Fire Pattern

by Bob Shaw

When Ray Jerome, a crotchety journalist on the Whiteford Examiner, is asked to investigate a case of spontaneous human combustion, his first reation is to ridicule the idea - but he is not able to back out of doing the story.To his own surprise, he becomes fascinated by the phenomenon of people who burn up for no obvious reason. It is a fascination which will make 1996 the most unbelievable year of his life.

Genres: Science Fiction, British Literature, Fiction

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1984

About the author

Bob Shaw was born in Northern Ireland. After working in structural engineering, industrial public relations, and journalism he became a full time science fiction writer in 1975.

Shaw was noted for his originality and wit. He was two-time recipient (in 1979 and 1980) of the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. His short story Light of Other Days was a Hugo Award nominee in 1967, as was his novel The Ragged Astronauts in 1987.

Reviews

[Heitham Hammad · Rating 5 out of 5]

" science fiction is not a bad genre to read. This is the first book I read from Bob Shaw. It has its twist and turns but it sort of explains about one man's journey to Mercury having witnessed someone spentaneously combust into flames and he was in a way being punished by being sent to another planet and then he finally made it home."

[Michael Pryor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, diverting, professional.

[Tex-49 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romanzo piacevole a leggere, la prima parte, che va un po' sul giallo, è interessante, mentre la seconda parte, più fantascientifica, è poco credibile.

[Marco Beneventi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quando Ray Jerome, giornalista del "Whiteford Examiner", uomo pratico e scettico, viene mandato a casa della figlia di un uomo bruciato autonomamente dall'interno a cercare informazioni per un articolo da pubblicare sul giornale, non si sarebbe mai aspettato a quale avventura avrebbe dovuto prendere parte.
Le informazioni, gli indizi e le scoperte lo porteranno ad incrociare la strada che lo indirizzerà ad una missione spaziale diretta su Mercurio.
Quale punto in comune avranno i due avvenimenti?

"Autocombustione umana", scritto nel 1985 da Bob Shaw, si presenta, per struttura e narrazione, più che come un romanzo di fantascienza, una sorta di "giallo scientifico".
Il ritmo della storia, lento e privo di colpi di scena a parte uno anche se abbastanza debole, tenderà a tediare un pó il lettore che non troverà particolare stimolo ad andare avanti nella lettura.
I fatti, nel succedersi, offriranno un racconto lineare e privo di verve che arriverà sino alla fine senza scossoni, il finale infatti non convincerà molto così come alcune scelte sugli accadimenti che parranno un pó forzate.
I pochi personaggi, mal descritti e incapaci di creare empatia con il lettore e la descrizione scarna degli ambienti che il protagonista incontrerà saranno l'ennesimo punto a sfavore di un lavoro che non decolerrà mai.
Un romanzo che pur partendo da un idea interessante, purtroppo non riuscirà ad avere quell'impatto sul lettore che avrebbe invece dovuto avere in relazione al tema trattato.

[Snakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out great. Fast paced and interesting. A mystery about the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion written way back when. However, the mystery lasted about 40 pages then their was an encounter with an alien and an extended info dump. Thereafter the story devolved into the ridiculous and the average.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science fiction with a subtle indulgence of humor. A rather enjoyable read if you prefer unexpected delights. Spent a few nights with this book and enjoyed every minute and every page. My only criticism may be that it seemed a little rushed at times.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Shaw. Not at all what I was expecting and the less said about the plot the better.

[Alien]

(alte Wertung: Menschen fangen aus heiterem Himmel Feuer. Ein weltweiter Komplott stteckt dahinter 2)

[Alessandro Airola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro coraggioso, peccato per avere svelato a inizio libro l'arcano dietro l'autocombustione

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

IT took me a while to find this title - yes I will admit I am a raving bibliophile so when I find an interesting author I try and find their works and all about them. I was lucky to eventually track down a copy of this book (this edition in fact, VG yellow jackets are quite collectable) and I will admit its quite an intriguing book. It takes the phenomenon of Spontaneous Human Combustion and weaves a story around it - as fantastic as the story is its explanation why and who people can for no apparent reason just burst in to flames.
Its done in the same dead pan and rather cynical manner I have grown to recognise as Bob Show's style - but in this case I think it lends itself perfectly to the storyline. The book I will admit is more memorable for the "combustion" part than it is for anything else, even so it is still an interesting read if purely for the reason it tackles a subject I cannot think of any other book approaching (or author for that matter)