Book Review: 3 Aces; a Great Story Wears Camo


Boozing, gambling, war, trucking and three legged dogs. Does pleasure reading get any better than this?

When I first heard about how author Richard Ide logged over a million miles as a long haul trucker while perfecting the fine art of writing, I knew I had to read his book, “3 Aces,†which resulted from those travels.

I guessed that anyone who’s led the life of a trucker, dealt cards in Atlantic City and sold stocks on Wall Street, must have a good story to share. And I was right. Don’t let the vague title or cover art fool you: like a cold Shiner on a hot summer day, 3 Aces is good for the soul.

3 Aces is a road trip story based on the life of Abner, a struggling, lonely trucker suffering from Vietnam-era post traumatic stress disorder, who meets Dawn, a younger, divorced alcoholic leading a dead end life while a young daughter waits back at home. When Dawn and Abner team up as long haul truckers and a three legged dog named Pip hops along for the ride, a captivating story unfolds as they travel the highways and byways of America.

Much like a classic country love song, 3 Aces doesn’t pose as highbrow literature. But like a big haired waitress in a Texas diner, 3 Aces serves up a hearty plate of love, politics, forgiveness, redemption and adventure. There’s a side of politics too, as Ide educates readers about global trade and the economic impact it has on the grueling life of truckers who keep the shelves stocked at your nearest Mega-Lo Mart.

Ide’s story is an easy read, and is escapism at it’s finest. He manages to keep a complex story line going with multi-dimensional characters that never run out of gas. He has a knack for character development and conversation details, and describing the highway scenes of America in such vivid detail you’d swear you traveled down that same road. You’ll especially love how he weaves the colorful language of truckers into the story, sharing colloquialisms like “chicken coop†and “plain blue wrappers†with the uneducated public.

3 Aces is a great road tripping book, and it breaks my heart that few people know about it. That’s because of the fearful state of the publishing industry, which wouldn’t give Ide a deal for his story. So Ide went the self publishing route with 3 Aces. The problem with self publishing however, is that unless you’re a marketing guru and can get the story into the public, it’s very difficult to sell copies. Ide has made every effort to get 3 Aces out there, and can still use all he help he can get in moving it.

So please, buy a copy and read 3 Aces and help get a classic tale into the hands of the masses.

5 thoughts on “Book Review: 3 Aces; a Great Story Wears Camo”

  1. To Rene:

    Thank you for your fine review of my novel, 3 ACES. I don’t see everything all at once, and just caught up with your piece. You are right about the difficulty a self-published author has in establishing readership of his work. It’s especially tough with the turn down in our economy.

    To make things easier on readers with access to a Kindle or its equal, be aware that they can now download a complete copy of 3 ACES from my Amazon site for the bargain price of 99 cents!

    Thanks, Rene, for the heartfelt review. your care and interest in 3 ACES!

    Richard Ide, author

    Reply
  2. Hi guy’s, just been looking at your site on my blackberry and it all looks very good on a handheld! All photos and text look great, even at 2.5G, even the fav icon appears.

    Thanks for the offer of hosting but I already started a basic wordpress one which is now up and running. Been busy and didn’t have time to blog anything with the laptop, always moving around though now have set up full mobile functionality at long last so tweets and blogs will be more frequent with gps location functionality.

    Using the blackberry means I can write anything anywhere and Captains think I’m still working…how cheeky is that.

    All the best

    Reply

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