Come Unto These Yellow Sands

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Paul Fleschner

Sometimes the adventure chooses you.

Lover of fine poetry and lousy choose-your-own-adventure novels, Professor Sebastian Swift was once the bad-boy darling of the literati. The only lines he does these days are Browning, Frost, and Cummings. Even his relationship with the hot, handsome Wolfe Neck Police chief, Max Prescott, is healthy.

When one of his most talented students comes to him bruised and begging for help, Swift hands over the keys to his Orson Island cabin - only to find out that the boy's father is dead and the police are suspicious. In an instant, the stable life Swift has built for himself hangs on finding the boy and convincing him to give himself up before Max figures out Swift's involvement in the case.

Max enjoys splitting an infinitive or two with his favorite nutty professor, but he's not much for sonnets or Shakespeare. He likes being lied to even less. Yet his instincts - and his heart - tell him his lover is being played. Max can forgive lies and deception, but a dangerous enemy may not stop until Swift is heading up his own dead poet's society.

Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that Josh Lanyon's smart, sexy, sophisticated stories may prove hazardous to your heart.

©2011 Samhain Publishing (P)2013 Josh Lanyon

Another Beautiful Book

I love Josh Lanyon’s romantic main characters in Come Unto These Yellow Sands. Swift is a poet, in love with the beauty of moments in time, nature, pretty much anything aesthetic in his surroundings. It’s his effort to find words that capture and express those ethereal experiences that I found wonderful. He’s a complicated man who recognizes his devils but refuses to let them take his life over again. His boyfriend, police chief Max Prescott is a strong hero archetype, one Josh Lanyon employs frequently and well in this genre. All in all I found this book very enjoyable, a good mystery, some suspense and romance that I rate it 5 stars. Excellent narration too.

Wonderful narration of a wonderful book

What did you love best about Come Unto These Yellow Sands?

I read the book first and then listened to the audio.This is one of my favorite books, a very emotional read for me, i love the story, the characters, the mystery, everything. And it has humor and sweetness and a bit of sarcasm. I also love that every chapter begins with a "choose your own adventure" bit and these really add a fantastic new dimension to the story.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot was suspenseful - both from the mystery view point and the development of the relationship between the main characters - Swift and Max.

Which character – as performed by Paul Fleschner – was your favorite?

Swift was my favorite character, the voice was exactly right for what i imagined for Swift, and it came alive for the "choose your own adventure" bits (a personal favorite), and, even more importantly, for the emotionally intense scenes. Paul Fleschner has done a wonderful job especially with those scene which are particularly difficult for the characters.

Who was the most memorable character of Come Unto These Yellow Sands and why?

Swift is the most memorable for me because of the painful journey he's going through, but i've come to appreciate Max on his own right as well as for being the perfect person for Swift.

Any additional comments?

It's a beautiful book. I highly recommend it!

very good

The "create your own path" pieces at the beginning of each chapter were annoying to me. I just wanted to get back to the story. Spent so much of the book being mad at the main characters for different reasons, but I'm glad I stuck to it. It was a satisfying ending.

Josh Lanyon is what keeps my hope alive...

This is yet another book by Lanyon that instantly had me at attention. Like Adrien English, what separates this book from all the rest is that Lanyon has a depth to write stories in a serious tone which entail serious, real life issues and yet, she cleverly adds touches of light-hearted humor to bring readers out of a too-solemn mood. Swift's drug addiction truly gave me a glimpse into what addicts suffer on a daily basis and left me thankful I've never suffered such an affliction. As well, the story had intense but pleasurable angst between Swift and Max that I can never get enough of...bc I cannot find. Thank you Josh for "getting it" and knowing what it takes to write a great book! Looking forward to more.

Interesting mystery

Would you listen to Come Unto These Yellow Sands again? Why?

Yes, I would listen to it again. The characters are interesting.

What three words best describe Paul Fleschner’s performance?

This narrator's voice is pleasant, and he did a good job with different voices. However, he seemed to be reading instead of narrating occasionally. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to keep listening, but this was less of a problem as I continued with the book or perhaps I just got involved in the story line and overlooked it. I think with more practice he will be an excellent narrator.

Poetry in murder

4.5 to 5 star read...

I've read quite a LOT of Josh Lanyon's works and enjoyed pretty much everyone; the only reason I've put a JL book down was when the angst (which Josh writes so eloquently) gets a bit much for my depression. For some reason, and I'm in a downward depression cycle at the moment, I found this work particularly uplifting... and yes, I know addiction is a major theme in this work, along side the murder mystery, but the sheer lyrical telling of the tale, the honesty of Swift about his addiction, and Max's support meant I enjoyed this work in a way I really wasn't expecting.
No, our protagonists aren't perfect. Yes, there is a point were the whole relationship between Swift and Max could have gone pair-shaped and admit to suprise that it didn't (a bit of deus ex machina here for the fact it all didn't go BOOM). Overall, however, the tale was well told, the love of <b>words</b> addressed through allusions to poetry was a joy, and I didn't see the linch-pin that set the murderer into play until very near the end... basically as Swift worked it out.
So, a 4.5 star (dropped the 0.5 for the fact I think Swift would have acted more extremely to the BOOM situation but the rest of the tale made that one scene sink below a flood of beautiful imagery.)

The narration was sppppot on.

Love the story. Wasn’t a Fan of the Narration

John wove wonderfully Poetic story. The narrative however that’s a lot to be desired sometimes it was hard to understand who was talking. And the worst part is at least four times the narrator miss pronounce words that work commonly used in a lot of literature we chose to me he was either too lazy to fix the problem or even worst of all he didn’t understand what the words mean

Excellent Book

I just listened to this book again. I simply don't know why I waited so long to hear it again. So many of Josh Lanyon's books are in my library...just need to listen to them all again. Josh's writing is always excellent!

It's like a warm hug

I loved this novel. It's superbly written, wonderfully narrated and a complete joy to listen to.

I love me some Josh

This is another credit worthy creation from Josh. A twisting mystery with like able characters,who advance the romance in their relationship. Thanks Josh.