Authors who decide to go the self-publishing route take on the burdens that would normally fall to the house staff. And contrary to common perception, successfully editing documents and producing a polished product is not easy. The smart people spend the necessary funds to have a professional editor go over the document. Or if the funds are lacking, it is common to mercilessly impinge on one’s family, friends and acquaintances in the hope that many sets of eyes will catch most problems. It isn’t clear which of these were used by the author, but whichever it was it didn’t work. The editing has difficulties and the polish is mainly missing from the product.
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Poor editing and a spotty polish can be found in any number of publications. While annoying it doesn’t have to be the end as long as the story being told is engaging. In this instance the story has potential. Actually, any one of the three stories being partially told might have had potential if they had been dealt with properly and not simply cobbled together to form this book. To be fair, two of the story lines appeared to be in the process of being artfully woven together at various points. Optimism was aroused. But it just wasn’t to be. No desire to be mean spirited, but it felt like coitus interruptus every time. There was no consummation.
It’s important to note that this is a work of fiction and the author has every right to their sensibility. That said, there were several points in the book that were a bit cringe-worthy. Two examples should be sufficient. The hero of the tale, John Farrell, is an ex-Para combat veteran. The story opens with John in”sniper mode” in a hide prepared to kill what will ultimately be defined as the villain. Predictably, it all goes wrong. Specifically our superbly trained, combat decorated ex 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment sniper has his Remington flag poling out an upper window where the target (but not his ex-SEAL bodyguards) on the ground floor level spots it. Needless to say the target bolts and the shot is not taken. John then ponders the possibility that he was seen. At a later point with his family kidnapped and facing death our hero, who must prepare for close quarter combat, takes the time to engage in a completely meaningless and rather poorly phrased philosophical interlude on the nature of men and violence. Had this been a physical rather than an ebook it would have had the experience of flight across the lounge at several points. Fortunately for all concerned the ebook reader was a gift and therefore it was spared the indignity.
This could have been a very entertaining story. Unfortunately, it was released much too soon before final plot development and without the proper editing that it deserved. The author has some interesting tales to tell. Perhaps next time it will be better.
1 Mr MRH
ehwhat?
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