King Of Dogs: Review

 

3 September 25

Somewhere, Utah

Coyotes are howling in the desert, and the moon is a bright waxing gibus. I finished reading King of Dogs by Andrew Edwards today, gifted to me by a friend who goes by the name of SurfbortCowboy on twitter. He graciously took the time to show me around while I’ve been in Utah, and he is the real article. So when he suggested I read this book and brought me a signed copy on our second meeting, there was no doubt it would be the real article too. 

It is. I finished the book in about two weeks (which at my normal pace of reading is lightning fast) staying up multiple nights until 1 or 2 AM unable to put it down. The pace is perfect, keeping you on your toes, gripping you into the action, and challenging your philosophical stances simultaneously. All to the moody backdrop of the American Southwest, centered on the hippie outdoor city of Moab, Utah.It is equal parts adventure story and philosophy treatise, thanks to the main character Grayson. 

Grayson is what you would get if you combined Jason Bourne, Ed Calderon, and an Orthodox monk in a lab. He is methodical, precise, adaptable, and unwavering in his moral conviction. Father to a stillborn child and a widow by suicide, he begins the book making a deathbed promise to his best friend to protect a family and their child and get them out of Moab before it is overrun. The America Grayson inhabits is falling apart, in an unsettlingly believable way. Law and order is weak, institutional trust evaporated. Private interests and foreign governments vie for control, and the destruction of small towns in the desert is not out of the question. So when the “virginia boys” show up, it is only a matter of time. 

The story is punctuated with long dream sequences reminiscent of the otherworldly visions of Agent Dale  Cooper in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. The scenes come and go without warning, but never abruptly, adding a mystical and supernatural element to the story. Grayson is a man of the spirit and the body. Often indulging in long theological contemplations during lulls in the action. This only gives greater gravitas to his actions later in the book. He is not there to debate. 

I heartily recommend this book to any reader of action fiction, or anyone looking for a fresh exciting story. It can be found here:

https://www.goldengoatguild.net/