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Red Helmet
Song Hawkins is a beautiful, tough, but lonely New York City businesswoman who thinks she's met the man of her dreams in Cable Jordan, the superintendent of a West Virginia coal mine. But soon after they impulsively marry, Song realizes they're in big trouble. She can't imagine life outside of New York, and Cable has no intention of leaving his beloved town of Highcoal.
Song's visit to the little mining community only makes things worse. It looks like the marriage is over. But in a shocking turn of events, Song realizes it's up to her to put on the red helmet of the new coal miner and descend into the deep darkness. There she faces her greatest challenge with choices and courage that will forever impact the life of Cable and the entire town.
Song's visit to the little mining community only makes things worse. It looks like the marriage is over. But in a shocking turn of events, Song realizes it's up to her to put on the red helmet of the new coal miner and descend into the deep darkness. There she faces her greatest challenge with choices and courage that will forever impact the life of Cable and the entire town.
341 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
15 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Homer Hickam
28 books670 followersHomer Hickam (also known as Homer H. Hickam, Jr.) is the author of many best-sellers including his latest, Don't Blow Yourself Up. An eclectic writer, he wrote the "Coalwood Series," which includes the # 1 New York Times best-selling memoir Rocket Boys, (made into the ever-popular movie October Sky) the World War II-era "Josh Thurlow" series, the juvenile sci-fi "Crater" series, the adult thriller The Dinosaur Hunter, the romantic Red Helmet, and many others. Among his many writing awards are the University of Alabama's Clarence Cason Award and the Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award plus an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Marshall University. For more information on Mr. Hickam and his books and cats and everything else, please go to http://www.homerhickam.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
March 25, 2017
I related to this book which captured my interest in a number of ways. First, I was born in a small coal mining town in Eastern Pennsylvania, after bigger and better things I returned to this backward little minded town with a NYC wife who happened to be of Latin decent. I experienced first hand the prejudices, differences, of a small minded town who's biggest venture was probably a 2 hour trip to Atlantic City.
The book depicted many ways of "coal-crackers" who to someone from NYC or any other big city, were one step above cavemen. Set in their ways. There was a clean sort of romantic interlude which added to the story. With consideration to the above is why perhaps I gave the book a 4-star rating. And there were some interesting facts about coal mining, the people, the town(s), their ways and differences of a majority of immigrants.
The book depicted many ways of "coal-crackers" who to someone from NYC or any other big city, were one step above cavemen. Set in their ways. There was a clean sort of romantic interlude which added to the story. With consideration to the above is why perhaps I gave the book a 4-star rating. And there were some interesting facts about coal mining, the people, the town(s), their ways and differences of a majority of immigrants.
July 14, 2025
It was extremely rude of Song to take a business call in the middle of her wedding ceremony. Honestly, I can’t believe Cable continued to go through with the marriage after that, but it did give us an insight into the type of person that the main character was right at the beginning of the book.
Cable was an interesting character. Song would describe him as a gentleman; opening doors for women, standing when a woman entered the room, etc. But then he’d do things like trying to force Song to move to West Virginia with him after their shotgun wedding, even after she told him she loved life back in the city. They never even talked about kids beforehand. There was a lot of stuff they should have discussed before jumping into this. Still, watching Song (a New York City business woman) try to get her bearings in the small coal mining town was hilarious to watch.
After all the complaining Song did about living in the small and rundown town, I’m quite impressed with how well she did when working in the mine. When that woman puts her mind to something, she can be one tough woman.
Cable was an interesting character. Song would describe him as a gentleman; opening doors for women, standing when a woman entered the room, etc. But then he’d do things like trying to force Song to move to West Virginia with him after their shotgun wedding, even after she told him she loved life back in the city. They never even talked about kids beforehand. There was a lot of stuff they should have discussed before jumping into this. Still, watching Song (a New York City business woman) try to get her bearings in the small coal mining town was hilarious to watch.
After all the complaining Song did about living in the small and rundown town, I’m quite impressed with how well she did when working in the mine. When that woman puts her mind to something, she can be one tough woman.
