Fireworks [Mass Market Paperback]

James A. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

In the interest of National Security... Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Amendment II A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Their weapons have been seized, their homes have become their prisons, their telephones and radios are no longer functioning. Amendment III No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Collier, Georgia has been taken, stormed by men in dark armor at a time when the town has just suffered its greatest moment of tragedy. As hundreds lay dying or injured, the citizens of Collier and the hundreds of strangers who were only there for the Independence Day fireworks displays, find themselves unable to escape their town, cut off from every possible source of help. The soldiers have taken over the hotels, the high school, everything. The only law in Collier is enforced by the weapons of the invading forces. Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. A small town has become a prison, a place where even the right to live is questioned every hour, every day. Sooner or later, something has to give...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The inhabitants of Collier, Ga., are watching a fireworks display when something falls from the sky that changes their lives forever. Cut off from communication with the world and mourning the loss of dozens of people, the townsfolk summon the courage to face top-secret government forces, alien visitors and the constant threat of imprisonment and death in James A. Moore's (Under the Overtree) Fireworks.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

On the Fourth of July, the town of Collier, GA, changes forever as an unidentified object from space crashes into a nearby lake. This cataclysmic event, however, only heralds the beginning of bigger disasters, as the town's residents are taken hostage by their own government in the interest of national security. This latest novel by the author of Under the Overtree depicts the eerie aftermath of an alien visitation and government occupation in chillingly graphic detail. Not for the squeamish, this belongs in most horror or sf collections.
Copyright 2001 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: 376 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843952474
• ISBN-13: 978-0843952476
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,824,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It came out of the sky, June 24, 2004

By 

Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fireworks (Mass Market Paperback)

What would happen if a Fourth of July celebration was interrupted by the crash landing of a ufo? That's the gist here, but Moore infuses his story with characters that are just too darn good for a Leisure paperback. It's true that there ain't much when it comes to extra terrestrial interaction (to put it mildly) but that's not the point. The fear gradually shifts from the dry docked flying saucer to the government agents given the task of keeping the entire town of Collier, GA quiet. (The media is given a story about a terrorist) Like the best episodes of the X-Files the audience plays ping-pong between the threat of invasion and the threat of shadowy government figures calling the shots. Only here the scenario is expanded to include the terror of martial law. That's pretty scary. It's a literary smack in the head, where logically the issues and priorities are eschewed in order to maintain a semblance of order and the more you read the more plausible a situation like this seems.

This is the second book by this author that I've read and I can honestly say this fellow right here has what it takes to be another King, Koontz, or McCammon-his writing is amazingly similar to those lofty three and just as enduring. The only way we can ever see that happen is a hardcover deal and good press and James Moore is deserving of both. Even Hollywood could potentially make good on this story (but it'd probably get screwed up). Bloody, insightful, with well written characters, and compelling enough to keep those pages a turnin'. Fireworks goes high on the recommendation list. Also check out Under the Overtree.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 'Our Town' Under Siege, July 27, 2003

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fireworks (Mass Market Paperback)

Collier, Georgia is a quiet little town, typical of rural America in composition and attitudes. Although it is populated mostly by plain, simple folk, it still has its share of colorful characters and bad apples. There is, however, very little about the town to distinguish it from its neighbors. At least that is the case until the Fourth of July, when an enormous alien spacecraft crashes in a local lake, vaporizing its contents and killing dozens of locals. That's the day the lives of the citizens of Collier change forever, in ways you might not expect.
This is not a novel of alien conquest, or even of alien contact. Eschewing predictable plot lines, Moore instead poses two simple questions, namely, "How would the federal government react in such a situation?" and, "Given that reaction, how would it affect the lives of the local populace?"

Moore provides a suitably chilling answer to these queries, positing a special branch of the armed forces created to handle just such a task, a grim cadre of soldiers dressed in high-tech body armor, their faces concealed by black visors. Immediately after the crash landing, these soldiers descend on Collier, cutting it off from the rest of the world under the pretext of battling terrorist activity. Their main objective: to secure the apparently inert craft. Their secondary objective: to maintain secrecy, even if it means killing everyone in the town.

This then is the focus of Moore's narrative, as he chronicles the reactions of everyday people to the invasion of their town by their own country. Although at first they are cooperative, the townspeople come to realize that they are in fact prisoners. Their resentment and anger grow by the day, building to a surprising crescendo. Moore populates his book with living, breathing characters, human beings on both sides of the conflict who, despite their fears, are only doing their best to cope with a stressful situation.

Moore is more in control of this narrative than he was of his prior effort, the flawed but highly readable Under the Overtree. The writing here is crisp and clear, the pacing is almost flawless, and, with the exception of the appearance of the spacecraft which triggers these events (its origins and purpose remain a mystery throughout), the subject matter is utterly believable and involving. Moore effectively milks the situation for all it's worth, filling the novel with telling incidents and detail, forcing readers to confront the brutal reality that true horror may lie in something as simple as losing the simple freedoms that Americans take for granted. A twisted combination of Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here and Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Fireworks is a great read, a book that merits your attention.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful SF thriller, May 11, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fireworks (Paperback)

The residents of Collier, Georgia always enjoy the annual Independence Day celebration especially the fireworks. However, this year the fireworks are different as a huge UFO crashes killing or severely injuring approximately twenty-five per cent of the locals.

Top secret elite military cadre ONYX arrives in town to secure the perimeter. No one will enter or leave quarantined Collier. To the surviving townsfolk, the operation looks more like an invasion force, which turns worse as the soldiers obey orders of strict security enforcement. Violence between both sides of Americans break out even while the UFO remains under the waters of the nearby lake. Unless cooler heads prevail, further tragedy seems like the only outcome.

FIREWORKS is not an Independence Day or War of the Worlds ET invasion tale though the alien craft crash serves as the catalyst to the theme of how will the Feds react to a UFO and how will locals react to the heavy handed Feds' response that "incarcerates" them? Instead the novel feels more like the Hoffman thriller Outbreak though the impetus varies. Though why the UFO was flying over earth is never revealed (sequel perhaps) the action is loaded, but James A. Moore forces his audience to ponder what seems like believable actions and reactions of real people, soldier and resident alike.

Harriet Klausner