WILD FIRE, by Nelson DeMille

Title:

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Wild Fire

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Author:

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Nelson DeMille

(Bestselling author of By The Rivers of Babylon, The Gold Coast, The General's Daughter, and Up Country.)

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Novel released as hardcover November 2006, soon to be released as paperback.

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ISBN number: ISBN-10: 0-446-57967-x ISBN-13: 978-0-446-57967-4

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Published by:

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Warner Books

. Hachette Book Group USA 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10169 http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/

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Price (as hardcover):

. $26.99 USD / $31.25 CAN

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Almost the first thing one encounters in this novel is a quote: "The FBI investigates terrorism-related matters without regard to race, religion, national origin, or gender." -- Terrorism in the United States, FBI publications, 1997. That, alone, is enough to send a nervous laugh thrill through anyone with half a brain. Mr. DeMille has one hellish premise going in Wild Fire, one I hope we never see come to reality. After all, we only have one world to share amongst us all.

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What is a crying pity is that an author who is capable of so very much more has paired this strong, well-researched story line with thin, almost transparent charactors. The protagonist is so stereotypical in his male, smart-mouthed ways that a reader has a hard time keeping face forward and teeth unclenched. As if that weren't enough, the protagonist's wife/sidekick is worse. The charactors are into the premise deeply, yet they come across as cut-out dolls instead of rich personalities. Playing with paper dolls is something I outgrew years ago, so the whole thing wound up grating on my nerves.

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What did make me itch -- and helped me stay with it to the bitter end -- was that the premise was so believably unbelievable. There exist those whose greed, whose thirst for power, is insatiable. To those people, the rest of us are merely ... collateral damage. Without regard to race, religion, national origin, or gender. They're not (well, not all) government officials, yet they weild power and money on a battleground that's neither official nor truly morally aware in even an abstract manner. Where does this leave the common world citizen standing? On mighty shaky ground, let me tell you. Mr. DeMille has a good handle on that angle.

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What came across most was a sense of hurriedness, anxious time-scrabbling. The research was intense, well sorted out, and well-presented. I wonder if this was at the price of cardboard charactors? Mr. DeMille, I wish you better luck on the next one. I can only hope that you won't let deadlines ruin a good thing. Until then, I'll save some flags for a serious work; this one isn't polished well, as so many of your works are. Let's call it unfinished, shall we?

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Special thanks to Hachette Book Group for the chance to review Nelson DeMille's novel. For information on other books offered or about to be offered by HBGUSA, please visit their website.

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Comments? Questions?

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-- The Fireside Reader