September 3, 2012
I saw this book in a store in my recent vacation in West Virginia and was looking forward to it -- a story set in a modern West Virginia coal mining town. I'd read about historic coal mining and was curious what it's like today. Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of the worst books I've encountered in a long time, to the point that I wonder how and why it was published, especially by a well-regarded author. The premise of the story is that a coal mining superintendent meets and has a whirlwind romance with a wealthy and powerful New York City business woman, and obviously they have some cultural conflicts re: West Virginia v. NYC. I still think this is a premise that could have gone somewhere, but in this book it was so over the top absurd and poorly executed that several times I threw the book across the room. I don't believe adults -- intelligent people who have achieved a lot in their careers and presumably have had some life experiences along the way -- would get randomly get married without ever having talked about whether they'd live in small town West Virginia or NYC. But that's what happened here: they have a fight on their honeymoon when they decide to finally talk about this. ??? And that, basically, was my primary problem with this book: the two main characters were so poorly thought-out they didn't seem in any way real. I might as well have been reading about cardboard cutouts.
The New York businesswoman was especially offensive to me because she made no sense at all. She was supposedly beautiful and brilliant, but had the maturity of a 12 year old and I just didn't believe anything about her. This was the worst characterization I've read in years. Very shallow and filled with stereotypes, like a really cheap sit-com or a crappy made-for-TV movie. Even the attempts to give her some backstory and motivations felt false.
I'd read some reviews of this book that claimed that the ending of the book got better, and I agree with that -- the focus turns more to the workings of a modern coal mine, which was why I'd been curious about this book in the first place. The intrigue at the mine that formed the basis for the mine-related plot was okay -- enough to hold my interest and keep me reading -- and I did appreciate the depiction of the various residents of the coal mining town -- but those features couldn't save this book from the terrible first third that focused on the relationship between the two main characters. I'm giving this book two stars instead of one because I was interested in the details of the mining stuff, like the training new miners go through, routine operations, and rescue procedures.
The New York businesswoman was especially offensive to me because she made no sense at all. She was supposedly beautiful and brilliant, but had the maturity of a 12 year old and I just didn't believe anything about her. This was the worst characterization I've read in years. Very shallow and filled with stereotypes, like a really cheap sit-com or a crappy made-for-TV movie. Even the attempts to give her some backstory and motivations felt false.
I'd read some reviews of this book that claimed that the ending of the book got better, and I agree with that -- the focus turns more to the workings of a modern coal mine, which was why I'd been curious about this book in the first place. The intrigue at the mine that formed the basis for the mine-related plot was okay -- enough to hold my interest and keep me reading -- and I did appreciate the depiction of the various residents of the coal mining town -- but those features couldn't save this book from the terrible first third that focused on the relationship between the two main characters. I'm giving this book two stars instead of one because I was interested in the details of the mining stuff, like the training new miners go through, routine operations, and rescue procedures.
February 5, 2017
If you like stores about woman to push the boundaries set for them by society / custom, I recommend:
Red Helmet
by Homer Hickham. Hickham grew up in the coal fields of West Virginia. Although he went away and learned rocket science, he has become the unofficial author in residence for the state of WV. His books about the war (WWII) in the South Pacific, Alaska and the East Coast from the eyes of a Coast Guard officer, are all excellent, albeit with a male MC.
I have read Red Helmet three times just to savor again the story of Song, a tough Asian-American woman who, as her father's right hand woman, "fixes" troubled companies he has purchased.
She, a New Yorker, meets and (too) quickly marries the manager of a WV coal mine. Neither wants to move. Through a chain of circumstances, she assigns herself the task of going to WV and learning to be a coal miner ... in order to find out why the mine is under-producing. Her almost-ex-by-this-time is about to be fired.
It is the details of how to mine coal, details that reek of authenticity, and which are mixed with the stubborn will of Song to master a man's trade, that sing. She is definitely a woman of agency. And action.
If you don't relish the first part (their brief trip to an altar), or the 2nd quarter of the book - why they need to sign divorce papers - skip lightly through them, but pause on the descriptions of the supporting cast as you do. You will want to know about those characters for the second half of the book, Song's effort to earn her Red Helmet as a newbie miner. By the way, there is a mystery to solve, a mystery with a killer.
