So, I got the Audible version and due to the nature of my career I can listen several hours a day at work. I knocked out the trilogy in about a week. Great story. I believe the plot is plausible. Honestly, I found it surprising the author didn’t wreck more electrical technology.
The cast of characters is pretty big, and one of the challenges was to keep everything sorted in my head. I will surely become more familiar with them on subsequent rereads. I did enjoy the flavor and diversity of the cast. There were a few stereotypical characters, but I get it. There are times in day to day conversation I might say, “That guy is a prototypical quarterback, sea captain, or _____”.
Numerous times I was triggered by emotions. I often had to laugh, cheer, have ‘ah-ha’ moments, have compassion or empathy, recall events from my own life that paralleled the plot, seeth with anger… and hate, yes- even cry. And to me, those are all qualifiers of a great read.
Sometimes I was frustrated by so much page-time being dedicated to the antagonists. But it made me realize that it’s crucial to the swirling of the proverbial ‘pot’. Subsequently, it also made me realize in a life and death scenario – maybe it’s only six degrees of separation between good and evil?
Also, I would like to say I really appreciate all the details. The nautical discussion, info and descriptions of all the geographic settings (esp. Wilmington, Beaumont, New Orleans, Appalachian Trail, etc), and as a veteran I enjoyed the tactical discussions as well.
If I had to find any fault with the read, I’d say it’s a bit male-centric for some readers. But, it’s not really a big problem to me. I doubt you’ll read this Bob, but I really enjoyed it – Thanks.