Blacktop Wasteland @blacklionking74 @Flatironbooks #qualitywriting #familydrama #crime #outstandingcharacters @absltmom

“Listen, when you’re a black man in America you live with the weight of people’s low expectations on your back every day. They can crush you right down to the goddamn ground. Think about it like it’s a race. Everybody else has a head start and you dragging those low expectations behind you. Choices give you freedom from those expectations. Allows you to cut ’em loose. Because that’s what freedom is. Being able to let things go. And nothing is more important than freedom. Nothing. You hear me, boy?” Beauregard said. Javon nodded his head. “Alright”

We all know we would do whatever needed to be done to save our family. In this extremely well written book, we learn of a man Beauregard “Bug” Montage who does everything he can to protect and preserve a family he loves, even to the point of death.

“The thing about loving someone was that they knew all your pressure points. They knew all the spots that were open and raw. You let them into your heart and they cased the place.”

This was such a strong book, making so many relevant topics appear seamless in a story of family, friend, villains, prejudices, and a life that seems to be predestined. Are we what our parents were or can we escape from the things that made our parents life unhappy, dangerous, and terrifying?

Bug Montage is a family man, so in love with his wife and a father working hard as a car mechanic to make it all come together. He finds himself up against it as a competitor has moved into town and Bug’s business is failing. He doesn’t want a repeat of the life his father had, a father he loved even though he had been deserted by him, and yet he needed to provide for his beloved family.

“The secret ain’t about the motor. That’s part of it, yeah, but that ain’t the main thing. The real thing, the thing most people don’t want to talk about, is how you drive. If you drive like you scared, you gonna lose. If you drive like you don’t want to have to rebuild the whole engine, you gonna lose. You gotta drive like don’t nothing else matter except getting to that line. Drive like you fucking stole it.”

One of Bug’s myriad talents is his uncanny ability to drive, a reputation based on his other persona of having been a getaway driver. With much trepidation he becomes the getaway driver for a jewelry heist, opening himself and his family to the most dangerous positions as the world of darkness descends upon them. It’s a story of survival, a story of strength, a story that blends flawlessly all the elements that make S.A. Cosby’s work shine.

This was a story that fostered one’s compassion and empathy for a father who finds himself in a position that seems untenable and yet he perseveres in the love of his wife and children. They are first and foremost in his mind and actions.

This book comes highly recommended. Don’t miss i!

and here ‘s the author:

S. A. Cosby is a writer from Southeastern Virginia. He won the 2019 Anthony Award for Best Short Story for “The Grass Beneath My Feet”, and his previous books include Brotherhood of the Blade and My Darkest Prayer. He resides in Gloucester, Virginia. When not writing, he is an avid hiker and chess player.