Red Helmet
by Homer Hickham. Hickham grew up in the coal fields of West Virginia. Although he went away and learned rocket science, he has become the unofficial author in residence for the state of WV. His books about the war (WWII) in the South Pacific, Alaska and the East Coast from the eyes of a Coast Guard officer, are all excellent, albeit with a male MC.I have read Red Helmet three times just to savor again the story of Song, a tough Asian-American woman who, as her father's right hand woman, "fixes" troubled companies he has purchased.
She, a New Yorker, meets and (too) quickly marries the manager of a WV coal mine. Neither wants to move. Through a chain of circumstances, she assigns herself the task of going to WV and learning to be a coal miner ... in order to find out why the mine is under-producing. Her almost-ex-by-this-time is about to be fired.
It is the details of how to mine coal, details that reek of authenticity, and which are mixed with the stubborn will of Song to master a man's trade, that sing. She is definitely a woman of agency. And action.
If you don't relish the first part (their brief trip to an altar), or the 2nd quarter of the book - why they need to sign divorce papers - skip lightly through them, but pause on the descriptions of the supporting cast as you do. You will want to know about those characters for the second half of the book, Song's effort to earn her Red Helmet as a newbie miner. By the way, there is a mystery to solve, a mystery with a killer.
October 19, 2016
Homesick
Loved it made homesick for West Virginia and the little town i lived in Thurmond down on the New river.
Loved it made homesick for West Virginia and the little town i lived in Thurmond down on the New river.
January 13, 2019
I read quite a lot of fiction, most I like, but once in a while there's a story that I love. Red Helmet is one of them.
I grew up in an area where strip mines were an eyesore. Hills were scraped away to get at coal.
For much of the time when the coal ran out, the mess was left just as it was. (Later the government required the land to be put back as close to the way it was originally.)
I chose the book because I had read a book by Hickam years ago and had really enjoyed it. This story is about the coal miners of West Virginia who work far underground. Not only does it follow the miners, but it is also the story of a New York girl and a West Virginia coal miner. it also explains and describes much of the work the miners do.
I was surprised to learn that the miners generally like their work. It is not an easy way to earn a living. Even when things go badly, they are ready to work the next day. The story is interesting, sometimes funny, and sometimes sad. Many times it was difficult to put down. A very good read.
I grew up in an area where strip mines were an eyesore. Hills were scraped away to get at coal.
For much of the time when the coal ran out, the mess was left just as it was. (Later the government required the land to be put back as close to the way it was originally.)
I chose the book because I had read a book by Hickam years ago and had really enjoyed it. This story is about the coal miners of West Virginia who work far underground. Not only does it follow the miners, but it is also the story of a New York girl and a West Virginia coal miner. it also explains and describes much of the work the miners do.
I was surprised to learn that the miners generally like their work. It is not an easy way to earn a living. Even when things go badly, they are ready to work the next day. The story is interesting, sometimes funny, and sometimes sad. Many times it was difficult to put down. A very good read.
August 26, 2012
I loved this book! I think it would be a good book club book.
September 14, 2021
This is my second reading, first listen, to Red Helmet. The author is considered a treasure of West Virginia because of his gritty, yet loving stories about the people and communities who mine coal.
Spoiler below.
At the heart, pun intended, are a rich New York financier, Song, and the WV mine superintendent, who marry without knowing each other at all. She wants to bring her man to NY; he lives and breathes coal and his hometown. Not a likely recipe for marital harmony.
What i loved at first read is what happens when Song takes the training course to become a miner and begins work / train underground. Author Hickam knows mining; Song lets us learn with her. Her size and lack of bulky muscles are ... an obstacle.
The narration reveals more grit in the failing marriage than I remembered.
Second listen found more need to put aside how far from likely the evolution, the 'progress', of the relationship is. And the amazing agency it takes Song to keep going mining. There were a few plotting holes i didn't recognize before.
Narration added to this reader's experience.
Spoiler below.
At the heart, pun intended, are a rich New York financier, Song, and the WV mine superintendent, who marry without knowing each other at all. She wants to bring her man to NY; he lives and breathes coal and his hometown. Not a likely recipe for marital harmony.
What i loved at first read is what happens when Song takes the training course to become a miner and begins work / train underground. Author Hickam knows mining; Song lets us learn with her. Her size and lack of bulky muscles are ... an obstacle.
