The Lorin Solo: A Novel (Paperback)

~ Chuck Edwards (Author)
Key Phrases: gold bugle, solo competition, horn line, Blue Devils, San Francisco, Ave Maria (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A fictional love story that develops under the coverlet of the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps competitive year 1986 and continues to this day in a unique and sentimental way.

About the Author

Retired College Professor from UCLA, living in Las Vegas, Nevada and writing constantly. Before teaching on the college level, Chuck spent ten years as a broadcast journalist from Barnwell SC to Miami FL, and finally to Boston, MA. He was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and moved with family to the US in 1955. His thesis screenplay at UCLA, Myron's Ballroom, earned him an Academy Internship at 20th Century Fox on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. He took a sabatical from teaching for a year to learn more about a newly acquired passion...drum and bugle corps competition...and traveled with the Concord Blue Devils. His novel reflects his passion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (April 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419634526
• ISBN-13: 978-1419634529
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,089,883 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all Drum Corp fans, April 22, 2008

By	S. Stone (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I saw this book on amazon and I was able to read an exert from the book. It caught my eye and after a few days I decided I had to buy it. Its a touching story that I don't want to give away-- but needless to say I was touched. I grew up more of a fan of the Santa Clara Vanguard, the rivals of the Blue Devils, but this story, though fictional, has given me a new respect for the Blue Devils. For those that love the activity of Drum Corp, a love story that doesn't overshadow the corp aspects of the book, and/or an easy read-- This book is definitely for you.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a read! What a writer! What a story! MORE! MORE! MORE! , April 29, 2006

By	Richard Carbajal "Richard Carbajal" (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews

There are those few gifted writers who shine to brighten our mundane lives every epoch. THIS IS THE ONE FOR THE NEXT CENTURY. A call to read this first will make you understand why, and thus you will ask not only for more but will be BOASTING that you discovered him. Look out New York BEST SELLER LIST, make room for this and anything this man writes as it will top your lists for years to come.

A SIMPLE bugle starts the story, causing goose bumps to rise from toes to cranium. And as I turned the pages, the delightful way in which his pros drew me in caused a lump that soon wouldn't go away no matter how hard I chocked and swallowed. I read, then I read some more, then the lives in those words became real...I heard, and heard some more, it was as if the sound of this world rang in my ears...I tasted, and yearned for more ...I smelled, and smelled some more, I was there and I wanted to be there and nowhere else. Then as the emotional range drew me further, there was no turning back. I was putty within the Lorin's world as every turn of the page grew into something wonderful. I box of tissues wasn't enough. The phone rang...I ignored it. The boss came to the door, I said I was ill. The day turned into night and as the morning came I couldn't stop until I devoured the last word. Will this make a GREAT MOVIE? Yes, yes, yes and every SMART AGENT will be clamoring to bring it to the BIG SCREEN. Leaving us with wanting more, more, more.

Mr. Edwards, if you would please write a sequel, heck write anything and make sure to let me know as I will forever be a fan of your work. You took to long in coming out with this MAGNIFICENT STORY. You had me with Snow Shadows, a masterpiece in itself, and now I'm no longer able to wait for too long for another CLASSIC. So, hurry with the next will you!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, A drum corps novel!, December 16, 2006

By	D. W. Rogers (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Last week, I was at home cataloging all my drum corps recordings in my media player so I figured it would help to visit corpsreps so I could remind myself what I have. Toward the bottom of the screen I see an ad for a book called The Lorin Solo. So I click on the link and it takes me to Amazon. Ooh cool. It turns out that it's a novel about drum corps, namely a story centered around '86 BD. OK. So I have to have it.

I finally received the book this afternoon. I immediately tore it open and started reading. It's about a rookie learning of and joining a corps with a healthy dose of romance. The story line begins in the fall of '85 and leads us through the '86 Championship. Along the way, we get to meet Mike Moxley, former director of the Blue Devils and Wayne Downey, including a number of fictional characters who could be any corps mom or dad who happen to be running a souvie booth, an equipment truck, or cooking on Devil's Food. We even get to read a little about SCV's pants change and Garfield's "82" member hornline--though I think it was really 72, I can't remember.

The beginning of the book drew me in right away, with Lorin (the hero)giving an impromptu audition for Wayne Downey, on Wayne's own trumpet at the corps hall. While on the starting line for BD's first show of the season, Lorin puts-into-words the first show "nerves" a rookie gets as only a person who has actually performed would be able. We follow Lorin across the country with the Blue Devils on the road to Championships, all the while wondering if he'll get the girl, a veteran soprano soloist, named Tracy...

From here, you're on your own. I would hate to ruin it for you guys.

I think I spent a whopping four hours reading the book cover-to-cover, compleatly enthralled with the story. I found myself smirking, laughing and even crying a couple of times(just a little of course). The most incredible part is how the author, Chuck Edwards, accurately portrays the drum corps family and usual happenings of a touring drum corps through the eyes of a member. Although it is a very short book, it will take you back to your early days of corps--I think I even smelled wool uniforms and bus fumes a couple of times.