The Smoke Jumper [Mass Market Paperback]

Nicholas Evans (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 30, 2002

In a searing novel of love and loyalty, guilt and honor, the acclaimed author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Horse Whisperer gives his millions of readers another hero...

The Smoke Jumper

His name is Connor Ford and he falls like an angel of mercy from the sky, braving the flames to save the woman he loves but knows he cannot have. For Julia Bishop is the partner of his best friend and fellow “smoke jumper,” Ed Tully. Julia loves them both--until a fiery tragedy on Montana’s Snake Mountain forces her to choose between them, and burns a brand on all their hearts.

In the wake of the fire, Connor embarks on a harrowing journey to the edge of human experience, traveling the world’s worst wars and disasters to take photographs that find him fame but never happiness. Reckless of a life he no longer wants, again and again he dares death to take him, until another fateful day on another continent, he must walk through fire once more...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

New York born and bred, Julia Bishop has no warning that spending the summer counseling troubled teens in Montana will change her life forever. Happily in love with smoke jumper and musician Ed Tully, she looks forward to spending the summer weekends with him in Missoula and is stunned and disturbed by the instant connection she feels to his best friend, Connor Ford. Connor, a Montana rancher and smoke jumper, loves fighting fires almost as much as he loves photography, and before the summer is barely started, he loves Julia Bishop just as deeply. The bond between the three is strong but the work of a smoke jumper is fraught with danger and the trio soon face death by fire. Survival changes their lives forever and places them on paths that divide Julia, Ed, and Connor just as surely as their individual journeys bind them irrevocably together. The Smoke Jumper is a tale of loyalty and guilt, honor and selfless love, and the human cost of choices made. --Lois Faye Dyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

With fists over their hearts, best friends Connor Ford and Ed Tully shout out "hearts of fire" before parachuting into devastating forest fires to extinguish them. Working side by side in life-threatening circumstances, this unlikely pair (Connor is a Montana cowboy and freelance photographer; Ed is a Chicago musician and would-be playwright) bond through their summer job. Ed's girlfriend, Julia, counsels troubled teens in the Montana wilderness and, though neither one acknowledged it, when Connor and Julia met sparks flew. All three of their lives change irreparably when Julia is trapped in a raging forest fire. Ed becomes blinded during the rescue, and Connor saves Julia. Julia marries Ed out of a sense of responsibility, and a frustrated Connor leaves for years to travel the globe as a war photographer. Although it sounds like an extravagant soap opera, and occasionally feels that way, Evans's (The Horse Whisperer and The Loop) latest novel is about more than just a complicated love triangle. From its opening line, "The important things in life always happen by accident," this is a tale of fate and the search for happiness and self-fulfillment. Conger's strong, clear reading has an edge accentuating the danger of Connor's life, yet at the same time his voice is a source of integrity and calm that anchors the story. Simultaneous release with the Delacorte hardcover.

Copyright 2001 Cahners 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: 576 pages
• Publisher: Dell; Reprint edition (July 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440235162
• ISBN-13: 978-0440235163
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nicholas Evans studied law at Oxford University after serving in Africa with Voluntary Service Overseas. He then worked as a newspaper reporter, TV producer, and screenwriter before writing four bestselling novels. His first book, The Horse Whisperer was made into a movie directed by Robert Redford. He lives in Devon with his wife, singer/songwriter Charlotte Gordon Cumming.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Evans "Jumps" to a New High! August 23, 2001

By cocoproducer

Format:Hardcover

Nicholas Evans' first two books were unique in their drama. His third book The Smoke Jumper has all but established him as one of the best storytellers around. The spine tingling path of three people in this new episode will leave you wanting more. Evans has a wonderful way of painting pictures with his words and places you in the middle. The Smoke Jumper is a must-read for its story of those who dream of more and don't always get it. It's a beautiful rendition of a love story gone awry...

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Meets the Eye August 26, 2001

By Haley Parnham VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Nicholas Evans takes us through a decade of the lives of photographer Connor Ford, musician Ed Tully, and artist Julia Bishop. This is more than a story about a smoke jumper, more than a story about love. This is a story about friendship, spirituality, and courage. It's about abandonment and individuality. It's about sadness and it's about hope. The author is a good storyteller and even though the course of the story is diverse and unusual, he never loses the reader as he goes from one person to the next, from one continent to another, painting pictures of their lives through his words. While Connor is off photographing pictures across the ocean, Julia and Ed are living a quiet, "normal" life in Montana. But each of them is creating a mosaic of his or her life with the pieces that were left scattered behind them as they moved along. Life is a series of events, some connected, some not. Evans tells about the events in the lives of Connor, Ed, & Julia and pulls it all together into something that will stay with you for a long time.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Hot, Warm, Cold...So, So December 18, 2001

By Eric Wilson TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

It was the title that threw me. After the wonderful first 150 pages, the setting changed so drastically that I wondered if I was reading the same book. Perhaps a broader title would've better prepared me. Hey, how can I knock a book that brought me to tears on two occasions? On the other hand, how can I highly recommend a book that makes you plod through the final hundred pages to reach an inevitable conclusion?

Nicholas Evans evokes scenery and natural beauty like few other fiction writers. On top of that, he does a decent job of creating character and dialogue, of capturing the nuances of relationships. With "The Smoke Jumper," Evans takes us into the lives of four interesting people--not all of whom will survive to the end of the tale--and asks us to follow along obediently. For the first third of the story, I was willing to follow. The plot moved quickly, and I actually cared about these characters as they faced personal trauma, forest fires, rock climbing, and outdoor survival. The twists were subtle, yet effective. I was intrigued and would've rated it five stars up to that point.

The next portion was a bit rockier. I, like one of the characters, felt as though I was following blindly. Exhibiting trust in the author's skill? No doubt. Hoping that this journey would lead to unpredictable places? You bet. Although Evans maneuvers through the emotions and difficulties of this section gracefully, I still felt as though I was being set up for the...drum-roll, please...obvious anti-climax.

And I was right. The story moves so far from its original setting and course that I felt I was reading an entirely different novel. "The Smoke Jumper" comes around at the end and delivers, as expected. On the last page, Evans even manages to pull together the horse, wolf, and fire themes of his three books. And that may be the problem: perhaps Evans felt driven to make this book broader, bigger, grander. In my opinion, he should have stuck to one theme. What started out hot, by the end...was not.