After several thrillers (which I enjoyed), Heller retains some thriller components while returning to the literary fiction territory of The Dog Stars to excellent effect. Jess and Storey are lifelong friends on a hunting trip in northern Maine. There they come upon a town that has just been razed to the ground and start to encounter other disturbing incidents. As the novel progresses, the reader learns about what is happening alongside the protagonists while looking back at their friendship and particularly Jess’s story. It’s a lovely exploration of male friendship embedded in an adventurous, somewhat dystopian narrative. I was riveted.

<b>I love Peter Heller's books, and <i>Burn</i> offers a wonderfully complicated friendship, meaningful connections to nature, momentous secrets, and looming danger. But the lack of resolution at the end of the novel left me feeling deeply unsatisfied.</b>

Jess and Storey are childhood friends who spend their summer adventures exploring striking, remote areas of the U.S.

This summer they head to Maine to camp, fish, and hike. Maine, like other states across the country, has been swept by a secession movement, but Jess and Storey assume the conflicts and political upheaval won't touch them out in the wild, and they figure that the charged friction might even die down while they're in the woods.

After weeks in the wild, they're shocked to come upon a town that's been blown apart. The bridge has burned, cars along the road are black and smoking, and shells of buildings teeter.

The friends soon realize that conflicting political ideologies have led to this horror here and elsewhere in the country--and that they must use their wilderness expertise and dodge armed men (militia or U.S. military; they're unsure) in order to make it out to safety.

Jess and Storey's situation becomes more and more complicated as they encounter survivors--some with deadly intentions, some needing life-saving help. And all the while, Jess and Storey are considering the worth of their own lives--and keeping enormous secrets from each other.

Flashbacks delve into their friends-like-family years of linked lives--and a disturbing revelation that either stretches the bounds of acceptability or goes well beyond conventional limits on a skewed pairing of power, age, and relationship.

I love Peter Heller books--the connection to the wilderness, the layered friends-like-family relationships, the looming danger. I'll read anything Heller puts down on paper. But the lack of resolution involved in Burn's (non-)ending here made me crazy with frustration. I felt like the fascinating build-up in so many areas of the story warranted much more at the novel's close.

I read <i>Burn</i> courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley.

Heller is also the author of <b><a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-the-last-ranger-by-peter-heller/"><i>The Last Ranger,</a></i></b> <b><a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-the-guide-by-peter-heller/"><i>The Guide,</a></i></b> <b><a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-the-river-by-peter-heller/"><i>The River,</a></i></b> and <b><a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-the-painter-by-peter-heller/"><i>The Painter,</a></i></b> as well as the stellar novel <i>The Dog Stars.</i>

Haunting. A dystopian future that poses the constancy and beauty of nature against the violence of mankind, and the bonds of youth and friendship against the realities of maturity, of vengeance and hope. This was a NetGalley arc that introduced me to follow the author; the poignancy of the situations resonate and leave a feeling of disquiet.

*Burn* by Peter Heller is a gripping and intense novel that blends suspense with lyrical prose. Heller’s vivid descriptions and complex characters make the story both haunting and unforgettable. A thrilling and masterfully told tale that captivates from start to finish.

09-01-24
Burn by Peter Heller
Burn by Peter Heller is a dystopian tale of two lifelong friends trying to return home after their annual moose hunt in the backwoods of Maine. While Peter Heller has been a favorite of mine for many years, this one was a hard start for me. I liked the characters, Jess and Storey, and the story of their strong friendship but the violence in the beginning was tough because it felt very slow. I began to really enjoy it immensely when the third main character added an element that made all the difference to me. This was a very unusual read for me and I’m not really sure exactly why enjoyed it so much.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC and for the opportunity to read and review Burn by Peter Heller
5 Stars- Pub. Date: 8-13-24
#NetGalley, # Knopf, #Dystopian, #Secession, #Political, #MaleFriendship, #EmotionallyChallenging

Burn is Peter Heller’s latest novel set in a dystopian Maine on fire, where two best friends, Jess and Storey, are isolated in the woods on their annual hunting trip.

We follow Jess and Storey as they try to make it home in a world of burned bridges and towns and try to uncover what has happened to Maine and the rest of the world.

Burn reminded me of The Road mixed with Station Eleven. It is a gritty journey story with action and at the same time a slow character study into the history and depth of these men’s life long friendship.

Peter Heller’s writing style is lyrical and thoughtful while also keeping you turning the pages to figure out the truth.

Unfortunately I did not love this book like I did his previous work, The River. Some parts of it were like a fever dream that just lost me and lost the plot it my opinion. And the true plot had gaps that didn’t make sense except as a way to heighten the drama.

