Review: Boo Yah for Boot Camp
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2014
Author C. G. Cooper is an ex-Marine and obviously knows a lot about the traditions and the operation of the Corps. In "Running," he manages to give readers great insight into the Corps and a very unusual recruit in a few carefully constructed pages.On the one hand, Calvin Stokes is a model recruit, in top physical shape, quick to learn the training manual and to apply its teachings, and eager to get through basic training to join the newly launched war in Afghanistan following 9/11. However, he is a loner, lacking any sense of team spirit, and annoyed by the other recruits who aren't as fit and adept as he is.  He's also got some personal issues that he doesn't want to discuss with his superiors or the other recruits. Naturally, Stokes' attitude breeds resentment among the other recruits and leads to a late night brawl in which he gets beaten up by several of them.To be honest, the first half of the story, although slickly written, seemed very familiar. Having seen a number of basic training movies, to me, Stokes seemed a lot like other not-fully-adjusted recruits who eventually come around to the military way of doing things. And, to a certain extent, that happens here, but the method that his superiors use to get both Stokes and the other recruits back on track was a powerful eye opener for me, literally something I'd never encountered before.Stokes is apparently a central character in some of Cooper's other works that I haven't read, and it's possible that other readers may get an even greater appreciation of the story from learning how the information in this story fits into his character in later books. I have to judge him just on this one story, and I can say that Cooper has done a great job of creating a character in 30 pages and a couple of brief incidents in a man's life."Running" isn't a perfect story; Cooper's resolution seemed just a bit too conveniently good to be true (although I have a gut feeling an incident like this actually formed the basis for the story). However, "Running" had a lot more depth, emotional impact, and insight into the Marine way of life than I expected. Other than the ending, my only quibble was my usual one about whether even an excellent story is worth paying money for as a standalone Kindle work (I received the story for free as a promotion, so this wasn't an issue for me). I will say that Cooper is quite honest about describing the length of the story, however. In my view, if you don't mind spending money on a standalone short story, "Running" is well worth spending the money on. I look forward to reading more from Cooper and finding out what happens to Calvin Stokes.