LocalLit book review: Escape to ‘Purple Skies Over Sage Canyon’

If you’re looking for a fun, read that doesn’t take itself too seriously, I heartily recommend “Purple Skies Over Sage Canyon” by Kenneth Lee McGee of Plainfield.

Rhett Carter decides to escape heartache and a tedious way of life and heads West with his dog, his off-road vehicle and a few supplies. Shortly after reaching Sage Canyon, Carter meets an archeologist who’s convinced the canyon is full of gold — and he’s spent decades looking for it.

Carter also meets a Native American called Joe, who also knows the professor. Joe who reminds me of Oliver Reed’s Joe Knox in the “Great Scout” Western spoof from 1976. Carter’s introduction to Joe is when Joe wounds Carter’s vehicle, which wins Joe a longstanding bet he had with the archeologist.

Through the book’s 144 pages, the trio analyzes legends and diaries, work their way through the food, endure plenty of bad weather and dodge gunfire.

Do they find the gold? You’ll have to read the book to find out. At one point, I held my breath, thinking the giant hail was really the gold. But, no. And that’s the only spoiler I’ll provide.

However, if you enjoyed “Purple Skies Over Sage Canyon,” McGee does hint at a sequel.

Here is its Amazon description:

“I had arrived in this part of the Utah desert by following national forest and BLM dirt roads from Coshoctin Grove. That was five days ago.

“I was now fifty-five miles away, as the desert hawk flies. And no one knew I was here.

“I shielded my eyes from the sun and gazed at the vertical wall to my left. I saw the remains of a cliff dwelling. When I saw something reach out, I staggered back, tripped over a rock and landed ... on top of a cactus. I yelled involuntarily. I continued to stare and realized the thing I saw was an arm and a hand holding something.

“The hand’s owner dropped the white object. I watched it smack into the detritus fifty feet away, bounce into the sky, roll down the slope, and end up in four pieces fifteen feet away. I shuddered when I realized I was looking at pieces of a human skull.

“So begins Rhett Carter and Bandit’s adventure overlanding through the American West in his Wrangler Rubicon.”

Buy “Purple Skies over Sage Canyon” on Amazon.

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