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Trace Brandon #1
Deadly Lode
Acting on a hunch, geologist Trace Brandon discovers the portal to the lost Sullivan Mine. Against his better judgement, he enters the nineteenth century workings and is nearly killed collecting ore samples. The assays are equally deadly—high-grade pitchblende uranium. A worthless gangue mineral in the 1890s, but potentially worth millions in today’s market.
News of Brandon’s discovery spreads like smallpox through the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Cyrus “the Virus” McSweeny, an ex-con and stock promoter, begins scheming to acquire the mine, while the Pantelli crime family circles like a vulture—looking for an opening.
As Brandon begins to drill out the rich uranium orebody, his investors start dying—and not from natural causes. The exotic nature of the murders catches the attention of FBI, but it’s the uranium grades that catch Hong Kong-based Lei Chang’s eye. Chang wants the uranium reserves for his Chinese-backed mining company, and he doesn’t care how he gets them.
Brandon is forced into an unorthodox alliance in order to maintain control of the Sullivan Mine—and stay alive.
News of Brandon’s discovery spreads like smallpox through the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Cyrus “the Virus” McSweeny, an ex-con and stock promoter, begins scheming to acquire the mine, while the Pantelli crime family circles like a vulture—looking for an opening.
As Brandon begins to drill out the rich uranium orebody, his investors start dying—and not from natural causes. The exotic nature of the murders catches the attention of FBI, but it’s the uranium grades that catch Hong Kong-based Lei Chang’s eye. Chang wants the uranium reserves for his Chinese-backed mining company, and he doesn’t care how he gets them.
Brandon is forced into an unorthodox alliance in order to maintain control of the Sullivan Mine—and stay alive.
358 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2012
18 people are currently reading
1149 people want to read
About the author
Randall Reneau
8 books65 followersRandall Reneau is the author of seven novels, including Diamond Fields, a Royal Dragonfly Book Awards grand prize winner, and The Medinandi License, a Silver Falchion Award winner. He is also a two-time winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award. A former international geologist and Vietnam veteran, he lives with his wife, Lynne, in Austin, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 27, 2013
I won this book on GoodReads.
I wondered if I would enjoy reading about mining. I needn't have been concerned as the author's knowledge and writing skill made this book a good read. It takes talent to be able to explain a technical profession in terms that everyone can understand. This author has that talent.
While the book didn't leave me panting to find out what happens next it was a book I needed to carry with me so I could read it when I had a few minutes. The story contains a few twists, an interesting story line with a number of interesting characters.
I hope this author continues to write!
** I rated this book as 4 stars. For me this rating is: I loved the book and am glad I read it!
I wondered if I would enjoy reading about mining. I needn't have been concerned as the author's knowledge and writing skill made this book a good read. It takes talent to be able to explain a technical profession in terms that everyone can understand. This author has that talent.
While the book didn't leave me panting to find out what happens next it was a book I needed to carry with me so I could read it when I had a few minutes. The story contains a few twists, an interesting story line with a number of interesting characters.
I hope this author continues to write!
** I rated this book as 4 stars. For me this rating is: I loved the book and am glad I read it!
March 25, 2013
Good book - fun reading... bro...Can't wait for Diamond Fields!
October 8, 2016
Goodreads win.
A brilliantly writted book which I loved, thiugh some parts lost me, others briught me right back.
A brilliantly writted book which I loved, thiugh some parts lost me, others briught me right back.
May 2, 2013
With a creative mixture of believable characters and a likable plot Randall Reneau takes us on an interesting excursion into creating a company. Trace Brandon locates an old mineral mine which could be of immense value. Starting with associates the company is created and stocks must be sold on the market to create capital. Action continues throughout the chapters with murder, bad people turning nice, bad people being bad, nice people trying to survive and a touch of romance. Mr. Reneau blends everything into an enjoyable book. I salute him for the writing and publishing a fine work of fiction. Thanks Goodreads for introducing myself and others to this author.
March 21, 2015
Love this book! I found out about this book through Goodreads.Wasn't sure i would like this book but I was intrigued.It sat on the shelf for 6 months before i finally decided to crack it open, so glad i did! I enjoyed this geological thriller.There was some cool locations and a some fun bad guys.I did get a little bogged down by some of the scientific mumbly jumbly but i was justly rewarded for patience.This is a fun read, lots of bad guys, action, romance, humor.This book has it all.Can't wait to read Diamond Fields next.
