TRAVERSE Issue 08 - October 2018 | Page 108

BOOK REVIEWS An Iron Horse Saga Carl B. Sutter 2014 R Billed as 'not a traditional romantic novel with a sultry love triangle but rather a true story of an adventurous cross coun- try motorcycle ride by a deeply in love husband and wife'. An Iron Horse Saga comes across as neither but rather a third person account of a ride from one side of the United States to the other. First impressions of this book leaves the rider questioning why this would be thought of as an adventure however, the reader needs to understand that adventure means so many different things to different people and what Carl has written is his adventure. The love story seems to come from Carl being followed by his wife, in a car, who he affectionately refers to as 'the chase driver', in the third person. There is an element of love trian- gle as Carl (The Rider) seems to be also in love with his 'Iron Horse', a Yamaha XV1600 Roadstar. The purpose of Carl's ride across his home country was to raise funds for the Kiwanis Club of Southeast Volusia County who help children in the local community, his ride was called the Coast to Coast Benefit Ride for Children. With this in mind it is easy to admire Carl's adventure and what he set out to achieve, although perhaps some part of this side of the story was at times lost in the writing. At times a few things could distract the reader; written in the third person is annoying and the riders insistence that he is well experienced in riding yet chooses to wear nothing more than runners and shorts, and only a helmet when it's law, seems ridiculous however, keep in mind the riders age and what he has set out to achieve and you might enjoy An Iron Horse Saga. E TRAVERSE 108 V