Title: The Bringer of Fire: An Outback Thriller
Author: John Oehler
ISBN: 9798334925120
Genre: Fiction/ Thriller
Pages: 298
In late January, John Oehler’s wife, Dorothy, contacted me about sending John’s latest book for review. I’ve read and reviewed everything he’s published, and with pleasure, I agreed to do the same for The Bringer of Fire.
The Bringer of Fire is what I would call an environmental activist thriller. The main character, Yara, is an assassin for an organization hell bent on protecting the Amazon. She is sent on a mission to Australia with her partner and lover, Elena in pursuit of a rare diamond that will help her organization negotiate protection for their beloved land.
The book opens with a murder, quickly moves to Yara and Elena’s relationship (which all occurs tactfully behind closed doors), and onto their mission. The heist by seduction scene is by far the most sexually graphic and does not set the tone for the entire novel, just puts all the plot points in motion. From there, the novel progresses into what Oehler does best: show us settings he has seen in person that we, the readers, have not. Suddenly, we’re traipsing through the Outback with Yara, two Australians, the weather, the crocs, the budgies, and more. The story could easily be put into a screenplay and I would love to see my favorite parts (flash floods and landscapes) on the big screen, as Oehler describes them beautifully.
In 2019, I wrote: “Oehler writes adventures for people who want to travel, his books are rich with globetrotting and exotic locations. For someone who rarely leaves my armchair, that’s a big part of my reading experience desires, and for this reason Papyrus is probably my favorite of his work.”
After going to France in Aphrodesia, to Egypt in Papyrus, to Venezuela in Tepui, and to Prague in Ex-Libris, Oehler did not disappoint when whisking me away to Australia via The Bringer of Fire. In real life, according to an interview in 2014, Oehler has visited 50-60 countries and lived in 6 of them, and this knowledge of the world bleeds through his writing as he takes his readers on foreign adventures as well. “If you’re going to take a reader someplace exotic,” he says, “I believe you have a duty to make that place as real as possible. And not just visually. What does it smell like? What sounds do you hear? How does the food taste? What textures do you feel? Those details help the reader feel ‘there.'” He truly nailed it with the food in this one. Every chapter left my stomach growling for a taste of Australian cuisine and barbecue.
I enjoyed The Bringer of Fire and will continue to look forward to each new book Oehler delivers to the world. I love the chance to see things he has seen and go where he has gone, even if it’s just from my living room.
Content Considerations: LBG content, non-graphic backstory of sexual abuse/sex work, somewhat graphic heist by seduction, extra-marital affair at the expense of a spouse and child, graphic depictions of violence, adult language.
