Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely well-written, deeply moving
Review: Absolutely well-written, deeply moving : Nicholas Evans has a rare bright tale. He is a master at bittersweet spirutual stories. I recommend it highly, you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: No spoilers included in this review!
Review: First, I have to say that I was very disappointed to see that several reviews here have spoilers for this book! I always come here first to read reviews BEFORE reading a book...if you're doing so, be warned because several reviewers gave most of the story away!So...on to the book. After reading both of Nicholas Evan's other novels, this one was a bit disappointing. However, I did enjoy it, it was written beautifully, it just didn't move or inspire me like The Loop or The Horse Whisperer. Without giving too much away, this story is about Ed, Connor and Julia. Ed and Connor are best friends and smoke jumpers in Montana together each summer. One summer Ed brings his new girlfriend Julia along, as she's a counselor for troubled teens in a near-by camp. What ensues is much adventure, as they all have jobs that lean towards the dangerous side. After the summer fades, their lives all take very unpredictable turns, leading them each in their own direction. Will they all stay friends, down these roads life leads them? What I enjoyed most about this book was that the story was so unpredictable. Evans did a good job of taking us down a path that was amazing as it was surprising. Again, it's not my favorite of his, but he took a chance with something slightly different and did a pretty good job of it.
Rating:
Summary: No spoilers included in this review!
Review: First, I have to say that I was very disappointed to see that several reviews here have spoilers for this book! I always come here first to read reviews BEFORE reading a book...if you're doing so, be warned because several reviewers gave most of the story away! So...on to the book. After reading both of Nicholas Evan's other novels, this one was a bit disappointing. However, I did enjoy it, it was written beautifully, it just didn't move or inspire me like The Loop or The Horse Whisperer. Without giving too much away, this story is about Ed, Connor and Julia. Ed and Connor are best friends and smoke jumpers in Montana together each summer. One summer Ed brings his new girlfriend Julia along, as she's a counselor for troubled teens in a near-by camp. What ensues is much adventure, as they all have jobs that lean towards the dangerous side. After the summer fades, their lives all take very unpredictable turns, leading them each in their own direction. Will they all stay friends, down these roads life leads them? What I enjoyed most about this book was that the story was so unpredictable. Evans did a good job of taking us down a path that was amazing as it was surprising. Again, it's not my favorite of his, but he took a chance with something slightly different and did a pretty good job of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hot, Warm, Cold...So, So
Review: It was the title that threw me. After the wonderful first 150 pages, the setting changed so drastically that I wondered if I was reading the same book. Perhaps a broader title would've better prepared me. Hey, how can I knock a book that brought me to tears on two occasions? On the other hand, how can I highly recommend a book that makes you plod through the final hundred pages to reach an inevitable conclusion? Nicholas Evans evokes scenery and natural beauty like few other fiction writers. On top of that, he does a decent job of creating character and dialogue, of capturing the nuances of relationships. With "The Smoke Jumper," Evans takes us into the lives of four interesting people--not all of whom will survive to the end of the tale--and asks us to follow along obediently. For the first third of the story, I was willing to follow. The plot moved quickly, and I actually cared about these characters as they faced personal trauma, forest fires, rock climbing, and outdoor survival. The twists were subtle, yet effective. I was intrigued and would've rated it five stars up to that point. The next portion was a bit rockier. I, like one of the characters, felt as though I was following blindly. Exhibiting trust in the author's skill? No doubt. Hoping that this journey would lead to unpredictable places? You bet. Although Evans maneuvers through the emotions and difficulties of this section gracefully, I still felt as though I was being set up for the...drum-roll, please...obvious anti-climax. And I was right. The story moves so far from its original setting and course that I felt I was reading an entirely different novel. "The Smoke Jumper" comes around at the end and delivers, as expected. On the last page, Evans even manages to pull together the horse, wolf, and fire themes of his three books. And that may be the problem: perhaps Evans felt driven to make this book broader, bigger, grander. In my opinion, he should have stuck to one theme. What started out hot, by the end...was not.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing but ultimately predictable
