Customer Reviews

Wet Desert, a Novel

5 star:		(159)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Wet Desert. It is rare for a book to generate such a compulsion for me to turn the pages. I felt as if I was being pulled through the book. It's fast-paced, intelligent, thought-provoking, cohesive, and entertaining. Wet Desert not only met those criteria, it takes a place among my favorite books, in company with others from Clancy, Crichton, Grisham, and Cussler.

I liked the fact that it was technical enough to lend credibility, but not so much as to be tedious. Characters are well-defined and remain believable and consistent throughout the story. The book presents some thought-provoking issues and offers fascinating facts and insights, but for the most part allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. Specifically, the novel provides interesting historical details about the Colorado River, the Glen Canyon and Hoover dams, Lake Powell, and the Colorado River Delta. I found it so intriguing that I did further research, starting with Wikipedia. (In fact, you might want to refresh your knowledge of the Colorado River before you read.) Most importantly, I couldn't wait to set aside time to read Wet Desert and looked forward to turning each page from beginning to end.

Wet Desert is about... the desert in the West getting wet.

Go figure.

But author Gary Hansen, writing like a Tom Clancy clone, has written a surprisingly engaging first novel. A mystery man blows up Glen Canyon Dam, and the contents of Lake Powell disappear down the Colorado River. A mid-level Bureau of Reclamation employee is the only person around when this happens, and he realizes that the reservoir behind mighty Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, will not hold an extra 8 trillion gallons of water.

If that water flows over Hoover Dam, the dam will fail, along with every dam below it.

These are the stories of people who live, work, and recreate in or around the river. What happens when you are boating and the water starts dropping in Lake Powell? What happens when you are rafting the Grand Canyon and the water rises? What happens when it is your responsibility to control floodwaters? And what happens when the "freeing"of Glen Canyon is not the real reason for blowing the dam?

When I picked this book up in the Salt Lake City International Airport's bookstore (and surrounded by books on Joseph Smith and LDS living), I have to admit that I expected it to be the "Mormon literature" style: those who believe in God (or pray like they do) and are good, live. Everyone else is on their own. Wet Desert was not this style. I think prayers were mentioned twice, and life-or-death situations sometimes bring prayers to unexpected places! "He looked up at the sky. Was there a god? He had always believed it, but now he wondered. If there was a god, would he help? David wasn't sure. But there was one thing for sure; it didn't hurt to ask" (p. 165).

A memorable quote: "'He's the only one of you that's ever tried to sneak up on a bad guy, and that was a million beers ago'" (p. 326).

Finally, the book, for the most part, avoids the politics of water conservation in the West, with this exception:

"Grant locked eyes with the FBI agent. 'It makes perfect sense if you're an environmentalist, if you've spent years demonstrating for Green Peace [sic], or the Sierra Club, or the Glen Canyon Institute. If you fought to elect liberals like Clinton and Gore, but were forced to watch when even they gave the environment lip service, establishing a couple monuments, but avoiding the real issues, the issues that might offend the farmers who receive subsidized river water, or the populations of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, who plant palm trees in an environment more suited for scorpions or rattlesnakes. If you dedicated your life to restoring the Colorado River and one of the most amazing deltas in the world, but deep down you knew that nothing you'd done, or ever would do, would even matter'" (p. 323).

Sounds like Ed Abbey!

This was a good thriller that revolves around cubic feet/seconds, dam construction, water use in the Western US, and BuRec politics.

A fantastic plot and well written novel - the only clangers come when you hit the badly edited sentences. An editor - or an author - who can't distinguish between they're and their - has a serious problem. If the publisher let the software do all the editing, they are lazy and sloppy. There's a few other grammatical boners spiced through this marvelous book.

Despite these speed bumps, the character Grant Stevens is a forthright and interesting man who knows that no decisions are worse than bad decisions when it comes to handling the domino effect of a destroyed dam. The Bureau of Reclamation is now an administrative division with few projects underway, and the glory days are long gone, including the hands-on engineers who built these projects on the Colorado. When a saboteur starts his destructive career at Glen Canyon Dam, Stevens is the only upper-level Bureau man on hand, and he's got to start making the choices that may destroy his career as well as billions in property and thousands of lives.

Stevens would be an excellent series character. I'm sure Mr. Hansen is already working on book two, or already has it at the publisher. Please check it carefully! I can't wait to read it!

This novel, which was a finalist in The Whitney's this March, well earned that recognition, as this novel hits with a resounding bang!!! The action is non stopping and it comes to a loud climax. The story begins with a twisted environmentalist, bombing several of the dams along the Colorado River, attempting to restore the Colorado River. It takes Grant Stevens, a mid-level manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, to try and stay one step ahead of the bomber and attempt to find out why he is doing this. This is a great book for learning about the Colorado River, about the intricacies of dams and the damage and destruction that the River does by being unleashed. We see how ineffective beaucracy can be in situations like this. We see the heroes who step up to the plate to save lives and see how everyday people handle these grave situations. If you want a roller-coaster ride down the Colorado River down to the Mexican border, you'll love this thrilling page turner. I highly recommend this fascinating novel to everyone.

At first I was not going to order this book because it's a story about dams and environmentalist, and the synopsis sounded like a rather standard formula. Even when I first starting reading the book, I didn't expect much. Then wow, once Mr. Hansen started to weave his characters, I was hooked. His description of the fisherman's drowning in the waders was chilling. He placed me right there and I felt it. The intensity of the narration increased at about the same rate as the raging river. I was there, totally. It is hard to imagine a first time author with the descriptive talent to maintain that level throughout the book. Even during the concluding chapters when you know how it's going to end, his description of the two men looking into each others eyes was absolutely brilliant.

Awesome book. Not only did learn a lot about how rivers and dams are managed, I enjoyed the storyline as told from Grant's perspective. It had a realistic feel to it, which is extremely important given that the content was all about real situations and places.

Three quarters of the way through it was a five star book despite the need for some minor editing work. I'd suggest that it went on a little too long before arcing to a conclusion. I was also put off by the jarring political sentiments that appeared out of nowhere near the end. The book would be better without rants.

As I said to begin with -- awesome book.

This book was amazing! The research that went into its writing is incredible and the author does an outstanding job of making it all totally understandable and believable. A fast-paced read that keeps you turning the pages from beginning to end. This book is a 'stay in your robe curled up on the couch one day read' kind of book. I loved it!

A civil engineer as the main character in a suspense novel? It works and works very well! Great, plausible story, wonderful characters and great action keep the pages turning fast. An excellent first effort - I hope the author becomes inspired to write again. Put me first in line if he does!

This is such a good story, well written and wrapped up in the end. Living out west and having visited these places really made it all the more believeable. I could just picture the whole thing. Hope Gary Hansen will find lots of other stories to do in the future. Some one commented on typos etc., I was just reading so fast if there were any I missed them and who would really care.

I bought this book along with many others when I first bought my Kindle. It languished in my TBR list until my father whose Kindle is on my account read it over Christmas. His glowing praises had me searching out the book and I finally read it. Thanks Dad.

Great story! Once I'd started I couldn't stop. I enjoyed the pacing of the story, the descriptions of the water and its effects at high and low levels and felt for the characters that were affected. I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares about the people stranded on the cliffs. I enjoyed the hero's interactions with the bureaucrats.

I've recommended the book to my friends with Kindles.