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A.M. Weald
Author
Unburnt: a speculative firefighter novella
A.M. Weald, author

Adult; Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror; (Market)

After emerging unscathed from the house fire that killed his father, Ed Stoneman had recurring dreams about rescuing himself as a boy, sitting amongst the flames, unburnt. The dream stopped once he became a firefighter, later earning the nickname of “Dodge” by surviving a lethal flashover fire. Dodge embraced his supernatural imperviousness to the heat of fire by going in when no one should, breaking the rules of rescue because he had to, because he could. With the Wyoming steppe becoming increasingly arid and fires igniting every few days, his ‘talent’ is needed now more than ever. On his 50th birthday, Dodge dreams of the boy not on fire for the first time in over 30 years. Chalking it up to stress, he thinks nothing of it. With retirement from active fire duty in his near future, he’s depressed and aimless. Other than firefighting, what purpose does he have? Twice divorced and childless, believing himself to be infertile in exchange for his superpower of unknown origin, he has no one to confide in but his cat, and he daydreams of walking into a wildfire just to see if he’d finally burn. But when he answers an emergency call about a local house fire, renewed purpose greets him in the flames, making him question everything he once believed.
Reviews
Ashleigh

If you're looking for a quick read that filled with nuanced emotions, great character development, and an engaging, heartfelt story-line, I would highly recommend this book. I devoured it in about two hours and I know I will come back to it again and again. A M Weald has such a way with captivating complex emotions so simply; it feels extremely raw and beautiful to read and, although it is a novella, each character is so well developed. I love Dodge and little Miriam so much. Highly recommend!

Derrick Hall

Realistic, gritty, no-holds-barred tale of one man with an ability he doesn't understand.

Well written and relatable, while also rough and difficult in the best way.

J.F. Narnett

It's a grounded super-hero story by the way of Unbreakable, more focused on a complex cast of characters and their struggles to overcome the odds thrown against them. Arthur has taken the time to not glorify the brutality of firefighting, but at the same time shows an accurate and favourable insight into the life of such a dangerous profession. I really felt for Dodge throughout this story, and the mystery that pulled it all together was intriguing and well balanced in a way that made this a real page turner

mdanielmcdowell

I have been following this book from the early days of the Derby and I love it more every time I have read it!

This is a difficult story to file, genre-wise but I would call it... contemporary supernatural (sub-sub)urban fantasy? The setting, a future Wyoming with an accelerated wildfire season, is a most believable character in and of itself--the looming threat of wildfire is the real villain of this tale.

I love Dodge so much, he's a wonderful character--a gruff last-day-on-the-force firefighter with a heart of gold and a big secret that has weighed on him his whole life. It's helped him--and held him back from his closest relationships.

It's a fast-reading novella with a ton of heart.

T. Lalli

This story hit me in a special way. I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did, and that is truly a compliment. I expected to read some story about some firefighter. Instead, I read a heartfelt story about Dodge, a well-rounded character who is surprisingly sweet. He reminds me of those big burly guys at bars who look like they would beat you up but really would go out of their way to rescue a lost butterfly.

It’s heartwarming and sweet and genuinely wonderful. I will read this again and again!

Traceway Computer

A real, grounded tale of a man with abilities he doesn't understand that is heartwarming but also shows a very real struggle.

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