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Blowback '63
The battle between teenage twins, Arky and Iris, is about to explode into war—the Civil War.
Arky is ready to give up on rescuing their mother, Dr. Octavia Jongler, who is lost in the past. Iris refuses to give up hope, and playing the Jongler cor anglais to reawaken its powers of time travel. When Arky’s buddy, Danny, a pitching ace, throws his baseball future away, Iris and the cor anglais perform a shocking double blowback. Danny and Arky are blown to a time and place, 1863, where a boy’s game was being played in the middle of a man’s war. (True story!)
While Danny is thrust into a world of baseball he never imagined, Arky discovers tantalizing clues that put him on the trail of his missing mom.
In the present, Iris’s quest to bring everyone home from 1863 leads to a risky game of cat-and-mouse with Matt Grinnell, her first victim and beneficiary of time travel.
The war that spans centuries—between brother and sister, pitcher and batter, blue and gray, love and loss—is fought to the last page.
Arky is ready to give up on rescuing their mother, Dr. Octavia Jongler, who is lost in the past. Iris refuses to give up hope, and playing the Jongler cor anglais to reawaken its powers of time travel. When Arky’s buddy, Danny, a pitching ace, throws his baseball future away, Iris and the cor anglais perform a shocking double blowback. Danny and Arky are blown to a time and place, 1863, where a boy’s game was being played in the middle of a man’s war. (True story!)
While Danny is thrust into a world of baseball he never imagined, Arky discovers tantalizing clues that put him on the trail of his missing mom.
In the present, Iris’s quest to bring everyone home from 1863 leads to a risky game of cat-and-mouse with Matt Grinnell, her first victim and beneficiary of time travel.
The war that spans centuries—between brother and sister, pitcher and batter, blue and gray, love and loss—is fought to the last page.
- GenresFantasy
408 pages, Paperback
Published September 18, 2017
2 people are currently reading
1699 people want to read
About the author
Brian Meehl
15 books126 followersSign up for Brian Meehl’s ANNOUNCEMENTS at https://www.blowbacktrilogy.com , or CONTACT him at brian@brianmeehl.com .
Brian’s most recent novel is BLOWBACK '94, the “hugely enjoyable and fast-paced” finale in his critically acclaimed BLOWBACK TRILOGY. The kickoff book in the trilogy, BLOWBACK ’07, received a coveted red-star review from Publishers Weekly.
His award-winning books include a bestselling comedic riff on vampires, SUCK IT UP, OUT OF PATIENCE (Junior Library Guild Selection), and YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME (Blue Ribbon from the Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books).
Once upon a time, Brian worked for Jim Henson’s Muppets and puppeteered the gamut from a young pup, Barkley on SESAME STREET, to the Dying Master in Henson’s cult classic, THE DARK CRYSTAL. After taking up the pen, Brian wrote for kids’ shows like THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS and BETWEEN THE LIONS, winning three Emmys along the way.
For more on Brian, his books and the BLOWBACK TRILOGY, visit www.blowbacktrilogy.com and www.brianmeehl.com. Or watch his interview presenting BLOWBACK '07 and talking about his career with the Muppets at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZM26....
You can also check out my latest interview and get a hint of what I hope to work on next at: https://www.californiaherald.com/goin...
Brian’s most recent novel is BLOWBACK '94, the “hugely enjoyable and fast-paced” finale in his critically acclaimed BLOWBACK TRILOGY. The kickoff book in the trilogy, BLOWBACK ’07, received a coveted red-star review from Publishers Weekly.
His award-winning books include a bestselling comedic riff on vampires, SUCK IT UP, OUT OF PATIENCE (Junior Library Guild Selection), and YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME (Blue Ribbon from the Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books).
Once upon a time, Brian worked for Jim Henson’s Muppets and puppeteered the gamut from a young pup, Barkley on SESAME STREET, to the Dying Master in Henson’s cult classic, THE DARK CRYSTAL. After taking up the pen, Brian wrote for kids’ shows like THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS and BETWEEN THE LIONS, winning three Emmys along the way.
For more on Brian, his books and the BLOWBACK TRILOGY, visit www.blowbacktrilogy.com and www.brianmeehl.com. Or watch his interview presenting BLOWBACK '07 and talking about his career with the Muppets at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZM26....
You can also check out my latest interview and get a hint of what I hope to work on next at: https://www.californiaherald.com/goin...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 20, 2021
This is the second book in the trilogy. Loved Blowback 07 so much that I purchased Blowback 63. No matter your age this time travel adventure will entice you to purchase Blowback 94, which I did. Looking forward to another great read.
July 25, 2020
***Won from a Goodreads giveaway***
This is book #2 of The Blowback Trilogy. I haven’t read book #1 and can say with confidence that it can be read easily without having read the first book. The author does a great job letting you know what occurred in the first book without info dumping.