June 25, 2015
Deadly Lode takes place in Northwestof our country with its main character a Geologist. Trace Brandon discovers a long lost mine High in uranium and gold. I learned much about mining in the start of this book and even more about crime as it moves swiftly through a rich mine with investors. You think one murder is enough and they just keep happening. Freed and the human go well together.Randall Reneau knows how to tell a story and hold ones interest to the end. A must read for those enjoying murder and mayhem.
May 18, 2015
Skilled writer weaves storyline from series of related events and unique characters
To produce an action adventure that is fast moving with unexpected twists and reactions that prevent the reader from taking a break.
Although some of the circumstances and events may seem contrived for this story, my experience is that these kinds of things can and do happen in real life, and often compounded by multiple life storylines, simultaneous conflicting events, and real characters that do not follow the plot.
This book was great. Now on to the next in the series.
To produce an action adventure that is fast moving with unexpected twists and reactions that prevent the reader from taking a break.
Although some of the circumstances and events may seem contrived for this story, my experience is that these kinds of things can and do happen in real life, and often compounded by multiple life storylines, simultaneous conflicting events, and real characters that do not follow the plot.
This book was great. Now on to the next in the series.
June 23, 2013
The lost Sullivan Mine, with its high grade uranium and gold, has been found by geologist Trace Brandon. He stakes a claim to the mine, get shareholders to invest, and begins mining. Pino and Al Pantgell, mob brothers, and Lei Chang, of China Nuclear Corporation, want all control of the mine. After Shareholders Rosy and Malcom are murdered, FBI Agents Wilson Allen and Beau Monroe get involved.
Excellent descriptions of mining exploration, mine operations and financing.
Excellent descriptions of mining exploration, mine operations and financing.
June 1, 2017
New take on mining
Mining in the wild wild west was nothing like this -- and claim jumping takes a new definition in the modern world.
Mining in the wild wild west was nothing like this -- and claim jumping takes a new definition in the modern world.
January 9, 2021
HI PAPA! It's Addie! oh fyi if you like Randy go read his daughter's book AKA my moms book called "Letters from Zulu" I am a Navy Wife. Letters from Zulu was a labor of love that took four and a half years to come to fruition. I worked on the book between moves around the country and raising three young children. I am honored to have recently placed at the 2016 Los Angeles Book Festival for my work.
The memoir is a true account of my time as an attorney and single mother, safe in my civilian world, when I met and fell in love with my submariner now-husband. Our new marriage inconveniently coincided with his nearly year-long deployment at sea on a fast-attack submarine.
During his time away, many events transpired, some even tragic. I was able to email "Ben" on his boat, and he in turn kept a daily journal about his life on the sub, as all I was able to hear was silence from the other end. Over the past years, I lined up the letters chronologically to tell our story from both of our perspectives. The result is Letters from Zulu.
The memoir is a true account of my time as an attorney and single mother, safe in my civilian world, when I met and fell in love with my submariner now-husband. Our new marriage inconveniently coincided with his nearly year-long deployment at sea on a fast-attack submarine.
During his time away, many events transpired, some even tragic. I was able to email "Ben" on his boat, and he in turn kept a daily journal about his life on the sub, as all I was able to hear was silence from the other end. Over the past years, I lined up the letters chronologically to tell our story from both of our perspectives. The result is Letters from Zulu.
October 1, 2016
I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. Nearly everything I feel like I should include in a review feels like a negative. So I didn't like it, right? Well, hold on. Let's not be hasty. The fact is, I enjoyed reading this book even though there is plenty wrong with it.
On the downside: you discover very quickly (like within the first 3 or 4 pages) that stylish writing is not going to be the strong suit here. The narrative is stiff and choppy, there are cliches piled atop more cliches, there are random bursts of oddly specific and rather pointless detail (I really don't need to know what color shirt a character selected to wear to dinner or what everyone had to eat. These things don't set the stage nor do they advance the story. They are just clutter.), the dialog is uniformly uncomfortable, virtually every possible variation of the phrase "as you know" is used repeatedly, and finally: please Mr. Reneau, please STOP making your poor characters use those forced, overwrought similes. As witticisms go, none of them are nearly as witty as any of us would hope, and your characters are clearly not enjoying the experience. Yes, I do feel better having gotten that off my chest. Anyway, also on the downside: despite there being all kinds of opportunity for some dramatic conflict to draw the story to a conclusion, it never really happens. There is a denouement, but it is...I don't know, just really passive and kind of flat.
