Trapped Under Coal Valley

by Terry Brazier

Formats

Softcover

£15.69

Softcover

£15.69

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Book Details

Language : English

Publication Date : 15/06/2015

Format : Softcover

Dimensions : 6x9

Page Count : 364

ISBN : 9781504915922

About the Book

On a cold February morning in 1908, the ground under Coal Valley, Illinois, trembled as an earthquake opened the earth, collapsed mining tunnels, and created chasms and fissures as deep as five hundred feet below the rolling hills. It would forever be known as Coal Valley’s “great cave-in.” Thirteen men lay trapped for three months as tensions rose among the townspeople, rescuers, and families of the trapped miners. One rescue attempt after another failed due to aftershocks, weather, and just plain bad luck. The dangers were great below ground, but the twisted minds of some of the town’s inhabitants made the danger even greater at the surface. A story of adventure, suspense, greed, romance, fantasy, and redemption that will leave the reader wondering who or what was actually trapped under Coal Valley. Was it just the miners, the apparitions that they faced, or was it the underground dwellers whose intelligence was advancing at such a rapid pace that they were preparing for their place in the sun?

About the Author

Terry Brazier earned his BA in psychology and MBA from the University of Missouri. After graduation, he served in the US Marine Corp. His professional career spanned forty years in systems analysis and application programming for a variety of industries and major computer manufacturers. He lives near St. Louis, Missouri.

Customer Reviews

Judge, 25th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards - This book, Trapped Under Coal Valley received an outstanding in all categories. Judge's Commentary: Settings are rich in detail, bringing the story more to life. Author excels at including sensory details so germane to the plot. We feel the air getting thick underground, and can contrast that to the hint of a breeze the author planted earlier, so wisely giving us the comparison. A multi-layered story structure is very well paced and extended throughout, accented by lively and realistic dialogue segments that stand out through the author’s instinct for differentiating character voices and movements. Author excels at describing how the characters feel, never resorting to cliché and never over- or under-describing. Author has a nice talent for concise description. And author knows when not to be concise, such as the disturbing scene in which the rat is chewing on the finger, sucking the blood and then rolling over and dying. I’m not sure how the victim could have held still during that, but accept the author’s description as an outgrowth of shock. Very gripping and stomach-turning. The last third of the book seems to ramble a bit, but then gains its organization again to wrap up a number of subplots. The shale pockets and the earth itself is a character in its own, given movement and impact that illuminates the entirety of the story. Intrigue grows over the course of the well-structured story, as we explore the mindsets and motivations of those trapped underground as well as the people above the surface. We feel the soul-crushing disappointment when rescue attempts fail, and we are then transported back underground to shiver at the next revelation of the creatures and souls to be encountered. Nicely-layered and very resonant.

Terry Brazier

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