Book Review - SEPTEMBER SKY by John A Heldt

Title - September Sky

Author - John A. Heldt

Series - American Journey #1

Pages - 409 

To Purchase - Click here

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

When unemployed San Francisco reporter Chuck Townsend and his college-dropout son, Justin, take a cruise to Mexico in 2016, each hopes to rebuild a relationship after years of estrangement. But they find more than common ground aboard the ship. They meet a mysterious lecturer who touts the possibilities of time travel. Within days, Chuck and Justin find themselves in 1900, riding a train to Texas, intent on preventing a distant uncle from being hanged for a crime he did not commit. Their quick trip to Galveston, however, becomes long and complicated when they wrangle with business rivals and fall for two beautiful librarians on the eve of a hurricane that will destroy the city. Filled with humor, history, romance, and heartbreak, SEPTEMBER SKY follows two directionless souls on the adventure of a lifetime as they try to make peace with the past, find new purpose, and grapple with the knowledge of things to come.

My Review

I had read John A. Heldt's book "The Mine", which was a time travel adventure. Not my normal read but I really enjoyed it, so when I was offered the chance to read and review September Sky, I didn't hesitate.

The story begins on a cruise ship. Chuck, who used to be a reporter and his Son Justin, haven't had the best of times. They head off on a cruise to Mexico to escape. Whilst on the cruise, they meet Professor Bell who talks to them about time travel and makes them a strange proposition. Before they know it, they find themselves at the professors house and agreeing to take a trip back in time to Galveston, in the year 1900, although this was not their intended destination.

I've been to Galveston before when visiting Texas (I'm actually going next year too!) and the authors depiction of the resort, albeit in 1900, brought it alive for me. He managed to include real life facts about the dreadful 1900 hurricane. It has been called "The worst hurricane in American History". See the video at the end of my review, which shows the devastation the storm caused. I thought this was very well depicted in the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure Chuck and Justin went on in Galveston and the people they met. Some great characters in the book! I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to see, as the story progressed, if they would ever return to present day, as so many obstacles were put in their way. I thought it was excellent how the author combined the present and the past.

It was very well researched and well written. It certainly shows it pays to expand your mind when choosing what genre of book you read.

I found this a thoroughly enjoyable read. 

About the author

John A. Heldt is the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage and American Journey series. The former reference librarian and award-winning sportswriter has loved getting subjects and verbs to agree since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Iowa, Heldt is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. When not sending contemporary characters to the not-so-distant past, he weighs in on literature and life at johnheldt.blogspot.com.

Click here to visit the Galveston Tourist page.