The Mighty Spartan!

The Adventures of a Common Man #3

by Edmond P. DeRousse

The Mighty Spartan is family friendly fiction. Pete Russey is the Mighty Spartan, an ordinary citizen in a small Southern-Illinois town. He loves his little town and feels secure there. But life happens. How does he deal with a giant man-eating spider or the Hell's Angel when they come riding up behind him, or the scream he hears from his wife's adjourning labor room? His adventures are entertaining. You will find yourself identifying with them.

198 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2015

About the author

Edmond P. DeRousse is a retired educator for the Illinois Department of Corrections. He also served in the army and worked as an executive for the Boy Scouts of America. Just like his book’s hero, Pete Russey, he has also had many adventures of his own, including raising two children, before returning to his beloved home in Southern Illinois.

Reviews

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man recall episodes from his life, from his early memories of the cold war / Cuban missile crisis to his retirement, mainly spent in a small American town.

A strange but hugely entertaining book, I found myself identifying with many sections of the man’s life and certain bits, such as the building of a nuclear fall out shelter, really touched / moved me. The descriptions of some of the events were so well done that I thought I was reading a memoir rather than a work of fiction.

If you enjoy reading accounts of people’s lives then you’ll probably find this book worth a read.

[M.D. Curzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed Edmond DeRousse’s anecdotal novel, ‘The Mighty Spartan’. Mr DeRousse sent me a copy of the book to review and although it is the third volume in his Common Man Adventure Series, the fact that I have not yet read ‘Adventures of a Common Man’ or its sequel, ‘Choice and Consequence’, did not adversely affect my reading in any way.

Mr DeRousse’s conversational writing style is well suited to his everyman protagonist, Pete Russey. At the time of writing, Pete is in his early sixties and recounting various stories from his life. As Mr DeRousse says in the videoclip on his website, you don’t have to be rich and famous to have noteworthy adventures. Some of Pete’s adventures are funny, and others are poignant, but each of them is in some way relatable, and each of them gives the reader an insight into the life and times of a midwestern 'common man'.

‘The Mighty Spartan’ is set in Sparta, Illinois - about fifty miles southeast of the city of St Louis. Mr DeRousse writes fondly of his hometown and its inhabitants, and the location plays a central role in his vignettes. Fans of Garrison Keillor may appreciate the crisscrossing of colourful characters and universal themes that set the scene for many of Pete Russey’s adventures.

Mr DeRousse is, in his finer moments, an old school raconteur. Reading about Pete and his escapades is like sitting back on the porch on a long summer evening, listening to your favourite uncle tell you his stories. You may have heard some of them before, but the joy is in the experience, and in the appreciation of the moment.

[Rhona Mitchell Tennant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know what to expect from this as, going from the description is really not the type of book I usually read but I was pleasantly surprised.

We’re slowly introduced to the world of Pete Russey, American everyman and as the title suggests mighty warrior.

The book is written as a memoir, with the occasional repetition and memory lapses expected in a piece like that; but it often reads more like an old friend sitting with you over coffee describing the various adventures that life has taken them on, this makes the book extremely easy to read and very heart warming. It’s very easy to identify aspects of each adventure or story which happen in your life too.

A few events and references were kind of lost to me as this is very much an American memoir and being from the UK, certain things were lost in translation, this is not however a fault on the writer’s part. It just happened that I ended up googling a few references to understand things.

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and would definitely recommend it to others, along with the other tales in the series.

[Michael Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining memoir style book about a Pete Russey, an Everyman type of character, who recalls certain parts of his life. It is, as the subtitle says, a series of mundane adventures, which is a refreshing change from superheroes, zombies and the end of the world, which seem to be so popular these days.

There are an interesting mix of episodes, some are funny, others more sober and reflective. The conversational tone carries the narrative along nicely, and it becomes easy to forget you’re reading fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed the connection made between Sparta in Classical Greece and Sparta, Illinois. For someone who isn’t familiar with Sparta, Illinois, it provided a nice context, set the scene, tone and mentality of the town. A fun, entertaining read, perfect for a lazy afternoon.

[Hibah Shabkhez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete Russey is a very likeable protagonist whose self-deprecating sense of humour and rather zany adventures make this book fun to read. I do have one slight reservation, however: the author often presupposes in his reader a degree of familiarity with Sparta, Illinois, and with American small-town life in general, that everyone may not be able to bring to the book.
On the whole, a very enjoyable and highly recommended read!

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book. I enjoyed reading it. I liked the variety of characters in it. I hope to read more books by this author. The author sent this to me as an e-book because I had this book on my to read list here on good reads.