Where the River Ends - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description

A powerfully emotional and beautifully written story of heartbreaking loss and undying love

He was a fishing guide and struggling artist from a south George trailer park. She was the beautiful only child of South Carolina’s most powerful senator. Yet once Doss Michaels and Abigail Grace Coleman met by accident, they each felt they’d found their true soul mate.

Ten years into their marriage, when Abbie faces a life-threatening illness, Doss battles it with her every step of the way. And when she makes a list of ten things she hopes to accomplish before she loses the fight for good, Doss is there, too, supporting her and making everything possible. Together they steal away in the middle of the night to embark upon a 130-mile trip down the St. Mary’s River—a voyage Doss promised Abbie in the early days of their courtship.

Where the River Ends chronicles their love-filled, tragedy-tinged journey and a bond that transcends all.

Customer Reviews: Read 58 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Readers of WHERE THE RIVER ENDS will come away waiting to hear more from this talented author. July 21, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

WHERE THE RIVER ENDS, Charles Martin's sixth novel following his award-winning CHASING FIREFLIES, is a touching story of love and loss, set with rich detail against the backdrop of Charleston and the St. Mary's River.

Doss Michaels is a fishing guide and starving artist trying to eke out a living in a small studio in Charleston. A chance encounter with beautiful model Abigail "Abbie" Grace Coleman leads to a 10-year blissful marriage, but when Abbie becomes terminally ill, their lives fall apart. Abbie's once-flawless model's physique is ravaged by cancer, and her strength drains until she's counting her time left in weeks, if not days. On her wish list of 10 things to do before she dies is a 130-mile trip down the St. Mary's River, and Doss promises her they will accomplish it. Despite her father's threats (he wants her to be in the hospital), Doss and Abbie embark on the excursion. Hurricane season looms, which lends urgency and tension as the story progresses.

Martin tells his slow-paced tale well, and competently handles the difficult task of flashing back and forth in time in alternate chapters to tell the story of Doss and Abbie's courtship and their present-day trip down the St. Mary's. Doss and Abby meet with a fair share of hardship and challenges on their epic journey. Fans of the author will find the lavish descriptions of small towns, rivers and rural roads in WHERE THE RIVER ENDS in keeping with his eye for detail in his previous novels, including lots of precise descriptions about the St. Mary's River. As in his past efforts, Martin incorporates subtle faith themes that flow as naturally as the currents of the river.

Difficult and sometimes frightening moments on the river are balanced with scenes incorporating unusual characters, from Robert "Bob" Porter, a former priest who shelters them, to a group of partying rednecks who offer food and song to a spitting, rodent-killing backwoodswoman.

One of the most memorable scenes is between a young Doss and his down-on-her-luck mother telling him early on about his artistic gift, which she has nurtured, and the importance of the river: "Life ain't easy. Most the time, it's hard. It seldom makes sense and it ain't never wrapped up in a neat little bow. Seems like the older you get the more it trips you up, breaks you down and bloodies you...What you got inside you is...is a well that bubbles up from way down deep. It's sweet water, too. But sometimes wells run empty. If you ever get to hurting and all you feel is ache --- you reach down and find your well empty, nothing but dust --- then you come back here...dive in and drink deeply."

Martin's narrative occasionally slows and meanders like the river itself (there's a long travelogue about a trip to Europe). The ending is redemptive, even if for this reader it does tie up Doss and his father-in-law's relationship a little too neatly.

But Martin knows how to tug at the heartstrings, and it's a cold-hearted reader who can walk away from this one without shedding a tear. Readers of WHERE THE RIVER ENDS will come away waiting to hear more from this talented author.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby.

5 out of 5 stars

Don't hesitate! Just buy and read anything by Charles Martin! July 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Without a doubt you will fall in love, laugh and cry with the characters in this book, or any of the others in any Charles Martin book. He writes magically of nature, people, and love. Stop reading this review and buy this book and every other one Charles Martin has written! And look forward to his next book!

3 out of 5 stars

A Disappointment August 17, 2008
3 out of 11 found this review helpful

I wanted to like this book in more ways than one. I spent a part of my life in Georgia along the St. Marys as well as in Charleston. I lost a loved one to a similar disease and know the pain and suffering this causes. However, sad to say, I found Mr. Martin's book lacking in many ways. It read more like a script and I found his descriptions and adventures along the River a bit unbelieveable. No one in their right mind whould take a very sick person down the St Marys and expose them to all sorts of mishaps; snakes, mosquitoes, no food, no clothing, etc. It reads like a reality show. And, his descriptions of the "Holy City" are simply tourist fare and make a good read for those who are arm chair travelers.

Before I get several comments on my spirituality, let me say I am a devoted Christian and believer. My faith has no bearing on my impression of good literature. I fear Mr. Martin is fast becoming a "method novelist" producing the same novels time after time.

5 out of 5 stars

A Story of Love and Commitment July 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Charles Martin has written another novel of love and commitment from a man to his wife. Along the lines of two of Martin's previous novels, The Dead Don't Dance (Awakening Series #1) and Maggie (Awakening Series #2), Where the River Ends explores just how far a man will go in order to show his undying love for his wife. Written with depth and heartfelt insight, this book will not disappoint those who are already fans of Charles Martin and will make newcomers to Martin's books hungry for more. The characters are real and believable, and the setting (historic Charleston) and the surrounding areas make this book even more interesting to read. Well done, Charles Martin. Keep on writing!!

5 out of 5 stars

Where the River Ends -- another Martin success July 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Author Charles Martin has written a masterpiece of Southern fiction. In a culture that has lost some of its values, this tale of love within marriage reminds us of what everyone truly desires: to be loved unconditionally, to be fully committed to, and to be fully committed. I struggled to understand why this story so touched my heart, but soon realized that my desire for a truer, purer life overwhelmed the struggles I currently face. Some people would call this a fantastical escape, but I call it a restoration of hope.

I am not sure if there would be a person on earth today who has not, in some fashion, been affected by the cancer pandemic. With singular stories of "winning the battle", Martin, through rich character development and the wonder of a river journey, masterfully and pungeantly carries a way to truly deal with the statistical realities, again, restoring hope in the truth that we can possess love for others that is greater than the love we have for ourselves.

C.S. Lewis in his preface to MacDonald's Phantastes wrote, "I should have been shocked in my 'teens if anyone had told me that what I learned to love in Phantastes was goodness."

This story of a man's devotion to his wife, and his unconditional (but often challenged) love for her, is filled with...well...'goodness'.

Read this book, and keep the tissues handy.

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