Devil's Divide

by Jeffrey M. Anderson

World financial meltdown. US Government hobbled. Citizens scrambling as their country teeters between anarchy and civility. In this "witty", "thought-provoking", "scary" novel we meet Clay Holloway. Not a scrambler but an achiever, he embarks on a dangerous cross-country bicycle odyssey to win back his estranged wife.Against a backdrop of mountains, deserts and memorable characters he grinds eastward. Until, just short of the Mississippi, he meets a man who will change his mission, his life, and the future of the country.Devil's Divide is a sharply-drawn satire about national myth, identity, and the chaos lurking in the complexity of the modern world."You absolutely do not want to put this novel down… A great book with a great ending.”

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2017

About the author

Jeffrey M “Jeff” Anderson was born in San Francisco, California and spent his childhood just north of there in San Rafael, playing baseball, riding his bike and trying to avoid going to Russian school on sunny Saturdays—and in California that was most Saturdays. Jeff’s mother, a registered nurse, was born in Harbin, China to White Russian parents, hence Russian school. His father was a first generation Swedish/Norwegian businessman. As a youngster Jeff learned to hide his Russian background: this was the height of the cold war, the evil Russkies had their missiles aimed at us and several homes had bomb shelters with tell-tale breather pipes poking up from their front lawns. But occasionally his all-American mask slipped. Like the time he got laughed at for saying “moo-stash” for mustache. Or the meat pies, called piroshski, that were in his lunch box—one no doubt emblazoned with some all-American theme.
Teenagerhood in San Rafael was almost out of American Graffiti. In fact George Lucas started to shoot that film there. (Problems with the city forced Lucas to relocate 20 miles north to Petaluma). Jeff worked all sorts of odd jobs, watering, gardening, then shipping and receiving. Bought his first car and went off to college, not before the family relocated to what was to become known as Silicon Valley.
After college Jeff went to Europe. Lived in Paris at a Russian Institute, travelled extensively and met and fell in love with London and his future wife. Jeff got a lowly admin job in London but quickly worked his way into sales and marketing jobs in the shipping industry, first in London and then back in San Francisco. Throughout this time Jeff continued writing, mainly on long plane flights and spare nights in hotels. The ideas were bottled up inside but he could not find a controlled outlet for them that didn’t have the entire dam crack open and inundate the plot.
Jeff, his wife and two sons moved back to London in 2001 and Jeff started his own corporate finance company (he still runs it today). Still writing, but dissatisfied with the dense foliage of his prose, Jeff hit on writing a mystery and everything clicked. The forced discipline of keeping the plot plates spinning and the logical order in which characters are presented acted as a natural brake on his usual effusion of ideas. The first novel in the Jim Shalabon series developed slowly over many iterations.
Currently Jeff has two projects working their way toward publication. Black Widow Blues picks up the one strand of Little God Blues left unresolved. The core of BWB was originally part of an expanded version of LGB but the double climax and the book’s length—always a challenge for a first novel—meant a second novel made more sense. The other project is a departure, a bicycle trip through a mildly dystopian US. It sprouted up from a short story and refused to stop sprouting. Its working title is Devil May Care and it is out to beta readers.

Reviews

[Damion Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so happened to read this book at a time in history where things are just changing at a heart beat. World war 3 looming on the horizons as things heat up between America and North Korea with countries joining in as allies; Russia demonstrating religious intolerance by banning Jehovah’s Witnesses as a group in Russia; not to mention the sudden changes of affairs in my life and that of friends around me. This novel captures the very essence of this. As depicted in the description of the book, “Clay Holloway’s wife, Madeline, decamps to Boston on a trial separation and the San Francisco company he runs is hit with crippling litigation. Next, the world economy collapses – in one day. The nation wavers between anarchy and civility.” This is a very interesting book focusing on how Clay tries to save his marriage by embarking on a ‘perilous bicycle odyssey across a continent with broken communications, little fuel, and less confidence in its new currency or the government behind it.’ But his mission and the future of the country changes by one encounter.

I love the authors writing style. He holds your attention from start to finish. You absolutely do not want to put this novel down. It is very detailed, very descriptive. He almost takes you to the scene, where you can fully understand what is going on and experience what the character is really feeling. We travel with Clay and watch him overcome each obstacle while rooting for him to succeed. Somehow his success means that our reality has some hope too.

