American Sky

A Novel

By: James Grady

Narrated by: Pete Cross

An atmospheric and dramatic novel set in mid-century Montana by the acclaimed author of Six Days of the Condor.

"Grady's style is loose, colorful, challenging and fun. I sometimes thought of Orwell’s novel 1984, sometimes of the Dylan song 'Desolation Row.'"—Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post

For the teenaged Luc, his days are preoccupied with the daily dramas of high school. President John F. Kennedy's assassination seems a world away. But the winds of history find its way to his small Montana town as marijuana clouds rise in the hallways and the notices of neighborhood young men of "Killed in Action" in Vietnam keep arriving at an increasing rate.

Acclaimed novelist James Grady's American Sky brings to life the world of a young man who is caught in the nexus of vast social change. From blue collar life in the heartland to Kent State and the Civil Rights movement, American Sky is a sweeping narrative that builds to a crime that threatens to tear Luc's world apart. Previous compared to Larry McMurty, George Orwell, Harper Lee and Bob Dylan, James Grady explores Bruce Springsteen's generation and has crafted a action filled and timeless destined to become a classic.

©2025 James Grady (P)2025 Dreamscape Media

Anodyne coming of age story.

Anodyne linear retelling of a man’s formative years in Montana, in the 60s and early 70s. Felt autobiographical, since the main character wants to be a writer, and many chapters in the second section comprise the first story he attempts to sell.

Highly predictable and repetitive. Seemed like a script outline for a TV series. Not much of a story arc. The many mentions of events of the era and the ongoing Viet Nam war body count seemed portentous but didn’t really amount to much in terms of the story other than pinpointing it in time.