Two in the Field [Paperback]

Darryl Brock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2002

Bestselling author Darryl Brock returns to post Civil War America with Two in the Field, a novel that brings back his beloved protagonist Samuel Clemens Fowler.

Recently returned from a trip through history, where he was a part-time "ballist" with the Cincinnati Red Stockings-baseball's first all-professional team-Sam is trying to readjust to life in the 21st century. But part of him is still back in 1869 Ohio, where he fell in love with a beautiful Irish widow named Cait. Determined to find her again, he sets out on a cross-country journey. Lightning really does strike twice when his car flips over in the middle of a raging storm outside Keokuk, Iowa. Sam awakens in 1875, where he is once again caught up in the tempestuous events of the era. Soon he's riding the rails as a tramp, tracking through Pennsylvania coal mining country, and heading west in a frenzy of gold rush fever before he can reclaim his lost love.

Peopled by such unforgettable historical figures as Samuel Clemens and George Armstrong Custer, and filled with vivid period detail, Two in the Field takes readers back to the years when America was young-a must-read for fiction lovers and nostalgia buffs alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brock's sequel to If I Never Get Back promises the quaint historical charm that distinguished its predecessor, but some erratic plotting and a decision to virtually eliminate the baseball motif hurts the follow-up effort. The novel begins with time-traveling protagonist Samuel Fowler stuck in a San Francisco mental hospital after an extended flashback to Cincinnati in 1869, where he was a member of the first professional baseball team, the Red Stockings. Fowler remains haunted by his ill-fated affair with Caitlin O'Neill, and when his doctor challenges him to verify her existence, he sets off again for Cincinnati, where an auto accident sends him hurtling back to the 19th century. A visit to Samuel Clemens helps Fowler track down Caitlin in a Nebraska settlement, and Fowler takes up a quest to save the settlement from a thuggish, corrupt senator whose land scams threaten to destroy it. The early scenes in which Fowler goes back in time are deftly handled, as are Fowler's attempts to rekindle his romance with O'Neill. But his battles with the senator and his brutish cohorts seem far-fetched and unfocused, especially when the villains kidnap Caitlin's son and Fowler attempts a ludicrous rescue based on advice from George Custer. With this uneven plot, Brock's competent but somewhat diluted sequel can't match its inspired forerunner.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Brock has a talent for making the incredible entirely believable and his research is breathtaking.... leaves you yearning for more. -- Sports Journal, October 28, 2002

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Plume (August 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452283566
• ISBN-13: 978-0452283565
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I guess he got back, November 1, 2002

By 

Richard L. Nelson "chardlee" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Two in the Field (Paperback)

This is good stuff, just not as good as "If I Never Get Back," which remains one of my favorite recent novels.

I guess my one real concern about the book is that it's more of a continuation than a sequel. I doubt that it would stand well on its own, as there are characters and events that would just seem to come out of nowhere if you don't have the background of the preceeding novel.

Just a few, brief comments:

1. It's a worthy follow-on to the original novel, but you should definitely have read If I Never Get Back first. (Or heck, just reread it; it stands up really well!)

2. There is definitely less baseball, and less focus on baseball, although it does recur throughout.

3. The ending seems a bit hurried, and less carefully crafted than the rest of the novel. I still haven't decided whether this is just because I didn't want it to end, or whether I'm not pleased with the ending.

It's well-written, well-researched, and well worth the time to read it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding sequel to a classic baseball fiction book, September 7, 2002

By 

Battman (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two in the Field (Paperback)

Darryl Brock's problem, quite frankly, is that he hit a grand slam with "If I Never Get Back" (1989), a classic baseball adventure, time travel book.

So what does he do for an encore?

Well, if you're Mr. Brock, you send Sam Fowler back to the past to search for his beloved Cait, then get him involved with a little bit of baseball (unlike his first book in which baseball dominated), Mark Twain (delightfully again), Gen. George Custer, the American West and an interesting group of new characters.

A grand slam? Well, maybe not, but a two- or three-run home run at least. In other words, Mr. Brock has written a sequel worthy of IINGB. A must read - but start with IINGB first. You won't put either of them down.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars swing and a miss?, July 14, 2003

By 

"barefootgirlfla" (Winter Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two in the Field (Paperback)

When I first read "If I Never Get Back", I was completely enthralled with it. I reread it many years later, and still enjoyed it. I looked forward to "Two In the Field", and zipped thru it, but in the end found myself thinking, "Is that it?". It was enjoyable, and I liked meeting historical characters like Twain and Custer, but overall found the book a little disappointing. Two of my favorite topics are time travel and baseball, which is why I liked the first one so much. I have to wonder why this one is titled as it is, since baseball is such a miniscule part of the plot. And I agree with those who say it ended abruptly.