But on the upside, however: the characterization is decent enough. It's not great nor is it evenly applied, but the characters a likable enough or unlikable as the plot requires and you can pretty easily envision at least the key players in the drama. The story itself is actually a pretty good one that sustains your interest and keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen next. Which is pretty impressive considering this is a story about the legal and financial wranglings surrounding the discovery and incorporation of a uranium mine. Sounds dull as dishwater, right? That's what I'd have thought, too. And yet I kept finding myself thinking "Well maybe I'll just read one more chapter. Or two." And I think maybe the reason for this is that there is no pretension in this book at all. It's a pretty straight-forward good guys versus bad guys tale. There is no allegory or symbolism to ponder. It's just a clean, honest story. And that is kind of refreshing.
So yeah, as writers go, Randall Reneau is a darn good geologist. But in spite of that, Deadly Lode is an enjoyable read...as long as you can accept it for what it is.
On the downside: you discover very quickly (like within the first 3 or 4 pages) that stylish writing is not going to be the strong suit here. The narrative is stiff and choppy, there are cliches piled atop more cliches, there are random bursts of oddly specific and rather pointless detail (I really don't need to know what color shirt a character selected to wear to dinner or what everyone had to eat. These things don't set the stage nor do they advance the story. They are just clutter.), the dialog is uniformly uncomfortable, virtually every possible variation of the phrase "as you know" is used repeatedly, and finally: please Mr. Reneau, please STOP making your poor characters use those forced, overwrought similes. As witticisms go, none of them are nearly as witty as any of us would hope, and your characters are clearly not enjoying the experience. Yes, I do feel better having gotten that off my chest. Anyway, also on the downside: despite there being all kinds of opportunity for some dramatic conflict to draw the story to a conclusion, it never really happens. There is a denouement, but it is...I don't know, just really passive and kind of flat.
But on the upside, however: the characterization is decent enough. It's not great nor is it evenly applied, but the characters a likable enough or unlikable as the plot requires and you can pretty easily envision at least the key players in the drama. The story itself is actually a pretty good one that sustains your interest and keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen next. Which is pretty impressive considering this is a story about the legal and financial wranglings surrounding the discovery and incorporation of a uranium mine. Sounds dull as dishwater, right? That's what I'd have thought, too. And yet I kept finding myself thinking "Well maybe I'll just read one more chapter. Or two." And I think maybe the reason for this is that there is no pretension in this book at all. It's a pretty straight-forward good guys versus bad guys tale. There is no allegory or symbolism to ponder. It's just a clean, honest story. And that is kind of refreshing.
So yeah, as writers go, Randall Reneau is a darn good geologist. But in spite of that, Deadly Lode is an enjoyable read...as long as you can accept it for what it is.
June 2, 2015
Deadly Lode by Randell Reneau
I gave the book 4 out of 5
I liked the story, it was different to what I would normally read in the subject matter. Based in Vancouver, Canada - Washington DC and the Cayman Islands it is a story about a geologist who goes looking for a mining opportunity. On finding it he puts in a claim and starts taking cores to see what he has got.
The book lacks only one thing and that is the narrative is very limited. Conversation moves the story along and I feel it losses a little because of the lack of description of the places people and feelings and consequences, however the book is good, interesting and I read in a few days.
Trace Brandon is the main Character, our geologist and owner of the company, he finds the old Sullivan gold mine and after a basic look around he checks the legal ownership and finds non so posts claims on the area and gets a company in to drill cores to see what they have.
Friends and other owners of the mining company Trace sets up are Will Coffee and Wally Wilkins, Wally is an attorney.
As news of the ore coming out of the Sullivan mine becomes know Cyrus 'the Virus' McSweeny tries to get in on the act, buying up shares and at one point he tries to take control of the mine.
As some of the share owners start dying in very odd ways the police and eventually the FBI get involved. We find that a mafia family have a set of shares and a China ore company try for a take over too.
Once the murders start and the story enters the realms of crime and who done it I find myself more comfortable with the style of the book.
I have to say I would not have bought the book if I had come across it but I might now look for the next Trace Brandon Book and see what the next adventure holds for him.
I received this book free through Good Reads First Reads giveaways.
I gave the book 4 out of 5
I liked the story, it was different to what I would normally read in the subject matter. Based in Vancouver, Canada - Washington DC and the Cayman Islands it is a story about a geologist who goes looking for a mining opportunity. On finding it he puts in a claim and starts taking cores to see what he has got.
The book lacks only one thing and that is the narrative is very limited. Conversation moves the story along and I feel it losses a little because of the lack of description of the places people and feelings and consequences, however the book is good, interesting and I read in a few days.
