In some respects, Peter Heller's new book is an exciting survival story, an adventure, an Odyssey, as Jess and Storey, two longtime friends who've been on a two-week camping trip, try to navigate their way home through rural upstate Maine, a state suddenly torn apart by civil war. But it is also Jess's introspective look at his life and his loves, what he's always believed about himself and what he had all wrong. The beauty of the natural surroundings stands in big contrast to the ugliness of what human beings are doing to each other. Another page-turning read from Peter Heller who never disappoints.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

A dystopian thriller taking place in Maine..
Lifetime friends Jess and Storey are headed home from their annual camping/hunting trip and on their route home, a bridge has been blown up and demolished. Later on their path.. they find local towns burned down, and corpses littered around.
This happens in town after town they come to.. they are shot at..helicopters search for people and take people out, if seen.
The men do not know what is going on in the world without a phone signal or radio, etc.
They are now fighting for survival… added to their dilemma is that they find 5 yr old Collie that was hiding in a boat .. and they want to try and get her to her family.
A wilderness adventure that …sadly… never gives a real ending… after all that we read, we really don’t know what ends up happening with these characters… otherwise it would have been a five star read for me.

Publish date August 13

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC!

I devoured Peter Heller's book, The River, a few years ago, so I jumped at the chance to review his newest book, Burn. When I read the plot summary for Burn, it sounded like a great premise. Two lifelong friends–Jess and Storey–have been off the grid hunting and camping in the backwoods of Maine. When they return to civilization, they discover that a civil war has broken out. They don't know who they can trust.

I enjoyed the overall story of the book. It was suspenseful and thought-provoking. There were a lot of flashbacks to Jess and Storey's childhood and teenage years that didn't add a lot to the story, and I felt like they slowed the plot down. That was my only quibble with the book.

It left me thinking a lot about "good guys" vs "bad guys" and how our sense of self-defense often conflicts with our duty to help those around us. If you enjoy character-driven stories with an interesting plot, this is the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishers for an advanced copy of Burn.

I don't think I've ever not enjoyed one of Heller's novels. Something about his writing really speaks to me, and this introspective dystopian is another beautifully written novel. Two childhood friends go on their annual hunting trip and emerge to a profoundly changed landscape in Maine. The story is told from Jess's perspective, with flashbacks to his earlier years and the quiet enduring constancy of his friendship with Storey. This is an ode to male friendship and the natural world, set alongside the violence of a deeply troubled and divided world. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a digital review copy.

Burn is the latest book by Peter Heller. It centers around two friends, Jess & Storey, who discover the world is in upheaval upon returning from their annual hunting trip in Maine. The story goes back and forth between the present and the past. I found the flashbacks interesting though some of the details are a bit bizarre. The two boys grew up together, and Jess had kept a secret from Storey that weighed on him for their whole relationship. Eventually the secret comes out and Storey reveals he already knew it. Heller describes the modern US civil war setting with remarkable skill. The story explores friendship, betrayal, redemption, honor, resilience, love, chosen family, survival, – all themes we often see from Heller – which is part of why we love him as an author. The story is thrilling and suspenseful, Heller has written other dystopian fiction – “The Dog Stars” and a short story “The Island.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for providing an ARC

#PeterHellerBurn #NetGalley

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows two childhood friends who come out of the woods to find that Maine is a dystopian country and is full of violence.

This book was not for me. I don't think I am the target audience for this one though so take that with a grain of salt.

I just felt like this book was lacking substance and it felt just more violent than anything. Some people will probably like that but I did not. I also had a hard time connecting with the main characters.

I hope others love this one.

I love a good post-apocalyptic book, and was intrigued by the premise of two friends emerging from the woods in rural Maine to find that something big has happened while they were out of touch. They spend a good part of the book searching for answers to what has happened, and at that point, I was interested and hopeful about how the book would go. Unfortunately, it didn't really go anywhere interesting and didn't really well develop the relationships or story. The book was just okay for me. I did like the ending, but the second half just wasn't as good as I had hoped.

I love Peter Heller so much. This was a quick read for me and I continue to love his beautiful nature writing and stark prose. I absolutely loved the ending and thought it was chef's kiss, though I imagine it will be divisive for some readers. The sense of fear and suspense as we tried alongside our main characters to figure out what is happening was great. Well done!

I love dystopian novels. I was hooked by Burn's synopsis, which promised a story of friendship, set during a hunting trip gone wrong in an America on the brink of Civil War. 

