Snow Waste

Rating:
Summary: Snow Waste: A Maine Story
Review: Meet Joe Littlefield, the chief of snowmaking for the White Woods Ski Resort. Joe is a competent supervisor; honest, perhaps a little naive, yet loyal and devoted to his work. With eyes on a promotion to Mountain Operations Manager, he nevertheless proves capable of heroic resolve, showing a determination to do the right thing, even when it conflicts with personal aspirations.

His boss, Warren Ainsworth, the owner of White Woods, has a drinking problem and an obsession for developing Carter Peak, which would make White Wood one of the largest ski resorts in the East.

Doug Andrews, an environmental activist with a past, had moved with his wife from Massachusetts to Cannon, Maine five years earlier. In search of a simpler life, the couple runs an antique shop, yet Doug has not abandoned his fervor for protecting the environment, nor has he quite given up on his aspirations of a seat on the Natural Environmental Council, of which he is a member.

Told through the perspective of these three very different individuals, Snow Waste is a story of ethical values, greed, and personal motivation, coming together in a setting that could exist many places throughout the state of Maine.

Cannon, Maine - a fictitious town, economically dependent upon the White Woods Ski Resort, but located near the real towns of Clifton and Dixfield, has always accomodated the resort, sometimes by looking the other way.

Snow Waste plays upon the forces that unite the townspeople, the resort, and even the nearby mill, once owned but now operated by Victor, a friend who has much in common with Warren Ainsworth.

The author does a remarkable job of building the characters of the novel, making them real, and even familiar to anyone who has lived in rural Maine; and he does so in the context of an intriguing story, one that acknowledges the hardships of life in Maine, as well as the small and the subtle victories that so often remain hidden to the larger world. Along the way, and as an added plus, the reader learns an awful lot about snowmaking.

The short of it is that I loved the story, and I don't even ski.

The author, Michael E. Bemis, is a career law enforcement officer, educator, lifelong skier, and ski resort buff. He lives in Maine.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: Snow Waste - what a great read, from the first page to the last I found it hard to put it down. The story was well written, characters genuine and the story more then plausible. The author did a great job of showing his characters human side and how by looking out for ones own interest you can quickly find yourself caught up in someone else's mess. Not knowing anything of the ski industry I also found that I was entwined in a great story but yet learning as I went- I was amazed at the complexities of snowmaking and the people behind the scenes of the ski business(something I never gave much thought to) - I loved this book and recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Read
Review: Snow Waste is a wonderful book! The characterization was so strong. In particular, I hope the author will write more books about Joe. He is such a strong character.

I borrowed the book from the library but I will certainly purchase it now. The only other author's work I buy is Stephen King if that gives you any indication as to how much I liked Snow Waste.


Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: The author does an outstanding job at making the characters believable and familiar. The plot is consistently engaging and this makes the book difficult to put down. The characters are down to earth and like family. They really identify with the people of Maine. The knowledge of the neighbors truly reflects the reality of life in a small town.

Rating:
Summary: Snow Waste - What A Great Book!
Review: The writing craft of Snow Waste is exemplary and the plot, with its many twists and turns, carries one along in a most entertaining manner to a satisfying conclusion.

Most of all, I enjoyed becoming acquainted with the real-life, memorable characters, who seem like people I have known in years past.

I have read so many books and remember few of them. The characters in Snow Waste live still in my memory, as does the essence of snow country and the skiing world as created by the author. I recommend this book as a pleasurable reading experience on contemporary issues that exist in our country today.

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended
Review: With the season's first dipping into freezing temperatures, Joe looks forward to making snow for a ski resort set deep in the Western Mountains of Maine. Joe looks forward to a successful season after a record-breaking start. But Joe's innocent view of snowmaking does not necessarily match management's view. While Joe delights in laying down snow and providing a successful season for the resort, the owner makes his own plans.

Without enough capitol to expand in the direction he wants to go and with a dearth of investors, the owner Warren resorts to an illegal deal with a local lumber mill to raise extra capitol. Warren does not know just how close an environmentalist watches, or how determined he will be in protecting the mountain and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, others watch as well, leading to unexplained accidents and destruction of property that brings the scrutiny of law enforcement and the media alike.

Three extremely diverse perspectives expose the dangers of greed, necessity and innocence in author Michael E. Bemis' SNOW WASTE. While the text is rather dense at times with needful explanation and exploration of technicalities and legalities, Bemis' elegant prose flows beautifully, making it easy for those who know the information to scan detail quickly yet keeping the explanations palatable for the uninitiated - truly a remarkable narrative feat. Indeed, Bemis utilizes his years in law enforcement and love of the snow to render a tale that is both powerful and thought provoking. While I often hesitate to review self published work, particularly from publishers like iUniverse, because of the extensive proofing and editing errors I often find in such work, Bemis' novel is an absolute delight with remarkably few proofing errors and an exceptional narrative voice. I can only hope that Bemis continues to pen such remarkable novels. SNOW WASTE comes very highly recommended.