The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
nachtfalke's review against another edition
5.0
Full disclosure: I am a fan of Dundas' podcasts. Whenever I can't help it, I love to hear from him and his brother-in-arms, Ben Fowlkes, about last weekend's happenings in MMA.
...But because even gifted podcasters rarely make for good novelists, I went into this one expecting nothing: You know, this was a "sympathy purchase", nothing else.
And, boy, was I wrong. EXCELLENT little thriller, this one! Atmospheric, gripping, and of the exact length that leaves you wanting for more. Not gonna lie, a bit too affected by the current conventions of the genre: Just about everything is about trauma and grief, and, ugh, grief and trauma - like any 80s vampire novel was always about "mist and fog" and "fog and mist". (If you wanna catch my drift here.)
But - boy! - I enjoyed this one for what it was: Not very plausible, a bit overloaded with the usual genre leitmotifs, and perhaps even indeed written as a one-upper to the kind of mystery podcasts ("Borrasca", "Dark Woods", "Knight Falls") that have been crowding the genre, lately.
...Because a one-upper it ended up becoming: Of its kind of story, "The Blaze" is one of the considerably best pieces of genre fiction I've read in a while. Writers way more famous than Mr Dundas have lately delivered considerably less motivated and engaging product.
I'm rarely this glowing in my reviews, but this one deserved every word of praise. I'm not sure if Dundas has already found his genre, or whether he will perhaps end up switching to a less crowded field than the vaguely Twin-Peaks-esque. But I'm going to buy his next book when it comes out.
...But because even gifted podcasters rarely make for good novelists, I went into this one expecting nothing: You know, this was a "sympathy purchase", nothing else.
And, boy, was I wrong. EXCELLENT little thriller, this one! Atmospheric, gripping, and of the exact length that leaves you wanting for more. Not gonna lie, a bit too affected by the current conventions of the genre: Just about everything is about trauma and grief, and, ugh, grief and trauma - like any 80s vampire novel was always about "mist and fog" and "fog and mist". (If you wanna catch my drift here.)
But - boy! - I enjoyed this one for what it was: Not very plausible, a bit overloaded with the usual genre leitmotifs, and perhaps even indeed written as a one-upper to the kind of mystery podcasts ("Borrasca", "Dark Woods", "Knight Falls") that have been crowding the genre, lately.
...Because a one-upper it ended up becoming: Of its kind of story, "The Blaze" is one of the considerably best pieces of genre fiction I've read in a while. Writers way more famous than Mr Dundas have lately delivered considerably less motivated and engaging product.
I'm rarely this glowing in my reviews, but this one deserved every word of praise. I'm not sure if Dundas has already found his genre, or whether he will perhaps end up switching to a less crowded field than the vaguely Twin-Peaks-esque. But I'm going to buy his next book when it comes out.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2020 staff favorite recommended by Andrea. Read her review on the Cook Memorial Public Library blog, Shelf Life: https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2020/02/10/andreas-pick-of-the-week-the-blaze-by-chad-dundas/
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sblaze%20dundas__Orightresult__U;jsessionid=B0CCBD4A46F6AFA56986D7E211831988?lang=eng
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sblaze%20dundas__Orightresult__U;jsessionid=B0CCBD4A46F6AFA56986D7E211831988?lang=eng
kitaweta's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
timetoread_more2022's review against another edition
5.0
Great read! Fast-paced, well-developed characters and a good story.
suspensethrill's review
5.0
Debating between a 4-5 star rating, so I'll go with a 4.5 rounded up to 5! Review to come.
******************
I'm really excited to dig into my ARC of this one, and since there is no synopsis listed on Goodreads other than on the giveaway page, I'm including it below:
"One man knows the connection between two extraordinary acts of arson, fifteen years apart, in his Montana hometown--if only he could remember it.
Having lost much of his memory from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Iraq, army veteran Matthew Rose is called back to Montana after his father's death to settle his affairs, and hopefully to settle the past as well. It's not only a blank to him, but a mystery. Why as a teen did he suddenly become sullen and vacant, abandoning the activities and people that had meant most to him? How did he, the son of hippy activists, wind up enlisting in the first place?
Then on his first night back, Matthew sees a house go up in flames, and it turns out a local college student has died inside. And this event sparks a memory of a different fire, an unsolved crime from long ago, a part of Matthew's past that might lead to all the answers he's been searching for. What he finds will connect the old fire and the new, a series of long-unsolved mysteries, and a ruthless act of murder."
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
******************
I'm really excited to dig into my ARC of this one, and since there is no synopsis listed on Goodreads other than on the giveaway page, I'm including it below:
"One man knows the connection between two extraordinary acts of arson, fifteen years apart, in his Montana hometown--if only he could remember it.
Having lost much of his memory from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Iraq, army veteran Matthew Rose is called back to Montana after his father's death to settle his affairs, and hopefully to settle the past as well. It's not only a blank to him, but a mystery. Why as a teen did he suddenly become sullen and vacant, abandoning the activities and people that had meant most to him? How did he, the son of hippy activists, wind up enlisting in the first place?
Then on his first night back, Matthew sees a house go up in flames, and it turns out a local college student has died inside. And this event sparks a memory of a different fire, an unsolved crime from long ago, a part of Matthew's past that might lead to all the answers he's been searching for. What he finds will connect the old fire and the new, a series of long-unsolved mysteries, and a ruthless act of murder."
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
aetataureate's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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