The narration reveals more grit in the failing marriage than I remembered.
Second listen found more need to put aside how far from likely the evolution, the 'progress', of the relationship is. And the amazing agency it takes Song to keep going mining. There were a few plotting holes i didn't recognize before.
Narration added to this reader's experience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2019
After living in WV for almost 5 years, reading about coal mining in WV was interesting. Seeing the Sago Mine event mentioned in the book made lots of things real....especially since I have been to the Sago Mine and seen the memorial monument.
August 21, 2018
Again, I love reading books set in places I've lived. This is a 100% WV story with a huge nod to the 2006 Sago mine disaster that was oh, so close to Buckhannon, where I lived at the time. Homer Hickam rocks. A deviation from his amazing "Rocket Boys", it's a great story. Lots of WV, coal mining, and a little bit of love story (not too much.) The audio book ends with Homer Hickam delivering comments at the Sago Memorial Service in Wesley Chapel, WV Wesleyan College. I had something to do with that event, so it warmed my heart to hear the recording of it.
July 16, 2011
I read this book because when I picked it up at the library and read the blurb--"Her helmet says she's clueless about coal mining. She knows even less about love."--I thought that surely it had to be a joke. Turns out it's not.
The novel is set in the hills of West Virginia and deals with the romantic entanglements of a tough-as-nails New York businesswoman and a ruggedly handsome mine superintendent. It's a fairly implausible premise, unless it's for a dime-store romance novel, but I don't think it's completely hopeless. I just think that Hickam never managed to make it work. A huge problem is the main character, Song, who for the first part of the novel is completely and gratingly horrible--she shrieks (the author's own word) at someone for dirtying her expensive blouse, she tells a neighbor who has just driven several miles up a mountain to bring her dinner that she doesn't want it because it's fattening--and then suddenly decides to become a coal miner and falls in love with small-town West Virginia life. I never felt like Hickam had enough of a grasp on her character to make me believe in her transformation or care about her character. The love interest, Cable, doesn't have much of a character either, but at least you like him most of the time. And a number of the events that occur are thoroughly improbable; if I'd had to sit through one more moment of Song announcing that she had killed the villain, only to have him pop up a few pages later YET AGAIN, I was going to give up on the book entirely.
The saving grace of the book is the second part, which discusses in depth the work that coal miners do and what life is like in a small mining town. It's an occupation and way of life about which I knew nothing, and Hickam managed to dispense details without sounding like an encyclopedia. If only the rest of the book had fared as well.
The novel is set in the hills of West Virginia and deals with the romantic entanglements of a tough-as-nails New York businesswoman and a ruggedly handsome mine superintendent. It's a fairly implausible premise, unless it's for a dime-store romance novel, but I don't think it's completely hopeless. I just think that Hickam never managed to make it work. A huge problem is the main character, Song, who for the first part of the novel is completely and gratingly horrible--she shrieks (the author's own word) at someone for dirtying her expensive blouse, she tells a neighbor who has just driven several miles up a mountain to bring her dinner that she doesn't want it because it's fattening--and then suddenly decides to become a coal miner and falls in love with small-town West Virginia life. I never felt like Hickam had enough of a grasp on her character to make me believe in her transformation or care about her character. The love interest, Cable, doesn't have much of a character either, but at least you like him most of the time. And a number of the events that occur are thoroughly improbable; if I'd had to sit through one more moment of Song announcing that she had killed the villain, only to have him pop up a few pages later YET AGAIN, I was going to give up on the book entirely.
The saving grace of the book is the second part, which discusses in depth the work that coal miners do and what life is like in a small mining town. It's an occupation and way of life about which I knew nothing, and Hickam managed to dispense details without sounding like an encyclopedia. If only the rest of the book had fared as well.
September 19, 2010
This is an excellent book! I had it sitting on my "to-be-read" shelf for more than a year before I finally began reading it. Once I started, I couldn't put it down, and in fact read it in one sitting!
Hickman does a superb job pulling the reader right into the thick of things. His characters are so well crafted, you want to meet them!
Hickman's knowledge of mining and the plight of the miner seals the deal, making this a book of a collaborative effort of both fact and fiction.
