The Desert King, a novel by T.F. Torrey
Jack's first big adventure
Table of Contents
Get Lost in the Desert!
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It's 1985, and Jack Trexlor is fresh out of the Arizona state mental hospital. He'd like to simply tend bar, paint pictures, and lay low for a while, but his old friend Macy Barnes turns up, and things quickly spiral out of control. Macy introduces him to an enigmatic Navajo man named John Lupo and the high-adrenaline world of the desert. Thrilled by adventure, Jack accepts their invitation to a weekend fishing trip. By the cool water of the Verde River, deep in the heart of the desert, he thinks he just may find something he's been missing. What he finds instead is trouble. The group grows to include John's girlfriend and Macy's wife, and snakes, scorpions, and the ghosts of Jack's own past keep everybody on their toes. And when some poachers slink out of the sagebrush, things go from bad to worse. As their quiet fishing trip decays into a desperate ordeal of survival, Jack slowly comes to realize that, even if John Lupo can lead them out of the desert, nothing will ever be the same.
Tonto National Forest is a vast wilderness preserve northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Imagine being lost there. Imagine being /hunted there. That's The Desert King./
What They're Saying
… The Desert King has a Pulp Fiction feel about it with the whole back tracking and going over people's lives. I liked that and I was instantly interested as I wanted to know who these people were and what were they doing. It's a book where everything is not as it seems. As a reader I kept thinking I knew what would happen next and then was surprised when it didn't….
—From Once Upon A Romance
Compelling characters + tight plot + beautiful/unforgiving setting=GREAT READ!
—Reader comment
Get It Now
![[Image of The Desert King---First Print Edition cover]](./cover-tdk-p1.png)
The Desert King is available in a variety of formats and locations. Get it now from these fine sources …
- Kindle Edition: Available at a great price from Amazon.com.
- Trade Paperback: In the U.S. available through Amazon.com and most other fine bookstores.
… or read on for more information.
Previews
Like to read before you buy? You're in the right place with this book. Between the the preludes and postlude, excerpts and extras, you can spend quite some time browsing the literature. Enjoy.
Online Excerpts
The excerpts present material from the book, exactly as it appears.
- Foreword
- A note by the author about the incredible journey this book took to get into the world. All true.
- Prologue
- All the Trexlor books have a prologue to set the mood for the story.
- Chapter One
- Quite an action-packed introduction, full of memorable violence and bad smells.
- Thorns And Miles
- An excerpt from the middle of the book, when the predicament becomes clear.
Preludes
I wrote quite a fair number of little vignettes showing Jack's life leading up to his adventures in The Desert King. In them, a reader will gain insight into Jack's state of mind going into his adventures, as well as an appreciation of Jack's apartment and work life, which are never really explored in the book. The stories are listed here in chronological order. "Getting Out" takes place in August of the year before the adventure, and the stories progress until "Home Is Where The Art Is", which is about two weeks before the start of The Desert King.
If you like the book, you'll like these. And if you like these, you'll love the book.
- Getting Out
- At the end of a yet-unwritten prequel, Jack leaves the hospital.
- A Place Of Destiny
- Jack finds employment at Gridlock.
- Return Of The Car
- Just when Jack begins to feel as though he's building a new life, along comes a relic from the past.
- It Doesn't Count If You Turn Around And Go Home
- Jack isn't quite this desperate. Yet.
- An Ordinary Night Like No Other
- Jack meets a person who will become pivotal in his life.
- Art Doesn't Just Happen
- Jack's best laid plans come together, for nothing.
- Tarnished Dreams
- Jack begins to fear being in a rut.
- Home Is Where The Art Is
- Jack realizes he is poised for adventure.
Postludes
And here is a postlude, from a time soon after the story, fleshing out an event referred to in the book (or is this simply a prelude for The Tonto Ten?).
- The Famous Jack
- Returned from his adventure, Jack finds fame, and his old life, tiresome.
More
Some other things of possible interest to fans:
- Edition History
- A complete listing of various editions of The Desert King.