The River

The River by Peter Heller    272 pages

It’s hard to pigeon-hole this novel into one genre; It’s part wilderness adventure, part thriller and part horror story, with a bit of “Deliverance” thrown in.

Jack and Wynn share a love of literature, camping, canoeing and fishing. “They were best friends at Dartmouth, who had decided to take the summer and fall quarters off.” Fall was closing in as the two were reaching the last few days of their canoe trip on northern Canada’s Maskwa River. They do not foresee the trouble that lies ahead. But if there isn’t some sort of dilemma ahead, there isn’t much tension to the story. 

Their days are filled drifting in their canoe, fishing for their meal, picking wild blueberries and long discussions of literature. The descriptions of the landscape and the animals puts the reader right there in the canoe with them.

The book opens with a major concern: “They had been smelling smoke for two days.”  After setting up camp that night, they “followed a game trail to a ledge of broken rock…looking northwest they saw it…and they knew it was a fire.” It was humongous.

Time became more pressing. They had to reach the landing, several days still away, before the flames could catch up with them.

Further downstream, on a fog-shrouded night, Jack and Wynn heard a couple arguing. They decide against warning them about the fire. The next day, a man appears and stops at their campsite. He is alone, but looks as if he’s been beaten.  Wynn, ever the trusting soul, believes the story the man concocts, but Jack isn’t buying it. He believes that the man killed the woman and would kill them if he got half a chance.

Jack and Wynn slip away, but they backtrack to look for the woman. Once they find her, it becomes a race for life as the struggle to reach civilization.

A heart-pounding read, except for one thing. Heller’s preferred format of chunky blocks of text kept throwing me out of the story. It felt like a self-published book where the author was trying to get attention by the unexpected format.  It turns out that Heller formats all his books like that.  Still, I found it highly irritating, and that is why “The River” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Mountain Between US

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin    336 pages

Dr. Ben Payne is trying to get home to Jacksonville, Florida, after attending a medical conference. He is on a layover. Ashley Knox, a successful freelance journal, is eager to get home to Atlanta. Her wedding is in two days. 

Ben and Ashley are sitting near plugs, on the floor, working until they can board. However, a rapidly approaching winter storm is impacting the Salt Lake City airport. Flights are being canceled, but they each hold out hope. When one of the two de-icing trucks breaks down, a fight out that night seemed remote.

After they pick up a hotel voucher and trudge toward baggage claim, Ben spots a charter plane service across the way. He races over and convinces the pilot to take him to Denver. Grover, the pilot, reluctantly agrees. Remembering Ashley and her need to get to Atlanta, Ben hurries back to the terminal and asks her if she wants to catch a ride.

Agreeing, the two hop aboard with Grover and his dog, Tank. They take off with only minutes to spare before the storm closes the airport.  Mid-way through the flight, Grover suffers a massive coronary. The plane crashes into the High Unitas Wilderness---one of the harshest (the area gets 500-700 FEET of snow each year) and remotest areas in the continental U.S.

When Ben comes to, he is suffering from several broken ribs. Ashley has a leg fracture. The dog seems to be okay. It’s snowing. Hard. And it’s bitterly, bitterly cold.

Thankfully, Ben is a mountain climber. He has some equipment with him. One big problem. He could hike his way out; if he knew where he was. Not only that, Grover didn’t have to file a flight plan, so no one knows they are missing.

The story that follows is Ben, Ashley and Tank’s month-long quest to find food, water, warmth, and a way out.

Author Martin did an amazing job of repeating the same harrowing scene without the story becoming repetitious. Along the way, the two learn about each other lives, but Ben has a secrets. They are doled out slowly and are shocking, which only added to the tension of the story.

The Mountain Between Us gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for books in exchange for this review.

Our Endless Numbered Days

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
386 Pages

"Peggy Hillcoat is eight years old when her survivalist father, James, takes her from their home in London to a remote hut in the woods and tells her that the rest of the world has been destroyed. Deep in the wilderness, Peggy and James make a life for themselves. They repair the hut, bathe in water from the river, hunt and gather food in the summers and almost starve in the harsh winters. They mark their days only by the sun and the seasons. When Peggy finds a pair of boots in the forest and begins a search for their owner, she unwittingly unravels the series of events that brought her to the woods and, in doing so, discovers the strength she needs to go back to the home and mother she thought she'd lost. After Peggy's return to civilization, her mother begins to learn the truth of her escape, of what happened to James on the last night out in the woods, and of the secret that Peggy has carried with her ever since."

A captivating novel with a twist.  It certainly puts into perspective any desire to become a survivalist.