Deep Rough

A few weeks ago I blogged about a sale on many of Ray Keating’s books. It’s still going on and today I’ll review one of his latest Pastor Stephen Grant novel, Deep Rough. 

I also went ahead and made a list of the titles in order so you can see when things stand.

 Deep Rough Review

I read all the Pastor Stephen Grant books, but I do have my favorites. Deep Rough is joining  Murderer’s Row and Lionhearts among them.

I’m not sure what it is. I’m not a sporty person, but Ray Keating really has a way of showing love for a game. Maybe it’s the attention to details and the depth of research into it. Maybe I’m soothed by sports jargon—who knows?!—but I really, really liked Deep Rough and how the game of golf was almost a character or force in its own right.

The premise is that there is an exceptionally talented Chinese golfer despite a rocky history of golf in China. Although golfing is taking off in popularity now, golf was banned during the 1980s by the Communist Party of China as too bourgeois. In Deep Rough, a new Chinese leader harkens back to those days. (By the way, wow. This book really helped it hit home that the Tiananmen Square Massacre was only in 1989!!) The story then follows a team of American action-folks as they fight against corrupt Chinese officials, even as themes of Christian persecution shine through.

This is not a book with large insights into Chinese culture and history, but it was an enjoyable read. It did highlight how companionable competition can be, which is nice, and I always do enjoy the Christian elements as Keating presents them. 

Again, one of my favorite.

Series Review

Here are the Pastor Stephen Grant novels & short stories in order with my reviews:

1. Warrior Monk (2010) (Reviewed here)
2. Root of All Evil? (2012) (Reviewed here)
3. An Advent for Religious Liberty (2012) (Reviewed here)
4. The River (2014) (Reviewed here)
5. Murderer’s Row (2015) (Reviewed here)
6. Wine Into Water (2016) (Reviewed here)
7. Lionhearts (2017) (Reviewed here)
8. Reagan Country (2018) (I missed reviewing one! I know I read it and enjoyed it. Huh.)

          Heroes & Villains (2018) (short story) (Reviewed here)
          Shifting Sands (2018) (short story) (Reviewed here)
9. Deep Rough (July 16, 2019) (Reviewed HERE here, above)
10. The Traitor (December 9, 2019) (novella?) (Reviewed here)

Also, do you know about this: A Discussion Guide for Ray Keating’s Warrior Monk (2019)? 🙂