Gordon Ryan Collection Review
Love, Honor & Consequence-- 92,000 Words -- Matthew Sterling is a man on the way up. As Assistant City Manager in the Wasatch Range community of Snowy Ridge, Utah, and a Brigham Young University law school graduate, the 21st century looks promising.
Returning east to New York to settle the estate of his deceased grandmother and to direct the demolition of Riveroaks, her two-hundred-twenty-year-old Hyde Park home on the Hudson River, Matt discovers the historic journal of Major Andrew McBride, his sixth-great grandfather, plus a Revolutionary War manuscript that uncloaks a true patriot.
When Matt returns to Utah, local government elections and their tumultuous aftermath shatter his image of democracy and he finds his future is in the hands of unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats who value personal gain above honor. As the modern-day political drama unfolds, and the glare of negative publicity turns against him, Matt is astonished by the similarity to Major McBride's early American tale of deceit, dishonor, and public shame and the consequences that affected the rest of his life.
Triple Diamond- (Originally titled
Dangerous Legacy) -- 120,000 Words -- When a forty year old Soviet plot leads to a deadly nuclear mishap with an American guided missile cruiser, U.S.S.
Cherokee, accompanied by a New Zealand naval ship, HMNZS
Northlands, there is international outcry against the US. Zach O'Brien, a young captain with the National Security Agency, is assigned to find out who's responsible before the nations escalate to WWIII.
O'Brien tries to maintain control among the world's military forces and intelligence agencies, but things get out of hand as military forces are required to withdraw from the Middle East, and a second war with Iraq begins. O'Brien hopes to stop Silent Wind and restore confidence among America's allies, while preserving his integrity. The task seems impossible and the enemy is every bit as ruthless as O'Brien is committed.
The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow -- 21,700 Words -- "Dog -n- 1. a four legged, flesh eating mammal. 2. a male of the same family as the dog.
"Bitch -n- 1. a female dog, wolf or fox. 2. a spiteful, ill-tempered woman.
C'mon along and visit the most unusual corridors of Dogwood City Kennels, the newly built city hall facility in Dogwood Hollow, USA. It's the funniest, yet most vividly portrayed satire on the ills of local government since George Orwell penned Animal Farm, (whose descendents, it's rumored, occupy some of Dogwood's kennels.)
Author Gordon Ryan spent thirty years in city and homeowner association management. None of the events in
The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow could ever happen in America, right?
Threads of Honor -- 15,700 Words -- This moving story was told to me by my life-time friend, Bill Tolbert, who lived every moment of it. I am indebted to Bill for his friendship. America is indebted to him for the integrity he instilled in these young men who, while under his tutelage, learned about honor and perseverance.
The basic story contained in this fictional account is true. The Boy Scout troop and the Scoutmaster are real. The American space program successes and tragedies are also real. And the flag is real. It matters little who the real people in the story are, but rather, what they are. We owe a lot to such people. For as long as they exist, our choices - and our freedom - will be preserved and remain our cornerstone.
Perhaps it is only in a nation which offers choice that man is able to reach his potential. In the final analysis, the restriction of ones' ability to choose confines the soul, and limits the ability to learn, through the exercise of choice - either right or wrong. For it is not so much what we believe, as how we adhere to those precepts, that determines our character.
Threads of Honor is my expression of gratitude to those who have sacrificed along the path and to those who continue to pave the way ahead.
