May 29, 2019

1st Line/1st Paragraph: The River

I’m linking up this week with Vicki @ I’d Rather Be At The Beach who hosts a meme every Tuesday to share the First Chapter/First Paragraph of the book you are currently reading.

I’m pleased to share the first line and first paragraph of The River by Peter Heller. I’ve read a few great reviews, and I’m eager to bring you my full review soon. If you spend time fishing, camping, and canoeing, you might appreciate this wilderness survival/suspense thriller set in the Canadian wilderness.

From Amazon: From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars, The River is the story of two college students on a wilderness canoe trip–a gripping tale of friendship tested by fire, white water, and violence. From the charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival.

The River by Peter Heller

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links

Genre/Categories: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Wilderness Survival, Adventure, Friendship

1st Line/1st Paragraph:

They had been smelling smoke for two days. At first they thought it was another campfire and that surprised them because they had not heard the engine of a plane and they had been traveling the string of long lakes for days and had not seen sign of another person or even the distant movement of another canoe. The only tracks in the mud of the portages were wolf and moose, otter, bear. The winds were west and north and they were moving north so if it was another party they were ahead of them. It perplexed them because they were smelling smoke not only in early morning and at night, but would catch themselves at odd hours lifting their noses like coyotes, nostrils flaring.

I have read about 50% of The River. I can report that it’s a great balance of character driven and plot driven content. The description settings are vivid and beautifully written. The River explores the character of two college friends who share a deep friendship, a love of the mountains, books, and fishing. Throughout the story, we also observe that they have a great deal of respect for each other. These are good guys. What starts out as an enjoyable wilderness trip goes horribly wrong as the young men need to outrace a forest fire, save a life, and protect themselves from a violent stranger. I’m eager to see how this ends!

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QOTD: Are you intrigued? Do you like wilderness survival stories?

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Looking Ahead:

Come back Friday for my May Reading Wrap Up!

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***Blogs posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.

Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.