A great book with a great ending. Keep them coming Jeffrey Anderson.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you read this book, you step into a world that may have existed if different decisions had been made in the recent past, or you can just as easily imagine that it is a world that is set in the near future. Either way, once we meet the character Clay, he tells us all the information one would need to be aware of if they were living in this time, and frankly, it sounds like a terrible place to live. Many aspects are the same or slightly worse than they are in present day, and some of the same arguments and discussions are taking place. Two of these revolve around religion and politics, which seem to be things that never go out of style. The characters are raw in this one, and the hero of the story is quite honest about pretty much everything, which is welcome, but not exactly commonplace.

[Roger Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good second draft but needs some strong editing

I commend the author on writing a book.

I like the premise of this book but actually reading it reminds me of a hardy boys adventure with a libertarian rant. Pretty sure the Carter is what finished this one off for me. I tried to get further but it really needs an editor to clean the language and thoughts up a lot. There's definitely a lot of any rand mimicking going on here.

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have no idea about this book.

So disjointed I almost quit several times. Still not sure what it was all about. Started out just fine but really got sidetracked. One dimensional characters for the most part. Unable to relate.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Now came the part where you had to confirm your status as shiftless mendicant, and the government’s as hard-boiled benefactor.'

Ex-pat Jeffrey M Anderson is originally from San Francisco and surroundings, dropped down the coast to Santa Barbara for studies and degrees UC Santa Barbara in Economics and Russian and since that time has divided his life between California and Europe. Currently Jeffrey lives in North London and thus has become a complete ex-pat to the UK! A bit of a switch there, but then so is his book.

It is rare for a new author to make an impressive debut that takes the reader form the first page by signaling that here is a writer of substance: pay attention. Perhaps it is even more rare for that second novel to better the first, but Jeffrey has done that. He manages to tackle such subjects as that much hated 2008 financial debacle and bring humor into that dreary clime. For example, ‘The family in front of Clay were listening to a transistor radio, an analysis of the President’s speech urging Congress to approve a return to the gold-backed dollar. He sounded more angry than optimistic. This had been less than a month after the Meltdown, and the food lines had continued to grow. The disaster retained its B-movie values: the strange faces, more Felliniesque than famous, the cliché dialog, and a plot that strained credulity. Citizens shuffling forward to be fed, confused and accepting, like steers unaware of their meat pie futures. It had been such a quick fall. The knockdown blow, the world-wide stock market Meltdown. The US economy back up on one knee, like a boxer gathering his wits, and finding he had none. Not out cold, just too scrambled and lethargic to challenge gravity any more. A woman in line behind him said to her companion, “You know what this whole thing reminds me of? My divorce. That time before you give up, when you close your eyes and squeeze your hands into fists and will yourself to fall in love all over again.”

The author's synopsis distills the story best: `Lives can unravel quickly; nations even faster. In a double-punch, Clay Holloway’s wife, Madeline, decamps to Boston on a trial separation and the San Francisco company he runs is hit with crippling litigation. Next, the world economy collapses – in one day. The nation wavers between anarchy and civility; all systems are stop, Madeline now unreachable. If the country can’t be saved maybe his marriage can. Clay embarks on a perilous bicycle odyssey across a continent with broken communications, little fuel, and less confidence in its new currency or the government behind it. He grinds eastward against a shifting pageant of mountains, desert, and engaging characters until, just short of the Mississippi, a man in a ’57 Chevy materializes on the empty highway. Their encounter will change Clay’s mission—and the future of the country. Devil’s Divide is a witty, literate satire about national myth, identity, and the chaos lurking in the complexity of the modern world.’

Yes the story is interesting and demands to be finished, but the glory of Jeffrey's writing is the beauty of his prose. He is smart; his writing is smart. And he is a welcome, fast rising literary star.

