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Blackston, Ray ListingsIf you cannot find what you want on this page, then please use our search feature to search all our listings. Click on Title to view full description
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Blackston, Ray A Delirious Summer
Baker Publishing Group 2004 0-8007-5958-3 / 9780800759582 Paperback
ABOUT THE BOOK A Delirious Summer FROM THE PUBLISHER To Neil Rucker, seven months, one week, and a day is too long to wait in between dates. But life as a Spanish language teacher to missionaries in Ecuador affords little opportunity for romance. When his worst student, Jay Jarvis, suggests a respite in Greenville, South Carolina, so begins Neil's delirious summer. Neil sees his chance to meet a sweet succession of southern women, but little does he know that the girls of Greenville are now more elusive than a snowflake in the Ecuadorian jungle. As they church-hop in search of the perfect man, Neil tries to find the perfect girl among the Neapolitan choices: a demanding redhead, a joy-riding blonde, and a very tardy but intriguing girl with raven hair and a pierced eyebrow. Who knew relational gumbo would look like this? FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly In Blackston's debut novel, Flabbergasted, readers were introduced to the zany town of Greenville, S.C., "a huge, boiling pot of relational gumbo" where singles play "denominational hopscotch" on Sunday mornings to meet eligible men and women. Blackston picks up his tale in this less sparkling sophomore novel as told through the eyes of 29-year-old Neil Rucker, a missionary on furlough who is desperate for a date. The harmonica-playing Neil has "sampled a few regrettable grapes" in his life, and when he breaks his dateless streak, he's hoping for a respectable Christian girl he can get serious about. Beatrice Dean, 81, is a senior single who's cruising for a man (dateless streak three years and counting) and provides engaging moments throughout the story. Missionaries, we discover, are never really on furlough, and soon Neil; his new romantic interest, Alexis Demoss; the feisty Beatrice and others are headed to Ecuador to rebuild huts burned down in a village fire. Overwriting creeps in too often (blown napkins are sent "dancing on their corners, fluttering across the lawn in an airy samba of white") and scenes tend to run too long, slowing the pace. The plot is thin, with echoes of the earlier book, but the quirky characters help keep the reader interested. In the end, however, it's Blackston's tongue-in-cheek humor about the lives of Christian singles that will grab the attention of readers of evangelical fiction. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. Library Journal Neil Rucker has been teaching Spanish to missionaries in Ecuador and has not had a date in seven months. So when one of his old students, Jay Jarvis (from last year's Flabbergasted), offers him a place to stay in South Carolina, Neil heads north for eight weeks of sun, sand, and single, churchgoing women. One by one, he meets the "Ladies of the Quest," an email group of local young women who go from church to church scouting for marriageable men. Blackston brings back some of the same quirky cast of characters from Flabbergasted, including larger-than-life blonde Darcy Yeager and unorthodox Alexis Demoss. While this offering lacks the fresh appeal and wit of Blackston's first novel, it does offer the rarely seen perspective of the young, single Christian male trying to balance his emotional and physical needs in the dating world with his spiritual calling and growth. Recommended as light summer reading for public libraries and regional collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. AudioFile Neil Rucker, a single Peruvian-based language teacher to missionaries, gets furloughed to Greenville, North Carolina, where he meets a number of young women who "church hop" in an effort to find 'Mr. Right." Contrived adventures ensue, vanilla enough for the Bobbsey Twins, though to Neil they're "wild" or "delirious." Andrew Petersen's reading is moderately engaging and fits Neil, but he has little ability to distinguish voices, a skill that is often helpful in a multi-character performance. He gives us a clichéd, if passable, old lady and somewhat less passable black characters but ignores the Southern accents ascribed to most of the women. Religious listeners may find this fun; others
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29.01 USD
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Blackston, Ray Flabbergasted
Baker Publishing Group 2004 0-8007-5909-5 / 9780800759094 Paperback
ABOUT THE BOOK Flabbergasted FROM THE PUBLISHER Ray Blackston's novel will tickle your literary taste buds with a relational gumbo of quirky characters, stirred by the irreverent but sincere Jay Jarvis. Jay is new in town, young and successful, and not afraid to plop down in a pew to scope out the females. What he finds is a lovely-yet-unusual missionary with a warped sense of humor and a wicked throwing arm. She and a wacky assortment of friends turn Jay's perceptions of life upside down, launching events that leave him and those around him thoroughly Flabbergasted. By the way, when relational gumbo is on the menu, a South Carolina beach makes for great mood lighting. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING The title says it all: You really will be Flabbergasted at the fun you'll find behind the wheel of Ray Blackston's debut novel. Talk about your beach read! Full of quirky characters, including our slightly jaded hero, this book made me laugh out loud. Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a wild ride! - Liz Curtis Higgs
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Blackston, Ray Lost in Rooville
Baker Publishing Group 2005 0-8007-3057-7 / 9780800730574 Paperback
ABOUT THE BOOK Lost in Rooville FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly In the final installment of his Flabbergasted trilogy, Blackston takes his characters on an Australian adventure. In Flabbergasted, Blackston's narrative techniques were fresh, but here they feel warmed over. For example, when Jay, the narrator, and his best friend, Steve, spend 40 pages exchanging witty repartee about their impending marriage proposals, the conversation quickly wears thin. Blackston goes for erudite insouciance in virtually all his main characters (so carefree are they that they complain about their ruined shoes as they're sinking in quicksand). Unfortunately, most everything-the narration, the dialogue, the distracting metaphors-is overwritten. To his credit, Blackston sustains a reasonably interesting plot, especially in the first half, when two of his main characters are in danger. His description of their struggles has the feel of a solid adventure novel. While there are a few interesting moments after this crisis is resolved, the novel is compromised by an ending that readers will have seen coming. With many oblique references to events and characters in the other novels, this book is likely to appeal only to existing fans of the trilogy. (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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