From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima Alex Balfour finds himself trapped in some of the deadliest dramas of the Second World War. Back in
the present, girlfriend Molly deals with a terrorist threat. This time, Alex is not sure if he'll ever make it back.
****
"One civilian
[on Bataan] was a saddle-shoed American youth, a typical Joe College of that era who had been in the Philippines researching an anthropology
paper. A few months earlier he had been an isolationist whose only musical interest was Swing. He had used an accordion to render
tunes like "Deep Purple" and "Moonlight Cocktail." Captured and sentenced to be shot, he made a last request. He wanted to die holding
his accordion. This was granted, and he went to the wall playing "God Bless America." It was that kind of time."
GOODBY DARKNESS ,
WILLIAM MANCHESTER
CHAPTER ONE
Morning.
Alex Balfour walked up a low hill toward the rising sun. The day was mild and pleasant. The warm
gentle wind carried the smell of rich, newly turned earth. He walked alone on a narrow dirt road that curved easily up the side of
the hill. High white clouds floated in orderly lines across the bright blue sky.
A broad cultivated field stretched away on his left.
He crouched down to examine one of the plants. A pineapple. Rows and rows of spike-leafed baby pineapples squatting gray-green and
low against the red earth. He stood. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing only his blue running shorts and a white
T-shirt.
It was as if he were dreaming a slow sweet dream. But somewhere within, consciousness stirred and he remembered a headache,
maybe a headache, but then this thought drifted away. Too much effort to remember. He was content simply to be. He walked on. The
dirt of the path was soft and warm beneath his bare feet.
In the distance a man appeared at the top of the hill. In a few moments they
were nearly abreast. The man was Oriental. Japanese, Alex thought. He wondered, for a moment, if they grew pineapples in Japan.
"Good
morning," Alex said, and smiled. The man bobbed his head and hurried past...
"...keeps readers glued to the page." Publisher's Weekly
"...the
tale he spins is as rousing as ever." Kirkus Reviews
This is the third of the four time travel novels, known collectively as the
Pastmaster Series. All four are difficult to find. Although not officially out of print, they are still unavailable at the publisher.
Copies can be found in used bookstores and on the NET using the search term Appel, Allen at http://www.abebooks.com/