Casey Jones, a zealous railway enthusiast with a fixation for his namesake, declares a conflict against Transcon Railway. The only individual who can prevent him from obliterating the country’s largest rail line is Cal Farranger. He is the sole traditional railroader remaining in the echelons of Transcon’s Ivy League-educated leadership. Cal combats his adversary’s every tactic, from halting a runaway train loaded with toxic gas using just a shotgun, to rescuing a train full of passengers from a meticulously planned avalanche. In the midst of battling Transcon’s bureaucrats, who covertly wish for Jones to stay on the loose, Cal finds himself directly in the crosshairs of Casey’s most lethal attack: a train loaded with explosives hurtling towards downtown Chicago. The impeccably researched and convincingly realistic, End of the Line is a noteworthy debut novel that will leave fans of thrillers and action/adventure narratives amazed, while also appealing to the extensive community of railway enthusiasts nationwide.
Kem Parton, a debut novelist, is presently employed as a labor negotiator for one of the country’s biggest railroad companies. Following his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983, he spent a decade serving as an engineer and naval warfare strategist. In 1993, upon receiving his locomotive engineer certification, he dedicated his career to the railroad industry, initially working as an engineer and later as a yardmaster in Chicago. While handling all hearings and investigations into train accidents caused by human error, Kem assembled a list of elements most susceptible to sabotage. This list has proven valuable in the creation of his first novel. A keen poker enthusiast, Kem resides in Fort Worth, Texas with his spouse and two kids.
Critique
My initial summer reading selection was End of the Line, a novel penned by Kem Parton. The story is centered around the U.S. Railroads and the ripple effects that occur when a single individual embarks on a crusade against the largest line. An unlikely duo, a seasoned railroader and a union representative, join forces to combat the terror. Parton sets the stage for his novel by presenting the antagonist, the foe. This madman is relentless in his quest to annihilate the railroad and its trains. To be frank, the opening chapter failed to engage me until I reached the concluding paragraphs.
Parton possesses an undeniable knack for concluding chapters; the finale of the first chapter has etched itself permanently into my memory. While I don’t typically enjoy cliffhangers, he executes them with such finesse that I found myself unable to set the book aside. His characters are convincingly authentic and lifelike. I found the dynamics between his characters and the interweaving of their individual stories with the main plotline quite commendable. However, the narrative did falter slightly in its portrayal of the characters as seemingly invincible, consistently evading death. Given the intensity with which Parton describes each calamity, I fully expected some characters to perish in the course of the action.
