by Jason Joyner | Sep 17, 2009 | Blog, books, reviews, Shawn Grady
A Hot Debut
Through The Fire is the debut novel by Shawn Grady. It was featured by the CFBA in June, but I didn’t get it in time to review. It tells the story of Aidan O’Neill, a firefighter in Reno, Nevada, driven by a tragic past.
Coincidentally, Shawn Grady was a firefighter/paramedic in Reno. What are the odds?
Aidan O’Neill comes from a long line of firefighters, and he continues the family tradition even as he deals with the death of his father in the line of duty. The fire speaks to him, and he challenges the dangers past the point of confidence into recklessness. When a rookie fireman is severely injured, he is forced to take a break from the department.
He runs to Mexico, avoiding the introspection the break intended, but his suspension is cut short when an arsonist starts targeting Reno. Clues suggest a connection to his father’s death, but his gift of reading fires has left him, leaving him with doubt about his livelihood and his life.
The new fire investigator Julieanne Caldwell comes to him with new information and a past connection. His attraction to her is matched by the way the flames seem to be seeking him out. The heat rises to a fiery conclusion as Aidan wrestles with his foundation as well as a danger that shows no mercy.
This is an impressive debut for Grady. The old adage is “write what you know,” and in this case, he knows his stuff. I work at times with a fire department, and from my perspective, the gritty details of the fire and a fireman’s life puts me on the scene, coughing and squinting due to the smoke. He does a very good job keeping description fresh, even as he has numerous fire-related scenes. It never gets old, and he even stretched my vocabulary. I like an author who makes me reach for the dictionary occasionally.
The suspense is palpable as well, and the twists and menance kept me off balance on who was the bad guy. He weaves a battle of faith into the the mix as well in a very fresh, organic way. There was one stretch where the pacing got a little bogged down, but overall he keeps the temperature rising throughout the book.
He writes believable characters, guys you’d want to go against a fire with, as well as crusty bosses and jilted love. The main characters Aidan and Julieanne are conflicted and imperfect, making mistakes along the way even as you’re rooting for them.
In his bio it says he was named “Most Promising Writer” at a prominent writers conference. Through the Fire delivers on this promise. I really enjoyed the world of the firefighter, as you feel like you’re in their boots. This book jumps into my favorites of the year list, and I’ll be looking forward to more from Shawn Grady.
by Jason Joyner | Sep 17, 2009 | Blog, books, reviews, Shawn Grady
A Hot Debut
Through The Fire is the debut novel by Shawn Grady. It was featured by the CFBA in June, but I didn’t get it in time to review. It tells the story of Aidan O’Neill, a firefighter in Reno, Nevada, driven by a tragic past.
Coincidentally, Shawn Grady was a firefighter/paramedic in Reno. What are the odds?
Aidan O’Neill comes from a long line of firefighters, and he continues the family tradition even as he deals with the death of his father in the line of duty. The fire speaks to him, and he challenges the dangers past the point of confidence into recklessness. When a rookie fireman is severely injured, he is forced to take a break from the department.
He runs to Mexico, avoiding the introspection the break intended, but his suspension is cut short when an arsonist starts targeting Reno. Clues suggest a connection to his father’s death, but his gift of reading fires has left him, leaving him with doubt about his livelihood and his life.
The new fire investigator Julieanne Caldwell comes to him with new information and a past connection. His attraction to her is matched by the way the flames seem to be seeking him out. The heat rises to a fiery conclusion as Aidan wrestles with his foundation as well as a danger that shows no mercy.
This is an impressive debut for Grady. The old adage is “write what you know,” and in this case, he knows his stuff. I work at times with a fire department, and from my perspective, the gritty details of the fire and a fireman’s life puts me on the scene, coughing and squinting due to the smoke. He does a very good job keeping description fresh, even as he has numerous fire-related scenes. It never gets old, and he even stretched my vocabulary. I like an author who makes me reach for the dictionary occasionally.
The suspense is palpable as well, and the twists and menance kept me off balance on who was the bad guy. He weaves a battle of faith into the the mix as well in a very fresh, organic way. There was one stretch where the pacing got a little bogged down, but overall he keeps the temperature rising throughout the book.
He writes believable characters, guys you’d want to go against a fire with, as well as crusty bosses and jilted love. The main characters Aidan and Julieanne are conflicted and imperfect, making mistakes along the way even as you’re rooting for them.
In his bio it says he was named “Most Promising Writer” at a prominent writers conference. Through the Fire delivers on this promise. I really enjoyed the world of the firefighter, as you feel like you’re in their boots. This book jumps into my favorites of the year list, and I’ll be looking forward to more from Shawn Grady.
by Jason Joyner | Sep 10, 2009 | Blog, blogging
Yes, there has been a Jason sighting. I have been awfully busy at work and home, and I haven’t had a lot of inspiration for posting lately, except for the occasional book review. I’ve read a couple of really good books lately though, and I’ll be talking about them very soon. Plus, the official holiday of Spoiled for the Ordinary is coming up – stay tuned for some special reports shortly.
My friend had a saying: Real Life Interferes (TM). Too true.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 10, 2009 | Blog, blogging
Yes, there has been a Jason sighting. I have been awfully busy at work and home, and I haven’t had a lot of inspiration for posting lately, except for the occasional book review. I’ve read a couple of really good books lately though, and I’ll be talking about them very soon. Plus, the official holiday of Spoiled for the Ordinary is coming up – stay tuned for some special reports shortly.
My friend had a saying: Real Life Interferes (TM). Too true.
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by Jason Joyner | Aug 27, 2009 | Blog, fiction, pirates, reviews, Tom Morrisey
If I weren’t a chicken in many ways, I’d love to be Tom Morrisey. Look at his biography: mountaineer, aviator, shipwreck diver, and explorer, who holds a Full Cave certification from the National Speleological Society – Cave Diving Section. Plus he is a great writer. He has won awards for his adventure-travel writing in magazines, and now he has become an accomplished novelist.
His first few books were a little more standard suspense fare, mixing his experiences into the stories. However, starting with
In High Places two years ago and
Wind River last year, he moved into more heartfelt dramatic stories, and the impact of this change is remarkable.
A few weeks ago the CFBA featured his latest book,
Pirate Hunter, but I didn’t get it in time to review it. It was worth the wait though.
ABOUT THE BOOK
High Seas Adventure Meets a High-Tech Quest for Pirate Gold
West Indies, 18th century Young Ted Bascombe is rescued by notorious pirate Captain Henry Thatch, finding himself caught up in a world of crime, adventure, and a daily fight for freedom….
Key West, 21st century Marine archaeologist Greg Rhode embarks on a treasure-hunting expedition in the turquoise waters of the Florida Keys, but he’s as beguiled by a beautiful diver with different-colored eyes as by the lure of pirate gold…
The Hunt Is On!
Interweaving these two stories, pro deep-sea diver Tom Morrisey spins a multilayered tale of two young men’s quests to escape their past by losing themselves to adventure on the high seas. Romantic and thrilling, this unique novel explores the timeless truth that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Tom Morrisey has become very good at combining complex, wounded characters with exotic locations and enough gritty detail of the setting that you feel you are living the adventure. Here, his experience in diving on shipwrecks gives deep authenticity to the settings in modern times. He’s done enough research, and his knowledge carries over enough, that his 1700s pirate sections ring true as well.
He has done a masterful job of weaving the two threads together. Most times that he switches from past to modern, he uses the phrasing or imagery from the section he’s just leaving to start the new segment. Maybe a regular reader wouldn’t pick up on this, but it is such a clever touch and shows his thoroughness in his writing. He builds suspense throughout the book, and whenever something is crescendoing in one time period, you can bet there will be a flip to the other!
I think Tom Morrisey is the best writer I’m reading currently for getting into the hearts of men and showing the internal conflict and dealing with past hurts in such a realistic way. The protagonists may be heroic, but they are not bombastic. You can see yourself knowing them in your day to day life. My only complaint is that his pirate, Henry Thatch, seems a little too genteel for his time, but he is an engaging character and I liked him too much to really complain.
As this blog has a quirky affinity for things of a pirate nature, it probably isn’t a surpise that I heartily enjoy this book. Still, Morrisey is one of the best writers out there, even though I don’t think his name is well-known. Pirate Hunter is his best book yet in my opinion, and if you want modern drama, swashbuckling suspense, and deep characters, then this is a great book to dive into.
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If you would like to read the first chapter of Pirate Hunter, go HERE
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