Shawn Kupfer

First let me just say that the word smirked is not a synonym for said. It was absolutely jarring how often the dialog was spattered with "he smirked" in place of "he said." Probably 20 or 30 times in the book. That's a lot of smirking.

Barring that I really liked this near future military thriller. The main idea of using convicts for cannon fodder was really interesting. The setting of a war with China was plausible. The future tech seemed a rational extrapolation of current technologies. The story was faced paced and intricate enough to be interesting but not so convoluted that you couldn't keep track of what was going on. There weren't really any dragging spots and the story was told through action not character introspection. There were no big info dumps. My only real complaint is that the convicts straightened up so quickly and easily after Nick took over. Some of the gritty feel was lost once they became a well oiled and highly functioning military team.

Still a quick fun read for military thriller enthusiasts.… (more)

"As global tensions escalate, China attacks New York City, wiping out its entire population. Marine ex-con Nick Morrow and his team of convicts, dubbed 47 Echo, are sent on a deadly mission--to infiltrate Shanghai and shut down its computer network. Given virtually no weaponry, the crew must rely on themselves as they trek across the dangerous countryside, crawling with enemies."

The phrase "if it can go wrong, it will" describes this mission to a tee. Thankfully, our intrepid heroes are at their best when they are making things up as they go. I honestly wasn't sure if I would get into a military book, but this one was more about the guys (and girls) and their interpersonal relationships, in my opinion. The characters were so well written, you find yourself on the edge of your seat every time their mission doesn't go according to plan. The action was fast paced, which made the book a quick read. The setting was well described and helped set the mood for the story.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the next in the series. Highly recommend.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.… (more)

It is a straight forward military action novel. The setting is at some future point where there is a world war going on, but the setting, people, and weaponry are all modern day stuff (well, even if the "tank" descriptions are of fictitious tanks, I don't think the average (non-tank-aficionado) reader would know...)

The main character is just a bit smarter, faster, stronger and luckier than your average Joe, but... then again, that is the point in this kind of novel - a guy saves the day by dint of his superior... everything...

There is forward momentum, people get killed (we can't really distinguish any of them though), and the day gets saved. There is not so much as a plot as there is a goal/destination. But, whatever, it is a fast easy read and pretty much exactly what you should expect from a military action novel.… (more)

It's mostly an action novel... a military action novel. Originally I had it tagged sci-fi, but there is no science fiction here.

It is a bit unbelievable in how the main character went from newbie convict to super-hero-soldier, but as long as you don't really think about it, it doesn't ruin the story. In other words: don't try to pick holes, or the entire thing will fall apart.

As an action novel, it was fast paced and intense but not gory. The setting and situation were believable (i.e. that war could happen, and the military could need convict soldiers). There was not much gun porn, so we aren't told the bullet types or firing speed of each gun, though most of the guns are named (i.e. M5, Glock, etc). That is... most... not all: the level of detail consistency is not 100%. Sometimes we get quite an in-depth description of [insert object name/action here] and then next chapter it goes back to "an assault rifle" or a "bullet hit him"

All in all it was a quick, entertaining, and not very deep read. I'd read more by this author.… (more)