Somethin' for Nothin': An Action Adventure Thriller in Alaska

by M.T. Bass

Anchorage, 1976 -- Albert and Waxy flunk their Intro to Philosophy midterm and drunkenly decide to drop out of The Ohio State University and go to Alaska to "strike it rich" working on the Trans Alaska Pipeline. After Albert's father cuts off his credit card, they get bartending & dishwashing jobs at an Anchorage bar, where Albert becomes involved with the bar owner's girlfriend, CiCi, who is also the lead singer in the house band. Albert "acquires" a union card to get a pipeline job for himself, but then learns that Waxy has become part of a crazy scheme with Jimmi the Pilot, Beantown Bob and Moe the Eskimo to find and recover a long lost government payroll from an Air Force cargo plane that crashed in the Alaska Mountain Range decades ago.

350 pages, Paperback

Published February 2, 2016

About the author

Every author was first a reader. My aim is to pay forward at least some small portion of the fun I've had and the discoveries I've made from reading great books, holding fast to the notion that while victors may get to write history, novelists get to write/right reality.

To join my mailing list and keep in touch (and get a free download), click here.

Just so you know what you might be getting into, my favorite five novels are:

1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
4. Little Big Man by Thomas Berger
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

As much as I love real, physical "meatspace" books with real paper pages ("Real tomato ketchup, Eddie?"), I have to confess that eBook publishing has not only enabled my story-telling disorder, it has amped my reading back up without breaking my back, since I can carry my entire library around in my iPad Mini.

So it goes…

Reviews

[Gary Gillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One day in 1976 after they fail their Intro to Philosophy midterm, The Ohio State University students Albert and Waxy have a supposedly great drunken idea of running off to Alaska and making their fortune working on the trans-Alaskan pipeline. They are a couple of endearing wisecracking knuckleheads who soon get over their heads when they arrive in Anchorage Alaska after a cross country trip in their self-titled Blue Bus. Albert is the good looking rich kid who always succeeds at getting what he wants and Waxy is his farm boy sidekick. They get jobs at a bar called Fenway Park West which is owned by Beantown Bob, Albert as the bartender and Waxy as the dishwasher. Albert begins an ill-advised affair with Bob’s girlfriend CiCi. They get involved with Jimmi the Pilot’s drug smuggling operation and their problems escalate. He is a former Vietnam War Navy pilot. They hear about a wrecked airplane holding millions of dollars and search for it based on a clue from Moe the Eskimo, the cook at the bar. Albert and Waxy must find a way to keep their boss happy, help Jimmi escape his Mexican drug cartel suppliers, and find a fortune all while trying to purchase illegal Union cards so that they can work on the pipeline.

The tension of the story is ramped up as it continues onto the climax. Albert gets a job on the pipeline using a stolen work permit. He is one step away from being found out. Jimmi the Pilot takes Waxy on his drug runs to the pipeline. They get on the wrong side of the drug cartel and are in danger of being killed. Beantown Bob sinks all the rest of his money into the search for a downed Army payroll plane. If they don’t find the plane, then he will be financially ruined. They will all be ruined if they don’t find the money; including Waxy’s girlfriend waitress Emma, Albert’s secret girlfriend singer CiCi, and CiCi’s brother and bandmate Dylan. They need to find that plane on Bahammy Mammy Glacier before winter comes to Alaska when no one will be flying.

I liked the set up to this novel. The author creates many interesting characters that all have compelling motivations. The dialogue feels real for these characters. The setting is different and interesting. What keeps this from being a great novel is that Albert and Waxy do not grow emotionally from their adventures and there is a less than satisfactory ending. The first scene of the novel occurs just before the last scene of the novel. The last scene resolves as the reader might expect it to resolve. There is an epilogue that feel tacked on and raises more questions than it answers. I wish that Albert and Waxy had learned from their adventures, so that I would have enjoyed this novel more. I’m glad I met Albert, Waxy, and their companions for this fun page turning historical adventure.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Albert and Waxy head to Alaska for a big adventure and make a lot of money. Only when they get there do they find out that they have to wait in a long line to get a pipeline job. Enter Beantown Bob, Moe the Eskimo, Jimmi the Pilot, CiCi, Emma and a crew of Mexican drug cartel. By the end I was tired of reading Moe the Eskimo, Jimmi the Pilot and Beantown Bob instead of just Moe, Jimmi and Bob. It reminded me a child's book. But this book is not for children as it contains cursing, sex and violence. I won this book through LibraryThing.com member giveaway.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 out of 5 stars Kindle Copy for Review

This is a story of two college boys who find themselves on a road trip after getting drunk. They drop out of college as they plan to strike it rich in Alaska. But one of their dad’s cuts off one of the guy’s credit card as they end up getting jobs.

The characters they meet up on their journey and their adventures while they are in Alaska.

Nothing ever go quite as planned like life. An amusing read.

[Jennifer Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read from this autor and let me tell you that I loved it! Such a good book with great characters that keeps you obsessed with every page since the first one.
The story is very fresh and entertaining. Amazing job! definitely a must read!

[Randy Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story and characters were great. I lived in Alaska during this time frame and knew all the landmarks and types of characters the author was describing. I had to take away one star because the ending was.... Well, it was so close... until it turned into a cop-out.

[Jean Durbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an intriguing plot with many unexpected twists to it. A good story, but not a page-turner for me.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

1976, Brooks Mountain Range.
The Beaver plane had crashed & Albert (OSU dropout), & Wesley “Waxy” Aaron Biederby (OSU dropout) thought Jimmi (28, Pilot, retired USN fighter piolet) was faking.
The 3 were headed across the US.

Anchorage, Alaska. Dylan Roberts, CiCi (sister, Bob’s GF), Graham & Nordo (bass player) were in the band Torchlight.
They were going to play at Beantown Bob’s (Fenway Park West) bar.
Albert, Waxy & Jimmi were having a few beers & were going to listen to the music.
Misty, Eileen, & Karen were there also.
Beantown Bob (29, owner) & Moe (Eskimo, cook, aka Tuuluuwag) enjoyed the thriving business.
Bob was not happy about losing out on his ½ share of $50,000 worth of cocaine.
He was real upset with Eddie (bartender) because he was banging CiCi.
Bob fired him.
Albert & CiCi were also doing it.
Decades ago a USAF plane C-124 Globemaster went down somewhere around the Bahammy Mammy Glacier loaded with payroll. It was never found.
7/22/1997,…

Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive to some readers.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written thriller/adventure book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great thriller/adventure movie, animated cartoon, or better yet a mini TV series. It was just OK for me so I will rate it at 4/5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Making Connections; Electron Alley Publication; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a strange, twisting story. The storyline is interesting, but not very exciting. The characters are not well developed enough to identify with. It did not live up to the expectations I had.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from LibraryThing. This is my honest opinion of it.