THE DIVIDE

by Ray K. Anderson

In this newest Awol hiking-thriller, Karl Bergman, whose trail name is Awol, begins to thru-hike the 3,100-mile-long Continental Divide Trail at the Mexican border. By the time Awol and his dog, Blazer, reach the Colorado Rockies, he has uncovered
information about a terrorist plot. Awol asks his son, a graduate student at UCLA, to give details to old friend, Detective Vincent Sacco. Awol tells his son he doesn’t want to get involved and continues his thru-hike. Awol is beyond annoyed when FBI agent, Diana Santos, finds him on the CDT and asks him to work with her and
infiltrate.

300 pages, Paperback

Published August 18, 2020

About the author

So far, I've hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Long Trail (VT), and parts of the Continental Divide Trail.

I developed an abiding interest in hiking when I began climbing the 67 four-thousand footers in New England. Completed that quest and will now begin hiking the four-thousand footers in the Adirondacks (NY).

I'm a graduate of Wentworth Institute and Boston University.

"THE TRAIL" (thriller) which is my debut novel was released by Turner Publishing in October 2015. "The Trail" is not just another walk in the woods!

The second novel in my Karl "Awol" Bergman hiking-thriller series is "SIERRA," (released in 2016) which takes place along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Book three of the "Awol" series, THE DIVIDE, an eco-terrorist novel, released 8/18/'20.

My next book is Sci-fi. Specifically, a dystopian fantasy - LIFT: The Rise of Mathe-Lingua-Musica. It releases in May of 2024 and concerns the creation of a new optimum language for humanity.

My novels are available in all bookstores.
Thank you, and happy trails to all!

Reviews

[David Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Divide' is the third in Ray Anderson’s series of hiking thrillers. It tells the story of Karl Berman’s arduous and danger-packed 3,100-mile hike from the Mexican border to Canada, a jaunt that Anderson himself has made.

Berman—known on the trail as ‘AWOL’—suffers from PTSD from his military service as well as from other troubling events in his past. He hikes to renew himself.

Unfortunately, he walks into danger (and this being a thriller, we’d be disappointed had he not). Water shortages in the dry southwest bring about clashes among land developers, the Ute Tribe, farmers and domestic terrorists. Berman finds himself in the middle of all this turmoil that eventually leads to an explosive conclusion.

I felt drawn into the world of the long-distance hiker and was reminded of the modest hikes my wife and I have made in Arizona (thankfully without gunplay and explosions). I was fascinated to learn that, before some hikers settle in for the night, they lay their poles pointing in the direction that they are to start out the next day so that they don’t get confused and reverse course.

I also learned a bit of hiker’s vocabulary: A ‘thru-hiker’ is someone who begins at the start of the trail and follows it all the way to the end. A ‘zero day’ is a day of rest. Many serious hikers seem to have ‘trail names,’ which in places in this novel confused me (I’m easily confused). AWOL is a trail name, Butane another. The author must have one but hasn’t disclosed it. ‘Scribbler’? ‘WordDude’? “
Maybe Anderson will tell us in his next novel.

[Rick Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Anderson is the master of the hiking thriller. This is the third book in the AWOL series. AWOL is the trail name for Anderson’s protagonist who has already hiked the Appalachian and Pacific trails, Now he tackles the Continental Divide. Like the previous books, AWOL faces danger. In this case, it is a terrorist threat to water access in arid western states. No writer knows the mountain trails better than Ray Anderson and his descriptions are from first hand experience. Put on your boots and grab your pack, but watch out for unexpected hazards along the way.