Friday, February 27, 2009

I Hear A Knock At The Front Door, Don't Come In

I've done quite a bit of reading over the past 13+ months, and have posted a couple reviews of the books I've read. The reviews have been mostly positive, but make no mistake, dear reader, not everything I've laid my eyes on have been stellar. Far from it. Here, in no particular order, are my least favorite readings. You've been warned.

The Lemur, Benjamin Black:


A great case of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I saw the guy with the suit and tie with cigarette smoke covering the guys face, and it caught me. I was hooked. Unfortunately, the book really didn't bring anything to the table. In fact, the only positive about the book was that it was obscenely short-less than 150 pages-that I was able to blow through it pretty quickly and pretend it never happened. One word: Wasteoftime

Chosen Soldier, Dick Couch:


Coming off the heels of the incredibly incredible Lone Survivor, I was on a Special Forces kick, wanting to read as much as I could about SEALS and Green Berets. This book isn't a particularly 'bad' book per se, but it just wasn't what I expected. It follows a class that is training to become Green Berets, which, while it has to be one of the most difficult tasks on the planet, is more of a thinking man's game, as opposed to the overwhelming physicality of SEAL training. It is very in-depth and gives a good view of what it takes to become a Beret, but if you're looking for something with a bit of war-time action, this isn't what you're looking for. Again, not terrible, just not what I expected. One word: Disappointing

Elite Squad, Various Authors:

Another Special Forces book that didn't live up to expectations. This one focuses on the Special Police Operations Battalion in Rio de Janeiro. It's actually a two-part book, and the first one isn't half bad, giving first-person accounts of experiences in the BOPE, including an unnerving amount of backward dealings inside the units. However, the book takes a bad turn in the second part, which tells a confusing, twisting story that may or may not be fictional, and ends so abruptly that it makes no sense at all. One word: Underwhelming.

3 comments:

Justin said...

If the real reason that you're in Lubbock is for special forces training, don't tell me, just blink once for "Yes" and twice for "no".

lance said...

I'm blinking twice, but Kayla did comment last night about how the town we now reside in resembles the place that John Locke got dropped into on the past episode of Lost. That place? Tunisia.

Justin said...

Don't worry. I hear North Africa's beautiful this time of year.