Ghosts of the Desert

(Paperback)

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Description

To escape his troubled past, Norman heads to the Utah desert to lose himself in work. Having just received a research grant he plans to study the ghost towns and now-obsolete mines littering the inhospitable landscape. But when he comes across a desert-dwelling group of outcasts, and is taken captive by their charismatic yet ever-watchful leader, he is introduced to an alternate way of life that both repulses and attracts him. As Norman struggles to find his place and make sense of this strange new world - with its perverse and unorthodox practices - he must decide whether to take his chances and run, or yield, and risk becoming one of those around him. Ireland's refined and sparse prose cut through to the dark heart of the American dream in this chilling novel about the complex relationship between the primitive and the civilized, the living and the dead.

Reviews

`Like Lord of the Flies, this shows what happens to the psyche of individuals amongst gangs, and gives the audience plenty to think about. * New Books *
`The theme, setting and language evoke Cormac McCarthy at his most brutal, but Ghosts of the Desert is a neo-western epic of survivalism that deserves to be judged on its own merits. * Irish Times *
`An intensely compelling read full of muscular prose and characters who are, at once, cinematically vivid and entirely, scarily authentic. This book richly deserves and surely will find a wide, enthusiastic audience. -- Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
`A courageous and essential writer. * Ann Weisgarber, author of the award-winning The Personal History of Rachel DuPree *

Author Bio

Ryan Ireland was born and raised in Ohio. He lives in the village of Alpha with his wife and three children. His work has appeared in Fogdog Review, Seems and Writing on the Edge. In 2009, he was recognized by Glimmer Train as one of the 25 Best New Writers. His first novel, Beyond the Horizon, was published by Oneworld Publications in 2015.