Review: Pug Connor comes through again
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 6, 2011
NOTE: This review was originally published on Red Adept Reviews on May 19, 2011.Overall:  5 starsPlot/Storyline:  5 starsI reviewed State of Rebellion, the first Pug Connor book, on Red Adept Reviews on February 22, 2011. Since that time, I've read Uncivil Liberties (the second book in the series) and To Faithfully Execute, which is the third book. The title is actually a double entendre, referring to the oath of office for President of the United States, as well as referring to the political assassinations that took place in the book.To Faithfully Execute was a continuation of events which transpired in the first two books. The western states of the U.S. were coming closer to seceding, with the federal government unsure about how to deal with the rebellion. Terrorists had destroyed Hoover Dam, which had caused enormous casualties and economic losses in the Southwest. And Pug Connor's "Trojan" unit, a small, elite counterterrorist group under Homeland Security, was under fire from both political and military leaders.Against this backdrop, Pug was invited to join a shadowy, super-secret multinational group called the Cloister, created for the purpose of assassinating terrorists-or anyone, for that matter-who posed a threat to western countries. Killing his country's enemies in wartime was one thing, but could Pug and his assistant, Carlos Castro, plan and execute assassinations in cold blood? (Coincidentally, I began reading To Faithfully Execute a few days after elite American military forces killed Osama bin Laden, so it wasn't too farfetched to believe that such an operation might really exist.)There were two huge surprises at the end of the story. Both of these involved Pug Connor, and they certainly had an impact on how the story will evolve in the next book in the series.NOTE: The Pug Connor books are a serial series. The books are part of a continuing story, and although each book has an ending of sorts, each one leaves unresolved issues to be dealt with in the following book. The second and third books contained flashbacks to remind a reader of what has happened previously, but the books were really intended to be read in order.Characters:  5 starsThe main characters were flesh-and-blood people who lived and loved and agonized over difficult moral dilemmas. Were the people who pushed for secession patriots or traitors? Was cold-blooded murder of an enemy of the United States a heroic or a criminal act? Characters like Pug Connor, Carlos Castro, Daniel Rawlings, Senator Rachel McKenzie, Clarene Prescott, and President William Snow were back from the first two books in the series. There were good guys and bad guys, and it wasn't always obvious whose side someone was on. The old phrase "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" was never truer.There was more romance in the story than in the two previous books, as Carlos Castro found the lady of his dreams, and Pug and Rachel came closer together.Writing style:  5 starsI noted in my review of State of Rebellion that the author did Tom Clancy as well or better than Clancy himself. That held true for this story, which was another action-packed, suspenseful page-turner. There were some violent scenes, and one of the assassinations was a bit gruesome for me, but the violence fit the circumstances and was not just gratuitous.Dialogues were realistic, and the characters' debates and conversations regarding weighty issues like the proper role of the federal government and why states might believe they must secede in order to guard their best interests were very timely. Also, the characters who were involved in assassinations really struggled with their decision to engage in cold-blooded murder, even when the target was a terrorist known to have killed hundreds or thousands of people.Editing:  5 starsEditing and formatting were as close to perfect as I've seen in a while.