- Publisher: Torchflame Books (October 18, 2022)
- Language: English
- Paperback: 438 pages
- ISBN-10: 1611534747
- ISBN-13: 978-1611534740
- Genre: Black & African American Historical Fiction
The BookViral Review:
A powerful deeply affecting portrait of life in a bygone world, Lost Souls Recovered is so well written that we understand not just the racial inequalities of the time but equally as important the emotions too.
Lost Souls Recovered is a novel that brims with memorable characters with John Billingsly at its centre and Walker upholding his character’s dignity throughout. A character whose tightly held conviction perfectly embodies hope and rectitude against all odds. It pulls no punches but neither does it lecture with Walker choosing to let all the actions and inactions convey their own message.
It’s a damming indictment of the period that Walker’s narrative can’t help but be obvious and quite melodramatic at times, but this is what gives it genuine depth as he weaves John’s story with real-life events to create an all-prevailing sense of authenticity. And on this level, Walker conveys John’s story in a way that feels immediate and contemporary, and not just like a history lesson.
The drama is timely and always relevant and unlike most novels of this type, Lost Souls Recovered doesn’t clobber its readers with its importance. It just tells its story in a modest, sometimes even discreet way that well suits the nature of its principal characters and events as they unfold. Most importantly, whilst Walker gives due deference to issues of racial and gender discrimination he does so without wavering from his story’s main objective: giving us a highly entertaining read.
A profound meditation on family and friendship. In a genre that has its ups and downs, Lost Souls Recovered proves an outstanding read and is recommended without reservation.