[.ca] The Dying Ground: A Maceo Redfield Novel (ISBN 0375756531)

WINNER OF OUR "OSCAR" 2002 AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT NOVEL:
In the THEY DYING GROUND by Nichelle D. Tramble, Maceo Redfield is serching the voliatile streets of Oakland, California to find the love of his life, Felicia. To get to her, he maneuvers through the death and destruction that crack cocaine has brought to the city and the African American community. While searching for Felicia, Maceo, a promising baseball player, is forced to decide who he is going to be. Is he going to be the man his grandparents have raised him to be? Is he going to join his childhood friends, Holly (Jonathan Ford) and the now deceased Billy Crane in the street life? When the search for Felicia ends, on what side of the line will Maceo stand? As Maceo looks for Felicia, we meet his family and closet friends. All have been touched by violence, death, drugs and family secerts. Readers are taken on a journey that is often grim and sometimes exciting. Ms. Tramble, in her first novel, is able to speak effectively from a young male's point of view. She uses vivid language to create pictures of the city of Oakland and the characters in THE DYING GROUND. Oakland's rise and fall is a metaphor for the complicated lives and history of African-Americans as they search for survival, sucess and a place in the "American dream". Ms. Tramble tells a story that incorporates mystery and the passage of Maces into manhood. When THE DYING GROUND ends, readers are left wanting to know more about Maceo and his supporting cast of characters.

Stunning Debut:
Nichelle's first novel is a stunning debut, written in a fast paced hand not easily forgotten. The characters are credible; the dialog real. Most interesting is the comparable view of the protagonists inner self vs. that which he presents to the world. He is complex and interesting. Well worth a read.

Can't Wait For The Sequel!!!!:
I just finished reading The Dying Ground and have to say that the writing by this author is superb. In my opinion, the story is an urban mystery set in modern times The author has carefully shaped her main character, Maceo Redfield, in a way that helps you understand why he reacts the way he does in certain situations. I'm not going to give the summary of the book, you can read that on your own time. I will tell you that Maceo is a man who loves hard. That hard love lands him in trouble but he's willing to take that risk. Maceo's extended family, friends, and Oakland, California provide a good backdrop to understanding some of his shortcomings. There's history interwoven throughout without it feeling like you're reading a textbook. There are characters that you'll love and those that you would never want to come across in real life. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has ever loved or anyone who has ever lost. If you don't fall in either category, read the book anyway, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

COULD HAVE BEEN ANYONE:
OVERALL GOOD STORY THAT KEPT ME GUESSING TILL THE VERY END...A LITTLE FAR-FETCHED AT TIMES BUT STILL REAL ENOUGH TO KEEP MY ATTENTION...WORTH READING

Appeasing:
To begin I purchased this book under the assumption that the title held a totally different meaning. I read the first chapter on three occasions and I finally decided to set aside the time and read it. It fooled me it wasn't all HIP-HOP like I'd read, but it was a mystery and it wasn't simple. The characters were so real as with the descriptions as well as the plot and the here and there of it. For a first novel I believe this is a fascinating and detailed read not cluttered it allows you to see into it. I hope to read more things by Nichelle.