Review - Opur's Blade by James Ross

Genre: Fiction
Title: Opur’s Blade
Author: James Ross
Rating: 3.5/5

Owen Purler Jr.’s mom takes stuttering 12-year-old Owen to Prairie Woods Golf Course one summer to take advantage of free golf lessons. He learns about the sport and so much more.

J Dub Schroeder, the golf pro and manager at Prairie Woods quickly realizes the natural talent Owen has with a golf club. As is appropriate with just about everyone on the golf course, Owen Purler gets a nickname. His first and last name merge and he becomes known as Opur. Learning how good he is at golf helps Opur with self-confidence. As Opur grows up, he learns more about life through J Dub than his estranged father and comes to appreciate his mother’s sacrifices. The theme of Opur’s life seems to be that just when he can see his goal within reach he is blindsided by an action or event that forces him to reassess his plans.

Ross uses short chapters to keep the pacing of the story going, and it works well. It could almost be a young adult novel, except that it follows Opur well into his twenties and has adult topics in the back story of his father. In this novel, more than the previous three, Ross delves into the actual details of how to play golf. Ross uses his in-depth experience of the sport to include details that golf fans will understand, but also enough for people unfamiliar with the sport to be able to grasp and appreciate. Pulling the point of view around the golf course works especially well in this novel. The reader moves from the sportscaster’s booth, to the golfers’ shoulders as they discuss strategy with their caddies, to various spectators in the crowd commenting on what they are seeing, hearing, and experiencing. The shifting point of view can be distracting, but in this instance it helps add to the suspense of play at each hole and keeps the reader moving along with the game.

James Ross took up golf at the age of twelve. After turning fifty, he decided to pursue his creative side. He went to a keyboard and let the words flow through his fingertips. Opur’s Blade is fourth in a series of books centering on the Prairie Woods Golf Course. It follows Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, and Tuey’s Course. His fifth novel, Pabby's Score is due out this year. When he’s not writing, Ross can most likely be found on a golf course.

Opur’s Blade is my favorite of the four I’ve read in this series, although the editing and ending leave a bit to be desired. Opur’s Blade is about keeping focused on your passion and pushing through any and all obstacles to reach your goals without being tempted to take what, at first glance, appears to be the easy way to the finish line. Persistence and patience will get you to your destination. It is a recommended read. Reviewer: Lisa Haselton, Allbooks Reviews, www.allbooksreviewint.com.

Available through: Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Publisher: Nightengale Press
ISBN: 978-1-9334-4987-6
Pages: 472
Price: $18.95

Review of Tuey's Course by James Ross

Genre: Fiction
Title: Tuey’s Course
Author: James Ross

Most of this story focuses on an almost-middle-aged black man who was born in the city projects on the east side of St. Louis named WeWildapheet Ulisees O’Tweety, but is known to most as Tuey. The nickname comes from the fact that there are two back-to-back e’s in each of his names. There are stories behind the misspelling of his middle and last names, for the reader to discover, too.

Tuey is an independent contractor who can’t seem to be on the right side of town ordinances no matter how hard he tries, or how reasonable he is. J Dub is still managing the Prairie Winds Golf Course with his brother Curt and when they are told of a development project that is going to run along one edge of their golf course, they go with a friend’s recommendation and hire Tuey for the easement work. It isn’t all smooth greens and light winds for the project.

As with the prior novels, Ross prefers the omniscient point of view, so the reader gets insight into each character that appears on the page. The POV choice and the extensive cast of characters don’t allow the reader to have any particular character to empathize with, but it allows the reader to feel part of a group discussion. Ross definitely has opinions about discrimination and has created a complex story around it to include corrupted politicians, racial profiling, and what can happen when a person is pushed a little too far. The author writes most characters with dialects, so the readers must read slowly to comprehend a lot of conversations. Ross is daring in the latter part of the novel in blurring the line between reality and fiction, in regard to Tuey. Ross makes his readers work for the ending, which does resolve a lot of questions.

James Ross graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After turning fifty, he searched for a positive outlet to battle the economic ups and downs that most people experience. He went to a keyboard and let the words flow through his fingertips. Tuey’s Course is third in a series of books centering on the Prairie Woods Golf Course. It follows Lifetime Loser and Finish Line. James is an avid, low-handicap golfer who enjoys the sport and the lessons of the game. He shares his belief that golf may very well hold the key to a lot of life's best secrets, through his novels.

Tuey’s Course starts 5 months before the prior novel, Finish Line, ends. So for readers of the series, take note that the cliffhanger ending of Finish Line is not addressed in any hurry in Tuey’s Course, and some details are rehashed from July through December. Tuey’s Course is a novel about the stronghold that discrimination still has in today’s world and it’s my opinion that the target audience is limited. It is an average read. Reviewer: Lisa Haselton, Allbooks Reviews, www.allbooksreviewint.com.

