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Ham and Echo: Voyage of the Gordon Lighton
A gripping tale of love, resilience, and the harsh realities that test the bonds of friendship in this M/M romantic twist of fate tragedy.Ham and Echo have been buddies since they were ten years old. Ham is drafted into the army at nineteen, and Echo eagerly enlists, promising to have his back. Eleven years post-war, Echo is still haunted by what he has seen and done in Vietnam.Ham, now married with two sons, put the past behind him. Echo did not transition back to civilian life as easily. Determined to help Echo, Ham gets him into an anger management program and a job on the ship he works on, the Gordon Lighton. Echo finds he can no longer deny the intensifying feelings he has for Ham. He wonders if Ham could ever feel the same for him.One stormy night aboard the Gordon Lighton, Echo unravels a sex trafficking scheme aboard the ship. The weather worsens, and the Gordon Lighton is subjected to the brutal onslaught of nature’s fury. The unthinkable question hangs palpably in the air. Will the Gordon Lighton weather the storm?
251 pages, Hardcover
Published January 16, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 24, 2024
**** REVIEW FOR FEB 25 2024 EDITION****
Cole Oswald Echo and Hudson Andrew Miller have been best friends since the age of nine. They both grew up in the same poor neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota. August 1964, Hudson aka Ham, was just eighteen and found himself drafted and he was terrified. He and Cole thought of ways to get out of it but nothing was going to work. What did work, was his best friend Cole aka Echo, being nineteen enlisted. Echo wasn’t about to let his best friend face this terrifying experience alone. Echo promised to protect and be by Ham’s side to the end.
After the horror of the Vietnam War, Ham and Echo still remained best of friends. They both returned with PTSD and to a world that was not very forgiving. Ham met Olivia Merkinsteen, who came from a well to do family, because of her lawyer/father Gabriel. Ham was by no means Gabriels choice for a son-in-law. Ham had a job as a lowly librarian and had very little money. So a deal was made between Gabriel and Ham. He got Ham help for the PTSD, paid for his college education, and helped him become a licensed operator. Because of the Merkinsteen name, Ham got a job with Northland Cargo Carriers on their flagship, the Gordon Lighton. He really liked the important position in the maritime field as the first-class radio officer. Olivia and Ham had two sons and Ham loved them very much. Work and time at home kept Ham busy but Olivia never seemed to be satisfied. She never liked Echo and was nasty to him. Echo believed he made Olivia think of where Ham and he came from. She never wanted Echo to come to their home and she argued continually when Ham wanted to spend time with Echo. No matter what, Ham always made an effort to be their for his best friend.
After the one year spent in Viet Nam, Echo had his issues with PTSD still. He was a really good guy but he became a loner and changed with the war. He was still living in the same neighborhood. Had various cook jobs over time. But when Echo’s PTSD is triggered, he finds himself in trouble. Luckily, Kelvin Walton was a good friend also, growing up with Ham and Echo. Kelvin was now a detective at the Duluth Heights police station. When Ham comes to pay Echo’s bail, Kelvin gives him sound advice to get Echo into an anger management program, before he winds up in prison.
Life takes a turn for both Echo and Ham. Ham has decisions to make about his new job and his situation at home. With Echo jobless, Ham takes a chance and recommends Echo for a cook job on the Gordon Lighton. It couldn’t get any better for Echo and Ham. But when Echo is introduced to one of the crew he becomes suspicious and eventually follows him. What horror will Echo discover? If that wasn’t enough, what awaits them on the Gordon Lighton, when gale winds and raging storm bears down on them?
M. Jay Williams really surprised me with “Ham and Echo: Voyage of the Gordon Lighton”, it’s not what I expected. I liked both Ham and Echo and the attachment that gradually grew between them. For Ham it’s an awakening as he remembers the closeness he shared with Echo during a time of war. He never thought it more than being a form of comfort from a friend. Both Echo and Ham have personal issues to face and resolve. As I read, I looked at this as a story of two long time friends, who faced an ugly war and then had to face coming home to a world that was just as ugly. Both Ham and Echo came home with PTSD and nightmares of the horror of the Vietnam War.
Ham also had a home life that wasn’t actually his. He was under the control of his wife and her father, as they planned his life for him. Ham always tried to keep his calm and respect and he seemed like a man that never wanted to argue.
There’s a little bit of nostalgia that made me giggle! It seemed Ham and Echo had no issues lighting up a cigarette anywhere.
The author took me on a thrilling journey on the Gordon Lighton. The story is very well written. The descriptions of the distressed ship and what the crew endured was intense and very realistic.
I highly recommend “Ham and Echo: Voyage of the Gordon Lighton”, it went from a story of two good friends and then an awakening between them. Then it became exciting and dangerous with time aboard ship. Then I was stunned with the ending, that I did not see coming. I don’t know what M. Jay Williams has planned next but I’m anxious to find out.