Beautiful, sad story about moving forward when everything you know is gone. Storey and Jess are long term friends who are returning from a moose hunt in the woods of Maine. When they come to a bridge that has been destroyed they don't know what to think, then they find all of the bridges destroyed, buildings burnt to the ground and life as we know it changed forever. This is a dystopian tale but also a tale of introspection, of wondering what went wrong and how the choices you made have brought you to where you are now. Told in the viewpoint of Jess, a man whose wife has left him and his dog died, Jess doesn't feel like he has much in his life to return to. Storey, has a wife and two daughters in Vermont and very much wants to return home. As the men dodge helicopters and tanks full of soldiers determined to kill them, they find a little girl hiding in a boat and know they have to keep her safe.

This is not a hard core science fiction book and most of the action takes place in the mind of Jess. As the men try to travel in the shadows and take care of little Collie, Jess thinks back to his childhood where he never felt paid attention to or really loved, and the complicated relationship he had with Storey's mother. Heller does an amazing job of describing the senses the men feel as they travel the woods and the shore. The minty smell of the fir trees, the cold of the stream and the warm taste of the honey and oatmeal all make you feel like you are actually on this journey with these men. Fantastic story with an unusual take on the apocalypse. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC to review.

This was an interesting premise and well-written. I feel like the journey through this unknown conflict was intriguing but there were still light details even by the end of the book and it wrapped out without a tight conclusion and felt like it kind of petered out.

Having loved several of Peter Heller's books before some of the setup seemed familiar... two good friends on a nature trip together but in this new book the world they try to return to after an off the grid hunting has changed dramatically - there is political unrest and in Maine where they are towns have been burned to the ground people have been killed - but what about them, tourists who just want to go home?
loved all the nature references and as New England holds a special place in my heart all sorts of places mentioned in NH, VT and ME were recognizable to me. The friendship between Jess and Storey was wonderful, a deep, meaningful, and even life long male friendship.
As they try to make their way out and back home - out of a fight they don't have a stake in, they stumble on a little girl, Collie. Jess and Storey need to band together and rely on their instincts to help her and keep her safe and even try to shield her. Collie and getting her back to family or if that is not possible to safety becomes the goal that makes them and their relationship even stronger. This was a great short nature thriller !

I devoured this book -- couldn't put it down. Best friends Storey and Jess are on a hunting trip in the woods of northern Maine, and when they emerge back into society they find towns burned to the ground and no people around. What happened while they were off the grid? They quickly learn that their lives are at risk, but they don't know what they have walked into the middle of. I like that you're along for the ride just as the main characters are -- you're finding out what happened at the same time they do. It leaves you hanging and wanting answers. There are ample flashbacks to Jess and Storey's childhoods growing up together in Maine. Were there too many and were they relevant? I'm not sure. They served to cut the tension and led you to better understand the dynamics between the friends. Despite the ample flashbacks this book was a dystopian page-turner.

This one was a little confusing with information slowly revealed and not always clearly linked. The opening was promising as these two characters are at the end of their hunting trip and emerge to find out something serious has happened. But as they continue on, it becomes less clear why anything happened. Overall, a bit of a meandering dystopia with an uncomfortable subplot with Jess and Storey's mother. The parts with Collie were the more gripping parts of the story. Heller's previous books are recommended over this one.

ked it...⁣
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Super Vague Summary⁣
A novel about two men—friends since boyhood—who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence.⁣
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Sounds like it would be an intense page turner, doesn't it. Sadly, it was not.⁣
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Burn was super similar to Above the Fire by Michael O'Donnell, which I read a few months ago and THAT book was far superior. Maybe if I hadn't read that one I would liked this one more, not sure but I just never connected to this one.⁣
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Thank you @netgalley for the e-copy and @prhaudio for the audio!⁣
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Here's the one's I've read and how I ranked them:⁣
🔸The River - 4⭐⁣
🔸The Guide - 3⭐⁣
🔸Celine - 3⭐⁣
🔸The Last Ranger - 3⭐⁣
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I still have Dog Stars to read (and a few others I'm not as interested in reading) but I'm not in a huge rush. Do you have a favorite by Heller?

This was so confusing - both in the writing style that was either like a run-on sentence or just total rabbit trailing, and in the setup where you didn’t know what in the world was going on until halfway thru. I get that it was trying to be intriguing and create mystery, but I didn’t even have any context to what sort dystopian world I was in - what was going on that the MCs DID have knowledge about. You just got dropped into this ambiguous setting with nothing for the longest time.

Also, the memories or flashbacks was a strange setup because I didn’t feel like it lended itself to much of the current story or character development. The predatory sexual abuse situation in the past lended to some of the shame processing and response but even that wasn’t really explored in the men’s friendship like it could have been for it to have felt purposeful enough to be in the story.

