 November 2005
Fate's Redemption
by Keith Lee Johnson
When will race mattes cease to be the fulcrum that renders legitimacy in points of views between Blacks and whites? Can the true story be told at least from one author’s view of truisms that a lot of us just don’t want to breach? Celebrated storyteller Keith Lee Johnson in his latest literary offering, FATE’S REDEMPTION, attempts to not only answer the questions, but uses this adaptation of three distinct personalities intertwined within a storyline filled with parallels in cultural differences and racial stereotypes. It’s the juxtaposition of the parallels that the author illustrates in great detail that tends to paint a picture with exacting contrast. Brothers Jericho, Sterling, and William Wise’s stories are told with vivid colors and enough panache for an intriguing back-story. Mayhem, murder and mischief are par for the course as life has dealt them very different hands. Jericho whom was mentioned in the author’s previous title, Little Black Girl Lost is all grown now, a wizen drug and munitions dealer, and the leader of an elite group of former military personnel. To the author’s credit, and to my delight, this story is character-driven with each entity having enough oomph individually to bring a collective set of drama to add fuel to fires simmering, and to those raging out of control. Sterling was one of the principal characters in Johnson’s Pretences, is a conscientious and gifted attorney who inexplicably is fired from his prestigious San Francisco law firm just before anticipation of a victory that would have brought notoriety. William, widowed, aloof, and cynical is a psychologist and the youngest of the Wise brothers. It is he who is feeling the pangs associated with the loss of his wife.
What makes this book paradoxical and intriguing is the reversal of racial themes depicted in the characters that seem to be so prevalent in our society where questions are not being addressed to give reasonable logic to the Black/white issue, and other stereotypical notions of African-American mannerisms, and dealing with interracial dating. I loved the book, and after missing some of the original intent of the author, read it twice in some parts for a better appreciation of the subjective nature of it. This is a profound and compelling read, and it’s this voice that harkens back to the nature of people not willing to accept and go beyond boundaries set to color and create margins of confinement. I fell in love with the Jericho in this story, but one of the main foci of Fate’s Redemption revolves around the relationship, or lack of same between William and Terry, for it’s the constant jockeying for position that the authors renders between the two to make statements throughout about how the aforementioned race is but a moot point fueling the real attitudes of people who may be in love as opposed to allowing racial overtones to set the stage.
Taking all of this in consideration, the author gives plausible reason to make this a page-turning delight by introducing a spell binding plot, with moving metaphor, and adding enough secondary issues for a balanced story. What makes this book a winner is the author going to certain extremes not readily explored to illustrate points already alluded to. To wit: Terry Moretti, the woman William considers a thorn is white with a definite agenda to land the noted psychologist amid real and imagined racial angst, against William’s commitment to his wife’s memory. Is this enough to keep him from going outside of boundaries set for reasons of his own? Jericho, with drugs and political implications threatening to seal his fate comes to a fork in his road where decisions must be made for a better subsequent journey. Sterling is dealt a seemingly better hand but will have to also make an important decision when he meets a mysterious woman who offers him the world – is this a deal that he can’t refuse? What price must he pay if he either fails or turns her down? I highly recommend this book, as it should give rhyme and reason to add one more thought provoking author to the annals of mystery and suspenseful drama written well
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