Smoke City

De: Keith Rosson

Narrado por: Joshua Saxon

Marvin Deitz has some serious problems. His mob-connected landlord is strong-arming him out of his storefront. His therapist has concerns about his stability. He's compelled to volunteer at the local Children's Hospital even though it breaks his heart every week.

Oh, and he's also the guilt-ridden reincarnation of Geoffroy Thérage, the French executioner who lit Joan of Arc's pyre in 1431. He's just seen a woman on a Los Angeles talk show claiming to be Joan, and absolution seems closer than it's ever been . . . but how will he find her?

When Marvin heads to Los Angeles to locate the woman who may or may not be Joan, he's picked up hitchhiking by Mike Vale, a self-destructive alcoholic painter traveling to his ex-wife's funeral. As they move through a California landscape populated with "smokes" (ghostly apparitions that've inexplicably begun appearing throughout the southwestern US), each seeks absolution in his own way.

©2018 Keith Rosson (P)2023 Meerkat Press

Nice job

Beautifully written and read. The weight of the story gets heavier as it goes along.

My New Favorite Author

Bravo. Quirky characters that one comes to love. Great story of love and redemption. How friendships can be formed amongst the most unlikely of characters.

Impressive Talent

Rosson is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. So far I can’t put down any of his books that I’ve picked up.

Great Book and performance

I was completely absorbed in Smoke City from start to finish. Beautiful, strange, and funny. I haven’t been this wrapped up in a story in a long time. Fantastic performance by the narrator as well.

For Fans of Joan of Arc...and more

This is quite an amazing book. It's a good story and something I have wondered about for many years.
Who lit the pyre under Joan of Arc? Did that person feel guilty for having put her to death? This novel addresses the possibilities. The book takes twists and turns. Attention must be paid. The narrator is totally excellent. I will listen again.

Beautifully written and wholly unique

Smoke City is one of Rosson’s finest novels. The unique storyline notwithstanding, his characters are at once deeply flawed hurtling themselves headlong into self-destruction Rosson redefines what rock bottom means over and over while extending a literary ladder to each character, beckoning him to climb up and out of his dilemma, just one more time. Smoke City puts Keith Rosson in a literary league of his own.

Excellent storytelling, beautifully written, great performance

Rosson once again proves that he is able to tell an wholly orginal story. He is a master with words and details. Great narration. Definitely worth it.

A Mess

Story had potential, but was derailed by everything from unlikable characters, poor pacing, and leftist BS.