(PRWEB) September 22, 2006 -– A giant once roamed the wilds of British Columbia, a human phenomenon whose exploits are only just being documented. If the stories about this man are true, he was not only enormously powerful but also agile beyond any earthly standard. His name was Jarrod Morgan, and he’s found new life as the central character of Paul J. Barker’s terrific novel, “Life On Umbriel.”

The novel, set in 19th Century British Columbia, opens with a teen-aged Jarrod in the highest of spirits. It’s his first time away from home, and he’s just met a girl who seems interested in him. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when he is implicated in the murder of a co-worker. Putting his extraordinary physicality to good use, he escapes from his captors and leads them on a wild goose chase across the province.

The refuge of his dreams eventually materializes, in the form of a tall, skinny mountain no one but he seems able to climb. Finding few hospitable resting places upon its slopes, Jarrod is driven to make the summit; all his pursuers can do (once he is out-of-range of their shotgun blasts) is watch in frustration from the ground below. This is more-or-less the last public sighting of Jarrod for many years. He becomes a legend, a fairytale, an enthralling bedtime story for children.

“Life On Umbriel (ISBN # 0-595-37832-3) is one of those larger-than-life novels that just begs to be adapted to the big screen. It is available in select bookstores and all over the Web; for more information drop by the author’s website, http://www.dontlikemyjob.com

Paul J. Barker is best known for “Timothy’s Take-Out” (ISBN # 1-4137-3164-3), a novel that has attained something resembling cult status amongst people who don’t like their jobs. It is a masterpiece of humorous fiction and can be found, appropriately enough, at http://www.dontlikemyjob.com/pages/1/index.htm.