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Reap the Wind is the new climate-fiction road trip thriller by veteran author Joel Burcat, and from its edge-of-your-seat opening to the final pages, the suspense never lets up. This book made me stay up half the night just to find out what was going to happen, and it was worth it!
Although the road trip from Houston involves three people, the story focuses on the young couple, Josh Goldberg and Keisha Jones, who are expecting a baby sometime in the next six weeks. They love each other and are fun and sweet together; their anxiety is palpable when apart. Both have reservations about their futures, and their tense situations have them thinking and rethinking their actions. Josh is an environmental attorney who feels like a sell-out working for his large corporate clients, who are the antithesis of all he believes. While he fights through the massive storm, he also struggles with his ethical dilemma. Along for the ride is a senior associate coworker, Geoff Roberts, and Josh’s selfish and manipulative boss, Diane Scanlon, a villain who is easy to despise. Keisha, confined to the hospital in Florence, has time on her hands for reflection as well, and that includes thinking about Dr. Anthony Sudor, her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be the attending OB/GYN at St. Elizabeth’s.
Coincidentally, the initial stage of Josh’s drive from Houston was certainly déjà vu for me. I drive to Houston along parts of his route a couple of times a year, and one leg of the trip is ALWAYS through a major storm, without fail. (It has become a joke with my family.) While the storms are not in the same league as this fictional one (except for that one time outrunning an actual hurricane), the trip becomes exponentially longer and more difficult with the smaller highways, winding terrain, and tall, encroaching treelines, all contributing to the experience. Throw in an unfamiliar vehicle (my husband’s pickup rather than my daily driver), and I could absolutely relate. And, yes, there are some odd little towns along the way should you have to make a stop.
I was definitely on the edge of my seat and actively guessing the whole time as to how the story would work out. I was not disappointed. This is the first book by this author I’ve read, and I will check out his Mike Jacobs series as soon as I have the chance.
“What Could I Do That Was Like That?”
Guest Post
By Joel Burcat
I am legally blind. I have an eye
disease called Non Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION). In
July 2016 and again in January 2018, I had blood clots form in the back of
first my left, then my right eyeball, which prevented blood from getting into
part of my optic nerve. Over the course of about 6 weeks, I lost vision in each
eye. I was seen by neuro-ophthalmologists at three leading hospitals and was
told the same thing—I had NAION, an incurable eye disease. The best I could
hope for was that it would not advance further and, maybe someday, there might
be a cure.
Because the
loss of vision was in my optic nerve, I cannot wear glasses to correct the
NAION vision loss (eyeglasses correct vision loss in the front of your eyes).
Also, there are no treatments for this condition (although several drugs are
going through trials). I cannot see words on paper in regular font very well,
have difficulty seeing almost anything at distance, and cannot make out faces
at about ten feet (a weird condition known as prosopagnosia, which seems like a
literary metaphor). Thankfully, I did not lose all of my vision. I still see
well enough to walk, see most things (although a lot of what I see is fuzzy),
and function well in daily life. I lost enough vision, however, that I could
not work as a lawyer and could not drive. Thankfully, I was able to continue
reading. I cannot readily read paper (even large print), but I can read a
screen using a large heavy font with appropriate backlighting. I bought myself
a yard-wide ultra-high-def monitor, which works pretty well when I spread a
sentence across the monitor using Ariel black font.
Beginning
in January 2018, I spent two months feeling sorry for myself. In March 2018, I
was watching a show on TV about skiers who had lost one or more limbs. I found
it fascinating and inspiring that they were doing something most people would
say they could not do—skiing with one leg. I wondered: what could I do
that was like that? I went to my home office and began writing a novel. Seven
weeks later, the first draft of STRANGE FIRE was done. I have been writing
continuously ever since.
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03/05/24 |
Review |
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03/06/24 |
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03/06/24 |
BONUS
Stop |
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03/07/24 |
Review |
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03/08/24 |
Guest
Post |
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03/08/24 |
Review |
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03/09/24 |
Review |
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03/10/24 |
Excerpt |
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03/11/24 |
Review |
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03/11/24 |
Excerpt |
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03/12/24 |
Notable
Quotables |
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03/13/24 |
Review |
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03/13/24 |
Author
Interview |
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03/14/24 |
Review |
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03/14/24 |
Review |
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2 comments:
Wow. That guest post really reminds me to put things into perspective about challenges. (Comparatively, I sure have NONE.) Thanks for sharing -- this sounds like a great book.
That post from Mr. Burcat leaves me in utter awe at his tenacity and determination. Fantastic!! Loved the book.
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