Review: Unique
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2012
CITY OF FIRE is a different kind of novel. Much of the story is about Billy Gaston, a boy on the brink of manhood. Billy is basically good, but he gets mixed up with some kidnappers and works hard to make everything come out right.Billy's two favorite people are Marilyn (Lynn) Severn, the minister's daughter, and Mark Carter. They were childhood friends who fell in love, but, when Mark hears someone say he isn't good enough for her, he turns cold to her and goes off to prove them right. Marilyn accepts all this without an explanation and stoically goes on with her life of playing the organ and helping others. I thought this was a weak link in the plot.I found the characters very interesting, even Laurie Shafton, the rich, spoiled, lady's man, who had never been told "no," until Marilyn. The plot had some parts that didn't seem quite believable, like when the doctor at a hospital impulsively left his job and took all day to drive Billy home. I still found the story intereresting. I even thought the archaic slang some reviewers mentioned to be chaming and add to the early 20th century feel of the book. Some of the dialect (I guess it was supposed to be New York state) was a little difficult and didn't ring true to me, but, in the end, I was glad I read the novel.