Review: Nicholas Evans is one of those writers I love to hate; he can write so darn well it puts most other authors to shame and that forces me to compare prose like his against those of other writers...which most cannot even begin to stand up to. If he had something more original to write about, I think his books would win applause from even the most stubborn literary fan. But he doesn't do that here...but still, he MAKES us care about his characters by getting us in so close and so intimate with them that we can't help but care! The story is that of two friends, Ed Tully and Connor Ford. They have other jobs and live half a continent away from each other, but they come together every summer to become Smoke Jumper brethren in and around Montana. Smoke Jumpers are those slightly psychotic and carelessly heroic few firefighters who jump out of planes near fire-lines and dig fire-breaks and try to foil mother-nature's red tongued devils. Ed and Connor have a tight bond of friendship that is unshakable because of their smoke jumping past. Enter Julia Bishop, a beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman who hooks up with Ed. Ed, of course, wants to introduce her to Connor, and soon does. Connor is immediately struck with her beauty (both internal and external) as is Julia struck with him. But they deny their feelings for one another because of Ed (Connor's long friendship with him and Julia's caring for him). Soon Ed gets injured and is blinded during a raging fire and Julia and he are thrown closer together by this. Connor is moved further out, but he still cares for her greatly. Ed proposes and Julia accepts. Connor moves further out. Soon, it is learned that Ed cannot have children due to his diabetic history and poor medication choices in the past. So they (Julia and Ed) ask Connor to be a sperm donor. Connor agrees and Amy enters the world throwing all kinds of emotions around. How does it end? What happens to Connor and Julia? Or will there ever be a Connor and Julia? Does Ed know how his best buddy feels about his wife? And what of Amy, the child of Connor's genes and Julia's womb? How does this mess settle itself into a legitimate storyline? It does. And does well. It is an old story told time and time and time again, and that's one of the reasons that I gave it only four stars. It is also schmaltzy in places and highly predictable...but still....darn it! You can't help but care about these people. I found myself getting choked up a few times as I read what befell some of them. It's a fun book and reads breezily, but has it's weak points. But boy can Mr. Evans write!
Rating:
Summary: Worth the jump.
Review: This book is by far the best work of a brilliant writer. Evans creates wonderful charactars that are easy to care about, and will keep you turning pages. This is a beautiful story of human emotion, choices, and love. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The third one isn't so charming this time...
Review: This book turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. I really liked The Horse Whisperer, and loved The Loop, but The Smoke Jumper falls well short of both. The story begins with two best friends, Ed Tully and Connor Ford, who spend their summers "smoke jumping" - that is, parachuting into remote locations to fight forest fires. Then Ed falls in love with the beautiful Julia Bishop. Their relationship is perfect until he introduces her to Connor, and girlfriend and best friend find themselves fighting an intense attraction to each other, which mortifies them both in light of their love and respect for Ed. Julia spends the summer as a counselor in a rehab program for delinquent teens, taking them camping in the mountains in hopes of recovering their lost souls. Disaster strikes when a forest fire claims the life of one teenager, badly scathes and blinds Ed, and leaves Julia consumed with feelings of guilt over them both. Here the story takes an abrupt change in direction. Julia, overwhelmed by feelings of obligation, helps Ed adjust to life without sight, and ultimately marries him. Connor, unable to bear seeing the woman he loves married to another man, takes off to begin a new career as a photojournalist in the various war-torn countries of the world, returning from time to time for brief visits. When Julia and Ed are unable to have a child due to Ed's apparent sterility, they convince Connor to father a child for them. Shortly thereafter Connor departs for good, thrown into despair at the realization that he is now severed not only from Julia, but also from a daughter that is not his. It is only after Ed's eventual death that Julia can embark upon a journey of her own and allow herself the hope that perhaps she and Connor might be united at last. If the above synopsis of the story seems a bit disjointed, that should give you an idea of how the book itself runs. Evans has created a hodgepodge of settings, plotlines, and themes that undermine the significance of the title. Less than half of the book actually deals with smoke jumping (and even here it is not the primary object of the story), with the theme only recurring briefly at the very end, under entirely different circumstances. Perhaps it would be more descriptive to say that Evans "dabbles" with themes. He dabbles with smoke jumping, he dabbles with delinquent teenagers, he dabbles with music, he dabbles with blindness, he dabbles with photography, and he dabbles with various wartorn places such as Bosnia and parts of Africa. None of them really has anything to do with the central love triangle, and