Havana Heat

“Only Darryl Brock would attempt a narrative told by a character who can neither speak nor hear. From this blank slate, a tale of color and noise emerges in Havana Heat, fresh and naive, primitive, uplifting, and finally bittersweet. Just as in If I Never Get Back, I was drawn effortlessly into the historical setting and lives of the characters. What’s more, the baseball writing is on the money.”—Larry Dierker

“A rewarding slice of baseball and American history.”—Library Journal

“Brock is one of the finest baseball fiction writers around, lucidly rendering the passions, disappointments, and excitement of the sport while capturing the defining details of the era he depicts. . . . Brock’s re-creation of the John McGraw era in all its rough and tumble vestiges and period details is vivid and believable.”—Publishers Weekly

“A small gem. . . . [It] takes off when the Giants hit Cuba. The parades, the nightlife and, especially, the players’ peccadilloes and gambles move the story as fast as a no-hitter in June.”—USA Today

“Taylor, as imagined by Brock, is a unique, charming character, and the novel’s evocation of early-20th-century baseball, with its loose discipline and colorful players, is vivid and convincing.”—Sports Illustrated

“This is a good novel that just happens to be about baseball, and it deserves a wide audience.”—San Diego Union-Tribune