Book Review : Fire Season

Fire Season  by VH Folland,  Published by Ragged Angel LTD  2010,  344 Pages

Review by K
It's fire season and fires are blazing worse then ever. The fire department and volunteer recruits are overwhelmed as they begin to accept help from local crop sprayers to try and contain the inferno. Matt has already allowed his nephew Rob to take out one of his planes to help with evacuation efforts, but when he is told the threat is rising for Brooks Vale and he needs to dump his fuel tank- he decides it would be a waste not to use the fuel instead. He fuels up his crop sprayer and fills the tank with water to join the effort.

The fire is winning and as the threat rises at his home airstrip of Brooks Vale and the surrounding community, hard decisions must be made to save the town or themselves.

------------

I really enjoyed this book. It was slow at times and spoke technically about the fire efforts and plane manuevers a lot. There are many back and forth missions of water drops that are uneventful, but not so much so to make me lose interest. I feel like I actually learned quite a bit about small planes and fire battles! The characters are rich and their interactions natural and unforced. I loved the multi layered personalities each character brought forward.

I hit the climax of the story a bit late, about two thirds of the way through, but because of the strong characters and emotions I felt for them in their situation it carried through for a strong finish. A wonderful and realistic story. This book is certainly suitable for teenagers, young adults, and adults. There are only a few brief moments of strong language, but it is fully in context to the moment.

If you know someone who loves planes or fire fighting, this would be especially great for them- but I wouldn't limit this book to just that crowd. It was a wonderful book about a community in action, a great vacation book.