Song--the heroine--is a very driven individual who's certain she'll never have the type of marriage she desires with her husband--Cable. They're from two different worlds. Hers is one of high finance and business dealings. His is one of mining and the hills of West Virginia. They try keeping homes in two states, but life--and business--get in the way. Neither's willing to give a little in order to gain a lot until Song's father buys the company that owns the mine where Cable is the boss.
Song retreats to West Virginia at her father's request. Her job? To figure out why the mine is not meeting quota and to fix it or fire her husband. Song becomes a red cap, a miner in training. Her first day under ground just about kills her, but she's one very determined woman. Despite the work conditions, the atrocious behavior of some of her male co-workers, and the fact her husband's spending time with the hot female governor, Song finds the answers she's there to discover.
An explosion inside the mine traps Song and Cable underground with a killer. Taut writing, vivid imagery, and fact commingled with fiction provide for an unforgettable read!
Hickman does a superb job pulling the reader right into the thick of things. His characters are so well crafted, you want to meet them!
Hickman's knowledge of mining and the plight of the miner seals the deal, making this a book of a collaborative effort of both fact and fiction.
Song--the heroine--is a very driven individual who's certain she'll never have the type of marriage she desires with her husband--Cable. They're from two different worlds. Hers is one of high finance and business dealings. His is one of mining and the hills of West Virginia. They try keeping homes in two states, but life--and business--get in the way. Neither's willing to give a little in order to gain a lot until Song's father buys the company that owns the mine where Cable is the boss.
Song retreats to West Virginia at her father's request. Her job? To figure out why the mine is not meeting quota and to fix it or fire her husband. Song becomes a red cap, a miner in training. Her first day under ground just about kills her, but she's one very determined woman. Despite the work conditions, the atrocious behavior of some of her male co-workers, and the fact her husband's spending time with the hot female governor, Song finds the answers she's there to discover.
An explosion inside the mine traps Song and Cable underground with a killer. Taut writing, vivid imagery, and fact commingled with fiction provide for an unforgettable read!
November 12, 2008
Song Hawkins is a beautiful, tough, but lonely New York City businesswoman who thinks she's met the man of her dreams in Cable Jordan, the superintendent of a West Virginia coal mine. But soon after they impulsively marry, Song realizes they're in big trouble. She can't imagine life outside of New York, and Cable has no intention of leaving his beloved town of Highcoal.
Song's visit to the little mining community only makes things worse. It looks like the marriage is over. But in a shocking turn of events, Song realizes it's up to her to put on the red helmet of the new coal miner and descend into the deep darkness. There she faces her greatest challenge with choices and courage that will forever impact the life of Cable and the entire town.
Song's visit to the little mining community only makes things worse. It looks like the marriage is over. But in a shocking turn of events, Song realizes it's up to her to put on the red helmet of the new coal miner and descend into the deep darkness. There she faces her greatest challenge with choices and courage that will forever impact the life of Cable and the entire town.
January 13, 2010
I loved this book. I usually read mystery/suspense books, but the reviews on this book were very good and my dad and husband work in the coal mines so I bought it. I think that anyone who has a husband or family member who works in the coal mines should read this. I didn't realize what my husband goes through everyday when he leaves the house to go to work, but reading this book made me realize how hard he works to take care of us and that when he leaves for work each day there is a possibility that he may not come home. I can't imagine going down into a mine let alone going there everyday and working for 9 to 15 hours. On top of that he drives over an hour to and from work. I thought it was rough when I worked 8 years at an insurance office!!!
May 4, 2014
This book was supposed to be Christian fiction, but...it had were at least six outright profanities and some rather bawdy references to sex. Even beyond that, the character of Song was just not all that likable. Like many fictional protagonists, she realizes the error of her ways by the book's end, but it's not all that believable; she goes from being strong-willed to a complete pushover for her husband. Even the opening sequence--a woman answering a business call at her wedding--is just plain ridiculous. I know that Mr. Hickam can do better than this; not too long ago, I read a sci-fi adventure of his that was great, rollicking fun. Unless you have a strange penchant for literature about mining, I can't recommend this one.
