A Strong and Sudden Thaw (Paperback)

by R. W. Day (Author)
Key Phrases: claim farmers, Healer Findlay, Mister Zack, Taylor Mills (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A Strong and Sudden Thaw" is a well-told, post-apocalyptic romance with a distinctive narrative voice. Combining a realistic story of small-town struggles, prejudices, and affections against a larger tale of endless winter and hungry dragons, R. W. Day offers readers a heartwarming work of speculative fiction that combines the persecuted love of "Brokeback Mountain" with the charming romance of "Big Eden." -- Dru Pagliassotti, The Harrow, October 2006

(8/10) Wow. An impressive debut novel. Day has created an incredibly detailed and believable world, filled with both sympathetic and loathsome characters. -- Rebecca Buchanan, Sequential Tart, November 2006

This is an excellent novel, however you measure it. It's good science-fiction, it's a good slash/boy's love romance, and a beautiful coming of age story. -- Ann Somerville, Uniquely Pleasurable, October 2006

Product Description
Nearly a hundred years after the Ice changed the face of our world, the people of Moline work to reclaim the frozen land, both from the cold and from the dragons that now live in the hills outside of town--dragons that the government won't believe exist.

David Anderson knows very little of the world outside of his family's farm, until Callan, an assistant healer from the south, arrives in Moline and begins to teach him of a world he never knew, full of books and ideas, and history long forgotten. When Callan is found in the arms of another man--a crime in this post-Ice world--David learns a frightening truth about himself, and the difference between what is legal...and what is right.

After trouble hits the nearby town of Crawford, David and Callan discover the seeds of a plot that affects not only their home, but towns just like Moline across the world. Now they must fight to save their home, not only from the dragons, but from a government that wants them dead!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 331 pages
• Publisher: Iris Print; 1 edition (October 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978753119
• ISBN-13: 978-0978753115
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #621,279 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forbidden love set in the future, August 12, 2007

By	Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

A Strong and Sudden Thaw is set in the future, nearly one hundred years after the ice came in the twenty first century and drastically change people's lives returning them almost to a nineteenth century way of life, but with the memory of the Before, the time before the Ice came. David Anderson is sixteen coming on seventeen years old, the eldest son of a farming family in the town of Moline, Virginia, and on the verge of becoming a man. Life is a struggle against the constant cold and ice, and the added danger of the recent appearance of the fearsome fire breathing dragons.
When David encounters Callan, the new twenty three year old well educated assistant Healer in town, he becomes aware of feelings he has never experienced before, and begins to realise why he has never had any interest in Girls. Callan clearly feels the same way about David and initially a fine friendship develops. But when David stumbles upon Callan in a compromising situation everything falls apart and the town is in uproar. This also brings David to the realisation of what his love for Callan means.
Meanwhile the dragons are wreaking havoc, and Callan stumbles upon something that suggests a more sinister plot is afoot, a plan that would affect the whole town of Moline, a plan that has already affected the nearby town of Crawford; but more immediately this discovery puts both his and David's life in mortal danger.
At the outset of the story David is a sixteen year old lad (who claims to be seventeen, after all he will be in a matter of months) trying to prove himself a man. As the story progresses and he comes to learn so much about himself, and as he boldly tries to stick to the principles his father has taught and at the same time remain loyal to Callan, he proves to be more a man than most. He also comes to recognise the difference between what the law stipulates and what in terms of common sense is right.
This is a truly beautiful story, a love story and a suspense story, set in the future at a time when life is relatively primitive and difficult. I do have one reservation, David's grammar, as the narrator, is clearly meant to convey his meagre education, but there is little apart from the misuse of "was" and "weren't", and the occasional double negative, to convincingly suggest this. A pity for it could otherwise have done so much more portray David as a seventeen year old farm boy. But that is a minor criticism, for it is one of those rare stories that on more than one occasion caused a lump on my throat, so moving is the depth of the love between David and Callan.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful, November 5, 2006

By	S. Hunt "Sailorcelestial" (Bethany, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If I have to be completely honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I'm something of a snob when it comes to my books. While I highly admire Iris Print and the work they're doing in publishing boy's love for the Western world... I have a tendency (unfounded, I know) to think of "professional" and "amateur" publications. I expected this book to be one of the amateur works, written well enough and entertaining, but no more than that.

What I found was an excellent book, written quite well, a book that made me forget it was supposedly an "amateur" work. I got to know these characters so well, especially the narrator, David Anderson. David is someone I'd like to know in real life, I felt for him in all his situations, for him and Callan. I came very close to crying at several points of the book, holding myself back only because I was reading in public. This is very important to me; I want to be moved by what I'm reading, and I hope that my own writing moves others.

In conclusion, I applaud R.W. Day for a well-told story, with characters who are easily known and loved. Thank you.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unputdownable, December 1, 2006

By	S. Culfeather "ravensquill" (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

RW Day's novel is a fantastic read. The characters come alive and the reader is drawn into the cold world following a great freeze. From the first pages I was hooked on this story and the twists and turns which are masterfully woven into a captivating tale kept me enthralled. I carried the book with me everywhere, reading it whenever I could. The "fantasy/romance" tag on the back cover doesn't do this book justice. It is more than a simple story as Day creates situations which force you to confront your own viewpoints and prejudices. I hope there is more to come but this will be a book I will happily read again and again.