[.ca] The Burning Road (ISBN 0440225914)

From Amazon.com:
Readers of Ann Benson's bestselling The Plague Tales will bond immediately with this sequel and its unusual blend of historical romance and futuristic medical thriller. The book begins in 14th-century France--a country ravished by a war with the English, and also suffering from the deadly effects of the plague. A Spanish-Jewish physician named Alejandro Canches searches for a cure; he scribes a medical manuscript along the way. The Burning Road then moves to a town in Massachusetts in the year 2007, where another Doctor, Janie Crowe is fighting her own battle to cure sickness and disease. She looks to Canches's manuscript, his "Book of Cures," for clues. Benson skillfully shows us the small details of everyday life and the events that both connect and separate these two doctors as they struggle with medical and personal problems. Canches seems to have isolated the cause of the bubonic plague, but his work is interrupted by battles with French troops and by worries about the safety of his foster daughter Kate (who is the illegitimate daughter of England's King Edward III). Meanwhile, Dr. Crowe is on the verge of a major breakthrough with a terrible genetic disease that afflicts Jewish boys. The alchemy and magic may not be for every taste, but by linking her two physicians through 600 years of what passes for progress, Benson gives her strange hybrid a uniquely gripping aura. --Dick Adler

a page-turner on its own:
I just had to respond to another reviewer's warning that this book is a sequel that does not stand on its own. I agree that it was a sneaky trick on the part of the publishers to leave out any reference within the book or on the cover that this is a sequel; had I known, I wouldn't have started this book without reading Plague Tales first. However, I didn't figure it out until I was well into the book, but by then I was too caught up in the story to put it down. I thought it was a very engrossing story on its own, though I agree some of the backstory came off a lot more cryptically to me than it probably did to those who had read Plague Tales first. If I had my 'druthers, I would have read them in order, but having said that, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. And now I'm off to read Plague Tales!

Not everyone has read The Plague Tales...:
I got the feeling from this book that someone (Ms Benson's editor?) thought the book was too long, and removed parts that didn't directly affect the storyline. The result is that there are pieces of information that are missing, which leaves the reader feeling confused and dissatisfied. Most of these omissions have to do with the 2007 narrative - there's no explanation of why Janie was in England and how she found the journal that ties the 2 stories together. Or of what disease her assistant had, which Janie cured, and somehow affected the outcome of the story. Or exactly what the significance is of Kristina's memory lapses, as well as her being one of "the first" to not be included in the database. Since I didn't read the prequel, I don't know if these things were addressed there or not. However, even if they were, not everyone reads books in a series in the order in which they were written. Because of this, most authors of a series "recap" major information about characters and setting from novel to novel. However, if you're not a person who wants all parts of a story to "fit together", if you like historical novels, this might be a book you'd enjoy since the storyline that is set 600 years ago is very compelling.

Compelling but it doesn't stand on its own:
A word of warning to anyone who might pick up this book - this is a sequel, a fact not acknowledged on the cover, or for that matter anywhere at all on the book. The story moves compellingly between two doctors in two centuries. The historical tale stands on its own but the contemporary one needs more explaining. Frustrated with cryptic references that could only be understood if I went to the first volume, I've stopped reading until I can get a copy of The Plague Tales.

An incredible and all too possible tale.:
I find it slightly humorous that within a short period of time, say a month, I read The Killers Within which is about the rise of bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics, read another book about the world created by the Black Plague in the 14th century (which was awful, but gave a basic understanding of life during that time), and then just accidently picked up this book without realizing that it was going to be a fictional work tieing the information of the two above books together. I didn't read the first book in this series, called The Plague Tales. I may well go back and get it so I can see where it started. From the understanding that archeological digs can occasionally release things that have lain dormant for centuries, it is easy to believe that in our quest for knowledge, we release things that would have been better left undisturbed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing was more than adequate, and the plot made significant 'sense' to me. There was enough background provided in flashbacks and other hints to what had happened to bring out the original plague. I belong to a bioethical/disability group that seeks to prevent new genetic technologies being used to discriminate against those with disabilities and differences. So the concern for a large database containing all of our genetic information is extremely valid right now. Since a recent expedition occurred in which attempts were made to find frozen DNA of the original Spanish flu of 1918 (that killed one of my great grandmothers), and many fears were expressed then that the world could once again be exposed to a bacterial killer for which we have no vaccine or antibiothic. As once said by Michael Crichton in one of his books, 'scientists are too often proving they can do something, and they forget to ask whether they should do something!' This includes cloning of humans who will most often come out with severe disabilities, the ever present threat of assisted suicide/euthanasia for those considered unworthy of life, genetic manipulation of food crops without research into whether those genetic manipulations will have long-term consequences for environmental impact or human consumption. This is definitely one of those books you cannot put down. A lot of research went into this particular piece of fiction. It is not far enough in the future to qualify as science fiction, and there are several plots to keep separate...one historical that has a direct impact on the plot based in the future. I will not waste times on books from authors who I think are unwilling to do the research, to understand the basic sciences behind this type of horrifying scenario. I would find it hard to place this book in any specific genre...what's important is that it is a great read. Karen Sadler, University of Pittsburgh

A good book, but...:
Really just agreeing with others that (1) it would be difficult to read this book without having read the Plague Tales (although that could easily have been fixed, because most of the Plague Tales is not really relevant to this book), and there are HUGE omissions toward the end. Ok, it's a setup for a sequel, but it's just really annoying. What happened with Bruce? What is the story with Kristina? How on earth can Janie be pregnant when she was sterile in the first book, or did I miss some actual explanation for this? I like this book, and all of the Ann Benson books, but the others didn't leave me screaming with irritation because there were huge gaps.