Sky of Stone is a true story that reads like a best selling work of fiction. The author's lively, poignant writing touches your every emotion and keeps you submerged in the West Virginia landscape and culture. His descriptions will have you smelling the mountain air and checking your clothing for coal dust. But first, the plot.

Homer "Sonny" Hickam wanted nothing more than to get his education as an engineer completed and move far from the coal mines of Coalwood, West Virginia. He was looking forward to spending a summer in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, helping his mother fix up her vacation home and chasing girls. But his plans were reversed when Tuck Dillon, a mine foreman and close friend of Homer's father, was killed in an accident in the mine. Mr. Hickam, the mine superintendent, had been accused of negligence in his death, adding plenty of stress and negative emotions to his bereavement. He was having great difficulty in coping with it all. Mrs. Hickam felt that it would be best if Homer stayed with his father in Coalwood while she went to Myrtle Beach. His summer in Coalwood is a transition phase from childhood to manhood, as he deals with small town secrets, death, infatuation with an older woman and seeing his hometown in an entirely new, worldly and mature, light.

Hickam discovers that his father is covering up for somebody over the death. He knows that this is a union man, while his father is supposed to be a loyal company man. If Mr. Hickam continues to keep quiet about what really happened and accept the accusation that he withheld critical information from Tuck, he will be fired and Tuck's reputation will be ruined, his good name dirtied for all future generations. Hickam must beat the clock against a federal investigation into the accident and uncover the whole truth before his father is ruined.

The simple, honest actions of these characters will lift your spirits, while making you wish for a bygone era with a slower pace of life. Hickam reveals the best and worst of hillbilly living. My favorite passage is the point where he is trying to figure out how to impress a slightly older woman. Having been away at college, he has forgotten what guys in the local area do to win a woman's approval. He figures it out -- they swing on grapevines. He had been doing a fine job, executing one-armed and upside-down antics, but when he started doing hard spins, the vine broke. That would have been bad enough, but he landed in a mass of thistles. He might not have impressed Rita, but he certainly did amuse her. He also managed to elicit a bit of sympathy and a helping hand in recovering, once she finished wiping tears and regained some composure. The most heartbreaking point is when his father is being questioned about the accident and they make him read a speech he had written on the qualities of a foreman. As soon as he completes it, they tear away at him like vultures because he never mentioned safety.

This is a fairly thick book, at 409 pages. You will likely not complete it in one sitting, but will surely have problems with finding a stopping point. It drives you forward into the next chapter. You need to know what is going to happen. If you do manage to put it down, it will haunt until you return to it. My advice is to plan to spend a day with it and begin reading it early in the morning.

Often I would stop and just stare into space, allowing my mind to picture the action. I only do that with the best books. This one deserves the same recognition as October Sky. It is a masterpiece of literature that eloquently preserves the Appalachian culture for future generations, while presenting the action, adventure and mystery to entertain all readers. Order your copy today and let Homer Hickam take you on a thrilling journey into his West Virginia heritage and culture.

Sky of Stone is a sequel to October Sky, a #1 New York Times Bestseller and National Book Critics Circle nominee. Hickam has also written The Coalwood Way, Back to the Moon and Torpedo Junction.

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