from Readers
Stories of people in extraordinary situations
Grit, hope & redemption
Dragonboat fans will enjoy this novel
For those looking for a novel which provides an insight into what cancer does to those suffering with it but need not do, especially to a determined fighter, read “The Final Victory”.
Neuroendocrine Cancer survivor and first-time novelist Roger Jones, former college football player turned quite successful real estate developer and Charleston, SC resident, has written 312 pages of fast-moving narrative told in the first person by protagonist Tripp Avery.
Part of a Charleston-based “Dragonboat” crew which did win the 2010 U.S. National Dragonboat Championship in a grandmaster class (12 men and 8 women over 50 years old, all cancer survivors or sufferers to boot!), Jones spins a tale of Avery’s ego battles, team hostility, and ultimate humility while coaching a team of determined athletes, some of whom once excelled in other sports.
Alumni and friends of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, will enjoy the author’s respect for their beloved school, especially his regard for the late Citadel Athletic Hall of Famer (for football) Bob Carson, Class of 1973. “The Final Victory” is a salute to never giving up while still possessing the ability to muster some strength to excel, not just to live.
Jones’s effort is a worthy one, and one senses that his writing will gather strength in future efforts. Character development is cited by novelists as atop their list of creative difficulties, along with the story line and holding suspense and credible tension throughout the work. Jones succeeds in each.
Dragonboat fans will enjoy this novel – a tribute to the amateur sport and to those with a passion for life lived to its fullest against seemingly overwhelming odds, intense pain and exhausting treatments, with nagging illness while abhorring sympathy from those who have no possible idea what it is like to live with cancer. I am among the latter and have gained profound respect for the former by reading “The Final Victory.”
from Readers