Beside a Burning Sea

Beside a Burning Sea is an experience. I can still feel my toes in the sand, the sun scorching my skin, the cloying humidity, bug bites ... John Shors develops the scenes so beautifully you'll slip into them and partake. From the moment I picked up this wonderful book I was amongst the survivors of the sunken Benevolence, a WWII hospital ship. You'll experience a joyful swim with dolphins, first love, Haiku lessons, and much more. There is an undercurrent of anxiety as the survivors search for a hiding place from the inevitable arrival of the Japanese forces and a dawning knowledge that there is a traitor amongst them. If you're looking for an escape, this is the place to go. I'm now very much looking forward to reading Mr. Shors' first book, Beneath a Marble Sky, and his new book due in 2009, In the Footsteps of Dragons. John Shors is an author at the top of my list!

Mr. Shors organizes his beautiful yet suspenseful story into 18 chapter-days, each introduced by a haiku set out on paper with a peaceful floral background. He illustrates how profoundly lives can change when people must work together in a completely new, different, and insecure environment. Again and again his characters exhibit their true character in the cauldron of adversity and stress. Two hospital ship nurses find themselves shipwrecked on a tropical island with an array of survivors. All but one are people of hope and good will. It is fascinating to watch one nurse overcome her fears and find love in an unusual place while the other finds a new beginning with her husband, the ship's captain, another of the survivors. We also see a wonderful relationship develop between a young South Seas boy, a stowaway in search of his father, and a strong midwestern farmer-turned-mechanic who finds he has a father's heart for the young boy. The traitor in their midst is evil to the point of being depraved, and threatens everyone's lives. The book has many heroes, however, including a sensitive and brave Japanese soldier who must overcome his past failures and issues of loyalty to country versus friends. In addition to telling a wonderful story, Mr. Shors explores the effects of war on participants and bystanders, cross-cultural relationships, overcoming of fears, loyalty, and bravery. He uses his knowledge of the Far East to good advantage, and leaves readers with a strong feeling of having "been there" due to his expert word pictures. Through triumph and tragedy, the characters struggle for meaning and for survival. These are 18 days of amazing growth and change everyone.

It is 1942. The hospital ship Benevolence is close to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific when it is hit by a Japanese torpedo and split in two. There are only nine survivors who manage to get to a small island. This small group tries to find food and water in order to survive until help arrives or their lives end. Captain Joshua Collins survives but is distressed by the number who died. He keeps saying "Why Lord did you..let them all die?" He also agonizes over the fact that the ship was clearly marked as a hospital ship and thus a ship to be spared the enemy's wrath. As the survivors learn to find food and shelter on the island friendly relationships develop. A typhoon develops near the island and the survivors must find a cave to shelter them. But in the midst of the survivors is one who intends that they do not survive and is ready to betray them. Beside a Burning Sea is well written. It is lyrical and as I read it I felt that I was cheering the survivors to keep going and survive. I am always amazed at the courage shown by people who served in World War II. This is not to demean the courage of Vietnam and Iraq. Simply that this book is about World War II in the Pacific. The courage showed by not only the military, but nurses, civilians, etc. is awesome.

I enjoyed this book so much I can hardly find the words to describe it. The book has everything, adventure, romance, intrigue, mystery. I hassen to tell you much about the story because it will ruin the flow of the book for you. I will describe a bit about each person and what they bring to the story. I just do not want to ruin any part of the book for you. I didn't read anything about it except the blurb when I made my vine request. Nine people survive the sinking of the Benevolence Mercy Ship that gets torpedoed in WWII. The Navy captin Joshua is a stong man who takes his responsibilities very seriously. A part of him dies with the sinking of his ship and the feelings that he could or should have done more...which of course he had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Isabelle a nurse and wife to Joshua, she is the lead nurse and very skilled. She works so much and truly cares about all of her patients. Annie sister to Isabelle and also a nurse. Annie has been fearful of almost everythig her whole life so this adventure is HUGE for her. Akira the Japanese "prisoner" patient. He is a mild mannered kind soul whom you fall in love with from the first chapter. He writes Haiku and poems. He has seen the worst of war and has some regrets. He knows how to fight but hates to do it. Roger a man filled with anger and deceit.He keeps to himself most of the time and when he does interact he's mean. He still has to bow to the authority of Captian Joshua and he hates it. Nathan is a quiet soul who is helpful to all. Ratu is a child from Fuiji who swam out to the ship and climbed up the anchor chain..a stow away. Ratu contributes much needed survival skills to the group. Jake is a big man, a farmer and he fixes engines. He becomes best mate of Ratu. Scarlet is also a nurse, she pretty much keeps to herself but does some very important tasks for the group. Jake an all around pleasant guy who does what he is told with no arguments. There is a haiku at the start of each of the 18 chapters which is a lot of fun. They blend well with what will happen in the chapter. The 9 people are on a deserted island for 18 days until rescue. The writing is wonderful, it flows so beautifully from page to page you just keep reading. You cannot put the book down. The moments of tenderness that happen between the people are so sweet. The descriptions of the beauty that surround them puts you there. The adventure has you holding your breath and reading late into the night to see what happen next. One person is a traitor whom you will HATE more and more. I highly recommend this book. It was my first John Shors book but I will be getting his other book Beneath a Marble Sky. By the way the title of this book is just perfect. ENJOY!

Beside a Burning Sea is a wonderful love story woven through extraordinary circumstances -- truly almost like traveling back in time. This book takes the reader to the South Pacific during the height of WWII, just as his last novel, Beneath a Marble Sky, took readers on a magical journey of India. Shors has a way of creating compelling stories for today against a backdrop of some pretty concrete moments in history. His books bring an entire period to life, not just characters. I absolutely recommend this one!