Paradise Sky
2015 novel by Joe R. Lansdale
978-0-316-32937-8Paradise Sky is a novel written by American author Joe R. Lansdale, published by Mulholland Books. It takes place in the post American Civil War era.
Plot synopsis
Young Willie, the son of a slave in East Texas, is caught looking at the rear end of a white woman. Her husband, Sam Ruggert, a racist former rebel soldier, catches him looking and immediately calls for his lynching. Willie runs home and tells his father what has happened. His father, knowing what will happen, sends him running before the posse shows up. Willie later returns home only to discover Ruggert and his men have brutally murdered his father and burned down their cabin. So Willie outruns his pursuers is taken in by a man named Loving. Loving teaches him to read, write, and shoot. Loving becomes a father figure and mentor. 4 years later Loving shoots himself after discovering he has cancer. Being a wanted man, Willie changes his name to Nat Love and head west to join the army and becomes a buffalo soldier. However while on patrol his unit attacked by Apache Indians and is almost wiped out. Nat figures he'll be blamed for the incident and deserts. He heads north to the small mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota where he is befriended by Wild Bill Hickok. He meets and falls in love with a woman, but then discovers that Ruggert, a man with a long memory, is still pursuing him. Ruggert and his men eventually catch up to Nat and his bride to be. After leaving Nat for dead, they kidnap, rape, and torture Nat's woman. Bent on revenge Nat, now nicknamed Deadwood Dick for winning a shooting contest, pursues Ruggert and his men for a final and deadly showdown.[1][2][3]
Publication history
The novel is published by Mulholland Books[4] as both a hardcover and an e-book. Nat Love also is featured in the novella Black Hat Jack published by Subterranean Press.[5]
The Western Writers of America gave this book a Spur Award for Best Historical Novel of 2016.[6]
References
- ^ Lansdale, Joe R. "Paradise Sky Review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Paradise Sky". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Lansdale, Joe R. "Paradise Sky Review". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Lansdale, Joe R. "Joe Lansdale on How He Came to Write Paradise Sky". Mulholland Books. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Black Hat Jack. "Release Information". Subterranean Press. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Lansdale, Joe R. "Western Writers of America award announcement". PR Newswire. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
External links
- Author's official website
- Mulhollond Books website
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Works by Joe R. Lansdale
- Savage Season (1990)
- Mucho Mojo (1994)
- The Two-Bear Mambo (1995)
- Bad Chili (1997)
- Rumble Tumble (1998)
- Veil's Visit: a Taste of Hap and Leonard (1999)
- Captains Outrageous (2001)
- Vanilla Ride (2009)
- Devil Red (2011)
- Hyenas: a Hap and Leonard Novella (2011)
- Dead Aim (2013)
- Briar Patch Boogie: A Hap and Leonard Novelette (2015)
- Honky Tonk Samurai (2016)
- Hap and Leonard Ride Again (2016)
- Hoodoo Harry (2016)
- Coco Butternut: A Hap and Leonard Novella (2017)
- Rusty Puppy (Hap Collins and Leonard Pine) (2017)
- Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade (2017)
- Cold Cotton: A Hap and Leonard Novella (2017)
- Jackrabbit Smile (2018)
- The Elephant of Surprise (2019)
- The Big Book of Hap and Leonard (2019)
- Of Mice and Minestrone: Hap and Leonard: The Early Years (2020)
- Born for Trouble: The Further Adventures of Hap and Leonard (2022)
- Act of Love (1981)
- Texas Night Riders (1983)
- Dead in the West (1986)
- The Magic Wagon (1986)
- The Nightrunners (1987)
- Cold in July (1989)
- Tarzan: The Lost Adventure (1995)
- The Boar (1998)
- Freezer Burn (1999)
- Waltz of Shadows (1999)
- The Big Blow (2000)
- Blood Dance (2000)
- The Bottoms (2000)
- A Fine Dark Line (2002)
- Sunset and Sawdust (2004)
- Lost Echoes (2007)
- Leather Maiden (2008)
- All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky (2011)
- Edge of Dark Water (2012)
- In Waders from Mars (2012)
- The Thicket (2013)
- Paradise Sky (2015)
- Fender Lizards (2015)
- Hell's Bounty (2016)
- Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers (2017)
- Jane Goes North (2020)
- More Better Deals (2020)
- Big Lizard (2020)
- Moon Lake (2021)
- The Donut Legion (2023)
- On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks (1989)
- Bubba Ho-Tep (1994)
- Something Lumber This Way Comes (1999)
- Under the Warrior Star (2010)
- Christmas with the Dead (2010)
- A Bone Dead Sadness (2012)
- The Ape Man's Brother (2013)
- Hot in December (2013)
- Prisoner 489 (2014)
- Black Hat Jack (2014)
- By Bizarre Hands (1989)
- Stories by Mama Lansdale's Youngest Boy (1991)
- Bestsellers Guaranteed (1993)
- Electric Gumbo: A Lansdale Reader (1994)
- Writer of the Purple Rage (1994)
- The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent (1996)
- Private Eye Action, as You Like It (1998)
- Atomic Chili (1998)
- The Long Ones (1999)
- Triple Feature (1999)
- High Cotton: Selected Stories of Joe R. Lansdale (2000)
- For a Few Stories More (2002)
- A Little Green Book of Monster Stories (2003)
- Bumper Crop (2004)
- Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories (2004)
- The King and Other Stories (2005)
- The God of the Razor (2007)
- The Shadows, Kith and Kin (2007)
- Sanctified and Chicken Fried (2009)
- Unchained and Unhinged (2009)
- The Best of Joe R. Lansdale (2010)
- Deadman's Road (2010)
- By Bizarre Hands Rides Again (2010)
- Trapped in the Saturday Matinee (2012)
- Bleeding Shadows (2013)
- A Pair of Aces (2014)
- The Tall Grass and Other Stories (2015)
- Dead on the Bones: Pulp on Fire (2016)
- Terror is Our Business (2018)
- Crawling Sky (2013)
- Jonah Hex: Shadows West (2014)
- Retro-Pulp Tales (2006)
- Son of Retro Pulp Tales (2009)
- Mark Stone: MIA Hunter
