Review - The Sound The Sun Makes by Buck Storm
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This is the second review from our new review team. I’ve compiled a list of new books by lesser known authors for them to choose from. As the blog owner I’m purchasing these books for the reviewers and neither of us has had any contact with the author or publisher. I’ve instructed them to be completely honest in their reviews. This book, The Sound The Sun Makes by Buck Storm is published by Kregel, a Christian publisher, and was found in a Christian category. It’s the second book in a series but you can decide how well it stands alone from Sheila’s review below.
Book Description
Literary Americana with humor, heart, and a whole lot of twists to keep readers guessing.
Detective Early Pines loves his southern Arizona desert, often thinking he could stare at it all day long. But now that he's forced to do just that, the truth is the view from his back porch is getting old. He's on mandatory leave from the police department, simply for punching a wife beater who had it coming. Early is in dire need of a distraction from his own loud thoughts. So when an old friend invites him to tag along to a rodeo down in Old Mex, it seems like just the ticket.
But if there's one constant in the world, it's that life always throws a guy curveballs. With a flat tire, a roadside bar, and a beautiful woman with trouble on her hands, Early's distraction takes a hard right turn--straight to Los Angeles, six hundred miles west.
Hammott Lamont is waiting there in his own personal hunting ground. The reclusive filmmaker is a veritable cult leader to Hollywood stars--and he's sure his latest project will redefine art history in his image. He's got a plan for a brutal, modernized version of the Christ story, and he's ready to trample anyone who stands in the way of his colossal vision. That is, until big, loud Early Pines hits the coast for a clash of two titans who never saw each other coming.
Quirky, lyrical, and unexpected, The Sound the Sun Makes offers a warm and sunny side trip for fans of Jimmy Buffett, Carl Hiaasen, and Barbara Kingsolver who long for more of a Christian worldview in their fiction.
Sheila McIntyre’s Review of The Sound The Sun Makes
This book drew me and had me eagerly going from page to page. The dialogue was engaging and funny--I was drawn into the characters and the plot quickly. Additionally, the way the author writes is terrific--the visual images painted by the words he uses are compelling.
People who are looking for engaging and funny dialogue with rich visual imagery embedded into the story would like this book.
While this is book 2, it seemed to be able to stand on its own without specifically needing the background from book 1.
However, scattered throughout the book were some references that I didn't like--"...the stars had already shifted. Planets had aligned..." and the conversation about the Coyote being a trickster--"It's a bad omen to have him around....I got an uncle who used to tell us stories about skinwalkers and stuff. How they can turn themselves into animals...." Neither character involved in this conversation ascribed to belief in this, but it was an unsettling conversation. The coyote (the animal) that visits Pines comes up intermittently and seems to be friends with him so I am not sure how all these things tie together.
There are very few Christian references, and they are very surface level, I believe. I would classify this clean fiction rather than Christian fiction.
I stuck with the story hoping it would all make sense, but for me it didn't. For me, the Christian theme that was promised never materialized. The surface-level Christian theme comes in at the end; the publisher could have built the Christian theme more prominently into the whole story (for example: by having one character who is a Christian). It feels like the author threw in the Christian part at the end just to make it part of the Christian genre.
The characters were engaging, but the book fell flat for me as I look for a clear Christian theme.
Where To Find The Sound The Sun Makes by Buck Storm
You can purchase The Sound The Sun Makes at the following links:
Amazon Christianbook (paperback only)
About the Reviewer
Sheila is completely sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ. She accepted Him as her Savior as a teenager and has been walking with Him trying to be obedient in His strength. Her goal is to fulfill His calling for her life and live a life that glorifies Him and His Father in all that she does, says, and thinks by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Sheila is a public high school business/computers teacher, has been married for over 14 years, has three fur babies (kitties), lives in Western NY, and loves to read! You can read more of her reviews at her blog, Saved by Grace.
