Blood Sport: A Journey Up the Hassayampa

Welcome to the wilderness of masculinity, where anything goes—where women throw themselves unreservedly at men and games are played to the death. This is the outdoor paradise of the Hassayampa, a legendary river whose bank is overrun with prehistoric and mystical creatures prime for hunting and whose water is said to turn honest men into liars. Here a father takes his prepubescent son on an unforgettable adventure, a rite-of-passage quest that starts as an innocent fishing trip and soon turns into a bizarre Homeric journey.In turn comic and brutal, Blood Sport is more than just the ultimate cult outdoor novel: it’s a profound reflection on violence, civilization, and what it means to be a man. Juxtaposing gunfights with philosophy, sensitivity with the surreal, Jones has created a truly unique masterpiece whose poignant metaphors, visionary prose, and imaginative story have placed him in the company of such masters as Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Carlos Castaneda. Blood Sport’s magic has continued to captivate audiences since its original publication in 1974, and it promises to remain a classic in adventure literature for years to come.

From Publishers Weekly

A cult novel of hunting and outdoorsmanship, out of print since 1979. Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

"The Hassayampa is a mythical river running through a timeless country where a hero-father introduces his son to a world of violence, deceit, and sexual license; a world of unadulterated machismo where games are played to the death" (LJ 5/1/74). Though LJ's reviewer found flaws in this first novel, others deemed it a kind of Huck Finn on steroids.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

a new myth . . . it produces in your mind the same edge excitement as if entering wild country . . . and it works!” (Time)

“The author has created that great rarity

From the Back Cover

If outdoor literature has its cult novel, Blood Sport is it. In 1974 Robert Jones created a new world in which a mythical river wilderness becomes the setting for a father and son journey like no other. The intensity of its suspense and mindbending adventure still place Blood Sport in a category all its own. ((5 1/2 X 8 1/4, 256 pages)

About the Author

Robert F. Jones was a novelist, contributing editor to Men’s Journal, and writer for Sports Illustrated and Field & Stream. His books include Blood Sport, as well as multiple other works of fiction and nonfiction, among them the award-winning Jake and Upland Passage. He spent much of his life in western Vermont.

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