Sassafras is an adventure novel written by Richard Gooch. Gary Carter is 39 years old, and he's looking to put some meaning and excitement back into his life. The New Zealander has traveled the world and lived for a while in the U.S., but more recently, he's been back home and engaged in running a business. Gary had spent some time in Southeast Asia when he was in his twenties, and he's back and trying to relive those heady times of excitement and promise. After some months of traveling, he ended up in Cambodia and suffered a violent attack of amoebic dysentery. He was staying in a guest house at the time and the owner, Kham, got him the medical care he needed to survive the ordeal. Gary also got to meet Kham's close friend and blood brother, Fa, a Cambodia river runner, who confided to the New Zealander that he had barrels of fine sassafras oil, the primary ingredient for making the drug Ecstasy, stashed away.

Richard Gooch's adventure novel, Sassafras, is well-plotted, suspenseful and an exhilarating trip through Southeast Asia. I loved following Gary, Fa and Fa's son, Dang, as they travel the rivers on Fa's longboat from Cambodia to Myanmar. While I've read a number of travel books on this part of the world, none of them brought the sights, sounds and cultures of this part of the world alive in the same way that Gooch's story did. Sassafras is more than an adventure story, however, it's a grand mid-life crisis story with strong elements of a coming of age tale entwined. The Gary Carter who starts out on his weeks-long journey on the rivers running throughout Southeast Asia is definitely not the man the reader sees at the end of the story. Somehow, improbably and impossibly, he's rediscovered his heart, soul and purpose for living. Reading Sassafras is itself a grand and unforgettable journey, and it's most highly recommended.

Sassafras is a novel by Richard Gooch that centers on Garry Carter, a man approaching middle age and wishing for more enjoyment and fulfilment in his life. During his travels in Asia, New Zealander Garry embarks on a risky new venture in his search for a good time, by agreeing to transport sassafras oil from Cambodia to Myanmar. The oil is a premium ingredient of Ecstasy tablets, and what Garry perceives to be a simple operation is made far more complex by vicious Dutch drug manufacturers, and the Cambodian oil providers, Fa and Dang, who want to ensure they get a fair slice of money for their product. So begins Garry’s descent into the cruel and brutal world of the drug trade, where his dreams of finding a new life and a new love are soon to be put at risk, along with his life.

Richard Gooch presents a visceral and vivid look at human greed and brutality in this graphic and thought provoking novel. The atmosphere of the various locations in Asia that Garry visits on his travels is authentic and well-described, transporting readers into that exotic world where laws and moralities are very different from Western culture. Sassafras is a well-written and in-depth read with meticulous attention to detail, which makes the overall reading experience highly immersive. Though I can’t say that I particularly liked any of the characters as people, they are totally real and highly enjoyable to read about, numerous faults and all. Overall, Sassafras is an excellent novel for fans of gritty action adventures who may also be looking for a new cultural twist.

In Sassafras by Richard Gooch, we meet Garry Carter, a New Zealander banging around Southeast Asia with no particular place to go. He has a penchant for rivers and hooks up with a couple of Cambodian river traders, Fa and his son, Dang. In due course, he learns that Fa has a stash of Sassafras oil; the primary ingredient for making the date drug, Ecstasy. Having spent a large part of his life in the fast lane with several drug runners and manufacturers, Garry instantly realizes the potential of ten thousand liters of the oil. He contacts a couple of old friends in the drug business, and almost before he knows it, he’s in the middle of a dangerous smuggling operation. The stakes are high, the rewards greater and Garry is having the adventure of his life, until things go wrong.

Approximately 80% of the Sassafras story is told in first-person narrative. Garry is an amiable and likable guy with just the right touches of self-deprecation and introversion to make any reader empathize and just plain like him. Garry is far from the cut-throat drug runners in most stories. Although often allowing drugs and booze to overpower his judgment, he never loses his high sense of ethics or morality. His companions on this adventure, Fa and Dang, are equally characteristic of hard working, honorable men just trying to make a living and doing the best they can for their family. Typical for this kind of story, avarice ruins what could have been a ‘win-win’ for all concerned, and how all of this comes to be makes for a great story. Mr. Gooch’s prose brings to life a vividly real sense of the people, history and geographical beauty of the countries through which this adventure winds. There is no doubt that he has spent a great deal of time in Southeast Asia and/or combined his personal experiences with exemplary research. It’s that kind of “work” that makes a story like this come alive.

Sassafras by Richard Gooch introduces us to Garry Carter, a 39-year-old guy who decides that in order to have a bit of adventure he is going to put everything in his life on the line. There are two thousand litres of sassafras oil - that can make over 2.5 million tablets of pure MDMA - needing to be moved. This ingredient is getting harder every day to make and smuggle, so Garry takes on the challenge of moving the shipment from the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia to the town of Mawlamyine in Myanmar. Garry works with Fa and Dang, and they run into corrupt officials and soldiers along the way. If all of this wasn't enough for Kiwi Garry, he falls for the beautiful Noy. What an adventure.

This book has a little bit of something for everyone. Adventure and romance, thrilling moments and intrigue as well. When I find a book that has this much going on, I grab hold and prepare for the ride. You can tell that Richard Gooch has a love and passion for writing because it comes across so clearly in the characters and the scenery around them. I am not sure why Garry would choose moving an illegal shipment of oil for adventure but, hey, that's okay. I loved his choice anyway because he took me along with him on the adventure of a lifetime. Every page brought forth new images for me to conjure in my mind and new situations to enjoy with the characters. If you love good characters and good story telling, this book is going to be a perfect fit for you.