Beside a Burning Sea

Rating NR Genre fiction Author John Shors Publisher New American Library

John Shors delivers another flawless fiction in his upcoming second book Beside a Burning Sea.  Set during World War II, the USS Benevolence hospital ship gets torpedoed, while the passengers suffer fatal consequences.  Sisters and nurses, Isaballe and Annie, strive to save their patients as the ship is sinking.  Surprisingly, it is no longer the nurses saving lives as an English speaking Japanese patient, Akira, puts his life on the line to get the sisters ashore a deserted island.  

Shors wastes no time getting the action started while developing deep, multifaceted characters that you grow to love and despise.  Among the survivors are members of the crew from the ship, Joshua the captain, Ratu (a stowaway from Fiji), and two of the survivors are linked to the Japanese military.  Shors’ experience living and teaching for years in Japan is evident in the characters’ personalities, culture, and relationships.  Akira is extremely believable in his dialogue as an English speaking Japanese man.  Each character was thoughtfully constructed, and the plot has a dynamic balance of action and relationships harvested on the island.

This is a story that considers the importance of self-examination and how that exploration can open new doors.  The ever-changing relationships on the island include Akira and Annie’s new found bond, Isabelle and her husband Joshua are able to rekindle their marriage, and Ratu and crewmember Jake develop an important father-son connection.  Overall, the action in the beginning and end of the story, in addition to the devious behaviors of one of the characters creates a balance to the love story plots, enough to satisfy a diverse group of readers.

I recommend putting Beside a Burning Sea on your wish list- it comes out September 2, 2008.