Turning Idolater [Paperback]

Edward C. Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2008

Philip Flaxen, who strips past his jockstrap on the Internet for manluv.org, acquires a rare gift - a book that transforms his life. With it, he sparks with a famous author, whittles away at a new craft, swims with an odd circle of new acquaintances and is swept up in mayhem. Philip leaves the world of the Porn Nazi and enters the realm of crisp possibilities - great expectations and dark secrets that unravel over deep waters. Follow this whodunit as Philip Flaxen turns idolater and never looks back - a tale of Internet strippers, back street murders, Provincetown glitz, New York City nightlife and a love story for the ages. If you liked "No Irish Need Apply" and loved "Bobby's Trace," you will absolutely adore "Turning Idolater." Life is filled with serendipity, pleasurable and bracing, but on the fringes and in the heart, life can be a very bloody business.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edward C. Patterson has been writing novels, short fiction, poetry and drama his entire life, always seeking the emotional core of any story he tells. With his eighth novel, The Jade Owl, he combines an imaginative touch with his life long devotion to China and its history. He has earned an MA in Chinese History from Brooklyn College with further post graduate work at Columbia University. A native of Brooklyn, NY, he has spent four decades as a soldier in the corporate world gaining insight into the human condition. He won the 1999 New Jersey Minority Achievement Award for his work in corporate diversity. Blending world travel experiences with a passion for story telling, his adventures continue as he works to permeate his reader's souls from an indelible wellspring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (September 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440422109
• ISBN-13: 978-1440422102
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edward C. Patterson has been writing novels, short fiction, poetry and drama his entire life, always seeking the emotional core of any story he tells. With his eighth novel, The Jade Owl, he combines an imaginative touch with his life long devotion to China and its history. He has earned an MA in Chinese History from Brooklyn College with further post graduate work at Columbia University. Born in 1947, a native of Brooklyn, NY, he has spent four decades as a soldier in the corporate world gaining insight into the human condition. He won the 1999 New Jersey Minority Achievement Award for his work in corporate diversity. Blending world travel experiences with a passion for story telling, his adventures continue as he works to permeate his reader's souls from an indelible wellspring.

His novel No Irish Need Apply was named Book of the Month for June 2009 by Booz Allen Hamilton's Diversity Reading Organization. His Novel The Jade Owl was a finalist for The 2009 Rainbow Awards.

The 18 published books by Edward C. Patterson include No Irish Need Apply, Bobby's Trace, Cutting the Cheese, Surviving an American Gulag, Turning Idolater, Look Away Silence, The Jade Owl (Jade Owl Legacy Series Book I), The Third Peregrination (Jade Owl Legacy Series Book II), The Dragon's Pool (Jade Owl Legacy Series Book III), The People's Treasure (Jade Owl Legacy Series Book IV), Southern Swallow Series (Book I - The Academician, Book II - The Nan Tu, Book III - Swan Cloud), Oh, Dainty Triolet, The Road to Grafenwöhr, Come, Wewoka, The Closet Clandestine and Are You Still Submitting Your Work to a Traditonal Publisher?

Coming soon: Southern Swallow Series (Book IV - The House of Green Waters and Book V - Vagrants Hollow), In the Shadow of Her Hem (Jade Owl Legacy Series Book V), Pacific Crimson - Forget Me Not, Belmundus, A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon and Other Ravings from the Blogosphere, Dearest Flower of My Heart - Mail Call from Two Generations and Green Folly.

Edward C. Patterson is the proud founder of Operation eBook Drop, a member of Kindleboards, Publetariat, The Independant Author's Guild, The Gay & lesbian Writers and Readers Group. He is a Veteran, US Army 1966-68 and a member of Veteran's Historic Archive Roundtable (Lehigh Valley). He has guest blogged extensively and has appeared on the Bobby Ozuna - Soul of Humanity Show.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary Fiction for the Internet Age, January 24, 2009

By 

Todd A. Fonseca (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Turning Idolater (Paperback)

Emotionally distraught after finding male pornography in her son's room, Philip Flaxen's mother shares her discovery with her husband. Ashamed and disgusted with this revelation, Philip's father disowns his son, kicks him out of his only home, and warns him to never return. Philip turns to his only friend, Robert Spraque - "Sprakie" - who takes him into his apartment. Sprakie introduces him to the seedy world of adult internet sites where Philip can get work by "baring it all" in order to stay off the streets.

Online, Philip encounters a "customer" different from his normal patrons - this client is well educated, articulate, and thoughtful. Intrigued, Philip breaks all the rules to meet this man face to face in hopes of kindling a romance. As it turns out, Philip's admirer is an extremely successful though considerable older author. A May-December romance ensues yet both men struggle with their very different backgrounds and social strata. Each consider whether they should turn idolater or leave love behind. Meanwhile, a series of cold blooded murders involving Philip's acquaintances occur and neither Philip nor his lover realize that their choice for love is also a life or death decision.

