kesnit's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I finished the book, but mostly because I wanted to see how it all turned out. (I probably should have just scrolled to the end and read that...) The idea behind the book was good, but the writing was not. The author spends pages describing what could have been done in a few paragraphs. The first several chapters (which are set-up) go on forever. Pointless details are discussed over multiple pages and one important piece of background* is barely mentioned.
Finally, the action of the book starts, but even that is slow and drawn out. The car chase never seems to end. The PJs waiting on the plane goes on for a pointless number of pages. Then once everyone is in the same place, the events get jumbled and the reader cannot always tell what is going on.
And then the book ends. There is a bit of closure, which is a relief.
Overall, skip this book.
(SPOILER)
* The promises and agreements between Arif and the landlord
Finally, the action of the book starts, but even that is slow and drawn out. The car chase never seems to end. The PJs waiting on the plane goes on for a pointless number of pages. Then once everyone is in the same place, the events get jumbled and the reader cannot always tell what is going on.
And then the book ends. There is a bit of closure, which is a relief.
Overall, skip this book.
(SPOILER)
* The promises and agreements between Arif and the landlord
zipperhead's review against another edition
5.0
A second great book in the series! A well written book!
nyky's review against another edition
5.0
Although it is definitely worth five stars the only drawback was it took half the book to set up the plot and get the reader to the main conflict. So it is a little slow in the beginning but not in a way thats frustrating or degrades the overall value of the story. This seemingly slow setup is very important later on as the story takes shape and how the different characters interact, although at first the connections are not apparent.
Prior to reading this I didn't even know the PJs existed and the skill set of these men is very impressive. I also thoroughly enjoyed the political manipulations between the Saudis and the CIA to involve the US in something that really had nothing to
Prior to reading this I didn't even know the PJs existed and the skill set of these men is very impressive. I also thoroughly enjoyed the political manipulations between the Saudis and the CIA to involve the US in something that really had nothing to
ryaninc's review against another edition
3.0
While brilliantly written, the story was far from gripping. I had to intentionally finish it, and even then the ending was predictable. It took literally the entire first half of the book to finish setting up characters and get to the action, and then the action was over exactly the way I expected it to be. I will say that the writing was fantastic and I really was able to visualize the scenes because they were described so well. Even so, the book left me disappointed.
jmoses's review
4.0
This was a pretty good read. It was refreshing to read a "military fiction" novel that doesn't focus on shooting the enemy. Still lots of action, slightly twisty plot, but the main thrust on the PJs and _saving_ people. Odd, for this style of book, but welcome, and well executed.
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