Fire Season [Paperback]

Bush fires are unfortunately a hallmark of summer. In the past decade Australia has faced a serious fire threat resulting in loss of lives and property every year. Thankfully I have been directly involved only once, menaced by flames and thick, ashy smoke on either side of the road as my husband (then boyfriend) and I headed out to his parent's property (well away from the fires).
Set in New Zealand, Fire Season is a dramatic novel that illustrates the horror of being in the path of a raging inferno. The residents of Brooke's Vale are certain they will be safe from the fire, it has been 120 years since the valley's natural defenses have been breached. At the Vale's small airstrip, Matt, Jim, Jill and Rose warily watch the smoke billow across the landscape. Matt and Jim are pilots and as it becomes increasingly obvious that the fire front is uncontrolled they use Matt's crop dusting plane to assist with the fire fighting efforts. Yet the fire continues to rage, and the Valley's residents find themselves trapped by the steadily advancing flames.
Fire Season begins slowly as the fire burns a familiar path outside of the Valley but as the fire's threat to the Vale's residents grows, so does the pace of the storyline. Holland's timeline cover's just over four days charting the fire's movement and increasing threat. The tension is built deliberately as the residents anxiety grows culminating in their frantic efforts to escape the razing of their valley. Their perilous flight from the Vale is a nail biting climax.
Holland's characters are well developed and I thought their emotions and behaviour genuine. Matt's frustration and horror as he fails to save a young family from the maelstrom and Jim's exhaustion at flying is such high pressure conditions rings true. So does the fear and panic the residents experience when they realise they are trapped.
Holland's careful research and experience in aviation shows in his detailed descriptions of the planes and their flight. It is easy to imagine the heat and winds buffeting the small plane as it flies above the burning landscape. The depiction of the fire fighting efforts also seem accurate.
Fire Season captures the horror of a surging fire front and the bravery of small communities that face the terrifying threat. Well written and suspenseful this novel is an absorbing read.

Fire Season is really well researched. It's packed with aviation references and the characters are very believable. When disaster strikes, and all that is left for the community is the growing sense of panic, the community comes together to beat the odds.

The action is fast paced, and as a reader I found it to be like a technicolor film as I read, transfixed by what was taking place on the pages. Nail bitingly real and vivid, I found this very easy to imagine being on the big screen. The emotions and terror filled reality of what the characters go through is so tangible I could almost taste it, the thrilling climax which decides the communities fate is not to be missed.

A fantastic book, which had me on the edge of my seat once the drama started.