Trace Brandon is the main Character, our geologist and owner of the company, he finds the old Sullivan gold mine and after a basic look around he checks the legal ownership and finds non so posts claims on the area and gets a company in to drill cores to see what they have.
Friends and other owners of the mining company Trace sets up are Will Coffee and Wally Wilkins, Wally is an attorney.
As news of the ore coming out of the Sullivan mine becomes know Cyrus 'the Virus' McSweeny tries to get in on the act, buying up shares and at one point he tries to take control of the mine.
As some of the share owners start dying in very odd ways the police and eventually the FBI get involved. We find that a mafia family have a set of shares and a China ore company try for a take over too.
Once the murders start and the story enters the realms of crime and who done it I find myself more comfortable with the style of the book.
I have to say I would not have bought the book if I had come across it but I might now look for the next Trace Brandon Book and see what the next adventure holds for him.
I received this book free through Good Reads First Reads giveaways.
June 29, 2015
*Please note that I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review*
This is an explosive mystery that reminded me of the best Clive Cussler’s books – gritty, fast-paced, never letting up the tempo, mixing industry espionage, international business dealings, the Mafia, and all-around double-dealings.
I never thought someone could write so amazingly about geology and mining – I didn’t know a thing about it before but the author has a true gift for imparting knowledge on the subject; you can see that not only has he worked in the field for years but that he is genuinely passionate about every aspect of it. I even read with bated breath about the setting up of companies and putting shares on the Exchange!
The book starts with the geologist Trace Brandon researching some historical records about some old mines in Montana, and based on this information setting out to investigate a specific flooded Sullivan mine. After he takes some samples and discovers a rich vein of uranium in the mine, he stakes his claim, registers for excavation, sets up the whole operation… and then trouble starts. From investors trying to pull one over each other, through shares changing hands due to some untimely deaths, Chinese company trying for a hospital takeover, until finally to the involvement of two Mobster Vegas casino-owner brothers and the FBI, Trace needs to be very careful on who he can trust!
The characters were well-described and respectively likable or detestable, the dialogue was real and witty, and I was not bored for even a moment. I definitely loved this book and am very glad I won it! Thank you!
This is an explosive mystery that reminded me of the best Clive Cussler’s books – gritty, fast-paced, never letting up the tempo, mixing industry espionage, international business dealings, the Mafia, and all-around double-dealings.
I never thought someone could write so amazingly about geology and mining – I didn’t know a thing about it before but the author has a true gift for imparting knowledge on the subject; you can see that not only has he worked in the field for years but that he is genuinely passionate about every aspect of it. I even read with bated breath about the setting up of companies and putting shares on the Exchange!
The book starts with the geologist Trace Brandon researching some historical records about some old mines in Montana, and based on this information setting out to investigate a specific flooded Sullivan mine. After he takes some samples and discovers a rich vein of uranium in the mine, he stakes his claim, registers for excavation, sets up the whole operation… and then trouble starts. From investors trying to pull one over each other, through shares changing hands due to some untimely deaths, Chinese company trying for a hospital takeover, until finally to the involvement of two Mobster Vegas casino-owner brothers and the FBI, Trace needs to be very careful on who he can trust!
The characters were well-described and respectively likable or detestable, the dialogue was real and witty, and I was not bored for even a moment. I definitely loved this book and am very glad I won it! Thank you!
February 10, 2016
Who ever knew that the mining industry could be so very deadly? How does one keep one's wits about them as subversives undermine your success in their efforts to fill their own coffers? Keep it clean and above board and you might just get through this alive.
Not only is this story fast-paced, containing many twists and turns, it is also very instructive. I learned more about the ore speculation industry and how to feed the market just enough information to keep it interested in what you bring to the table. Author and professional geologist, Randall Reneau knows his stuff and shares that knowledge and know-how through a highly entertaining cat and mouse chase. Greed can kill you and the quest for the mother lode can make or break you. Buckle-up for the ride!
I am grateful to author Randall Reneau and Goodreads Giveaway program for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity did not, however, influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.
Not only is this story fast-paced, containing many twists and turns, it is also very instructive. I learned more about the ore speculation industry and how to feed the market just enough information to keep it interested in what you bring to the table. Author and professional geologist, Randall Reneau knows his stuff and shares that knowledge and know-how through a highly entertaining cat and mouse chase. Greed can kill you and the quest for the mother lode can make or break you. Buckle-up for the ride!
I am grateful to author Randall Reneau and Goodreads Giveaway program for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity did not, however, influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.
May 26, 2015
I won a copy of this book and am very glad I did.
