An flu-like plague, the Red Death, of apocalyptic proportions descends on Denver and the state of Colorado. This is a story of survival in the face of brutalty, governmental cover-up and public hysteria. It's also a story of love: lost, found and fulfilled. Gripping, exhilarating, terrifying and exciting.
A Spark of Heavenly Fire
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado and a lifelong resident. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book -- character and story driven novels that can't easily be slotted into a genre -- she decided to write her own. More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire are Bertram's first two novels.
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More About the Author
Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book -- character and story driven novels that can't easily be slotted into a genre -- she decided to write her own. Second Wind Publishing liked her style and published four of Bertram's books: Light Bringer, Daughter Am I, More Deaths Than One, and A Spark of Heavenly Fire. Bertram blogs about writing and the writing life at http://ptbertram.wordpress.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mile-High Danger,
By Malcolm R. Campbell "The Sun Singer" (Northeast Georgia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Spark Of Heavenly Fire (Paperback)
At a time when readers are already concerned about the prospect of nuclear, chemical and bio-terrorism, Pat Bertram tells a story that's so plausible, it's easy to wonder if it's already happened somewhere and has been covered up.
In "A Spark of Heavenly Fire," Colorado residents begin dropping dead with little or no warning from a fast-moving, flu-like disease called the "red death." The red comes from the fact that just before they die, the victims of this growing pandemic throw up a lot of blood. It doesn't take long for martial law and a state-wide quarantine to be declared and for an alphabet soup of armed, merciless agencies from FEMA to the U.N. to arrive to make sure nobody tries to get in or out of the state wanders into the wrong place at the wrong time. The dead are carried away and their houses are marked with neon paint. Food and other supplies begin to run out, overcrowded medical facilities can only offer only slight comfort, and lawless gangs threaten the countryside with the same fervor as the troops. The red death appears to have no cure and nobody's safe. Into this hopeless mix of circumstances, we find the mild-mannered clinic worker Kate Cummings, reporter Greg Pullman and other newspaper staff members, a weather girl, a movie star, the police, merchants, the homeless, and the researchers. Each will be tested in numerous ways, each will have a mission to fulfill, and each will learn something important about the qualities of humanity that bring people together for common purposes or send them apart out of greed and fear. The movie star and the weather girl want to run, Kate wants to help others, and Greg wants to find out whether the red death is really a severe influenza strain or an engineered bio-weapon that was either handled improperly or purposefully deployed. As lame as it sounds to say it, this book is a page-turner; it's the kind of story you find yourself reading at 2 a.m. because you couldn't stop yourself from reading just one more chapter. A native if Colorado, Bertram knows the territory, the kinds of facts that give the reader a true sense of place. She also knows how to make an "it-can't-happen-here" disaster story so real, that by the end of the book, the events sound down right probable. And if it happens, what will you do then? There are heroes in the book who make "A Spark of Heavenly Fire" a very compelling story and, should the need arise, who will also serve as very good role models.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read! 5+,
By
This review is from: A Spark Of Heavenly Fire (Paperback)
This is an absolutely amazing book!
I was blown away with her first book that I read, Daughter Am I, but thought I now knew a little about this writer...not so! A Spark of Heavenly Fire...surprising, exciting, realistic, scary, and wonderful all at the same time... OK, here's the basic storyline... Kate Cummings works at a clinic, where she is the first to talk to patients, finding out why they are there and gathering information from them. On a personal level, she has lost a loved one and finding that she is still very much depressed over the loss. One of her methods of getting back on track is jogging. But this day two things happen: a man falls dead in front of her and she meets another interesting man to whom she is attracted. Unfortunately the man who died gushed blood all over Kate, which turns out to be dangerous to Kate since he is only one of the thousands that are dying from what is soon being called the red death! And before very long, the entire state of Colorado is quarantined! Greg Pullman was a reporter for the Denver News and he was also the other jogger on that fateful morning. We soon find that he is practically engaged to be married, but when Greg is supposed to meet her to formally propose, she has left with an actor who has been working in the state. And at that time, two paths are there in the middle of the story... Which one would you take? Jeremy King and Pippi O'Brien, as new lovers, went on the run, trying to escape Colorado. Through their story you will see where some residents had been imprisoned, how those at the stateline would not allow anybody to leave the state, how food was scarce and thieves were on every road, waiting to steal, and kill, if they had to... Kate was older than Greg, knew she couldn't even begin to compete with Pippi in looks, but nevertheless was willing to enjoy Greg's company, especially since both were interested and determined to find out exactly what kind of virus was causing the deaths. As Greg made as many contacts as he could, and conducted research to determine where the virus had begun and who was working with research of this kind, Kate found herself in an entirely different situation. Appalled by the "preparedness" of the government to take over, control the food, and control the people by killing those who were presumed to be causing riots, but were oftentimes just a group of friends having a little bit of fun, she watched as food became scarce, only one restaurant remained open, and the homeless were totally cut off. And then it was determined that it was a chimera, a man-made virus, probably created for biological warfare that was causing the deaths. Just who and how many knew exactly what was happening in Colorado? But another discovery was made--practically all of the regular customers at the one open restaurant had not become ill. And through the "spark of heavenly fire" people started working together to help each other based upon what they had learned... Parts of this book are realistically scary, because readers know that the fear, the lawlessness, the greed and danger of a major epidemic would be very like what the author portrays. In the sad commentary of today's world, where terrorism, biological warfare, and hostage situations are handled by strict interpretation of governmental officials' orders or, worse, ignoring them, what happens when good people are confronted in the midst of such chaos... I loved this book! May more and more Americans find that spark! A must-read recommendation from this reviewer! Book received via Facebook's Reviewers Roundup G. A. Bixler
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Spark of Pure Delight,
By
This review is from: A Spark Of Heavenly Fire (Paperback)
I tried using Google today. I wanted to find the author of some half-remembered books that I enjoyed as a teenager. And amazingly enough I succeeded. It seems even I can successfully ask ill-defined questions of the internet and get a well-defined answer.
The author's name is John Creasy, and I loved all his books, but the ones I was trying to remember were the Dr. Palfrey series. They were among my first "adult" borrowings from the local library when I was a kid. I couldn't believe real grown-ups read the sort of stories I enjoyed, with science gone wild, governments failing to act, and Dr. Palfrey trying to pick up the pieces. The half-memories were inspired by reading Pat Bertram's A Spark of Heavenly Fire, a book that's entirely too much fun for a middle-aged woman like me. How can a "patient representative," of a certain age, be the main character, and how can she be so neat to know that I want to be just like her? But science has gone wild again, the government might even be the enemy, and young Greg, the investigative reporter, is burying despair in investigation while Kate picks up the pieces. Along the way, poor Kate gets thrown up on, frequently, and puts her own life back together while healing the hurts of a world full of assorted strangers, plus Greg. Lots of people die, and Kate and Greg are determined to find out why, while the government quarantines the state, and the rich and famous throw their money around in their efforts to escape. A Spark of Heavenly Fire is a good tale well-told. It's got tons of fascinating information and great characters. It defies convention and the pigeon-holes of genre. And I love it. Thanks Pat. I hope you're writing more.
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