for fans of O Brother

The story line was intriguing and an interesting idea. I really looked forward to reading it. Unfortunately, it did not live up to its potential. It was slow paced, sometimes confusing, and the bad spelling and grammar made it even more difficult to read. However, perhaps with a good re-edit. It could make a good read ( )

Long Lost Song by Stephen C. Ormsby 2 stars

This book started out so well! The prologue was almost poetry, I read it aloud to others just because it was so tight and just downright good. Then I hit the wall of Chapter 1. The plot disintegrated into a rather pedestrian slog through familiar characters (the 'mad bloke', the slutty girl, etc etc). The action such as there is jumps back & forth from present-day Australia to 1936 southern US with only the merest reasons why. The whole mess has religious overtones that don't really make sense within the plot and is dragged out way too long. Basically there are gruesome murders/deaths related to this song and someone sold their soul but there is redemption in the end...that's about as much sense as I could make of it. Another book I really wanted to like but after the prologue it was all downhill. 2 stars. I received a copy to review. ( )

This story is based on the legend that surrounds real Delta blues musician Robert Johnson and his song "Cross Road Blues".

Early bluesman Ricky Jensen makes a deal with the Black Man (the Devil)--he will be the best song-writer and musician and have all he desires for ten years, but at the end of that time the Black Man gets his soul. As the close of that period approaches Ricky tries to find a way to get out of the deal. He writes a song that feeds on the corruption of one's soul and either kills the hearer or turns him to the Black Man; few are pure enough to escape. He presents this gift in exchange for release from the bargain.

Fast-forward to present day: Michael Decker had everything he could want of the rock-god lifestyle as the lead singer of Snakebite ... except he no longer wanted any of it. So he retreats to Australia and pursues contemplation of higher things until his manager calls with an all-expenses-paid offer to speak at a Oneself conference. As soon as he hits the road he finds he is a target of some intrigue.

The Army of Shax is using every possible method to distribute the Song. People are dying or becoming violent across the United States. The CDC declares a virus is sweeping the country and, although they cannot precisely determine why, they put the blame on Decker so he is a wanted man. Meanwhile Decker has dreams that prod him to do ... *something* ... and surviving looks like a good way to start.

The concept of the book is solid and the characters are reasonably developed. It *should* be a 4- or 5-star book. The quality of the writing is so abysmal that it is barely readable. I can forgive a few typos, but there are mistakes on every single page. Some sentences are missing so many words that they make no sense, words are misused, grammatical errors abound, there are continuity gaps and "factual" errors, and the conversion to epub caused some formatting problems regarding chapter headings and margins. Add in the confusion caused by leaping from one story-line to another and the hard-to-read dialect and you get a book that is a struggle to read. The enjoyment is lost. I hope the author will invest in quality editing assistance because this book needs improvement but it is worth saving. ( )

In Ormsby’s urban fantasy novel, Ricky Jensen would sell his soul for the coveted title “blues guitarist extraordinaire.” But does one man’s dream have the right to open the door for a curse across the land?

The story switches back and forth from past to present to allow the reader to capture Ricky’s story and the price he is willing to pay for this deal and why. Once he accepts the deal, he must rise to the challenge and turn the game around on the “Black Man” or risk the world losing music forever.

A wild combination of urban fantasy, horror, and apocalyptic fiction rolled into one. Well worth the time it takes to read! ( )