The Smoke Jumper

Rating:
Summary: What happened to this book??
Review: What happened to the smoke jumpers? Where did they go? This was a decent beginning with a very poor end. I bought this book after enjoying the Horse Whisperer. I enjoyed the western location and figured it was going to stay there and then read about fires, smoke jumping and romance. How do we get to Africa? Why does the author have to suddenly throw in these stories about Connor's photography while the love of his life is pining for him in the mountains of Montana with her blind and sickly husband. ... I raced through the last 100 pages ... A real disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: A Breath of Fresh Air
Review: I enjoyed the "Smoke Jumper." I bought this book on audio, I listened to it in the car, and would sometimes go to the car to hear more. I admit there were some parts of the story that were predictable, but all in all it was a moving book. Mr. Evans writes with alot of feeling and his descriptives are wonderful. I read his previous books and enjoyed them as well. Books are about enjoyment and this was it!! It sets the moment for you to go into your own heart and head and feel the words, it's what a good novel is all about.

Rating:
Summary: Smoke Jumpers go to Africa???
Review: Like a lot of other people, I very much enjoyed Horse Whispers and the Loop. They both had a good story, connected to animals and nature in a way that I very much enjoyed. This story started out fine, and I enjoyed learning about smoke jumpers and the horrible effects of forest fires on our enviornment. Good, I thought, another good story that keeps the nature/animal theme alive. Then the book went to Africa. After that, the whole thing fell apart. Only the first half of the book was about smoke jumpers, and the rest seemed like filler. It is not one of the worst books I have ever read, but I expected more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Love Story
Review: I thought this was a great story of two people and their love for each other that wouldn't die. Time,space,nor circumstances could break the bond between the man and woman.I loved the way the story pertrayed the unconscienous mind when it comes to love for another person. I believe Julie was drawn to Africa because her heart knew she would find Connor there. The ending is predictable from the start but it does not take away from the plot of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Great adventure, romance
Review: Evans seems to keep the story moving with both adventure and romance. He writes without a lot of descriptive garbage and tells the story with simple ease. I found it a moving and suspenseful story with a great ending. Evans and Sparks are very much alike. It reminded me of "Rescue".

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!!
Review: I had so looked forward to reading Smoke Jumper based on my enjoyment of Evans' other books...i.e. The Loop and The Horse Whisperer. I was surprised and disappointed when I got into the story. The story line came across so contrived it was hard to imagine Evans putting out such work. The characters were so heroic they were totally unbelievable. I scanned the last 100 pages mainly to see if what I had already figured out would actually happen. And....it did.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars, 5 stars and 5 again
Review: The Loop has still not lost its place as my all time favorite. But this book comes CLOSE to threatening that spot. A resounding 5 stars... without hessitation. By the time I reached the end, my only thought was that I sincerely hope this book is not based on a true story in any way. Because if it is, it's heartbreaking. First-class reading.

Rating:
Summary: Very poorly written
Review: I wrote a review when the book first came out, but it was somehow never posted. Simply stated, this is a very poorly written book. Some of his descriptive passages were quite nice, as were his use of simple language to express the power of a scene. However, the character development is shallow, the plot line implausible though predictible, and the romantic relationships boring. Using a striking visual image at the beginning of the book, it quickly loses momentum until it is simple drudgery to read after 50 pages. Do not waste your time or money on this book. It did not last long in the bookstores, and is best forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Have I read it before?
Review: I didn't entirely dislike the book, but I kept thinking I'd read it before by Nevada Barr, Elmore Leonard (Pagan Babies), and John Irving (Cider House Rules). The stories weren't exactly alike so there wasn't any plagarism, but the various thoughts were somewhat the same - forest fire fighters, Glacier Nat'l. Park, African atrocities and the love triangle. They all made fairly good books.

Rating:
Summary: Great start but then...
Review: The first half of this book is great but it soon starts to turn into fairly standard guy-loves-girl-loves-guy book and then gets totally unbelievable. Even so, it is an enjoyable read, just a little disappointing because it had such potential.