Review: Well-Researched, Relevant, and Realistic!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 28, 2013
It is difficult to tell a story about the military in today's terms without boring a reader with seemingly endless details of equipment, weapons, and explanations about what acronyms mean, but Bleichert managed to tell a gritty, modern drama about the military without losing the reader in the details. However, the author is much more than a military buff that writes as a hobby; Bleichert has a powerful way with words, and with creating characters very quickly, so that we can picture them in our minds by building up all of the referential comparisons into a composite face, or personality.Bleichert is also very good at building tension through exposition, a difficult achievement in any section where an author is telling rather than showing. I particularly liked how the book balanced between both the past, present, and possible future. A reader learns about World War 2, the Falklands War, a somewhat factual depiction of the present day reality in the area of Argentina and the Falklands, as well as a fictional future from Bleichert's creative mind. Being able to combine those elements shows real skill, especially since you didn't lose me in the transitions, and the entire thing read as one contiguous story.I wish it had been a bit longer, and I think some of the more intense scenes involving Prince Edward could have been beefed up a bit. The author has a gift with words, and yet most of it is shown off in not boring us with military details. A little less of that sort of exposition, and more interaction and dialogue would probably make the book even better. All in all, an enjoyable read, and an author that I will keep my eye out for in the future.