Fires of Eden (1994)

This book just didn't live up to other books I've read by Dan Simmons. ( )

Ever since I read this fun little book, I've always had a special place in my heart for it. I suppose I'd have to chalk this up to my love for Hawaii. The sense of setting in this book is marvelous, and really makes the book -- that, and the entertaining historical Twain tie-in. To be sure, much of the action is on the loopy side, but that didn't detract from the entertainment value. One reviewer's description comparing it to a campy B-horror movie seems about right -- but a *good* campy B-horror movie.

If you like Hawaii and fun horror novels, I'd put this very high on your reading list. Otherwise, you'd probably be better off starting with some of Simmons' other work (Summer of Night, Terror). Also, for most people, this book probably deserves 3 stars, but like I said, it pushed all my buttons. ( )

Multi-millionaire Byron Trumbo is hot to sell his Hawaiian resort, Mauna Pele, to a group of Japanese businessmen whom he has invited to the island. However, the ancient goddess who rules the island has other ideas--including vengeance--and the strange and mysterious events that transpire on the island, in and around the resort--including murder--parallel events that happened years before when Mark Twain visited the island, barely managing to escape with his life. As the business deal nears completion, the prehistoric Hawaiian deities set off a volcano and attack the guests in force.

This is a no-brainer thriller from a master of the genre. Set in Hawaii on the big island, the plot revolves around two interrelated stories at the same point on the island and both dealing with Hawaiian gods and volcanoes, including Pele and all three active volcanoes on the island. In the first story, Eleanor Perry, a single college professor, has come to the new fancy resort on holiday; Cordei Stumpf is the very self-sufficient woman who is the big prize winner from Indiana of a fully paid holiday; Byron Trumbo is the owner of the resort trying desperately to sell it off to his Japanese investors while keeping his ex-wife and two girlfriends far apart from each other. The resort is having a spate of bad events including missing guests (or missing pieces of guests), and the weather is just getting worse. The second story is told in journal entries kept by Eleanor’s distant Aunt Kidder about her experiences on the island with a young Samuel Clemens, and how they dealt with similar horrors. There’s a lot of action involving a shark, a pig, and a dog, and the story races through to its conclusion. I enjoyed the read, but I like most of Simmons’ work. It’s not world-class literature, but it’s a fun thriller. ( )

Its definitly not bad, I enjoyed it quite a bit, actually. But compared to Simmons other novels, this pales in comparison. If you're a fan, I would recommend it. Cheeky B-Movie-esque. ( )