"Ashes of Fire" is a purely realistic novel about survival on a modern isolated island. There is no golden finger, no redemption, only ordinary torture day after day. Chen Ye, a 32-year-old construction site contractor, sank with a cargo ship during a typhoon and drifted to the uninhabited island "Cangmang Island" in the Pacific. He only had half a box of Hongtashan with him, a disposable lighter, a 3cm folding knife and soaked work clothes - all of his "ownership". On the way to survive, he has to fight against depleted fresh water, hard-to-find food, sharp rocks, and deadly beasts. He also has to fight against the selfishness of human nature, the betrayal of his companions, and the deep-seated loneliness. Like every struggling ordinary person in reality, he tried his best to survive, but was overthrown by fate again and again: the newly lit fire was extinguished by heavy rain, the newly caught fish was snatched away by wild dogs, and the nascent hope was crushed by the departure of the rescue ship. From tenacity to numbness, from roaring to silence, during his 300 days on the island, "living" became a long torture. In the end, there was no heroic sacrifice, only silent withering. He lay beside the dilapidated shack he built, and stopped breathing in his last thoughts for his family, as if he had never set foot on this all-devouring island - just like countless people in reality who tried their best, but in the end could not withstand the impermanence of fate and the cruelty of life.
