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| Plot Summary of Pyro |
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"
Ballantine, August 2004, 24.95, 283 pp.
ISBN 0345462882
Seattle firefighter Neil Wolf lost his life in a fire started by a serial arsonist a pyromaniac who was never caught even though he set several fires. Neal's wife couldn't cope with the loss of her husband and turned to alcohol and men to ease her pain. She took up with Alfred who abused her and her children until the day he knifed her to death several times on the kitchen floor. The two brothers shot him and thirteen year old Neil was sent to prison and Paul was bounced from one relative to another.
Nineteen years later Paul is a lieutenant in the Seattle fire department and a serial arsonist is plaguing the area. What nobody knows is that it is the same arsonist who started the fire that caused Paul's father's death. He was in a Portland jail all those years and now he's back, ready to kill Paul in a fire he set because he saw him having sex with his girlfriend and he wants revenge.
The ultimate cat and mouse game is being played out between a pyromaniac and a man who wants to kill him. The protagonist is a flawed human being who is totally disconnected from other people because he lets this anger overwhelm all other emotions. He knows he is an emotional time bomb waiting to explode but the advent of the PYRO into his life forces him to choose between revenge and redemption. This is a crime thriller that is told from the perspective of the protagonist and the antagonist.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Pyro |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is....
- stalking/killing innocents
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- vigilante getting revenge
Mostly a criminal POV story
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- chasing a bomber/arsonist
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted...
- hunted by killer/stalker
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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