Faces in the Fire - Finished!

Are you sure that’s all?? Are you sure it’s not part of a series?? There must be at least one more book??

These are just three of the questions that loomed in the back of my mind as I read through the final stanza of Faces in the Fire. As usual, when I came to the end of the book I was left wondering how the author was going to pull it off. I was rooting for T.L. Hines to be able to finish it and bring it all together, but as the pages wore thin I secretly doubted his ability. Though, I guess that’s what he aims for; for us to add up our own conclusions. I have two reactions to this: 1. That’s freaking brilliant and it takes talent to make that work (it could easily come off as just being a lazy writer). 2. It pisses me off. I mean seriously?? Cliff hangers in a book with no sequel?? That’s just not fair. When I finally did reach the end I suddenly became satisfied with the whole book. The big, important parts all made sense. They came together in this weird, warped, incomplete, yet satisfying way.

Now I know that each book consists of words which in turn create a story. In Faces in the Fire, however, every single word plays its own part to the big picture. There were times in the Third and Final stanzas where I saw something, then spent five to ten minutes searching the book for where I’d read that thing before. This is the kind of book that makes me want to read it again, and take notes as I go along. Every word contributed in one way or another though I think the sentence structure in certain places could use a little work. I often found myself re-reading sentences or paragraphs to understand what T.L. Hine’s meant. I’m not such a fan of double takes, tends to disrupt the flow if they happen frequently enough. As for the structure of the chapters, I loved it! Making a timeline with the chapters instead of telling the story in chronological order was a much appreciated touch. For a change I enjoyed not having to pay attention to dates or anything like that.

The First Stanza focuses on a man named Kurt Marlowe a man who has made the decision to always move forward. He has a commercial license with a truck driving company but he’s actually an artist. Kurt’s art is derived from voices he hears in the clothing of dead people (the ghosts inside the clothes).

The Second Stanza focuses on a woman named Corrine, a cancer patient just trying to live it up for as long as she can. Corrine calls herself a Bottom-Feeder, she notes that she’s always been one and is quite comfortable being there. She started out on a traveling sales crew and still has wounds from it, now she sends out mass spam e-mails to make a living.

The Third Stanza focuses on another woman named Grace. She was a mother and wife at some point, but she knew inside she couldn’t live up to the responsibility so she ran away to Seattle. There, she owns her own tattoo shop called GraceSpace. Grace isn’t necessarily “happy” with how her life is but figures that’s how it is for a druggie just “chasing the dragon”.

The Final Stanza focuses on a man named Bleach; he kills people for a living with his bare hands. He doesn’t enjoy it; he does it to keep his mother alive. Bleach travels over the entire country by different alias’s staying well below the radar doing his job. Each day is spent in hiding or “doing a job” and each night is brought on by heavy doses of sleeping pills.

I’d like to give you all a nice summary of the plot-line, give you in depth comments on each character, and tell you what I think everything means, but I’m afraid that would ruin the fun of the book. It’s one of those you-have-to-read-it-for-yourself kinds of things. From a guy who can hear ghosts in clothing, to a guy who kills with a touch of his bare hands, Faces in the Fire will lead you on a crooked path and keep you reading till the very end.