Robert Jones Jr. Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Robert Jones Jr. is an American published author.

Robert Jones Jr. was born in New York City, where he grew up. He would pursue writing through higher education when he was accepted into Brooklyn College. Robert would study creative writing, graduating with his BFA and attaining honors in the process. He would also graduate from again Brooklyn College with his MFA for fiction in hand.

Since then, Jones has gone on to write articles and content for a variety of publications. These include Essence, The New York Times, The Feminist Wire, OkayAfrica, The New York Times, and The Grio. The author also is actively involved with his community and social issues. Robert created Son of Baldwin, a community centered around social justice.

The author has gained widespread attention. He was also the feature in the cover story for T Magazine, which was about black male writers from our current time. Robert Jones Jr. first hit the literary scene when his very first novel was published. The Prophets was first released for readers to enjoy in 2021.

Robert Jones Jr. is the author of the full length novel The Prophets, a best selling book that reached the charts at the New York Times. It was named one of 2021’s best books to look out for by Waterstones, which called it a visionary radiant love story. Others have had only positive things to say about the book!

The Guardian called the novel ‘outstanding’, while the Independent rated it as ‘lyrical’ and ‘poetic’. Author Marlon James applauded the work, calling the scale ‘epic’. Meanwhile, author Ocean Vuong deemed the novel to be a ‘rare marvel’. Cosmo praised the debut as ‘spellbinding’, while Courttia Newland, writer of A River Called Time, lauded the novel as being ‘magisterial’. Vanity Fair called the book ‘ambitious’ in addition to being ‘intense’.

Readers can pick up a copy of this novel for themselves and find out why this author’s work is being compared to other such highly regarded authors like Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston. This debut evokes all of the lyrical writing and the imaginative prose that vividly brings the subject matter, stories, and characters of these novels to life.

This is the story of how love can be the strongest bond and force we know, as well as what can happen when the entry of brutality means that serenity may be disrupted. It is the tale about two young men who are enslaved on a plantation located in the Deep South, and the forbidden connection and relationship that exists between them. In a harsh world, they are able to find solace in the other. But when happens when a betrayal means their very existence is threatened?

The main characters in this story are named Samuel and Isaiah. The two of them belong to the other, and it had been that way ever since they discovered their passion for each other. It started out that way and would continue to be that way until things ended. The two work on a plantation and live in the barn among the animals that they tend to. When the day is over, they go over to the fields to provide more labor.

It’s called ‘Empty’ by those who have to live on the Halifax plantation. The slaves know exactly the deep misery of their existence. All of the slaves that live there work under the overseers that keep an eye on them and make sure they are getting work done as well as Master Paul, the owner of the plantation. It is a tough life, but for Samuel and Isaiah, the two can at least take comfort in the fact that they have each other.

Even though they may have to work all day, when they get back to the barn it is a safe place. It is their refuge from all that they have to deal with and there the love that they have can blossom. They don’t have to labor in the sun here while it blisters on their backs, or deal with the merciless overseers. They can be themselves here and be who they are when they are alone. This is the place that they have carved out together.

There in the shed that has been hollowed out, they get a respite from the world where they are owned by masters who work them every day until they are nearly half dead. It is a sanctuary and their place of refuge. But of course, not all good things can always last. Especially when another slave wants to get favor through preaching the gospel of the master to those on the plantation and may have more devious self-serving plans to carry out.

When Amos throws suspicion towards the pair, it could mean that Samuel and Isaiah’s haven could be not long for this world. It is the one place where they do not have to deal with the cruelties that their lives entail, and it is about to be taken away from them. Can the pair deal with the actions of Amos and keep them from undoing all that they have built? Can they manage to survive the betrayal?

The plantation and the slaves on it are thrown into turmoil by Amos’s preaching and they start to turn on each other. They think that the love that Samuel and Isaiah share could be the biggest risk to the calm of the plantation that they have. The two are forced to contend with the fact that other slaves see them as sinning and also that they may be split apart or worse.

Can the two of them enjoy the same bliss that they have always known, or is the time for their safety and passion to flower officially coming to an end? The two young men must attempt to weather the storm and somehow survive what appears to be a reckoning. If they lose the simple beauty of their love, can they ever get it back? Or will it be gone forever? Read this debut to find out!