This book is freakin' fantastic. Randall Reneau, an old hand at mining, takes us on a thrill ride in Deadly Lode. We start off with an entrepreneurial geologist, Trace Brandon, looking for a mineral deposit on which to stake a claim---and the financial, geological, corporate, and criminal shenanigans that soon come about. There's a lot of very interesting and educational detail in the novel about what it takes to create a mining corporation but that's just footnotes on this roller coaster ride of a book. From radiation poisoning in the old west to a highway bandit in the mountains to mobsters in the Big Easy this book has a little bit of everything and it all works! I loved this book though I did think one of the villains of the book got a little too soft at the end. Reneau is one hell of a writer. Big thumbs up for this novel.
This book is freakin' fantastic. Randall Reneau, an old hand at mining, takes us on a thrill ride in Deadly Lode. We start off with an entrepreneurial geologist, Trace Brandon, looking for a mineral deposit on which to stake a claim---and the financial, geological, corporate, and criminal shenanigans that soon come about. There's a lot of very interesting and educational detail in the novel about what it takes to create a mining corporation but that's just footnotes on this roller coaster ride of a book. From radiation poisoning in the old west to a highway bandit in the mountains to mobsters in the Big Easy this book has a little bit of everything and it all works! I loved this book though I did think one of the villains of the book got a little too soft at the end. Reneau is one hell of a writer. Big thumbs up for this novel.
April 7, 2015
I won a copy of this book and am very glad I did.
This book is freakin' fantastic. Randall Reneau, an old hand at mining, takes us on a thrill ride in Deadly Lode. We start off with an entrepreneurial geologist, Trace Brandon, looking for a mineral deposit on which to stake a claim---and the financial, geological, corporate, and criminal shenanigans that soon come about. There's a lot of very interesting and educational detail in the novel about what it takes to create a mining corporation but that's just footnotes on this roller coaster ride of a book. From radiation poisoning in the old west to a highway bandit in the mountains to mobsters in the Big Easy this book has a little bit of everything and it all works! I loved this book though I did think one of the villains of the book got a little too soft at the end. Reneau is one hell of a writer. Big thumbs up for this novel.
This book is freakin' fantastic. Randall Reneau, an old hand at mining, takes us on a thrill ride in Deadly Lode. We start off with an entrepreneurial geologist, Trace Brandon, looking for a mineral deposit on which to stake a claim---and the financial, geological, corporate, and criminal shenanigans that soon come about. There's a lot of very interesting and educational detail in the novel about what it takes to create a mining corporation but that's just footnotes on this roller coaster ride of a book. From radiation poisoning in the old west to a highway bandit in the mountains to mobsters in the Big Easy this book has a little bit of everything and it all works! I loved this book though I did think one of the villains of the book got a little too soft at the end. Reneau is one hell of a writer. Big thumbs up for this novel.
April 1, 2015
This is a thriller and not a mystery. But it is a pretty good thriller with all the standard elements. The plot is very reminiscent of the old westerns where the good guy finds a treasure mine and has to protect it from the bad guys who want to take it. Instead of a gunfight, the showdown is in the financial marketplace. A very reasonable update for the 21st century. The characters are stock ones but the story isn't about character development. This is a fun read.
I won a free copy of this book on GoodReads.
I won a free copy of this book on GoodReads.
October 2, 2015
Thank you Goodreads for sending me this book. A very fast moving thriller with lots of characters. Quite enjoyable once you try to understand all the mining terminology, which was helpful. Not a book I would usually choose, but an enjoyable read all the same.
September 3, 2015
Great read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written and the author did their homework on the mining industry. I look forward to reading more by this author. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good story line with a little sinister plot thrown in.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written and the author did their homework on the mining industry. I look forward to reading more by this author. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good story line with a little sinister plot thrown in.
September 10, 2013
For my cpmplete and honest review http://jazminjade.wordpress.com/2013/...
April 11, 2014
Very interesting. I really enjoyed
May 24, 2015
The characters are very simple and without depth, it was unable to atacher them, ditto for the story line. No suspense spikes, but not from the mind-numbing boredom either.
This is an enjoyable read.
This is an enjoyable read.
May 27, 2015
From the first chapter the action, plot, and dialogue has never falter. He wanted to do in realism, but rather story.
October 26, 2015
I was fascinated by the many characters and plot lines. The book is very well written and concise. The story was thrilling and kept my attention throughout. Could not put the book down.
September 9, 2016
I enjoyed this geological based story actually written by a geologist. I won it in a contest and it was a good read. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews