Peter Heller is one of my most favorite authors but unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. As hard as I tried to keep reading, I couldn't get past 35% -- it was just too.much of the same depressing fight for survival and the huge, unanswered question of who is slaughtering entire towns and villages and burning everything to the ground? The relationship between the two men was really well done, very believable, as was the dialogue in their heads. I do hope to figure out what was going on/why people were being slaughtered but it'll only be if I land on the correct page by skimming. Perhaps the book will appeal to others; it just seemed potentially too real to me to keep reading.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

This is my first Peter Heller novel, and honestly? I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.

The good: Fantastic writing, evocative language, the pacing is great, and it was easy to put myself in the story (although to be frank, I'm a woman and I've never been hunting, so take that how you will). I was, however briefly, in New England in the autumn, and living through the bewilderment and fear and absolutely batshit crazy situation the main characters were in, and feeling the way Jess related this moment in time to the rest of his life. It was tense and I burned through it (pun intended) in a few days.

The less-good-but-still-okay: This honestly felt like the extended pilot episode of a post-apocalyptic/dystopian television show. It's a brief slice, which is both amazing and irritating. I respect the impetus to leave the readers hanging, to give a glimpse of what could happen and leave the ending ambiguous. But I also want to know what HAPPENED. Also, I'm not entirely sure about Maine being a secessionist state. There are for sure Mainers who would LIKE it to happen, but are there enough for it to ever be a warzone over it? Unclear.

I'll recommend it for my library and maybe I'll read some more of Heller's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

📚Book review📚 :: Burn by Peter Heller

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every page of Burn by Peter Heller drips with equal measure of both dread and hope.

We meet Jess in the dense woods of Northern, isolated Maine. He and his lifelong best friend, Storey, have been hunting but as they seek to rejoin the world outside the woods, they find it's not the same world they left just days before. They're surrounded by death, destruction, and, most of all, questions. As they fight to stay alive, they start to piece together what is going on. And it is in the middle of a Civil War that they find a 5 year old little girl who needs saving. The three of them traipse through the wilderness, unsure which side will give them respite, which direction safety lies.

Heller seamlessly carries us alongside Jess, Storey and little Collie. We duck and hide for our lives. We run through the trees. We hold our breath as we hide in the tall grass. And we get lost in reverie as we flashback with Jess through his memories of life alongside Storey. Through these memories, we come to understand the decisions the men make as they try to survive.

I loved this book for so many reasons. I love a dystopian novel, especially one that feels so within the realm of possibility. I'm a glutton for punishment and these kinds of stories feed my anxiety. I also love a novel where the natural setting is so pervasive it becomes a character in and of itself. Maine, and northern Maine in particular, is one of my most favorite places in the world. I could feel it, smell it, as Heller describes it.

I absolutely loved the ending. Without giving anything away, the emotion of the last few pages was so palpable, I caught myself holding my breath. I love the uncertainty of what's next, what's left.

As I closed the book, I wondered how far I'd go to survive. What (re: who) is worth staying alive for and how much fight is in me?

Jess and Storey have been best friends since boyhood. Several times a year they go hunting together in a remote wilderness. Returning from one of those trips, they discover that the world they have come back to is not the one that they left. Towns and rural areas are fighting a vicious war and Jess and Storey don’t know which side they should be on. Either Maine has seceded from the United States or an unknown enemy is attacking. All they know is that both sides are trying to kill them. Among raids they make for supplies, radios and information, they think about their long friendship.

Burn is a disturbing, frightening, dystopian and slow moving novel about the near future. The horrors that Jess and Story see in their travels are balanced with memories of happier times. The discovery of five year old Collie helps them to see that the sides people choose can be bridged by love and family. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Peter Heller for this ARC.

This story goes back and forth between the present and the past, a story of two men, Jess and Storey, who have been friends since they were boys, who find themselves in their country, but it is no longer the country they remember. As the country becomes more and more divided, talks of secession become actions, and people are either hunting or being hunted.

Early on in this story these two come across a small town, and a bridge that has been blown up, and more, buildings that have been torched, abandoned cars, and eventually, a very young girl, seemingly abandoned. And so, they set out to find her family.

As dark and filled with destruction and danger as this story is at times, this is a beautiful story, an ode to nature and the beauty found there, to love and friendship, as well as the lifeline of becoming a chosen member of a family, for all.


Pub Date: 13 Aug 2024

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor / Knopf

The author drops the reader in a distant future, in an unknown time, with two men on a hunting trip.
They encounter some really strange things, like burned out towns, dead bodies, two unmarked helicopters shooting people out of the water.

Yet they continue to trudge on. Finding a young girl and then bringing her to her "grandmother" which was actually her father.

Meanwhile, the author takes us into the past of the men and how they became friends. Both men are going through their own stuff. Jess is remembering his first love. And Storey has a family and children to get back to.

I felt at times as lost as the two men in the book. Not sure what was going on, what was there to do, and how to do it.

OVerall, its a good book, just left too much out that I would have needed. MOre back story on the young girl, why did they go hunting in the first place if they knew something like this would happen, what happened after meeting the COL?

Burn is an engrossing novel about two hunters who have been friends since childhood on yet another backcountry adventure, which they do multiple times a year their whole adult lives; they find the world changed on their return from rural Maine emerging into a dystopian violent new reality they now have to navigate to return to their lives.

Merging political strife, the main protagonist's struggle to find meaning and purpose in the face of personal setbacks and the bonds of deep friendship, filled with Heller's unique and beautiful ability to immerse the reader in nature, Burn is a deep and compelling novel. There is poetry, aching imagery, simple messages about found family, personal growth and forgiveness contrasted with the immediacy of civil war and large scale armed conflict where it seems both impossible and yet frighteningly plausible, in rural America.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review

In Peter Heller's new gritty wilderness story, Jess and Storey are two older men who go on annual hunting trips together for weeks at a time. They grew up almost as brothers and love to visit remote parts of the US and spend time in nature together. They can spend days without speaking, just enjoying each other's company.

When they approach a small town on their way out of the wilderness they find that it is completely destroyed. They don't know why, and they don't know what to do next. In fact, they are shot at and forced to flee into the forest. Join the two men in this slow burn thriller of a dystopian nightmare. Heller papers the story with flashbacks to the two growing up together.

A beautiful story that you will enjoy, love and never forget. Thank you netgalley.
#knopfpanthonvintage #knopf #peterheller #burn #politics #dystopia

This is an apocalyptic adventure of sorts….an adventure where not too awful much happens. The writing is very descriptive and it often feels introspective. It’s very similar to his other books so if you like The River, you’ll probably enjoy this.

In Peter Heller’s newest book, Burn, I felt a return to the magic of his earlier works including The Dog Stars, The Painter and Celine. Burn tells the story of two longtime friends who find themselves in a hellish situation. In that sense it conjured up The Dog Stars post-apocalyptic feel but was new and different. One thing I really enjoyed about Burn was the main characters are in an unknown situation where we, as the readers, learn what is going on along with them. It felt like it added to the tension of coming to understand slowly as the story unfolds.

This book isn’t just a post-apocalyptic journey, but also an introspective journey into the past. Despite being in a really stressful situation, one of the main characters, Jess, takes a journey back in his memory and ruminates on his past relationships and how he has ended up where it is now. This felt like a nice balance to the action of what they were experiencing and gave an ebb and flow to the story. This is also very much a story of their friendship, how it has changed over the years and the bond they have.

As with all Heller’s books the descriptions of nature are beautiful. He really understands and notices the smallest details, and his writing really brings them to life. I have read all of Peter Heller’s fiction as well as one of his non-fiction books (Kook, a great read) and loved this newest book. His books are very much outside of the genres I typically read, but for me he is an auto-buy and I am looking forward to adding Burn to my growing collection of his books.

I highly recommend Burn by Peter Heller and want to thank Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf and NetGalley for the digital ARC to review.

Peter Heller is a predictable author and I don't mean that in a negative sense. If you've read and enjoyed his previous books, then you will also enjoy Burn.

This is the story of two men, Jess and Storey, who are both in their late 30s and have been best friends since they were very young and growing up in the same small Vermont town. They take yearly hunting trips to Maine, a very underpopulated area of Maine where each town is small and far from the next. In an attempt to find a convenience store or gas station open, they inevitably run out of gas and start hiking in search of help.

Help is nowhere to be found though because every bridge, every small town, every vehicle, and every outpost they encounter is not only abandoned but has been set on fire. There was talk of Maine being a secessionist state and the men wonder if that has anything to do with all the destruction when they spot two unmarked black helicopters lighting things up in their wake. The book is interspersed occasionally with scenes from their high school days that to break up the survivalist story. No spoilers as the fun in the book is trying to figure out what is happening and wondering how Jess and Storey will be able to get out of the mess they're in.

