Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2015
352 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
In this harrowing and thrilling work of historical fiction, two enemies become the unlikeliest of allies as they fight to save their own lives aboard a hell ship headed into the dangerous unknown.
The Civil War is over, though for Jupiter Smith, a former slave and Union soldier, many battles still lie ahead. He returns to the plantation he worked on before the war in search of his woman, but rather finds his old master gone mad, haunting the ruins like a ghost. Out of pity for the now mentally ill Colonel, Jupiter strangles him and heads west to seek a new life in San Francisco.
When the Colonel's son, Confederate soldier Archer Smith, arrives at home and finds his father murdered, he vows revenge upon Jupiter for all he has lost - following his former slave to the far reaches of the continent.
But things take a new turn as Archer's desire for retribution is overwhelmed by his dependency on opium, and he ends up the target of a gang of "crimpers"… the very gang that Jupiter works for in San Francisco. When Jupiter fails in an attempt to save Archer, they both end up shanghaied aboard a ship headed on a dangerous mission and ruled by a merciless captain. Will the two Smiths work together to stay alive and return home, or will they become victims of the sea, the crew, and their mad captain?
"Harrison provides vivid portrayals of San Francisco's dangerous waterfront and the insidious trafficking of guns and Chinese slaves, but even these historical realities cannot carry this choppy and confusing novel, whose characters never fully elicit the reader's sympathy or interest." - Publishers Weekly
"Filled with adventure, this sweeping novel also reflects the complexities of slavery, freedom, and shared history." - Library Journal
"Harrison's (Our Man in the Dark, 2011) new historical fiction explores family and freedom, rage and revenge in the melting pot of post-Civil War San Francisco ... A historical adventure that ends with a stunning revelation." - Kirkus
This information about The Abduction of Smith and Smith was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rashad Harrison was the Jacob K. Javits Fellow in fiction at New York University. He is the author of Our Man in the Dark (2011) and The Abduction of Smith and Smith (2015). He and his family currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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