumstance.
For those with a philosophical bent, The Survival of Thomas Ford seriously examines whether or not the universe allows accidents, and why good things happen to bad people(and vice versa).
For those interested in the fatalistic Celtic universe of folk lore and legend, The Survival of Thomas Ford is your book.
However, the book is really Jimmy's story - Jimmy is one of the most brilliant characterizations you will meet in literature, and I use that term advisedly, because this is a literary novel, too. And yet, superficially, Jimmy reminds us of someone we may know. That is part of the terror of this book.
Euripides and Jeremiah warn: "The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children," and in Jimmy's case, the sins of Jack, his father, are visited upon him a thousand-fold.
It is, above all else, a deep psychological study.
The characters are well-developed, with a depth and realism unusual in contemporary writing. But the landscapes, the atmosphere, the settings also loom large in this book, taking on a life of their own. The prose is a pleasure to read and it ferries the reader quickly along the Styx to the inexorable windswept hill of horrors.
Logan is an unusually literate writer. I could sometimes hear the echoes of the ancient Celts who painted themselves blue and danced naked on the battlefield; maybe the echoes of Henry James; vividly feel the warmth of Lorna's comely figure; the iciness of Jack's ambition in the subtlety of the language. You will like Thomas Ford and I hope Logan is already at work on another novel. My kindle and I are waiting.
The Survival of Thomas Ford by John A.A.Logan. This review first posted one the Indie ebook review site
I heard about this book through viral marketing, not something that usually appeals to me, but for the sake of this site I put aside my I put aside my cynicism about how one rises up through the Amazon charts and decided to find out for myself what all the fuss was about. I'm glad I did. Literary fiction is usually up my street. Contemporary thriller, only sometimes.
From the very opening, the `literary' fiction box was ticked with the beautiful prosaic description. OF A CAR CRASH. That was a master stroke. It worked. And I wondered why it worked. I was put in mind of the many films that I've seen (in a former life as a screenwriter) and how often the use of cinematic lighting can kill off the veracity of a scene or movie (Killing Private Ryan springs to mind... I mean, going into war beautifully back lit?) However, in this novel, the opposite is true. The heightened language actually enables one to fully engage with the horror of the initial car crash. So far so good... the writer has us hooked. Would the rest of the novel live up to expectation?
I'm happy to report that it did. What really did it for me in this excellent novel was the depth and detail. This applies to both characters and plot/narrative. Logan really takes you into the depths of his characters souls, using the kind of details that show a well crafted novel (and that other writers appreciate because they know how hard it is to achieve) There is a panoply of characters who one cannot `like' but Logan manages to keep you engaged with them, almost as if you are rubbernecking a car crash! Giving compelling motivations to unlikeable characters is a skill that Logan pulls off every time.
The consequence of in depth, detailed, controlled writing (especially interesting in a novel where one of the characters is obsessed with Chaos theory) was that reading it became like waiting for the moment of impact... that's the best way I can explain the suspense engendered by the author. The imagery is strong, haunting and sometimes horrific, but then you wouldn't expect to walk away unscathed from a car crash now would you?
In conclusion then, while all that glitters is not gold and while climbing up the Amazon charts may be indicative of little more than super good marketing I managed to put all cynicism aside in reading this book. Logan has proved that however he got there, he deserves to be at the top of the pile! I would certainly recommend the book to anyone who loves good literature. I want to read more of his output and I don't care what format it's in.Writing this good transcends any of the current furore around epublishing...... He's a great writer. He should be read.
This review was first published at indie ebook review site. THE site to find great indie ebooks. Featuring a peer review system of professional writers we share the great books we've found, helping you find great ebooks to read.
This book grabbed me from page one and kept me compulsively turning pages ....... until the last third of the book. Quite honestly it deteriorates into a blood bath and leaves so many loose ends that I wonder now why I bothered. I feel that the author missed so many opportunities to develop and enlarge the characters.