House of the Rising Sun

Burke, James Lee

ISBN 10: 1442385707 ISBN 13: 9781442385702

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2015

Synopsis

New York Times bestseller James Lee Burke returns with his latest masterpiece, the story of a father and son separated by war and circumstance—and whose encounter with the legendary Holy Grail will change their lives forever.

From its opening scene in revolutionary Mexico to the Battle of the Marne in 1918, and on to the bordellos and saloons of San Antonio during the reign of the Hole in the Wall Gang, House of the Rising Sun is an epic tale of love, loss, betrayal, vengeance, and retribution that follows Texas Ranger Hackberry Holland on his journey to reunite with his estranged son, Ishmael, a captain in the United States Army.

After a violent encounter that leaves four Mexican soldiers dead, Hackberry escapes the country in possession of a stolen artifact, earning the ire of a bloodthirsty Austrian arms dealer who then places Hack’s son Ishmael squarely in the cross hairs of a plot to recapture his prize, believed to be the mythic cup of Christ.

Along the way, we meet three extraordinary women: Ruby Dansen, the Danish immigrant who is Ishmael’s mother and Hackberry’s one true love; Beatrice DeMolay, a brothel madam descended from the crusader knight who brought the shroud of Turin back from the Holy Land; and Maggie Bassett, one-time lover of the Sundance Kid, whose wiles rival those of Lady Macbeth. In her own way, each woman will aid Hackberry in his quest to reconcile with Ishmael, to vanquish their enemies, and to return the Grail to its rightful place.

House of the Rising Sun is James Lee Burke’s finest novel to date, and a thrilling entry into the Holland family saga that continued most recently with Wayfaring Stranger, which the New York Times Book Review described as “saturated with the romance of the past while mournfully attuned to the unholy menace of the present.”

About this title

Review

Mr. Burke has crafted another epic tale in an unforgettable landscape about an imperfect man s search for redemption. Once again, every member of the sprawling cast of characters, minor to major, makes an impression, and rings true Mr. Burke s novels always offer a compelling story.But, the reader is rewarded with a multitude of haunting themes that run deepand wide. Pick and choose the ones you wish to explore. They are skillfully andnon-intrusively woven into the narrative. But these layers are what always elevate a James Lee Burke novel above any genre tale.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"

"Mr. Burke has crafted another epic tale in an unforgettable landscape about an imperfect man's search for redemption. Once again, every member of the sprawling cast of characters, minor to major, makes an impression, and rings true...Mr. Burke's novels always offer a compelling story.But, the reader is rewarded with a multitude of haunting themes that run deepand wide. Pick and choose the ones you wish to explore. They are skillfully andnon-intrusively woven into the narrative. But these layers are what always elevate a James Lee Burke novel above any genre tale."
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Book Description

New York Times bestseller James Lee Burke returns with his latest masterpiece, the story of a father and son separated by war.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1442385707
• ISBN 13: 9781442385702
• Binding: Audio CD