Burning Road [Mass Market Paperback]

Ann Benson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2000

From the bestselling author of The Plague Tales comes a spellbinding new novel that sweeps from medieval France to America in the year 2007—interweaving two gripping stories and two extraordinary eras....

In fourteenth-century France, pockets of plague still bring death to peasants and noblemen alike. Amid the fury and the chaos, Dr. Alejandro Canches searches for a safe haven, accompanied by his foster child, Kate—the illegitimate daughter of Edward Plantagenet. But both disease and human enemies pursue them, and their only hope for survival is a rebel leader... and medical secrets that lie hidden in an ancient manuscript.

Seven hundred years later, Dr. Janie Crowe is searching for the cure for a crippling disease in a world where genetic engineering has gone mad. A repressive government wants to stop her, unnamed benefactors want to help her, and time is running out to find answers linking two dark eras, two dedicated doctors, and one miraculous book....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Readers of Ann Benson's bestselling The Plague Tales will bond immediately with this sequel and its unusual blend of historical romance and futuristic medical thriller. The book begins in 14th-century France--a country ravished by a war with the English, and also suffering from the deadly effects of the plague. A Spanish-Jewish physician named Alejandro Canches searches for a cure; he scribes a medical manuscript along the way.

The Burning Road then moves to a town in Massachusetts in the year 2007, where another Doctor, Janie Crowe is fighting her own battle to cure sickness and disease. She looks to Canches's manuscript, his "Book of Cures," for clues.

Benson skillfully shows us the small details of everyday life and the events that both connect and separate these two doctors as they struggle with medical and personal problems. Canches seems to have isolated the cause of the bubonic plague, but his work is interrupted by battles with French troops and by worries about the safety of his foster daughter Kate (who is the illegitimate daughter of England's King Edward III). Meanwhile, Dr. Crowe is on the verge of a major breakthrough with a terrible genetic disease that afflicts Jewish boys.

The alchemy and magic may not be for every taste, but by linking her two physicians through 600 years of what passes for progress, Benson gives her strange hybrid a uniquely gripping aura. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Boldly conceived as two parallel fictional journeys separated by 650 years and linked by an ancient, mysterious manuscript promising miraculous cures, Benson's sequel to The Plague Tales aims to please historical romance readers as well as futuristic thrill-seekers, but suffers from this risky hybridization. The love story set in the 14th century fares best. While crypto-Jewish physician Alejandro Canches becomes involved in a peasants' revolt in France during the savage Hundred Years' War, his foster daughter Kate, illegitimate child of England's Edward III, falls in love with rebel leader Guillaume Karle. In Benson's less successful alternative tale, a medico-techno-thriller, Janie Crowe is a brilliant neurologist discredited in the aftermath of DR SAM, the incurable staph infection that recently ravaged the world and now, in 2007, is recurring. Crowe seeks a genetic cure for an eerie disease afflicting Jewish boys while juggling romance with two hunky-but-sensitive suitors. Linked to Alejandro by his book of cures, which has recently come into her hands, 40-ish Janie "smirks" and "snickers" at the wisdom found there; her disdain renders the uneasily intertwined plots of mystic healing and medical science implausible. Benson's medieval tale and its colorful characters, like a boyish Geoffrey Chaucer, are far more intriguingly drawn than her watered-down 21st-century cynics. But even the narrative set in ancient times flourishes its own unpersuasive details, such as an impossibly glorified earth-mother pregnancy and inconsistent dialogue. Perhaps these two stories would have been more successful as separate vehicles. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 706 pages
• Publisher: Dell (July 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440225914
• ISBN-13: 978-0440225911
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.4 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Burning Road: a Burning Read!, July 17, 2000

By 

Rebecca Pechefsky (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burning Road (Mass Market Paperback)

While I enjoyed the Plague Tales immensely, I found both the writing and general narrative flow to be a bit smoother in the Burning Road, and the transitions between the two time periods seemed easier to handle. Ms. Benson gives us a convincing portrayal of a time just a few years into the future, similar enough to our own time to be convincing but also new and frightening. There were a few places when I found myself thinking skeptically, "there's no way we'll have that kind of technology in seven years," but I was willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a fascinating story. My one big disappointment in the 14th century story was that with the introduction of Kate as a more important character, we necessarily saw less of Alejandro who, as in the Plague Tales, seems much the most compelling character in the novel. I can certainly understand Janie Crowe's obsession with him. One little caveat: there is a reference to the introduction of printed books almost 100 years before printing actually got started and Ms. Benson has Alejandro using the word incunabula about three hundred years before the first recorded usage. This may seem like a small thing, but it does make you wonder what other historical inaccuracies might have crept in. Still, overall it was a compelling read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Sequel, February 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Burning Road (Hardcover)

Having read The Plague Tales several times, considering it one of the most intriguing books I've read, I couldn't wait for the sequel. I was very disappointed in the results. While the storyline was still intriguing, the plot was confusing. There were details regarding some of the characters that I didn't understand. I found myself rereading passages to see what those were and still couldn't find reference to them. If there is a third book, it would be much more interesting to use just Alejandro's storyline. I think the "future" storyline has just about fizzled out, which was evident about halfway through the book. My recommendation if you must read this book is go to the library and borrow it. Don't waste your money.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Sequel!! When Do We Get Another Installment?!?, February 2, 2002

By 

North Carolina Reader (Burlington, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burning Road (Mass Market Paperback)

What a sequel! I stumbled onto "The Plague Tales" by accident and was immediately hooked by all of the characters, especially Alejandro, who is one of the most genuinely human characters I've encountered in a fictional novel. Throughout "The Plague Tales" he struggles with the conflict between his passion for learning, devotion to medicine and his moral values. I also enjoyed the "future" characters, Dr. Janie Crowe and her assistant/friend Caroline. The only complaint I had was wanting to know more about the future characters, and I got my wish in "Burning Road." In this sequel, we learn about the cause of "The Outbreaks" in the future and follow Janie as she trys to track the cause of a mysterious illness affecting a certain group of young boys, while dealing with her true feelings for her lover Bruce and her attorney/friend Tom. Alejandro is back, with yet more dilemas to work through, and the character Kate, his "adopted" daughter takes on rich, deep dimensions. In both the past and future storylines, we meet new and exciting characters, revisit old characters in greater detail, and of course, encounter new enemies and dangerous situations. In "Burning Road" the novel seems to spend more equal amounts of time between the past and the future. As with "The Plague Tales", Ms. Benson weaves past and present together in an incredibly artful and satisfying manner. This is simply a great novel, but I definitely suggest that for maximum enjoyment, one should read "The Plague Tales" first. Also, be sure to have a copy of "Burning Road" ready, because you won't want to wait to spend more time with these characters! I'd love to read another installment to this story!