The Keeper's Son

by Homer Hickam Narrated by Michael Kramer

Overview

On the outer banks of the Carolinas in 1941, fishermen and a few lonely sailors constitute the human population. Dominating the rough yet beautiful landscape is the majestic Killakeet Lighthouse, run for generations by the Thurlow family. But Josh Thurlow, the lighthouse keeper's son, has forsworn his heritage to become the commander of a small Coast Guard patrol boat.

Tortured by twenty years of guilt for losing his brother at sea, Josh still searches for him, even while a looming wolf pack of German U-boats threatens to decimate the shipping lanes off the coast. One of the U-boats is captained by a hardened Nazi, Otto Krebs. But Captain Krebs may bring ashore more than the war - he may also have the answer to Josh Thurlow's quest.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

A gutsy Coast Guard officer battles German submarines and 17 years of unfettered guilt on the North Carolina coast in 1941 and 1942 in this high adventure yarn. Hickam, the author of the memoir Rocket Boys (which was turned into the film October Sky), knows a great deal about submarine warfare in WWII, as evidenced by his 1989 nonfiction naval history, Torpedo Junction. This is the first novel of a planned series about rough and tumble Coast Guard Lt. Josh Thurlow and his unusual patrol boat crew during WWII. Josh, 31, is a career officer assigned to Killakeet Island, along North Carolina's treacherous Outer Banks. Both he and his father-the keeper of the Killakeet Lighthouse-are haunted by the loss at sea and presumed death of Josh's two-year-old baby brother 17 years earlier. Shaken from his brooding by the appearance of German U-boats, Josh must try to protect the merchant ships torpedoed every night offshore. His patrol boat is small and ill-equipped, and his crew is a wacky group of casual islanders who aren't sure they really want to fight anybody. A talented U-boat commander named Krebs becomes Josh's honored enemy, but another U-boat skipper is a far more ruthless and dangerous adversary. Josh must fight both, as well as his suspicions that his little brother may not be dead after all; the reappearance of a childhood sweetheart leavens the mix. Hickam provides a vivid and convincing portrayal of life under the sea in a U-boat, as well as on the surface in a fragile patrol boat. Well-crafted characters, gripping naval warfare and colorful island life come together in this dynamic and exciting tale. Agents, Frank Weimann and Mickey Freiberg. (Oct.) Forecast: The success of the Rocket Boys trilogy should help launch this new series, as should an extensive author tour-Hickam is a practiced speaker. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

The "Rocket Boy" is back with the story of Josh Thurlow, a Coast Guard commander during World War II chasing a U-boat captain who might just know something about his lost brother. With an eight-city author tour. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Nazi U-boats threaten the sweetly daffy residents of an island in the Outer Banks. Setting his irresistibly romantic WWII adventure on the fictional Carolina barrier island of Killakeet, long before the coming of the hulking cottages or the invention of time sharing, memoirist Hickam (Sky of Stone, 2001, etc.) successfully knits the true story of Germany's turkey shoot off the East Coast with the low-key lives of the fishermen, wild horses, lighthouse keepers, and other village types who had the beautiful place largely to themselves. Sturdy, smart Josh Thurlow, son of the present keeper of the Killakeet lighthouse has come back to the island after years away to take charge of the tiny Coast Guard station. Haunted by his responsibility for the disappearance at sea of his two-year-old brother Jacob, Josh has declined the inheritance of the family business, but he has thrown himself deeply into his new job, whipping the local lads who crew his rescue boat into a force capable of dealing with the certain menace of German submarines. Oddly, he seems to be the only officer in the Coast Guard able to see the vulnerability of the countless merchantmen who steam past the Graveyard of the Atlantic. And the Germans are indeed watching, particularly Kapitan Leutnant von Krebs, ace skipper of U-560. Krebs, who gained and lost the love of his life and acquired responsibility for a smart young orphan in one eventful visit to his childhood orphanage home, begins picking off the ships as quickly as he can launch his torpedoes. Josh gets no help from the higher-ups, but he can count on small-bore gunfire support from his recovering sophisticate girlfriend Josie who teams up with a Hollywood stunt rider asa mounted patrol. (It actually makes sense.) The situation worsens with the arrival of Supernazi sub skipper Vogel who has it in for Krebs. And that orphan on U-560, is it just coincidence that he's the exact age of the missing toddler Jacob? Or that he washes ashore after a crash dive? First of a series certain to seduce armchair sailors. Author tour. Agent: Frank Weimann/Literary Group International

Nelson DeMille

"In the best tradition of sea sagas, The Keeper's Son is both beautifully written and nerve-wrackingly suspenseful."

Stephen Coonts

"Homer Hickam is the best natural storyteller I've read in years."

From the Publisher

"Homer Hickam is the best natural storyteller I've read in years."

—Stephen Coonts

"In the best tradition of sea sagas, The Keeper’s Son is both beautifully written and nerve-wrackingly suspenseful. Homer Hickam is a master at creating atmosphere out of words, evoking time and place so that the reader becomes nostalgic for Mr. Hickam’s world. Homer Hickam’s first foray into fiction is a home run."

—Nelson DeMille

"With this book Homer Hickam expands his range as never before, into the realm of fiction, and the result is a compelling novel of war, romance, haunting guilt, victory. The Keeper's Son brings alive a special place and time, the Outer Banks of North Carolina before and during World War II, and the culture of fishermen, wreckers, surfmen and lighthouse keepers. It also gives the German side in a mirroring, parallel story that connects in a thrilling climax, revealing family secrets and conflicting loyalties. With a wealth of technical and historical detail, this is a story about learning to forgive ourselves, and learning to accept the gifts of life and love."

—Robert Morgan, bestselling author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies

APR/MAY 04 - AudioFile

For Josh Thurlow, taking command of a Coast Guard patrol boat off the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 1941 is a hectic homecoming on many fronts: His father wants him to take over as keeper of the Killakeet lighthouse, his encounter with the beautiful Dosie Crossan brings the promise of romance, and he is continually on the lookout for U-boats that lurk off the coast as part of a German terror campaign. Thurlow's personal and military battles form the basis of a novel that warms the heart as it makes the pulse pound. Mitchell Greenberg's narration is occasionally broad but always enjoyable, a good match for the sometimes sentimental story. THE KEEPER’S SON is definitely a keeper and should be a popular choice for family car trips. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169464740
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/03/2003
Edition description:	Unabridged

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