Review: You won't find Gladstone via a Google Map search ... and for a very good reason!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2013
Jack Saunders, recently-divorced and "in search of a new beginning," takes a wrong turn on an obscure road in Arizona while enjoying the sights when his car suddenly overheats. Before long, an attractive young lady pulls up on a motorcycle to offer her assistance. It is from here Jack begins an adventure of a lifetime.Gladstone is a strange but pleasant place where not only do the local folk treat Jack like he's a member of the family but so do much of the local wildlife. As I continued to read, I thought for sure that Gladstone was going to turn into some kind of fantasy-make-believe-land. I was not looking forward to frustratingly discover half-way through the book that what I thought was a contemporary tale of The Old West was going to turn into something akin to a young-adult escapist fantasy ride. Thankfully, what Gladstone ultimately turned out to be was a fairly-entertaining sci-fi/adventure story.I liked following Jack and Susan, the young lady who came to his rescue, as their relationship grew from a casual friendship to something more romantic. I learned much more than I expected to learn about small firearms, mostly the Old West type. But the thing that I appreciate the most from reading Gladstone is being pleasantly-surprised at why the people -- and the wildlife -- of the valley were so darn peculiar.Gladstone is an interesting read.