Available through: Xlibris.com, Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com.

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 978-1-4363-8993-8
Pages: 286
Price: $19.99

Review of Finish Line by James Ross

Genre: Fiction
Title: Finish Line
Author: James Ross

Thirteen-year-old Justin Ventimiglia is a good kid who seldom gets into trouble and manages well enough in school. He has issues with his step-father, but what kid doesn’t? And what kid doesn’t have a friend who pushes the boundaries of right and wrong? Justin has Keith Puccio to nudge him into trouble, and for the most part, the pranks are harmless.

Justin and Keith find themselves having to work their entire summer break at the golf course seven days a week from sun up to sun down to make amends for a prank gone too far. Curt, an old friend of Justin’s mother, agrees to take the young teens under his wing for the summer. Curt mentors the boys and teaches them all about the work needed for a golf course. Some of it is fun, some not so much, but Curt is always there to lend a hand or an ear. Learning to respect themselves and others goes a long way as these boys work to pay off their debt. Curt learns as much from the boys as he’s able to teach them, and everyone grows through the up and down experiences they have over the summer.

The omniscient voice choice by the author gives the reader insight into almost every character that appears on the page. The mostly male cast works well together and the author is able to capture many nuances of male relationships. Curt is crafted well as a mentor to teens and a man that other men look up to. Like in the first novel, the character backgrounds are entertaining and lend to giving a lot of color to the story, since every story is unique. The point of view choice allows the reader to get to know a large cast of characters but not any one character in particular. The short chapters allow for many scene and point of view shifts and keep the activity moving along.

James Ross graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After turning fifty, he searched for a positive outlet to battle the economic ups and downs that most people experience. He went to a keyboard and let the words flow through his fingertips. Finish Line follows Lifetime Loser in a series of books centering around the Prairie Woods Golf Course. James is an avid, low-handicap golfer who enjoys the sport and the lessons of the game. He shares his belief that golf may very well hold the key to a lot of life's best secrets, through his novels.

Although Finish Line is set on a golf course, it can entertain any reader. It’s also suitable for young adult and adult readers. Finish Line is a novel about the importance of setting goals and meeting them. It’s acknowledging that the goal isn’t achieved until the “finish line” is crossed. It is a good read. Reviewer: Lisa Haselton, Allbooks Reviews, www.allbooksreviewint.com.

Available through: Xlibris.com, Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com.

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 978-1-4363-3326-9
Pages: 290
Price: $6.95

Review of Lifetime Loser by James Ross

Genre: Fiction
Title: Lifetime Loser
Author: James Ross

J. W. Schroeder, known throughout his life as J Dub, is a golfer. His father taught him some of life’s lessons in tandem with how to excel at hitting a small white ball on a range and then down a fairway. However, not all of life’s lessons can be taught through anything less than direct experience, and not everyone is a gentleman when it comes to the ‘Gentleman’s Game’.

Lifetime Loser is a story about how falling one shot short on making it to the pro circuit changed J Dub’s life’s path. An opportunity to be a partner in and manage an Illinois golf course seemed almost too good to be true. After checking into the details, J Dub decides it’s legit and signs the papers – even though his wife hasn’t seen the property and she’s uncomfortable with his new partner, Lew. J Dub’s passion for golf never wanes, nor does his passion to support his family as best as he can. It’s when he discovers himself in the midst of a thick web of deceit that he pulls on the lessons he’s already learned in order to do the right thing, no matter how difficult.

The author chose to write in omniscient voice, so the reader learns a lot about almost every character who appears on the page. The reader has to play close attention to each line since the head hopping isn’t limited to one character per paragraph. The character backgrounds are entertaining and lend to giving a lot of color to the story. The point of view choice allows for a large cast of characters and a way for the reader to feel a part of the conversations in the pro shop and beyond. The short chapters allow for many scene and point of view shifts and keep the activity moving along.

James Ross graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After turning fifty, he searched for a positive outlet to battle the economic ups and downs that most people experience. He went to a keyboard and let the words flow through his fingertips. Lifetime Loser took eight months to write after four years of crafting it in his mind. James is an avid, low-handicap golfer who enjoys the sport and the lessons of the game. He believes golf may very well hold the key to a lot of life's best secrets.

Lifetime Loser can entertain a golf fan, a golf player, as well as someone who knows nothing about the sport since the sport is used as a metaphor for life. This novel is about a man having the patience and perseverance to pursue the right path, no matter how much easier life might be if he could just walk away from it all instead. It is a good read. Reviewer: Lisa Haselton, Allbooks Reviews, www.allbooksreviewint.com.

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 978-1-4257-8208-5
Pages: 328
Price: $19.99