In the beginning there is a mysterious sense of doom and danger. And I was excited to discover what was going on. But I felt the book stalled. Heller excels at bringing the natural world to life and I got that. But I felt the story itself lagged.  

I didn't enjoy the story. I didn't enjoy that there were so many unanswered questions. I didn't enjoy how abruptly the book ended (even though in all honesty I was happy to be done reading the book). And most of all, I really wanted to get a heartwarming story of friendship. The two main characters have been best friends since childhood and they are in the direst of circumstances, the book should be chock-full with emotions. But I didn't feel we saw any of that friendship. We were just told about it. Ok, these two are best friends because the book says so. And the main character's backstory felt disconnected from the current timeline. Why did we learn what we did about his past? What impact, at all, did it have on the story?

This was 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because even though this story was not for me, I do think Heller is a gifted writer (just not my type of storyteller).

This is a fantastic, horrifying novel about a descent into sudden war that doesn't seem too far from the realm of possibility. I think I read this all in one night--absolutely couldn't put it down.

Let me start off by saying that I have read every one of Peter Heller's fiction novels, so I was very excited to get an ARC of Burn.

There were so many things about this book that a loved, and only two that I didn't care for.

Classic Heller in writing. From the outdoors character skills and setting, to the edge of your seat, can't put the book down development of the plot and where it's headed.

The two things I didn't care much for in this one were one of the backstory topics for Jess that pops up fairly regularly, and the relational content it entails. As well as really hoping for more at the end of the book. Now the second is likely my own fault as I always want to read more of Heller's stories, so I don't hold that against this book.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in an exchange for an honest review.

The author’s latest book, Burn, is a dystopian novel with some action and lots of introspection. Jess and Storey hunt moose every year in North Central Maine. They were childhood friends and neighbors who have remained friends into adulthood. Maine was experienced secession mania during the summer but they assume whatever happens will be reserved for the legislators. After five days and a non-productive campsite, they decide to change camps and find a bridge over a river has been blown apart. After running out of gas, they walk to the next town north of them. It’s been burned to the ground and no one is there. However, the dock and boats were left intact. They scavenge for supplies on them and try to work their way to Storey’s home in Vermont dodging armed men and finding something along the way that alters their trip direction.

Jess’s wife is gone and their dog Bell died two months later. He is heartbroken, willing to take risks, and is grounded by gratitude. He also needs time in nature hunting and fishing to help him through the rest of the year. Storey is happily married to Lena and has two daughters. He is worried about them and is more risk averse than Jess.

The story is told from Jess’s point of view. While there is some action interspersed throughout the book, there is a lot of Jess’s introspection and memories. The world-building is fabulous and helps readers feel as though they are in Maine in the fall. For most of the book, the men don’t know what is happening in the outside world. They just know that there is trouble of some kind resulting in violence. While readers get some information in the last quarter of the book, there are still several unanswered questions and I wanted more closure. Additionally, the novel felt a little slow at times. Themes include grief, loss, loyalty, fear, courage, male friendship, violence, uncertainty, worry, found family, and much more.

Overall, this is an entertaining, tense, and thought-provoking novel with excellent world-building and engaging characters. However, I was expecting more action and information surrounding the dystopian events and less introspection. Will there be a second book?

Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor – Knopf and Peter Heller provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for August 13, 2024.

I loved Heller's The River and The Guide. Both were back-to-nature murder mysteries that painted a wild environment filled with natural and artificial danger. My favorite book of his is The Dog Stars, a dystopian work that captured my imagination. Burn is another dystopian work of fiction that is all too probable, given today's political climate. That is not to say it's political, just that it is easy to imagine right now.

Childhood friends Jess and Storey embark on their annual hunting trip in Maine to escape the political turmoil sweeping the United States. They emerge to find towns decimated and being shot at by both secessionists and the U.S. military. Living off their wits and scavenging food, they try to get to neutral territory and work their way home. However, an unexpected encounter alters their plans, and they must adjust to new circumstances using their survival skills.

This book discusses male friendships and the dangers of clinging to an ideology at the expense of family. It has many flashbacks to show why the bond between Jess and Storey is so strong. I liked that it does not take a political stand or seek to explore belief systems. As always, Heller does an excellent job weaving nature into an intriguing plot with well-drawn characters. 4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is August 13, 2024.