Cole Oswald Echo and Hudson Andrew Miller have been best friends since the age of nine. They both grew up in the same poor neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota. August 1964, Hudson aka Ham, was just eighteen and found himself drafted and he was terrified. He and Cole thought of ways to get out of it but nothing was going to work. What did work, was his best friend Cole aka Echo, being nineteen enlisted. Echo wasn’t about to let his best friend face this terrifying experience alone. Echo promised to protect and be by Ham’s side to the end.
After the horror of the Vietnam War, Ham and Echo still remained best of friends. They both returned with PTSD and to a world that was not very forgiving. Ham met Olivia Merkinsteen, who came from a well to do family, because of her lawyer/father Gabriel. Ham was by no means Gabriels choice for a son-in-law. Ham had a job as a lowly librarian and had very little money. So a deal was made between Gabriel and Ham. He got Ham help for the PTSD, paid for his college education, and helped him become a licensed operator. Because of the Merkinsteen name, Ham got a job with Northland Cargo Carriers on their flagship, the Gordon Lighton. He really liked the important position in the maritime field as the first-class radio officer. Olivia and Ham had two sons and Ham loved them very much. Work and time at home kept Ham busy but Olivia never seemed to be satisfied. She never liked Echo and was nasty to him. Echo believed he made Olivia think of where Ham and he came from. She never wanted Echo to come to their home and she argued continually when Ham wanted to spend time with Echo. No matter what, Ham always made an effort to be their for his best friend.
After the one year spent in Viet Nam, Echo had his issues with PTSD still. He was a really good guy but he became a loner and changed with the war. He was still living in the same neighborhood. Had various cook jobs over time. But when Echo’s PTSD is triggered, he finds himself in trouble. Luckily, Kelvin Walton was a good friend also, growing up with Ham and Echo. Kelvin was now a detective at the Duluth Heights police station. When Ham comes to pay Echo’s bail, Kelvin gives him sound advice to get Echo into an anger management program, before he winds up in prison.
Life takes a turn for both Echo and Ham. Ham has decisions to make about his new job and his situation at home. With Echo jobless, Ham takes a chance and recommends Echo for a cook job on the Gordon Lighton. It couldn’t get any better for Echo and Ham. But when Echo is introduced to one of the crew he becomes suspicious and eventually follows him. What horror will Echo discover? If that wasn’t enough, what awaits them on the Gordon Lighton, when gale winds and raging storm bears down on them?
M. Jay Williams really surprised me with “Ham and Echo: Voyage of the Gordon Lighton”, it’s not what I expected. I liked both Ham and Echo and the attachment that gradually grew between them. For Ham it’s an awakening as he remembers the closeness he shared with Echo during a time of war. He never thought it more than being a form of comfort from a friend. Both Echo and Ham have personal issues to face and resolve. As I read, I looked at this as a story of two long time friends, who faced an ugly war and then had to face coming home to a world that was just as ugly. Both Ham and Echo came home with PTSD and nightmares of the horror of the Vietnam War.
Ham also had a home life that wasn’t actually his. He was under the control of his wife and her father, as they planned his life for him. Ham always tried to keep his calm and respect and he seemed like a man that never wanted to argue.
There’s a little bit of nostalgia that made me giggle! It seemed Ham and Echo had no issues lighting up a cigarette anywhere.
The author took me on a thrilling journey on the Gordon Lighton. The story is very well written. The descriptions of the distressed ship and what the crew endured was intense and very realistic.
I highly recommend “Ham and Echo: Voyage of the Gordon Lighton”, it went from a story of two good friends and then an awakening between them. Then it became exciting and dangerous with time aboard ship. Then I was stunned with the ending, that I did not see coming. I don’t know what M. Jay Williams has planned next but I’m anxious to find out.
February 25, 2024
I KNEW THIS WOULD BE GREAT!!
I finished this with my nerves dancing in my arms. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!! My heart is pounding and I can't wait for Book Two. M JAY WILLIAMS pulled me into the friendship between Ham and Echo and just sucked me completely in. This Author has such an AMAZING completely UNIQUE writing style. It's just truly REMARKABLE!!! I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!
I finished this with my nerves dancing in my arms. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!! My heart is pounding and I can't wait for Book Two. M JAY WILLIAMS pulled me into the friendship between Ham and Echo and just sucked me completely in. This Author has such an AMAZING completely UNIQUE writing style. It's just truly REMARKABLE!!! I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!
June 17, 2024
This is a romance novel about two men who had served in the Vietnam War as teenagers. They had been best friends since they were kids, and years after the war, they realized they had feelings for one another beyond a lifelong friendship. The author seems to have made this a reimagining of the Gordon Lightfoot song about the ship Edmond Fitzgerald (which is why I was drawn to it). While the story was a bit predictable at times and the amount of descriptions of people smoking was a little overdone, it seemed well-researched and the depictions of PTSD realistic. This was an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews