The Verse of the Sword [Paperback]

R J Huddy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2009

Meet Harrison Bacon, an ornithologist whose fantasies of flight are never far from mind, a person who has always avoided emotional entanglements, knowing what the results would be. But a hard gust of wind on Cape Cod has knocked him overboard, and the next thing he knows he's looking up at a nurse. The door to love, and to crippling heartbreak, is open. Harrison's career and love life take an unusual twist when an old friend, an Algerian graduate student he met at a hamburger stand in West Virginia, offers him a university position in North Africa. There he is suddenly thrown into the hell of religious warfare, and a political revolution that threatens to overthrow every relationship he has. The Verse of the Sword is a love story, an adventure, and a travelogue; a many-layered tale of creeping tension deftly told with insight and surprising humor.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

RJ Huddy is a Kentucky-born American who has lived and worked most of his life in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. This is his first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 458 pages
• Publisher: XPat Fiction (September 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159028237X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590282373
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,831,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Best Seller, September 29, 2009

By 

Cubby - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Verse of the Sword (Paperback)

I've been an avid reader ever since I was old enough to pick up a book, and this is one of the best novels I've EVER read. I just want to tell everyone how great it is and how it takes you from laughing to crying and to places all over the world and how you know the people and their way of life like you were there with them. I mean it literally had me crying real tears, and at other times I was laughing out loud. My husband was saying, "What is wrong with you?" After I re-read this book, I'll let him read it and he can find out for himself.

I won't spoil it by saying what the surprising twists and events were, but I will say that even when I was surprised by something one of the characters did, I never felt that I'd been tricked. It was always, "Of course! That's exactly what he/she would do in this situation." These are not lives governed by fickle winds of fate. These people decide how their own lives need to be changed, and then they live with the consequences of their decisions. Or maybe their non-decision. We, the reader, see trouble brewing before those on the scene do. And when everything hits the fan, we're on that wild roller-coaster right with them. I truly cared about Harry and Latifa and Mark, Abdelqader, and all of them, as though they were my own family and friends. And the villains--who don't see themselves at all as bad guys--well, they made my blood chill.

You go from the hills of West Virginia to France and Spain and (mainly) North Africa. If you've ever taken a vacation in Morocco and wished you had longer to know the life there better than you know it from tourist hotels, or if you've ever just wondered about the Arab world and about everyday life for normal Muslims, The Verse of the Sword will take care of that. I finished the book feeling like I'd lived there for years.

Mainly though in my opinion this is a love story. As for most of us, Harry's lovelife has had its ups and downs. We know he deserves better, but we all know not everybody gets what they deserve. And anybody who reads this and doesn't fall in love with Latifa--well, I just don't know how that's possible.

This is R J Huddy's first novel, and I for one hope it's the first of many.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read first novel, October 4, 2009

By 

L. Ward - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Verse of the Sword (Paperback)

The Verse of the Sword is one of those books that stays with you. Although you are satisfied when you finish it, you long for more because you have come to care about the characters. You don't want your relationship with them to end.

If you love great writing, then read it just for the beautiful language and the way the book was constructed. If you love a good story, you get that, too. If you love to travel, you'll love the various settings and you'll learn something about other countries and cultures, but it won't feel like a lesson.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Verse, December 20, 2009

By 

Belinda (Dubai, UAE) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Verse of the Sword (Paperback)

An excellent read, I totally enjoyed this novel. The range of topics, locations and characters blend perfectly to create a novel that takes the reader through a range of emotions and challenges the brain as well. I came to care for the characters and really wanted to find out how their stories ended. The story is full of twists and turns and surprises yet the end brings together every strand perfectly. The writing is eloquent and gorgeous and the relationships are portrayed with a vividness that is quite beautiful. It was an immensely enjoyable read, thank you RJ!