The Forever Long Road of Olan Walker

By: Steve Vernon

Narrated by: Adam Gold

It was Easter Monday, 1952. It was a day like any other. The slat truck rolled into camp with half a dozen new convicts. I counted a couple of vagrants, one drunk, one assaulter and one assaultee.

All of that and Olan Walker.

Olan Walker was first out of the slat truck and he could have slid through one of the slats. That man was nothing but lank. He was as lean as a dog in Lent. He was as lean as hunger poured thinner than a spoon full of prison soup. He looked like he ate nothing but wind and shadow all his life. If there was a king and queen of skinny; a duke of raw bone, an earl of gaunt, and a prince of scrawny - well Olan Walker was the lord high ruler of them all.

It didn't take too long before we all found out what Olan Walker really was.

Olan Walker was a conjure man.

Fans of haunting southern gothic horror stories will want to give this one a listen.

©2014 Steve Vernon (P)2017 Steve Vernon

Olan Walker the Conjure Man!

THE FOREVER LONG ROAD OF OLAN WALKER is a unique short story of a conjure man.

On the chain gang in Alabama, life is not good. The guards have the prisoners at their disposal and they're not afraid to remind the prisoners of that at every opportunity. But one prisoner is different. He's a conjure man. He can heal you, he can kill you, and he doesn't seem to care which.

I enjoyed the narrative style of this story and I enjoyed the narrator, I just needed MORE. This is something I rarely say, because I knew this was a short story going in. But this time around, even though this short tale had a definitive ending, I felt like this was just the beginning, (or maybe the ending?) of a vast, epic tale. I feel like I'm missing out on that larger story.

That said, I am looking forward to reading more from this author because I enjoyed his style and humor a great deal. When describing how skinny Olan was, he said "...as lean as a dog in Lent." It's a vivid and funny writing style which brought Joe Lansdale's work to mind.

Recommended!

*I received this free audio from the author, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

Less than an hour long, but what great writing!

Would you listen to The Forever Long Road of Olan Walker again? Why?

Yes. The narrator really nailed it. It was the perfect narration for this type of story. The story reminded me of "Cool Hand Luke" but the narration reminded me of "The Shawshank Redemption."

My favorite part of the story was the descriptions. I love hearing how the characters describe the environment around them. It was very poetic writing and I genuinely look forward to hearing more from this author or similar stories.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Forever Long Road of Olan Walker?

"I've seen too much to believe that heaven isn't more than a grave digger's joke. Hell is here." That line was one of my favorites. It's hard to say which part on such a short story is the most memorable. But the environment at this point and on really held my interest.

Which character – as performed by Adam Gold – was your favorite?

I could honestly listen to Adam Gold's narration daily, and he did a great job of distinguishing characters. Brady was a great antagonist. Olan, of course, was also done very well.

Any additional comments?

I see most reviews disclose that they received the book for free. So here I go: Full disclosure. I got this book for free via a free code from a poster on Reddit. I was just given a summary and the giver asked for a review. So here I am reviewing. It was definitely a charming surprise. I thank the poster for sharing this story. Definitely up my alley.

Well written short story

The Forever Long Road of Olan Walker is an interesting and very well written short story. Adam Gold gave a gripping narration.

Short, Yes, but Awesome!

This is a story about the "conjure man." What exactly IS a conjure man, you ask?
He can do lots of things. Meet, Olan Walker.

It's not long, but it's a great story, listen and find out what he's all about.
Great story, loved the narration, a really cool short story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good story!

Any additional comments?

This short audiobook is solid! The characters have some depth. The dialogue is good–feels real. The story is set at a prison in 1952. Olan Walker is a different type of prisoner. He's a conjure man.

The tension builds as the story steamrolls ahead until you reach the explosive ending. Overall, this is a solid audiobook. The narrator did a good job with the story.

Recommended!