[Phil Bolos · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when the world's economy falls apart overnight and you are left with nothing? Well, you do whatever you can to survive and protect those you care about. That is the premise behind Jeffery M Anderson's Devil's Divide. The world is falling part. The president has been pushing to go back to the gold backed dollar in order to end of plunge the economy has been taking. While congress struggles to come up with a solution, more and more people are going hungry and violence will start to take over the land. Clay Holloway is making his way east on his bike to try and get back to his wife. The country is broken and people will do whatever they need to to be able to survive another day. Then, a strange man in a '57 Chevy gives Clay a mission, a new meaning that he must fulfill. The question becomes will he be able to fulfill the mission before the fate of the country's fate is sealed.
The narrative moved at a steady pace and focused on many of the issues that Americans and people around the world are dealing with on a daily basis. This novel brings them to life in a fictional way but also in a very real way. I liked the characters and the way they interacted with one another. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the problems in the country and the realistic ways they could happen. The narrative was edited very well and the final product was polished. I look forward to more from this author.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devils divide is a Post-apocalyptic novel in the vein of “Dies the Fire” by Stirling. I think that Mr. Anderson, has done a superb job in revitalizing this genre and putting his own stamp on it. I wouldn’t be surprised to find this book will end up being the first in a series. I enjoyed the authors writing style from first page to last: it is witty and humorous at times but also gritty when needed. He was able to paint the picture of a financial meltdown which grinds the whole world to a full-stop in such a way that I could see it happening today and fully believe it.
In our story, we are introduced to Clay and Madeline, a couple who is testing out a “trial separation” by Madeline moving across the country to Boston. Meanwhile, Clays Firm undergoes a costly and crippling litigation process. When the world stops, Clay makes it his mission to find Madeline and so he bicycles along the nation’s highways and through nature to try and reach her. He meets many colorful and some dangerous characters along the way. And one encounter that will ultimately decide the fate of the nation. A great, spellbinding page-turner!

[Payal Sinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devil's Divide is one of its kind book. The backdrop is the 2008 economic crisis which brought havoc to the world and rendered many people jobless. Through Devil's Divide we get to meet many interesting people who see the economic crunch in myriad ways, where some even welcomed it as it had dissolved the class wall. Jeffrey tells us about the numerous problems that came in the wake of such huge crisis (and beyond what I actually knew), however his narration is so amusing that instead of sympathizing the readers end up smiling at them. The central character Clay is not ashamed to tell about his many shortcomings and is eager to repent them. There are numerous problems in his path to reunion with his wife, and he overcomes them with spirit, determination, courage and some luck. The ending is unexpected and good. The best thing about the book was the minute observations and descriptions presented in the voice of Clay. Devil's Divide is a satire worth reading.

[Pegboard · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the US economy finds it isn’t knocked out, but the stock market Meltdown leaves it too lethargic to challenge and fight, people are left stunned. This predicament leaves the nation in turmoil, along with the lives of millions. But Clay Holloway has already been through the ringer with his marriage and he is ready to fight. The challenge now is to get to Madeline across country on his bike. Not the safest adventure when it is every man for himself.

Clay reminisces throughout Devil’s Divide about his marriage to Madeline, and the work he did for the charity, Childlift. In his travels to Boston he comes across a man who could be a ghost, phantom, or an angel who directs him in the direction he needs to avoid the group of men looking for him. Clay is the man who knows too much and must be stopped. But somehow he was able to mysteriously bring the US back together, but as a hero or villain the verdict was undecided.

[Renee Spicuzza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeffrey M Anderson’s, “Devil’s Divide,” is an apocalyptic styled novel that is more along the lines of a crazy governmental overhaul that forces people into com chaotic situations. Clay is running his company and his wife is miles and miles away prior to this change in society. He makes it his mission as society and the economy takes a tumultuous downturn to try and find his wife and repair their marriage. He works on the little bit that he does, trying to survive with a new currency and doing what he has to in order to make it. It is a bit satirical in nature, masking the idea of what the world looks like it is heading to with the current situations within society. I like the parallels that are made within the story and think that some of the characters introduced are pretty kooky and interesting to say the least.

[LyndaVee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world’s economy collapses just after Clay Holloway’s wife has left and moved to Boston for a trial separation. As the world is plunged into chaos, Clay decides that he must try to reach his estranged wife and sets off on a perilous journey across the American continent by bicycle. You really warm to clay as he faces this monumental struggle in the name of true love. There is a supernatural element in this story too, when Clay meets a mysterious stranger, who helps him on his journey because he, Clay, is destined to save the country. The introduction of this ’57 Chevy driving stranger very much reminded me of similar encounters in the works of Stephen King, and I enjoy Stephen King very much. An excellent, piquant read.

[Mark]

The story has an interesting premise, a kind of a post-apocalyptic United States. In some ways the scenario doesn't seem altogether improbable anymore.

Unfortunately I didn't engage very well with the book. It failed to hold my interest. The storylines meandered and the pacing seemed to be a bit slow for my tastes.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of the world after an economic meltdown and technology taking a backseat. Duel storylines about 2 people caught in the chaos of government takeover and inefficiency. An ok read but not my cup of tea.

[Bernie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devil's Divide, written by author Jeffrey M. Anderson, is a somewhat disjointed story about survival after the country's economic collapse. Thanks to NetGalley and Iken Press for the advance copy.