Dec 30, 2009

Tree of Smoke | Characters

Johnson’s story is peppered with many characters, whose personalities and histories range from the benevolent to the bizarre, but there are four main figures in Tree of Smoke: Colonel Francis Sands, Skip Sands, William Houston, and James Houston.

Much of the novel revolves around Colonel Francis Sands, a legendary figure who works for a special intelligence branch of the armed forces. He was once a teacher of military strategy and has many admirers as well as detractors. Some believe the Colonel is a traitor, running his own branch of the military, and they are...