I've been a big fan of Peter Heller's books since I read "The River" back in 2019, and what I have especially appreciated about these "nature thrillers" is Heller's knack for taking me along vicariously on his adventures in the wild from the safety of my armchair. In Heller's latest book "Burn," however, even the armchair wasn't safe, because the dystopian scenario he depicts--two hunters on an off-the-grid trip in rural Maine find themselves trapped in the bloody chaos of a burgeoning civil war--feels uncomfortably possible. "Burn" isn't a perfect book and for me it ended too abruptly and with some dangling plot threads, but it was gripping, compelling reading, and I applaud Heller for trying something different this time and for making it so plausible as to be thoroughly unsettling.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Knopf for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

I’m a big fan of dystopian books and read them often so this one was right up my alley. This was a great book about humans and the human connection, above all things. The story was intriguing, the writing was superb (as is the usual for Peter Heller) and the characters were great. Overall, a fantastic book!

Peter Heller does a phenomenal job of painting something fighting and real feeling in such a beautiful and natural area of Maine, USA.

Two friends since Childhood, Jess and Storey make a yearly trip to very unpopulated areas to hunt and camp. During the timeline of this book, they are in the midst of a moose hunting trip in a very remote part of Maine. Maine has been experiencing a lot of political turmoil in the months prior with a lot of rhetoric regarding succession, but the two friends are not concerned.

Some weeks into their trip, Jess and Storey encounter sudden destruction. A down burned to the ground, bombed cars, and blown bridges. They’ve stumbled right into a dystopia. The story follows the friends as they scavenge for food, avoiding armed forces that they’re unsure if they are secessionist rebels or unionist US military. Is this a civil war? No one seems safe, there’s no access to information and two seem trapped as they take it one challenge at a time to seek safety.

A surprise find a bit into the story forces them to shift gear and reimagine their thoughts on seeking safety. This discovery brings out the best in them. I believe it’s part of the reason they made progress.

Heller’s description of New England in the early autumn days, camping in its simple beauty despite devastation and the character building/story telling he did around Jess and Story are fantastic. It was so easy to melt into the book and feel like a fly on the wall (or tree) of their travels. It was also quite enjoyable to read about a strong male friendship, something I don’t find too often. This book would be a great fit for anyone who loves reading about the fragile beauty of our natural world, life changing events, men on the cusp of middle age and the weight the pull behind them. The dystopian civil war aspect certainly makes the book enjoyable, especially to a reader like me but, the journey these two friends take and where it takes place were the best part for me.

Thank you to Peter Heller, Knopf & Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book early and offer my honest feedback.

Unfortunately for me this one felt too unresolved in all the story lines. I would be fine if the main storyline alone left off as it did, but the other storylines also felt that way, which to me felt like the whole novel was incomplete. I loved the friendship between Jess and Storey,

Two friends with a life-long tradition of off-the grid hunting and camping return to civilization and find that hell has broken loose. Towns are still burning and death permeates the air.

Burn by Peter Heller is a nightmare situation in that this could so easily happen. While the actual cause of this civil war are left unknown, it's not hard to see this happening any single minute of the day.

This is a survival story. The two men try and make their way home, and come across a little girl who helps them realize what is important in the grand scheme of things.

This is an intimate portrayal of male friendship that is lacking in so many books that are published.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Burn
Burn is classic Heller. At the center, a human story. As the drama unfolds you are provided flashbacks giving a look into the soul, and learn about the forces that have shaped this life. At the same time you experience the bond of friendship in real time with all the realities of life that are pushing and pulling against the two men.
In classic Heller style, the detailed description of a bird overhead, the pneumonic calling of a bird from afar, and the frost on the grass bring the landscape to life and make it feel like and equal character in the story. The descriptions are so authentic and bring richness to the tale.
Already looking forward to the next one from Peter Heller!

4.5 stars

I had never read a Peter Heller book before this one - his latest - BURN, which publishes August 13, 2024, and I need to delve into his backlist more!

I'm not typically a fan of dystopian books, but this one is more than that. It's a novel of male friendship, which I don't typically read, in the face of adversity. The main character Jess is on his annual hunting trip with his friend Storey in Maine, and when they emerge from the woods, they find utter destruction and are being targeted. An extremist group is determined for Maine to secede from the United States. While this seems like a very action-packed story as the characters navigate burned cities and landscape, it actually is slower-moving with the main character Jess reflecting on his life, particularly a time as a teenager when he became more absorbed into Storey's family. I recently visited Maine, and I loved the nature descriptions and recognized several of the places discussed in the novel.

The two men stumble upon a lost 5 year old girl in a lion costume, and she is wanting to be reunited with her parents and dog Crystal. Seeing how the men pivot when this girl enters their life is endearing.

If you like a novel that has both action and interesting characters, then I think you'll like this one. It has elements that reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD, but I didn't find this one as depressing as that one.