I picked up a small book by L.S. Goozdich, Fire in the Tall Grass. Published by Veritas Entertainment, this is the first adventure with Noah Redford, set after World War I.
Since the book is small, I think this one is most likely a novelette. This is one of several such works by the author from Veritas, and the publisher is focusing on “men’s adventure fiction.” They have put out several similar works that should be checked out.
The story starts off with a brief episode in WWI, with Noah being shot down near the front lines, forcing him to struggle to get back to the Allied lines. We then have the character in Tanganyika, where he has to help a good friend deal with a dangerous lion, which does not have a happy ending. Having had enough of Africa, Noah plans on flying home to Montana, where his wife is.
Instead, a woman with a young child approaches him, asking him to fly them to the Congo, where she can find her husband, the child’s father. Initially reluctant, he does so. But he thinks there is more to what she is telling him. And this starts our adventure.
They meet a strange, unknown tribe in the Congo, deal with something called Mbembe Nyoka, and contend with a group of Italian commandos, all before they can reach their goal, Nyoka’s Maw.
The epilogue finds Noah in Montana with his wife when he receives a letter from the woman, who tells of what she has done since.
The second Noah Redford book is out, Odyssey of Fire, which looks like it is a prequel, set in 1916. There are also two short Redford stories in the collection The Fighting Heart of Man, Vol. 1, with stories by Goozdich and Nathanael Hummel. I will be reviewing that soon.
Goozdich has a trio of other stories from Veritas, as well as some anthologies I plan on getting. Check out his works and the others from this publisher.
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