In book 2, Arky and his friend Danny are blown back to 1863 right into the middle of the Civil War. Time travel is accomplished by a family instrument/heirloom and seems to have a mind of its own. It sends people back in time that are ‘lost souls’ so that they can get themselves straightened out. But this time it’s sent 2 people back. Which is the lost soul? Is it Arky trying to find his mother whose lost in the past or is it Danny who hit his friend in the head with a baseball and put him in the hospital?
The friends are torn with each as they are highjacked into being soldiers in the Union army and Danny seems to become more and more comfortable with staying in the past. Will Arky find his mother? Will Danny reconcile with baseball and his future? Will the boys end up fighting in a war they read about in history books and possibly die alongside countless others?
In the present, Arky’s twin sister Iris must juggle keeping her dad from finding out about all the time traveling going on, practice for a recital/interview, and keep Matt from remembering what happened to him in book 1 when he was blown back into the past.
It was an entertaining read but Arky and Danny could be frustrating characters. The author also tries to take on the topic of racism but it’s a bit halfhearted.
This is book #2 of The Blowback Trilogy. I haven’t read book #1 and can say with confidence that it can be read easily without having read the first book. The author does a great job letting you know what occurred in the first book without info dumping.
In book 2, Arky and his friend Danny are blown back to 1863 right into the middle of the Civil War. Time travel is accomplished by a family instrument/heirloom and seems to have a mind of its own. It sends people back in time that are ‘lost souls’ so that they can get themselves straightened out. But this time it’s sent 2 people back. Which is the lost soul? Is it Arky trying to find his mother whose lost in the past or is it Danny who hit his friend in the head with a baseball and put him in the hospital?
The friends are torn with each as they are highjacked into being soldiers in the Union army and Danny seems to become more and more comfortable with staying in the past. Will Arky find his mother? Will Danny reconcile with baseball and his future? Will the boys end up fighting in a war they read about in history books and possibly die alongside countless others?
In the present, Arky’s twin sister Iris must juggle keeping her dad from finding out about all the time traveling going on, practice for a recital/interview, and keep Matt from remembering what happened to him in book 1 when he was blown back into the past.
It was an entertaining read but Arky and Danny could be frustrating characters. The author also tries to take on the topic of racism but it’s a bit halfhearted.
December 21, 2017
I was given this book in a goodreads giveaway for honest review. Now I read this first book and really liked it. The second one is amazing and I am being 100% honest. Iris and Arky are twins who about travel once again and this time its to the Civil War but the twist is that Arky and his friend Danny end up going after Danny is playing in high school baseball and ends up in some trouble and Iris send Danny and Arky to 1863. Arky is trying to figure out how to get back. While Danny is making plans on staying there. Danny is enjoying playing baseball in 1863 and likes being apart of the game. I felt like I was there and was never bored while reading this. I really felt Iris and Arky father wanting answers about his wife and their mother and where is and when is she coming back. I can't wait for the next book to come out. I need to know where they end up and if they find their mother. Again I really enjoyed this all the characters and how they acted with each other. I felt connected to them. Its honestly its gonna drive me crazy until I get the third book.
July 8, 2020
What's so Civil about war? In this second installment of the Blowback Trilogy we are blown away to the year 1863 right smack dab in the middle of the Civil War. Arky and his friend Danny are transported back in time when his sister, Iris plays her families antique Cor Anglais from 1720 that seems to bring out her Synesthesia: the blending of the senses that runs in the Jongler family. With the musical instrument she is able to send people back in time but usually not with the person's approval. Loved the mixture of history, friendship, baseball and family.
June 26, 2020
Nice followup with the same well researched immersion into another part of our past. One thing that really struck me is how much I dislike Arky. He's the ultimate self-centered jerk with no backstory to cushion my distaste for him as a character. Had I been in this book, I probably would have stuffed him in a cannon and launched his sorry carcass at the Confederates. I'm eagerly awaiting arrival of the third book to see how this all turns out.
January 26, 2018
Perfect for sport fan/sport history folks out there.
Fast pacing, adventure filled and mysteries galore.
Still...the wording that describes certain people bring to mind, one word: condescending.
Fast pacing, adventure filled and mysteries galore.
Still...the wording that describes certain people bring to mind, one word: condescending.
November 26, 2020
I first want to thank Goodreads and Brian Meehl for the personalized, autographed copy! Thanks for such a fun ride. The sequel was just as good as book 1 and I look forward to the next Blowback adventure!
Want to read
February 3, 2018FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Goodreads hoping I would review it.
August 17, 2020
I really enjoyed this book alot! Now I must read the rest of the trilogy!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews