Longlisted for the Reading the West Book Award
In this riveting new novel by the bestselling and award-winning author of Shotgun Lovesongs, three troubled construction workers get entangled in a dangerous plan against an impossible deadline.
Why is it being built here, and why so quickly? These are the questions Cole, Bart, and Teddy, the three principals of True Triangle Construction, ask themselves when they are hired to finish a project for a mysteriously wealthy homeowner. Nestled in the mountains outside of Jackson, Wyoming, the house is a masterpiece, unlike anything they've done before. Once finished, it promises to be the architectural prize of Jackson and could put True Triangle on the map. But despite the project's lure, the owner is intent on having it built in a matter of months, an impossible task made irresistible by the exorbitant bonus that awaits them if they succeed. A bonus that could change the course of their business, and their lives.
Up against the fateful deadline, and the looming threat of a harsh Wyoming winter, Cole, Bart, and Teddy are willing to do anything to get the money, even if it means risking life, limb, and family. And what becomes an obsession for all three quickly builds to tragic consequences for some. Struck through with heart-pounding danger and an arresting lyricism, Godspeed is a stark exploration of the haves and the have-nots, a cautionary tale of greed and violence that asks: How much is never enough?
Genre: Literary Fiction
In this riveting new novel by the bestselling and award-winning author of Shotgun Lovesongs, three troubled construction workers get entangled in a dangerous plan against an impossible deadline.
Why is it being built here, and why so quickly? These are the questions Cole, Bart, and Teddy, the three principals of True Triangle Construction, ask themselves when they are hired to finish a project for a mysteriously wealthy homeowner. Nestled in the mountains outside of Jackson, Wyoming, the house is a masterpiece, unlike anything they've done before. Once finished, it promises to be the architectural prize of Jackson and could put True Triangle on the map. But despite the project's lure, the owner is intent on having it built in a matter of months, an impossible task made irresistible by the exorbitant bonus that awaits them if they succeed. A bonus that could change the course of their business, and their lives.
Up against the fateful deadline, and the looming threat of a harsh Wyoming winter, Cole, Bart, and Teddy are willing to do anything to get the money, even if it means risking life, limb, and family. And what becomes an obsession for all three quickly builds to tragic consequences for some. Struck through with heart-pounding danger and an arresting lyricism, Godspeed is a stark exploration of the haves and the have-nots, a cautionary tale of greed and violence that asks: How much is never enough?
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A fast-moving, highly addictive novel of ambition, obsession, and long-festering dreams of the haves and have nots. I loved this book from start to finish and marveled at the expert construction and storytelling." - Ace Atkins
"Godspeed is a page-turning, race-against-the-clock novel about fatal obsession, love, violence, addiction, and faith beautifully set in my home state of Wyoming. After you turn the last page it’ll stay with you for a long, long time." - C J Box
"Not many writers can turn any subject into gold, but Nick Butler is one of them. In Godspeed, he tells the story of three buddies and business partners who get an offer that may be too good to be true. What begins as a construction project full of good work and good cheer soon goes off the rails, with dire consequences. This novel is about addiction, ambition, and America at the crossroads of its own demise, and in Butler’s brilliant, capable hands, it ends up feeling like a lived experience." - Peter Geye
"Set in an American West torn between its pinewood past and marble future, Godspeed is the story of three childhood friends and the construction contract that will make--or break--their lives. What begins as a novel of optimism and ambition morphs into a dark warning about the end-game of American capitalism. With his characteristically rich and transporting prose, Nickolas Butler continues the urgent examination of class and culture he began in his beloved debut, Shotgun Lovesongs." - John Larison
"Is there a novelist writing today more adept at revealing the conflicts in the psyche of the American male than Nickolas Butler? In Godspeed, a novel that moves with the power and velocity of an avalanche, he’s done it again—this time with a tale of men chasing dreams of riches—think The Treasure of Sierra Madre, though in the mountains of the American West—men whose desperation drives them relentlessly toward madness and murder. Butler’s characters, partners in a Wyoming construction company, have agreed to build a woman’s mountainside dream house. If they complete the project by what seems an impossible Christmas deadline, they’ll become wealthy; if they fail, they’ll walk away with nothing. As winter snows bear down on the Tetons, readers won’t be able to turn the pages of Godspeed fast enough." - Larry Watson
"Godspeed is a page-turning, race-against-the-clock novel about fatal obsession, love, violence, addiction, and faith beautifully set in my home state of Wyoming. After you turn the last page it’ll stay with you for a long, long time." - C J Box
"Not many writers can turn any subject into gold, but Nick Butler is one of them. In Godspeed, he tells the story of three buddies and business partners who get an offer that may be too good to be true. What begins as a construction project full of good work and good cheer soon goes off the rails, with dire consequences. This novel is about addiction, ambition, and America at the crossroads of its own demise, and in Butler’s brilliant, capable hands, it ends up feeling like a lived experience." - Peter Geye
"Set in an American West torn between its pinewood past and marble future, Godspeed is the story of three childhood friends and the construction contract that will make--or break--their lives. What begins as a novel of optimism and ambition morphs into a dark warning about the end-game of American capitalism. With his characteristically rich and transporting prose, Nickolas Butler continues the urgent examination of class and culture he began in his beloved debut, Shotgun Lovesongs." - John Larison
"Is there a novelist writing today more adept at revealing the conflicts in the psyche of the American male than Nickolas Butler? In Godspeed, a novel that moves with the power and velocity of an avalanche, he’s done it again—this time with a tale of men chasing dreams of riches—think The Treasure of Sierra Madre, though in the mountains of the American West—men whose desperation drives them relentlessly toward madness and murder. Butler’s characters, partners in a Wyoming construction company, have agreed to build a woman’s mountainside dream house. If they complete the project by what seems an impossible Christmas deadline, they’ll become wealthy; if they fail, they’ll walk away with nothing. As winter snows bear down on the Tetons, readers won’t be able to turn the pages of Godspeed fast enough." - Larry Watson
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