Scott McEwen

The start of "One Way Trip" reminded me of the television show I just started watching, "Yellowstone." I was disappointed when the setting left Montana for Afghanistan. The disappointment didn't last long. I thought about how the story was more similar to Tom Clancy's universe than the current Jack Ryan authors do. I chuckled when Mr. Clancy's name was dropped. The end was awesome though maybe a bit superman-ish. Glad to have found this author by perusing my Library's shelves. I wish show more librarything would have suggested this book.

114 members; 3.93 average rating; 6/21/2024 show less

Once you've invented and built a killing machine, turned it on and pointed it at an enemy, you'd best get out of the way while it does its work. That's essentially the story here.

On the one hand, the killing machine is a man. He has hopes and dreams, desires and loves. The story tries to get a bit of that in. This helps humanize things and get the reader to identify with the sniper. We also see how it motivates the machine.

On the other hand, the man is a machine. A deadly machine that show more observes, calculates, attacks, survives and kills. Most of the story is about the machine and how it single-mindedly fulfills its mission, even without the approval of its masters.

The writing is compelling, especially the latter half. It's full of (almost too much) detail and realism about the military, the politicians and bureaucrats trying to control them and the opposing forces. The reader can almost be excused for believing the story is non-fiction.

The book almost lost me at a few points. During the first half, there seemed to be a few too many viewpoints. The time spent with the bureaucrats as they discussed the situation dragged on and on. During the operation, I got the feeling that the depiction of the main character, the sniper, was going a bit too far. He was too good, too smart, too resilient to bullets and bombs. This made him a bit more like James Bond than the realistic character the story called for.

All in all, though, this was a very enjoyable book.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy for review.] show less

Wyatt finds himself running from the police when his friend, Derrick calls him for a ride, only to find out that Derrick's ride is actually a getaway from a robbery and assault. When Wyatt is thrown in jail for the crime, he thinks that his life is over, but he is suddenly whisked away by a stranger who says he can make all of Wyatt's troubles go away. It sounds too good to be true, and before long, Wyatt finds out that it isn't going to be that simple. To rid himself of the charges, he must show more survive Camp Valor which trains young men and women to be operatives for the government. Meanwhile, a powerful figure who believes that he has been betrayed by a graduate of Camp Valor vows to find the traitor, kill him, and destroy the program that made him into the weapon that was used against him.

Camp Valor's plot is not unique - a young person wronged by the system that should have protected him is given another chance to prove himself. What makes it intriguing are the many twists, turns, and surprises that are woven into a story filled with action, adventure, and a little romance. Character development is somewhat lacking mostly due to the number of secondary characters who have minor roles in the story. One issue I had with the book is that it is shelved as a middle grade story, but two of the villains are cannibals, eating body parts and gruesomely murdering their victims, making this story a little too violent for the middle grade age group. Overall, however, this is a very good action adventure. show less

One star. Just plain stupid. Insultingly so. Riddled with every possible macho. chest pounding dick swinging SEAL worshipper resenter of civilian control over the military cliche, with some misogyny and homophobia as a special bonus. Avoid. Read real GWOT history and you’ll see the real exploits far exceed this tripe even if you can hear echoes of real events in some of the battle and action sequences (which are strung together with a sorry excuse for a “plot”). Just bad. Let it take a show more one way trip off of your to be read pile. Thank me later. show less