All in all it could have been really interesting if it fleshed out the dystopian setting and scenario, but I just lost interest or lost the plot during most of it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of Peter Heller's latest novel. I've been a fan of the author since "The Dog Stars" came out in 2012. Heller recycles a lot of the same elements from book-to-book - "still waters run deep" kinda characters, rugged men who feel deeply and are often haunted by their pasts, and lush, lyrical prose exalting the beauty of nature. I always leave a Peter Heller book with an overwhelming desire to go find some secluded river bend and have a good swim.

In "Burn," our two leads emerge from the Maine woods after an extended hunting trip to find the region's small towns in smoking ashes. Is this war? Who's fighting whom? Which way to escape? Heller does a great job of prolonging this mystery just long enough before revealing what's happened.

My only critique is that the end felt rushed and we left our central characters during a denouement rather than at a more pronounced conclusion. No matter, I'm just here for Heller to dazzle me with his descriptions of the natural world.

wasn’t entirely won over by this mash up of a near future dystopia and lyrical flashbacks to an idyllic rural upbringing and I found the ending to be a little rushed and abrupt, but the author writes with a confidence and assuredness about a male friendship and ultimately pulled me in.

Jess and his life-long friend Storey are on their annual hunting trip in Maine, when they realize they have stumbled into a war zone: they find burned out villages and are shot at from military helicopters and by snipers. Their only certainty is that they need to avoid all people and make their way back to Vermont where Storey’s family are.

Woven into this are heavy chunks of Jess’s reminiscences of growing up with Storey and his family, including having sex with Storey’s mother (ew) which he has kept secret despite them being like brothers (making it even more ew). These slow-paced wanders down memory lane make a striking contrast with the frantic action of their present day, and are linked by the deep appreciation and portrayal of the natural world.

I’m sure the author didn’t run out of steam at the end, but it feels like it as we move from minute by minute action to an unexpected leap of weeks and then just abruptly finishing.

There is little exploration of what turns out to be Maine secessionists. It’s not something I’m familiar with and there’s no context given or explanation of what they are hoping to achieve. Their ultraviolent actions and the US military extreme response seem disproportionate without this background. I appreciate that isn’t the point of the novel but in terms of world building it left me feeling a bit huh. Also a map would have been really helpful, but when isn’t it?

So while not really my cup of Folgers, I enjoyed the novel more than I thought I would and came away with an awareness of a lifestyle that is far removed from mine.

Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

An eerie dystopian show burn! Heller’s writing and connection with the natural world always draws me in and the same is true with his latest. The examination of male friendship amidst the collapse of society was interesting and I quickly flew through the pages. An entertaining read but I was definitely left wanting more with that ending! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

I was worried going into this book that it was going to be too much. With everything going on in the news, in politics, and how much division there is....did I really want to read a book about a dystopian-America facing "secession mania"?

Turns out, the answer is YES. For a book that features a country facing an action-packed time, this book reads like a much quieter portrayal of personal introspection, the bonds of friendship, and navigating uncertain times. It was a surprisingly tender and emotional story, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital copy!

WOW. I did not see this book coming. Burn does exactly that through its pages: burn slow but bright.

What would you do if you took a trip into nature, and then a matter of weeks later, return to find the world has been turned upside down in your absence? The claustrophobia, the horrors of war, the vague and universal yet oh-so-timely references to political unrest. I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to far-too-soon end. I would love for Peter Heller to revisit this world in the future, but it also ends with a quiet impact of its own as is.

Thank you Peter Heller, Knopf, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a literary dystopian book that packs a punch. Best friends Jess and Storey are on their annual moose hunting trip in Maine, where they have been out of touch with society for weeks. When they finally emerge from the woods, they find that they are cut off from society and the world isn’t the same as the one that they left behind. Every town they encounter is a burned-out husk of what once was, and death is all around. Together they attempt to get home through the inhospitable landscape all while searching for information and avoiding death. A discovery on the edge of a lake changes everything for the two of them and further complicates their path home. This book highlights the bonds of male friendship and shows a level of silent compassion for the emotions shared while still showing genuine reflection and growth. The two friends remain steadfastly devoted to one another despite their past differences and mistakes. The underlying story plays out as both a mystery and a coming-of-age tale, told through reflection, while still maintaining its dystopian genre. The setting is straight from the headlines; A country divided politically, divides and destroys the very thing it was founded to protect. Heller transports you into this alternate reality with grace while still delivering a thrill that gets the heart racing. This book is the perfect read for fans of apocalyptic and dystopian books that can’t help but feel a little fear and anxiety when they watch the news or peruse social media.