A Ribbon of Road in the Moonlight

by Michael Pearson

The story concerns Mike Brookes and his Pegasus Car Company as they attempt to build and enter a two car team for the 1957 Targa Florio road race in Sicily. Pegasus build road-going sports cars but Brookes wants to take them onto an international stage to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, and Mercedes. He selects the Targa Florio as it is the toughest road race in the world, combining a car breaking mountain section with a long flat-out 180mph straight. Brookes problems are many - he has no budget, no engine, and no tyre contract, however, he does have one ace to play : himself. Mike Brookes is a superb designer and has several innovative ideas to put into the car. In addition to overcoming all the problems with the car, Pegasus also has to contend with the 1956 Suez crisis, which severly affects the car market; consequently they are being hounded by their bankers. They also have to overcome industrial espionage and the possible cancellation of the race itself, but finally the cars line up on the grid for a race which by now represents nothing less than the survival of the company itself.

250 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

I have had a lifelong interest in all aspects of history, but particularly naval and maritime - I worked in shipping for twenty years. This led ultimately to my writing four non fiction military history books, all set in World War II.

I was an advisor on the Yesterday Television documentary 'Operation Pedestal' and have written articles for various military magazines.

Another great passion of mine is motor racing, I even gave it a try 'back in the day', racing Formula Ford single seaters and Escort Mexico saloons, mainly at Brands Hatch - a great circuit, challenging and lots of fun to drive.

Reviews

[Ape · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has had me baffled. Firstly, I won it a few weeks ago on a goodreads giveaway. I can't think why I would have entered - no offence to the book; but I'm really not interested in cars or motor racing. For me cars are boxes on wheels meant for getting me from A to B. The end. OK, so I entered and won and thought I ought to give it a go. At this point I had it in my head that this was someone's autobiography about their career in the car business, and getting a racing car ready to take to Italy. I thought that could be interesting even though I'm not into cars. No! It's pure fiction. I thought it was a bit of a wierd autobiography when the main character is making smug winks and nods to what a stallion he is (what a turn off). So I seem to have completely missed the point with this book!

Having said that, even before you get to plot and characters there is a lot that lets this book down. The general formatting, layout and grammar make it tiring to read, and I think just tidying up that would have done it great favours. It's not amazingly well written; in places it reads like a witness statement rather than fiction. It's a lad's book to be fair; as it's about designing and building cars; doing business to build cars; getting ready for a car race... and lots of oily men nodding and winking about how virile they are. I am completely the wrong target audience for this!! I got to page 56 and thought... no, I'm not going to finish this. Sorry, really, really not my cup of tea.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firstly I feel that I must admit to not being a real petrol head preferring as I do two wheels to four. As far as I'm concerned a car is just a means of getting from A to B rather than some sign of masculine virility as such this is not the sort of book that I would normally bother with.

Now right from the outset there are problems with this book namely it feels amateurish and self published. The general formatting, layout and grammar are all desperately in need of tidying up . Too often the characters feel that they are talking over one another. Also too often it slips from a work of fiction into a sort of journalism. On top of this there seem to be some continuity issues. The book is set in the mid-1950's but I feel that the author has tried to compare with how things are today rather than really research the period and what was available. For example did people really drink lager and was it available in cans to take home? The main character Mike Brookes is likeable willing to risk his business as well as his father's home to follow his dream but too many of the other characters, predominantly male, are testosterone filled and one dimensional.

Saying all that this is a boy's own tale where you have to suspend credulity and cheer on the underdog so the book races along at a fairly breathless pace through a few chicanes on the way to Sicily before reaching an extremely unsurprising conclusion. This book may work in the male teen category but lacks an overall appeal but then is not the worst book that I've ever read either.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have to give author Michael Pearson high marks for effort, although the novel feels like an amateur effort. Fun for classic motorsports fans (petrolheads) who are willing to overlook the many copyediting and errors of fact. The story itself is compelling. A brash forward-thinking small automaker in postwar England puts forth a racing team to conquer the toughest race of all, the 1957 Targa Florio. He winds up betting his entire firm and his father's home on the outcome of this one race, his team's first. Pearson foreshadows all of the twists, so there are no surprises here, but it's a fun ride nonetheless. Suspend disbelief and enjoy the atmosphere of 1957 and the climax of the final miles of the terrible Targa.