I received this book free from library thing giveaway. I read this book some time ago, and I'm posting this review now, I was on the fence when I first glanced at it and the title threw me off there has to be a million books with same title different authors.. but after I got into it its really told well. I wanted to make sure my review was based on the story telling and not the topic or title. I am not a big fan of military stories but this one is worth the read if you are into this type of genre. Its filled with action and you really want to know what is happening with the main character.. Would reccommend this to any one who wants to read a suspenseful military Iraq type of story. ( )

A gripping battlefield introduction kept me turning the pages for more of the like. I wondered how Mr. Wilson was going to keep up the frenetic pace.

He gave us a chance to catch our breath by delving into Jack's idyllic home life. There the characters were merely two dimensional, with good reason, come to find out, but an idyllic home life does not make for fascinating reading. His wife and daughter are introduced to reinforce the idea that Jack is a devoted family man but his thoughts and actions almost belie that notion. Jack's loyalty belongs to his Marine buddies.

The suspense returns when Jack chases down the source of his Marine alter ego, Casey. More terrifying battlefield encounters and chilling daytime nightmares move the story along with the speed of a spider luring the reader into its web. There is no way you can turn off your reading device (or put your book down) before learning of Jack/Casey's fate.

Mr. Wilson is a fascinating storyteller. I intend to read his other two novels in the hope that they are as engrossing as Fade to Black.
I received a digital copy of this book from Librarything for review. It was lost among my digital library for many months. Glad I found it as I enjoyed the writing style and the story. I gave it 4 stars, more scenes from battle would have earned it 5 stars. ( )

Book Info: Genre: Supernatural suspense/horror
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: People who like books dealing with war and fighting
Trigger Warnings: war (Iraq), death, killing

My Thoughts: This is a really hard book to read at times, and anyone who has family or loved ones in the military might especially have difficulty with it. Nonetheless, it's a very well-written book, the characters are engaging and well defined, and I was held by the story throughout. In many ways it is very sobering, as the descriptions of combat are visceral and real. It is sometimes hard to keep track of what is happening, since Jack/Casey himself doesn't know which world is real and which is the dream, but it slowly comes clear in time through the course of the book.

It's obvious that the author has either had experience in the Marines or has done a great deal of research to have all the jargon and lingo down so well, although I have to wonder why Marines have shortened “sergeant” to “sar'n”. It seems illogical.

Anyway, if this book sounds like something you'd like, definitely check it out.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this e-book from JournalStone via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Jack is a young man caught between two terrifying worlds. In one, he is Marine Sergeant Casey Stillmam, locked in combat in the streets of Fallujah, Iraq. He is lying next to his dead and dying friends, bleeding in the street—until he wakes up at home, in bed with his wife.

In this other world, Jack is a high school science teacher, husband, and devoted father to his little girl. But the nightmares of war continue to haunt him, and to Jack/Casey they feel in many ways more real than his life at home with his family.

When news of killed Marines in Fallujah surface, Jack realizes he knows far more about these men then he should. But, when the dead Marines begin visiting him while he is awake—he realizes he is in serious trouble.

Faced with the possibility of losing his mind, or far worse, the nightmares being real, Jack knows he must somehow find a way to bridge the two realities and fight his way back from the nightmares to save his wife and little girl. ( )

I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. Not your normal war book but still quite enjoyable. Will appeal to several different types of readers. So if you need a good book for a long drive this is the one. ( )

This one has proven difficult to read. Mind you, the story never managed to grab me and the see-saw action between Falluja and the States went boring after the third switch. Not that I don't understand that Americans are (justifiedly) proud of their soldiers, but this was meant to be a novel, not a pamphlet for the USMC.

As the former, for me it is a failed attempt. ( )