In this book, Pyper invites us to the Yukon so that we can witness a face-off between nature, man and his own conscience. A mix of psychological thriller and adventure, the book can be read literally or as an allegory for destructive rage, like the fire, or redemption, like the grizzly sow.
Even though these are not typically stories that interest me, the description of the wildfire, the bear and the mounting tension is so well done that I read it straight through connecting with all the characters and their diverse personalities.
A unique plot, beautifully delivered. ( )

This was a tense thriller set in a remote community in Northern Canada with a firefighter as the main character. I've always enjoyed Andrew Pyper's stories. ( )

On the front cover of this book is a quote by Guy Vanderhaeghe, a writer I really admire:
A literary page-turner that possesses all the attributes of the wildfire it describes--headlong momentum and harrowing surprises. It is a rarity, a bracing mix of physical adventure and astute psychological portraiture.
Vanderhaeghe has captured what I felt about this book perfectly with language that I only wish I could write.

Miles McEwan is the chief of a fire fighting crew in Ross River, Yukon. It's been a hot dry summer but the crew hasn't had any fires to fight. Unless something starts soon they won't have any money to keep them going over the winter. Someone, we don't know whom, is taking care of that by starting a fire. By the time this fire is out lives will have been changed and some will have been snuffed out.

Into the small village of Ross River come four strangers. Two come to Ross River to hunt a grizzly. The Baders are from the southern US. Mr. Bader retired recently and his dream has always been to kill a "Boone and Crockett Kodiak". Margot Lemontagne will guide them up into the mountains around Ross River to find that grizzly. The other two strangers come to find Miles. Alex and Miles were once lovers. Then Miles, while heading a fire crew in B.C., lost a crew member and was badly scarred himself in a horrific fire. Alex stood by him during his recovery and subsequent depression but Miles couldn't forgive himself. When Alex told Miles that she was pregnant Miles took off, echoing the abandonment by his own father. Alex, with her daughter Rachel, have spent every summer since looking for Miles and now she has found him.

The smallest details add to the narrative. Miles has a dog, Stump, that Rachel latches onto. This relationship between the girl and the dog makes a crucial difference in the story but at the beginning it seems like just a throwaway piece of description. I never felt that anything was extraneous or wasted.

Once the wildfire starts raging out of control I couldn't put the book down. I felt like I was right there with Miles and the hunters and the grizzly as they all contend with nature run amok.

I can't say enough good about this book. Read it yourself. ( )

Easy reading but not a page turner. I found the writing to be a little disjointed in places - some sections over descriptive some lacking description. I was confused between the relationship with Miles and Alex, well actually I was confused by all of the characters.

I did consider stopping reading it after about 40 pages as I was a little bored but as it was for a book group I tried again. I was pleased I did as I would have missed out on the survival story of the bears. As usual the blurb misrepresents the book, as I certainly wouldn't call it 'hugely impressive and utterly compelling'. The middle section moves with pace but out of 439 pages if only 80 race along then it becomes a bit of a slog.

A good plot, just maybe needs a different perspective. Mile's fights fires and the story then centres around a 'bush' fire and I felt this became the focus of the novel - which according to the blurb it isn't.

Give it a go and see what you think but I know I won't be reading it again. ( )

Firefighter Miles McEwan lives in a small town in the wilderness of the Canadian North. After being badly burnt in a fire he ran away from his life and pregnant girlfriend. Now she has turned up in his life and he has to face up to the past that he's been running from for years. On top of that there's a firebug in town.

Tries to be literary but fails this is fairly ho-hum. ( )