Review: Gritty and Bold
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 23, 2014
The Meat Market (Jonathan Harkon Adventures), by James ChalkWarning: If you dislike profanity, atheism, or gritty scenes of abuse, then pass this book by and find yourself a less offensive read.  Really folks, the author warns you upfront in his book blurb.Now, with that being said, I am usually not the sort who goes for this sort of read, but it came recommended and I decided to give it a fair shot.  I’m glad I did.The Meat Market is an intense and gritty ride with a good flow from scene to scene. You are put firmly in the head of the main character, John, and soon the constant swearing simply becomes a part of who he is and you don’t mind it so much. Without giving anything away, you are thrust into a futuristic world full of corruption and hidden agendas. I was pulled through a range of negative emotions along with the character.As for the characters themselves, they were all full of flaws and their own personalities.  No one was really overly redeeming, not even the hero.  Sorry folks, but let’s face it, he was incredibly dumb at times.  Which made for a great character because he wasn't perfect.  Even with his advanced upgrades, he made mistakes and wasn't unstoppable.The author created a fascinating look at a possible future for the human race.  Some of it sounded cool.  Some of it sounded terrifying and like nothing I would ever want to experience.  Then you get brief mentions of places you want to know more about, and I for one certainly hope the future adventures of Jonathan Harkon take us to some of those more appealing places.The downfalls for me were the “romance” if you can even call it that.  His attraction to another character came across as forced and, dare I say it, even wrong.  In his head he swung from sisterly affection to something of a much more primal nature.  I didn't buy it.  Something about the whole scene strikes me as severely off, no matter how many times I re-read it.Overall this was an good read that did what every author strives to do - make the reader feel something.  I’ll be sure to look out for the future Adventures of Jonathan Harkon to see what other blunders he gets himself into.Spelling & Grammar:  5Word Flow:  5Plot:  5Characters:  4Originality:  5Romance/Sex/Chemistry:  3Alisha’s Final Rating:  4.5, rounded up to a nice even 5