The Drift [Hardcover]

A Tour de Force of A Novel! A Sublime Page-Turner!

There is a rich American tradition of riding the rails. Even I, as a child, had adventurous dreams of running away on a railway and experiencing moonlit campfires and starry-night talks with hobos. John Ridley's The Drift illustrates the flip of the coin and the underbelly of drugs and terror on the turf of today's freight train riding hobos.

Charles Harmon, an upper-middle class Black tax lawyer, resides in Sunny California. Charles is a possessor of the American dream replete with a BMW in the driveway, a palatial suburban home, a gardener, Cayman Island vacations, and a beautiful wife with a new-born baby harboring a crystal blue, 3rd eye in his cheek - disturbing images that his slowly deteriorating, demented mind envisions. He abandons all of the accouterments of the American dream for the beckoning call of The Drift...the magnetic pull of The Drift...the sensation of The Drift, the gentle lull and roll of the trains on the tracks.

The protagonist, Charles Harmon, descends into an underworld of train-hopping hobos with tags such as Frypan Jack and Slow Motion Shorty. Charles discovers, "Freedom. Freedom is what the rails are for". Charles dies and experiences a rebirth as Brain Nigger Charlie and is indoctrinated into the world of steel corridors learning to `catch-out' and ride the rails.

Old and tired Chocolate Walt becomes the mentor to Brain Nigger Charlie and his newly acquired friends - the fierce and loyal George Plimpton and his potent and clinging lady friends, Lady K and Lady E.

The novel's plot heightens as Chocolate Walt engages Brain Nigger Charlie to ride the High Line in search of his wayward, runaway niece Corina Leslie.

The High Line is inhabited and controlled by the Pacific Northwest FTRA - Freight Train Riders of America or the original "F*$^ the Reagan Administration" - a vicious gang of psychopathic, racist, drug-trafficking, train-hopping hobos that have commandeered the freight train of America leaving a trail of corpses in its wake.

Brain Nigger Charlie attempts to redeem himself by valiantly searching for his friend's niece, Corina Leslie. As his search begins, amid many hits and misses, this novel takes you on a roller coaster ride with multiple bends, unexpected twists, and curves. As you succulently savor each page, the suspense is earth shaking, glass breaking, and unsettling... a wonderful and incredible tour de force of images with exact and precise descriptive images.

You are sure to begin a train ride on the Freight Trains of American into Pure Terror - in the capable hands of John Ridley.

Reviewed by LottaHoney
APOOO BookClub

When it comes to his novels, Ridley describes himself as a follower of Dashiell Hammett and Damon Runyan. He is a credit to his masters. This action-packed book evokes the edgy bleak spirit of all the great black-and-white film noir movies, but without a single cliche and with a fresh take. Its dark humor, absolutely modern characters, and visceral violence reminded me of Pulp Fiction.

Beneath its ironically comic, beat-inspired narrative tone, The Drift manages to trace a fallen man's shot at personal redemption. This is a powerful, streamlined tale that hits you like one of the locomotives it describes. You'll read it in as few sittings as you possibly can.

This was the first Ridley novel I've tried, and definitely will NOT be the last. I've never found a book so wildly entertaining while dealing with a host of serious societal issues. Ridley is a major talent, and The Drift is a brutal, cold gem.