The River

The danger in Peter Heller's The River is so vast and so deadly that it dwarfs more human threats... Both beautifully written, a crisp, ice-cold immersion in the glory of the wilderness, and unbearably tense, as peril moves in on Heller gratifyingly competent explorers, whose deep friendship is tenderly evoked -- Alison Flood * Observer * Urgent, visceral writing - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. A beautiful, heartrending exploration of male friendship' * Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of LET ME LIE * Where Heller really scores is the extraordinarily high quality of his writing about the natural world, which is lyrical and action-packed by turns -- Laura Wilson * Guardian * Heller is a master of suspense, and his fourth novel showcases this brilliantly. A thrilling read with a dramatic twist at the end: you will not be able to put it down. * The Lady * A simple but brilliantly effective set-up, a kind of neo-Western set in a lawless world, although Peter Heller, having established the tension that drives this compulsive thriller, makes time to lyrically explore the natural landscape... An inventive rites-of-passage tale and a haunting exploration of grace under pressure * Irish Times * The gorgeously lyrical prose is worth savouring - but the superbly mounting tension tempts you to race on. A great adventure story and love letter to male friendship, with a wonderful depiction of the wilderness and superb characterisation. Impossible to put down, or forget -- Deirdre O'Brien * Sunday Mirror * Utter joy... A suspenseful tale told with glorious drama and lyrical flair... The real delight is the nature writing. The River is a fiction addition to the New Landscape writing of Robert Macfarlane and Rebecca Solnit, prose so vivid and engaging that a city-dwelling reviewer can feel the clammy cold of a fog over a river or the heat of subterranean tree roots burning underfoot in the aftermath of a fire... We can feel the sharpness of the rocks and the trilling excitement of the river as it approaches rapids. * Denise Mina, New York Times * A must read. * Daily Express * Heller is a master of suspense, and his fourth novel showcases this brilliantly. A thrilling read with a dramatic twist at the end: you will not be able to put it down... or go canoeing for quite a long time -- Helen Gumley-Mason * THE LADY * This story of a battle for survival will drag you off your sofa and plunge you down foaming white water rapids in a fragile canoe. It's a high adventure - the kind you seldom come across anymore - laced with a thriller twist for an extra kick ... The author's a whitewater kayaker and his descriptions of wild sailing and observations of the wilderness are lyrically poetic. Loved it! -- Alex Gordon * Peterborough Telegraph * Poetic and unnerving... The River is a slim book - just over 250 pages - but it is full of rushing life and profound consequences. Every move Jack and Wynn make along the river has the chance to kill them or those they're trying to save, and the result is a novel that sweeps you away, each page filled with wonder and awe for a natural world we can quantify with science but can rarely predict with emotion. * USA Today * A fiery tour de force... [The River] recalls his debut, The Dog Stars, with its poetic, staccato sentences and masterfully crafted prose... The story itself resembles a trip down a river-some parts are peaceful and allow for quiet introspection and big, deep breaths. But then you hit the rapids and the danger and risk jump off the page, forcing a sense of urgency. In those thrilling parts, reading required self-discipline. I wanted to know what happened so badly that I'd read too fast and had to retrace my steps to savor Heller's storytelling. And what a story he tells... I could not put this book down. It truly was terrifying and unutterably beautiful. * Denver Post * Heller writes with deep respect and empathy for not only nature and its in

PETER HELLER is the award-winning author of THE DOG STARS, a New York Times bestseller and a Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle and Atlantic Book of the Year, and THE RIVER, an Observer Thriller of the Year. Born and raised in New York, he has travelled the world as an expedition kayaker, writing about challenging descents in the Pamirs, the Tien Shan mountains, the Caucuses, Central America and Peru. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he received an MFA in fiction and poetry, and won a Michener fellowship for his epic poem 'The Psalms of Malvine'.