Bad Ground

Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Story, Beautifully Written. What Could Be Better
Review: BAD GROUND is the kind of book that grabs hold of you right from the beginning, keeps you going till the end, and leaves you feeling warm and satisfied like you've spent time with good friends. Apart from Jeremy and his uncle, there are a host of wonderful characters, each one unique and memorable in his own right. Dale Cramer makes you care about them all. The story and setting are unusual--a good deal of it takes place in a mine--but Dale's descriptive prose, humor, and honesty let the reader feel included. It's a story with real depth that doesn't preach. It's an original, with a voice that calls the reader home. SUTTER'S CROSS was Dale Cramer's warm-up. BAD GROUND is a home run hit. Don't miss it!

Rating:
Summary: In My Top Five for 2004
Review: Cramer is a wonderful writer. In this, my first taste of his prose, I discovered bitter sorrow, sweet redemption, and tidbits of wisdom with dashes of humor.

"Bad Ground" begins with an orphaned teenager named Jeremy. He has his share of scars, but he holds onto an innocent faith in God. This faith is tried and tested when he ends up living and working with his uncle Aiden. Aiden, otherwise known as Snake, leads a crew of miners outside of Atlanta. He's a morose man laboring under guilt and physical deformities.

Cramer fills his story with memorable characters, believable dialogue, and situations that defy description in this review. I was laughing out loud at points, wiping a tear from my eye at others.

Like "The Secret Life of Bees" or "Gap Creek," this story contains many riches wrapped around spiritual themes. Written with grace, "Bad Ground" demands to be read by the masses.


Rating:
Summary: Great adventure, wonderful style
Review: Dale Cramer has a unique style that draws the reader in and keeps the pages turning. This is a coming of age story full of entertaining characters that I was sorry to leave when the story ended. Dale doesn't pull punches. Bad Ground is a hard hitting slice of real life in all of its ugliness and rough turns, gently spiced with hope and the wonder of a boy making his way in a man's world.

Rating:
Summary: worth your time
Review: W. Dale Crammer puts pen to paper briliantly in his second novel 'Bad Ground'. This book is filled with realistic, sometimes quirky characters that you won't forget when you turn the last page. This book has everything that makes for a great read: believable situations, a little romance, humor, insights into the spiritual and characters that deal with everyday issues that the reader can relate to. The technical info in the book may be hard to grasp for anyone not in the mining field, it was for me, but it sounds accurate.

This book would be great for anyone. I love how one of the main characters, seventeen year old Jeremy Prine is open and free speaking about his faith and is a role-model and witness for his uncle Snake who is a disfigured miner and those around him. Usually it's the other way around with older generation leading the younger. I love how, inspite of his mothers death and the situations he finds himself when he goes in search of snake he holdsfast to God. Young people are able to make a difference inspite of age or experience and this book shows that.

It's a very enjoyable and eneteraining read.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for some Christians! Awesome foundation!
Review: What a picture Mr. Cramer paints. This is a picture of real pain, a picture of promise, a picture of regrets. Do not misunderstand my title. I said that this is a read for SOME Christians. Why? Because there will be people who may read a few pages into it, and say, "AW, God can't work in that way!" But I'm here to tell everyone, even the skeptics, oh yes He does! This is a book for people who have had real pain in their life. This isn't a book for people without a backbone. Need I say more? Oh yeah!

One thing you can't deny is the humor that Mr. Cramer uses in parts of this masterpiece. You also see just how creative one can be. You join 17 year old Jeremy after his mother dies. Her request is for him to find his Uncle Aiden. Uncle Aiden can give Jeremy something that his mother could never give, while Jeremy can give Aiden something that his mother could never give to his Uncle. His uncle is a miner. And with names (or nicknames)such as Geech, Weasel, Nanny, Tunk, and then of course Snake, who is Jeremy's Uncle Aiden, you see a wide variety of vision put into this book! But I wasn't the least bit surprised when the name "Bubba" came up once or twice halfway through!

So, when you read this, get ready to feel something. Don't try to think too much, the book will do that for you. Get a cup of coffee, maybe a couple of homemade cookies to go along with this. Just have a good time, and see how our awesome God works! A very rare treasure indeed!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: When I finished this book (in a matter of a few short days) the characters remained with me. It's one of those novels that leaves a lasting effect. Dale is a gifted writer and it shows in Bad Ground, just as much as it does in his first novel, Sutter's Cross. Two very different stories, yet both are filled with great characters, excitement, and inspiration. I highly recommend Bad Ground.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: When I finished this book (in a matter of a few short days) the characters remained with me. It's one of those novels that leaves a lasting effect. Dale is a gifted writer and it shows in Bad Ground, just as much as it does in his first novel, Sutter's Cross. Two very different stories, yet both are filled with great characters, excitement, and inspiration. I highly recommend Bad Ground.