Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Calvin Bryson is a cartoonist, collector of usual books from obscure publishers and after a failed wedding engagement, a self-proclaimed shut-in. When a letter from Calvin's Uncle Al inviting him to visit coincides with a strange package from a distant cousin, Calvin thinks there’s more to it than coincidence.

He calls his cousin and is told the box contains an old family heirloom that needs to be delivered to Uncle Al. He is then given a few cryptic instructions and warnings, including the order to trust no one.
Reluctant and skeptical, Calvin begins his journey to the small desert town of New Cypress however, before he can even get there, strange events begin taking place. Calvin meets a man in the GasN’Go who claims to have known his father and said to be friends with Uncle Al. Then, after the man leaves, the owner of the little store gives Calvin an exact replica of the package that he is delivering. Still pondering this new package, Calvin returns to his car to find the original package gone. Upon arriving at New Cypress, he discovers that the first box was a decoy and the second contained not a family heirloom, but a holy relic that must be protected. He soon learns that this sleepy little town has many hidden secrets, mysteries and danger in store for him.

I have a rule when reading. If the story doesn't hook me right away, I give it exactly 1/2 way through before giving up. Most of the time, I don't realize that I breeze right by the cut-off because the book has finally grabbed my attention. This is not one of those times. It came to my attention that James Blaylock hasn't published a novel in about nine years, so I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and continued reading. Bad plan.

Mr. Blaylock is the author of sixteen novels, so I’m confident he knows what he’s doing. I don’t know the reason for the nine-year hiatus, nor do I know what he was doing during that time; however, from the tone of this book, I’m pretty sure he was watching a lot of Dukes of Hazzard reruns. The characters in Knight of the Cornerstone bear a strange resemblance to the well-known Dukes characters: Bob Postum, the town bully/bad guy (Boss Hogg) and a posse of idiots (Cleatus, Cooter et al). The very wise, caring older uncle, Al Lymon (Uncle Jesse) who is watching out for his not-so-bright nephew, Calvin (Luke/Bo), in what seems to be a lawless desert town, New Cypress (Hazzard County) with lots of crooked schemes, bodily threats, dynamite blasting, fishing boats and pick up trucks.

Now please don’t get me wrong. It’s not that the writing was bad, it wasn't. The problem was nothing ever really happens. I felt like I was spying on my country neighbors in the course of their daily lives. I’m sure James Blaylock had good intentions, but when I’m on page 200 out of 294 and still nothing is happening, I think it’s time to call it a day. Hopefully for his next book, the author will spend a little less time in front of the TV and a lot more time putting some action in his plot lines.

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Hardcover: 294 pages
Publisher: Ace (December 2, 2008)
ISBN: 978-0-441-01653-2