Fiction
Some Samples from my Collection
Remember, just because they speak slowly and have a drawl does not mean that they are stupid; just because they sound like a lawyer does not mean they are smart; and, finally, just because some people do not speak English does not mean they are ignorant.
Waltz Against the Sky (excerpt)
Judge Robert Whitcomb could feel his blood pressure rising as he watched deputies Ridgeway and Bruce walk their prisoner to the front of his courtroom, each with a hand tucked into one of the prisoner’s armpits, keeping him upright as he shuffled forward. The judge...
Waltz Against the Sky
Glen Larum’s introductory novel, Waltz Against the Sky, is a tour de force in modern western realism that explores the fates awaiting young men who leave home behind for various reasons and venture out into the world.
“Indian Springs is the center of that miniature universe first seen from a distance, the hub of five major highways intersecting each other on the way to and from somewhere and nowhere.
“It is another of the intersections where people in motion either pass each other, stop, rush on by, or collide.
“For a few of them, it is a happy circumstance, a beginning; for most, a moment in passing; for the lucky ones, a happy ending; for the less lucky, just an ending, and for the least fortunate, an unhappy ending. This is a story about some of those people…”
A Story Masterfully Told
Whether I was totally absorbed in the unfolding of events, enjoying the scenery described, or being reminded of my own journalism classes at Rutgers, Waltz Against the Sky was truly an enjoyable read. The novel’s flashbacks were handled so skillfully and transitioned so smoothly that they effortlessly knit together a complex storyline, and the wrap-up came as a complete and most enjoyable surprise. It was a story masterfully told with dignity by one obviously enjoying the task. I found it refreshing to see the principal character portrayed as your basic all-around nice guy enjoying his profession and, most of all, his life. Thanks for a really great story.
As characters in Glen Larum's Waltz Against the Sky drift toward a small town in Texas, their stories are braided into a lariat that cinches their fates together. Like a Tony Hillerman New Mexico novel, Waltz puts the sere, flat landscape back into moral order by following a bloody crime, a violent chase, and a courtroom drama that entangle the lives of ordinary people. Evan Blaine, a young newspaper editor, must search beyond appearances for the truth—and how he can anchor his life’s work, and his heart, within the community. Waltz is a masterpiece, Larum, a master.
An intriguing read, smartly written, Waltz Against the Sky beautifully evokes a fading era of journalism as young newspaper editor Evan Blaine covers a brutal crime in a small Texas town. He encounters darkly comic criminals reminiscent of an Elmore Leonard novel, police officers who play with the law as they wish, and a stalwart judge who tries to make things right for the hapless innocents as well as the perpetrators. With well-paced action and quick-flowing dialogue, the multi-layered stories of these realistic characters play into a lively plot that fuses their fates.