Heller is terrific at nature writing. His description of the Maine wilderness is beautifully written and I found the story propulsive. Thankful Knopf and NetGalley for a chance to read this advanced copy.

I have read several of Peter Heller's books and while they all follow a similar setup with two friends in nature, this one was a bit different with the political aspect. There are parts of this book that I loved and other parts that I didn't love so much. First off, I love all the nature references and, having grown up in New England, this book especially stood out. The book mentions places in NH, VT and ME that are all recognizable to me and a shout out to Damariscotta ME as I have actually been there and it's beautiful. The friendship between Jess and Storey was wonderful and I love that Peter's books don't shy away from discussing male friendship.

The addition of the little girl, Collie adds some additional tension to this already tense book and she adds a unique POV. Jess & Storey have to rely on their instincts even more to help her and keep her safe and try to shield her from some hard truths. There is a particular scene that had me on the verge of tears and if it doesn't make you feel something then you have no soul (you will know what scene when you get to it).

While the Dog Stars will likely always be my favorite book from Peter and holds a special place in my heart, this is a strong second.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very engaging read, and the writing was typical Peter Heller, lush, a feast for the senses, and introspective. As always, he had very well developed characters that were flawed, but entirely relatable and likeable. I love the way Peter Heller takes me somewhere in the wilds and makes me feel as though I am really experiencing it firsthand. I think this is one of his best novels. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to have an ARC of this book. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys being swept into a story.

Peter Heller’s best books – and I’ve read several of them – share many essential themes that resonate deeply with our human experience: the complicated dynamic of male friendship, the existential grief and longing we carry within us, the majesty of nature amid dwarfing our paltry existence, and the chilling violence that lurks beneath our surfaces. These themes, once again, are at the heart of his newest book, Burn.

All these themes are again at play in Heller’s newest book, Burn. Like The Dog Stars, which presented an unforgettable vision of a post-apocalyptic world, Burn is about survival in a dystopian world and finding comfort and meaning in unexpected places. Again, Heller tackles the reasons for living and the hopeless cycles we all must go through. Here, the setting is rural Maine, where two long-time friends who go off the grid on a hunting grip emerge to confront a world where secessionist violence has destroyed much of the familiar landscape.

At first, the two bonded men forging their way through dystopia seemed too evocative of The Dog Stars. The reader is as mystified as the characters: who is responsible for the violence, why are entire buildings and homes and bridges burnt to the ground, and how can these two friends possibly survive in a new “game” without any definable rules?

Left in the dark, I kept reading, and I’m glad I did. As the book progresses, the men chance upon a five-year-old girl who changes their perception of what is at stake and unlocks their own childhood memories. It will also showcase what’s in the balance for our characters, Jess and Storey, and for mankind if we don’t quickly wise up and heal our political divisions. As in all Peter Heller’s books, a thread of hope lies loosely, particularly through the power of friendship.

I am so pleased to be an early reader and thank Knopf and NetGalley for providing me with this opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

Mr. Heller delivers another solid apocalyptic story of two friends hunting in the backwoods of Maine while the unthinkable happens in New England. They emerge from the forest to discover that something catastrophic has incurred and they embark on a journey to get home safely.

Childhood best friends Jess and Storey emerge from the woods on their annual hunting trip to find a very different Maine. Bridges have been blown up and entire towns burned to the ground. They attempt to survive in this new world and can only guess at what is going on and who might be the enemy.

This book ticked a lot of boxes for me. The writing is absolutely beautiful. I love outdoor survival tales, and I also enjoy a near-apocalypse/post-disaster element. I also live in Maine and although the premise seems a bit far-fetched for our state. I could unfortunately see the possibility of this scenario in our divided country. This one gets a rare 5 stars for me and I highly recommend it!

I was so thrilled to get the email that I could read this book! I finished it in a day and I will read it again. Just so loved it. Great story and it was so heart felt and sad too. But very exciting and suspenseful. His books are always so detailed and such super surroundings of nature. This book has you feeling as if your right there with them hiding in the grass. Don't miss out, get this book to read. Love all of Peter's books!!

Another beautifully written adventure featuring sensitive, outdoorsy men. Heller considers morality and internal landscapes while sharing rich descriptions of the American Northeast.