seem tacked-on and interchangeable. In the second part of the book, each time we see Connor, he is in a new place, in the middle of a different war or conflict. We get bits and pieces of the various stories, but the reader is left at best indifferent and at worst downright confused due to the lack of groundwork for the scenes. We are simply plopped down in one place for a short while, then snatched right back up, never to return. There is not enough devlopment for us to truly understand or even to care what is going on in each of the places Connor finds himself. Another problem, partly stemming from the above and partly due to the writing style, is that the story seems very unrealistic. One can't really imagine all of this happening in real life. The interaction between characters frequently seems affected and unbelievable. The dialogue is often unnatural. In particular, the speech and mannerisms of the teenagers in Julia's program, and later of her own 8-year-old daughter Amy, do not reflect the actual patterns of speech and behavior of children in those age groups. Adding to the sense of falsity is Evans's frequent use of cliche ideas and phrases such as "I've loved you from the first moment I saw you," and "he woke with a start and for a moment couldn't figure out where he was." Such declarations and images have been so overused that one can only groan at coming across them yet again. I was also horrified by the scene in which a young African soldier is made to publicly appologize to a girl he raped in front of all their peers. In real life such a display would be utterly humiliating to the victimized girl, especially considering that she had told no one about the incident. And yet the girl in the story seems absolutely fine with the arrangement. There are also a few factual errors in the book which, while relatively insignificant, still disappointed me slightly. For example, Amy has curly hair, while both her parents - Julia and Connor - have straight hair. Curly hair is a dominant trait in humans, so if a person carries the gene for curly hair, they will HAVE curly hair. Therefore, neither Julia nor Connor could have carried the curly hair gene, since both have straight hair, and so there is no way Amy could have inherited a curly hair gene from either one. So far I've only expounded on the faults I've found with the book, but I must say it's certainly not among the worst I've ever read. While not entirely engaging, it is moderately entertaining and very easy to read. For a reader less nit-picky than myself, the storyline may even be enjoyable. It's the kind of book to take with you to a doctor's office waiting room or similar situations, where you aren't inclined to read something "heavy" and yet still need to pass the time. Overall though, I wouldn't highly recommend it. It just doesn't live up to Evans's potential, and I'm sure you can find numerous more worthwhile alternatives in recreational reading material.
Rating:
Summary: predictable, but very well executed
Review: This is most of all a well-told tale of love, friendship, tragedy and triumph. Not new material at all: a love-triangle, a friendship that is challenged by disaster and love for the same woman, the adversities of life and finally fate working in a good way after all. Since the "horse-whisperer" we know that Mr. Evans is a solid story-teller and takes his time to develop the lead characters. For this he spends the first half of the story on the beginnings of Ed's and Connor's friendship as smoke jumpers in Montana. At the same time he introduces us to Julia who is the central love interest. After a climactic forest fire there is a scissure in the story that I believe is well-placed. Just as the lives of these 3 people are changed dramatically, so are the pace and the main storylines of the book. Evans pulls this off, though, because his characters and settings are well-developed by his groundwork in the first half of the novel. The book is an overall very good weekend, page-turner read.
Less one star for it is predictable after all.
Rating:
Summary: Took my breath away...
Review: This was an EXCELLENT book! Ladies, don't let the title fool you. If you think you may not like this because it is about smoke jumpers, think again. Two of the main characters are smoke jumpers but there's much more to the book. It's more of a love story than a story about smoke jumpers. I would think this book would appeal more to women than to men. The author does a really good job in building the characters. Sometimes I get bored with a book half way through and stop reading it. This kept my attention and it was hard to put down!
I hope they make a movie out of this book! An interesting storyline, characters that you'll feel like you know personally, making it all a book that you'll wish could go on and on.
Rating:
Summary: Rating the CD Version
Review: This was by far the most entertaining CD I have listened to in a very long time. I enjoyed listening to this story while commuting to work and back. I even obeyed the speed limits so I could hear more of the book before arriving at my destination. Luke Perry was the narrater and he did a remarkable job. Makes for an enjoyable stress reducer while commuting in work traffic. This had a great storyline and with Luke Perry reading it, you just can't ask for more!
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