“Everyone has a hard walk.”
Charles James has been given a rare gift or curse – the entire world thinks he is dead. He boarded a plane and left to retrieve a bag he forgot. The plane took off without him and crashed, killing everyone on board. Instead of letting the world know he is alive, he decides to start walking along Route 66 from Chicago to California where his ex-wife lives. He realizes he has many regrets in his life, but the biggest is not treasuring her love when he had it. If there was ever a time to change his life, it’s now.
Richard Paul Evans is my favorite author and I pre-order all of his books. The Forgotten Road is the second book in his most recent series, The Broken Road. The first book was The Broken Road. This is the second series he has written where a man is taking a long walk to re-examine his life. I waited a week to get the book because I also ordered his daughter’s newest release, Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch.
In The Forgotten Road, Charles is starting his walk and ends up as far as Amarillo, Texas. While the book moves Charles along geographically, it doesn’t cover much of his journey emotionally. Instead of learning about what Charles thinks about while he’s walking, the book focuses on what he sees and does along Route 66. It was very interesting to learn more about Route 66 and things like “Route Beer,” but I really wanted to learn more about the character and what he was going through emotionally as he was walking. I’m hoping there is more of that in the final book.
I’ve been to two author visits by Richard Paul Evans in the past year or so and know he has been doing a lot of writing. He seemed tired at the last visit and has not done a book tour for this book, except a few places near where he lives. The Forgotten Road may end up being my least favorite book of Evans because it feels like it was written faster and without the usual heart he puts in his books. I’ll reserve final judgment on the series until the last book comes out. I would still highly recommend any Richard Paul Evans book to readers looking for an inspirational story.
Has your favorite author ever disappointed you with a book? Share on the blog!