Home > Fiction & Literature > Christian Fiction > The Christmas Train

The Christmas Train

List Price: $5.99

Save 5.0%

You Pay: $5.69

Want this eBook?Our eBook Library Software is required to purchase and download eBooks. Download it here.

Tell a Friend

Overview

One of America's most critically acclaimed storytellers, David Baldacci has enthralled millions of readers with his popular novels. Now in a special new gift edition, here is Baldacci's beloved holiday classic-a work that showcases his remarkable versatility as he brings us a uniquely entertaining tale...

THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN

Disillusioned journalist Tom Langdon must get from Washington to L.A. in time for Christmas. Forced to take the train across the country because of a slight "misunderstanding" at airport security, he begins a journey of self-discovery and rude awakenings, mysterious goings-on and thrilling adventures, screwball escapades and holiday magic. He has no idea that the locomotives pulling him across America will actually take him into the rugged terrain of his own heart, as he rediscovers people's essential goodness and someone very special he believed he had lost.

Equal parts hilarious, poignant, suspenseful, and thrilling, David Baldacci's THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN is filled with memorable characters who have packed their bags with as much wisdom as mischief...and shows how we do get second chances to fulfill our deepest hopes and dreams, especially during this season of miracles.

Editorial Reviews

Former globe-trotting journalist Tom Langdon, 41, boards the Capitol Limited to kill many birds with one stone: he's out to fulfill his old man's death wish, find himself, write a fluff piece for a woman's magazine and visit his voice-over actress girlfriend in L.A. (He's also on the train since he's been banned from flying in the U.S. for two years after a recent meltdown at LaGuardia.) The trip turns out to be a journey of the soul-though an innocuous and predictable one. Surprised to meet famous movie director Max Powers in transit, Tom's invited to team up on his idol's next film, but shocked when he learns the screenwriter is none other than his long-lost love, Eleanor Carter. Trading suspense for sentimentality, Baldacci (Last Man Standing; Total Control; etc.), dedicates his latest to "everyone who loves trains and holidays," and the polished unabridged audio production, perfect for a long family car trip, employs plenty of musical accompaniment and evocative sound effects, from bells and whistles to conductors' calls, to suit this intended tone. Baldacci's impressionistic prose and detailed descriptions of rail travel are nice, but what's more notable is the silky smooth narration of television producer, director and actor Matheson. His energetic, distinctive renditions of the author's quirky and humorous cast of characters-including a priest, a lawyer, a personal assistant, a tarot card reader and a singer-make up for Baldacci's silly plot twists of reunited lovers, a thief on board the train and the avalanche that has "everyone contemplating their demise." Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Forecasts, Oct. 7). (Nov.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of David Baldacci

David Baldacci was born in Virginia, in 1960, where he currently resides. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Mr. Baldacci practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C., as both a trial and corporate attorney. David Baldacci has published fourteen novels: Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, The Camel Club, The Collectors, and in his young adult series, Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! and Freddy and the French Fries: The Advendures of Silas Finklebean. He has also published a novella for the Dutch entitled Office Hours, written for Holland's Year 2000 "Month of the Thriller." Baldacci authored a short story, "The Mighty Johns," as part of a mystery anthology published in 2002. His works have been in numerous worldwide magazines, newspapers, journals, and publications. Baldacci has authored seven original screenplays. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold in more than 80 countries. All of his books have been national and international bestsellers. Over 50 million copies of Mr. Baldacci's books are in print worldwide.

Customer Reviews

There are no customer reviews available at this time. To add your review, Register or Sign In to your account using our free eBook Library Software.

Additional Info

Imprint

Hachette Book Group USA

Filesize

1.37 MB

Number of Pages

296

eBook ISBN

9780446401418

Excerpt from: The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

Chapter One

Tom Langdon was a journalist, a globetrotting one, because it was in his blood to roam widely. Where others saw only instability and fear in life, Tom felt graced by an embracing independence. He'd spent the bulk of his career in foreign lands covering wars, insurrections, famines, pestilence, virtually every earthly despair. His goal had been relatively simple: He had wanted to change the world by calling attention to its wrongs. And he did love adventure.
However, after chronicling all these horrific events and still seeing the conditions of humanity steadily worsen, he'd returned to America filled with disappointment. Seeking an antidote to his melancholy he'd started writing drearily light stories for ladies' magazines, home-decorating journals, garden digests, and the like. However, after memorializing the wonders of compost and the miracle that was do-it-yourself wood flooring, he wasn't exactly fulfilled.
It was nearing Christmas, and Tom's most pressing dilemma was getting from the East Coast to Los Angeles for the holidays. He had an age-old motivation for the journey; in LA was his girlfriend, Lelia Gibson. She'd started out as a movie actress, but after years of appearing in third-rate horror films she'd begun doing voiceover work. Now, instead of being cinematically butchered for her daily bread, she supplied the character voices for a variety of enormously popular Saturday-morning cartoons. In the children's television industry it was accepted that no one belted out the voices of goofy woodland creatures with greater flair and versatility than golden-piped Lelia Gibson. As proof, she had a shelf full of awards, an outrageously large income, and a healthy share of syndication rights.
Tom and Lelia had hit it off on an overnight flight from Southeast Asia to the States. At first he thought it might have been all the liquor they drank, but when that buzz burned off a couple hours out of LA, she was still beautiful and interesting-- if a little ditzy and eccentric--and she still seemed attracted to him. He stayed over in California and they got to know each other even better. She visited him on the East Coast, and they'd been a comfortable if informal bi-coastal item ever since.
It might seem strange that a successful Hollywood lady would go for a nomadic gent who ran through passports like water, could spout off funny if lewd phrases in thirty languages, and never would be financially secure. Yet Lelia had tired of the men in her circle. As she diplomatically explained it once, they were complete and total lying scum and unreliable to boot. Tom was a newsman, she said, so at least he occasionally dealt with the truth. She also loved his rugged good looks. He took that the mean the deep lines etched on his face from reporting in windswept desert climates with bullets flying. In fact his face was more often than not down in the sand in observance of local safety regulations.
She listened with rapt attention to Tom's tales of covering major stories around the globe. For his part, he observed with admiration the professional way Lelia went about her loonyvoice career. And they didn't have to live together year-round? a decided advantage, Tom believed, over the complex hurdles facing couples who actually cohabitated.