In "Turning Idolater", Edward C Patterson has create a novel best described as contemporary literary fiction. Inspired and anchored by Melville's "Moby Dick", Patterson explores the social mores impacting two men drawn to one another yet kept from complete commitment due to the fabric of their very different backgrounds and colliding realities.

Through Patterson's lyrical prose and keen understanding of the human condition, he creates characters so real I felt as if I was reading a memoir. Frequent reference to literary classics and intricate and loving descriptions of priceless book restoration invite the reader into a contemporary equivalent of a Jane Austen novel. Fans of Patterson's work will certainly enjoy Turning Idolater.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Never a Dull Moment!, June 30, 2009

By 

Lila L. Pinord "Author and avid reader." (Port Angeles, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Turning Idolater (Paperback)

Mr. Patterson defines his characters so well, we feel we know them personally. Phillip Flaxen was the Golden Boy of his job as an Internet Stripper who made dates on the side. This job barely kept him in lunch money and he was lucky to eat once a day! Then he meets a fascinating older man who truly loves him and he helps change Phillip's lifestyle. He acquires a decent job that pays better and he loves working with rare books. His ex-roommate, his friend "Sprakie" who took him in during the worst time of his life is quite the character too. His favorite phrase, "Jesus Marie", is enough to drive his friends up the wall. The who-dunnit that winds its way throughout the story is captivating, and we never know who the culprit is until the very end. There's never a dull moment in this book! Good job, Mr. Patterson. Herman Melville and Charles Dickens would be proud.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gritty story with some memorable characters, July 8, 2011

By 

J. Chambers (Georgia, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Turning Idolater (Kindle Edition)

Note: This review was originally published at Red Adept Reviews on June 21, 2011.

Overall: 4 3/4 stars

Plot/Storyline: 5 stars

"Turning Idolater" was the story of Philip Flaxen and his search for love. Thrown out of his home by his father when he discovered that Philip was gay, Philip turned to Sprakie, an acquaintance. Soon, Philip was working at the online porn site where Sprackie worked. The story took off when Thomas Dye, a famous author, met Philip online. Their ensuing relationship - with its ups and downs - formed the crux of the story.

The title words "turning idolater" came from Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick, where Ishmael wrote, "I must turn idolater," meaning that Ishmael must ignore the line between different religions and customs, allowing the acceptance he craves from Queequeg, a harpooner on the whaling ship Pequod. In the symbolism of Turning Idolater, Philip was Ishmael to Thomas's Queequeg. There were significant differences in their age, lifestyle, and background. Could the two overcome these differences and find a happy middle ground?

Meanwhile, someone was killing Philip's friends. It gradually became apparent that the murders were connected, but by the time Philip understood the connection, it was almost too late. A sharp reader might have figured out who the murderer was from some earlier clues, but they slipped by me.

One of the highlights of the story was the trip that Thomas, Philip, and two of their friends made to Provincetown, Massachusetts, a coastal village renowned as a gay Mecca. It was.

Characters: 5 stars

The story revolved around the relationship between Philip Flaxen and Thomas Dye. Although from different worlds, they had an immediate mutual attraction. Florian "Flo" Townsend, Thomas's agent and former lover, added tension to the story with his distrust of Philip. Dean Cardoza, Flo's uncle, owned a rare book store in downtown Manhattan, and was instrumental in introducing Philip and Thomas. Not until later in the story did Philip learn why Cardoza wanted Thomas to meet him, and this revelation had a major impact on the story.

Sprackie, a former co-worker of Philip's, was a smart-mouthed New Yorker who added some comic relief, but he turned out to be much more than just a foil for Philip.

Writing style: 5 stars

Ed Patterson is a skilled author, and this isn't the first book of his that I've enjoyed, but in Turning Idolater, he cranked it up to a higher level by very artfully weaving the symbolism of Moby Dick into the story. And that's saying a lot, since Melville is not one of my favorite authors.

At times, Patterson's prose had a lyrical, almost poetic quality, especially when using references to Moby Dick. At other times, the writing was gritty hustler street-talk, which made for a jarring contrast, but was perfect in the context of the story.

The story was about gay love. There were quite a few sexual references and innuendoes, but no explicit sex.

Turning Idolater is a full-length novel with 261 Kindle pages (5,262 Kindle locations).

Editing: 4 1/4 stars

I was surprised to find a number of errors in spelling and grammar, since I've read other books by the author that were much cleaner. For example, "your" instead of "you're," "stationary" instead of "stationery," and "rooster" instead of "roster." And I'm trying to forgive the author for misspelling "Mos Eisley," the Tatooine cantina of Star Wars fame!

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I have to note that Ed Patterson is the creator and driving force behind "Operation eBook Drop," an acclaimed program where several hundred indie authors send free copies of their ebooks to allied military personnel deployed around the world. Kudos to Ed for making this possible.