November 6, 2014
This is sooo fantastic book, I repeated it more than twice. This is so entertaining. I will assured you that you will enjoy this.
December 1, 2023
Woooooow. What can I say? I’ve been wanting to pick up this one for years and I did out of a whim that I would be in the mood for and “easy read”. Boy was I wrong. This novel was packed full of sweet romance, humor, knowledge, and action. I found myself anxious to go to sleep just so I could continue on with the novel the next day! Each character is fleshed out and West Virginia was portrayed in a funny but honest depiction. I loved where Homer really dedicated this novel to the West Virginia coalminer. I found myself connecting to this story in more ways than one- because I grew up in a small town with a family history of coal miner men. Several times in the book my mind flashed to my father- especially when one of the main protagonists only had two hours of sleep and continued into the mine the next day.
I was very intrigued and so happy with the romantic relationship in this novel. I found myself rooting for them as I’m sure everyone will. The novel has many twists and turns (including murder) that kept me invested from the beginning to the end.
Surprisingly, I give this novel a 10/10 red helmets. Though I know many will disagree with me, I loved this novel and know I will think of it often. I especially recommended it to my fellow West Virginians and those wanting to learn about us. It really brought out a connection to our heritage.
Trigger Warnings: Murder, Depictions of explosions, mentions of suicide, drug use, death, mentions of firearms, depictions of suffocation, depictions of explosions.
November 13, 2017
This is the first novel by Homer Hickam I've ever read. It's clear he is passionate about his home state of West Virginia and coal mining. For this, I commend him. My mother was born and raised in WV, and I've been there many times. It is every bit as wild and wonderful as claimed to be. With that being said, I have never read a novel quite so saccharine, cliched, and predictable. I'm not a feminist, and even I thought the story was sexist. The portions about coal mining were actually quite good, obviously well-researched and experienced. The story in between those portions, well, Mr. Hickam should stick to writing the technical stuff.
January 30, 2017
The idea to write a book about mining was great, but this book is a romantic novel, so totally predictable, that even young teenagers would not have the patience to finish it.
I had forced myself to finish it, just to make sure that my first impression was accurate.
The characters are, to some extent, interesting if you could add some "spice" into them. I like the miners' personalities, with their no nonsense attitude.
Overall, not worth to spend time trying to like this novel.
I had forced myself to finish it, just to make sure that my first impression was accurate.
The characters are, to some extent, interesting if you could add some "spice" into them. I like the miners' personalities, with their no nonsense attitude.
Overall, not worth to spend time trying to like this novel.
February 27, 2020
This was my second reading of this book. I first read it when it was new, and enough time has passed to allow me to feel it's new again. Homer Hickam is one of my favorite authors, and this story is one more example of how he allows the reader to feel as though we're in there among the characters.
I was listening to the audio version this time, and as it happened, I finished the book as I was driving through small West Virginia towns. Serendipitous.
I was listening to the audio version this time, and as it happened, I finished the book as I was driving through small West Virginia towns. Serendipitous.
December 20, 2022
This is a 4.5 starred book, just missing a 5-star review. This is a story about a love affair between a high-powered New York businesswoman and a coal mining director. There are many humorous situations throughout. Highly recommended.
February 16, 2025
Just a little bit of heat on the first page with a touch of mystery and romance. As Song gets married in Vegas to her coal miner husband can she live in a small town instead of the big city? In this fiction and non-fiction book Highly highly recommend.
March 28, 2018
Great read!
September 6, 2019
Interesting information about coal mines and the people who work them. The romance was a little shallow, but I would probably try another book by this author.
February 4, 2020
Excellent book! Thoroughly enjoyed it!
February 13, 2020
Just. No. It was so bad I made my sister read it just so I wouldn't be alone. She was mad at me for that one.
Read
November 17, 2020I liked it. Not your everyday 'my best friend's wedding' story.
February 28, 2021
Didn't finish. Maybe didn't give it enough time but just wasn't going anywhere I wanted to go.
February 1, 2022
a fun little book about coal mining and the dangers of such. Two intellegent people meet, fall in love and have the struggles of newly wed life, with also the problems of their careers. I liked it.
September 9, 2022
Second time reading this. Got more out of it this time. Well written with lots of visuals.
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