Bone Music — Alan Rodgers

A little over sixty years ago, Robert Johnson died of poison in a little town up off the bluff in Arkansas. In an hour, a little girl named Lisa will die of cancer. Such different deaths -- but linked, horribly and inevitably, by the crime Robert Johnson committed in the hour that he died. That Crime was Judgment Day: Robert Johnson sang Judgment Day, the song to end the world, as he lay dying in that shack up off the Mississippi River bluff -- and nothing anywhere in the world has been right since. 'Startling originality, a strong and rhythmic narrative voice, compelling characters, and delightfully quirky metaphysics make this a noteworthy hardcover debut for Rodgers, author of New Life for the Dead. . . . Well-realized settings range from contemporary New York City to Missouri and Mississippi in 1938; heaven and hell both come down to earth in modern New Orleans. Through colloquial prose that's strong and perfectly pitched, Rodgers combines elements of horror (sometimes graphic), fantasy, and magical realism into a unique novel that's not only an occult standout but a captivating memoir of an important slice of American culture.' -- Publishers Weekly 'The highest praise one writer can give another is to say 'I wish I'd written that book.' I would cheerfully trade my younger brother Rick, my collection of original Beatles cards, and any hope that my beloved Cleveland Indians will ever win a World Series to have written Alan Rodgers' Bone Music.' -- George Alec Effinger, author of When Gravity Fails 'Alan Rodgers . . . uses simple and beautiful words to tell this complex and horrific story. Really weird! Don't die until you've read Bone Music.' -- Brian Lumley, author of Necroscope 'Alan Rodgers' Bone Music is a work of mythological proportions. He captures the beauty and the horror of the old bluesmen, the terror and majesty of Heaven and Hell, and mixes it all into a potent tale of earthly woe. For atmosphere, real soul, and a touch of mystical madness, read the dream that is Bone Music.' -- Billie Sue Mosiman, author of Widow