Review: Too Much
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2013
I enjoyed reading the book for the most part.  The author appears to have done quite a bit of research on the aircraft and munitions described.  He also seemed knowledgeable regarding the flight maneuvers described in the book.My main problems with the book are:The main character was way over done.  He wasn't believable in the least.His knowledge of firearms appears to be very inconsistent:  The Heckler & Koch "Mark" 23 (not model 23) does not have an integrated "suppressor".  It has a threaded barrel that a suppressor can be attached to.  He also described the Mark 23 as being a subsonic .45ACP.  While ammunition may be subsonic a weapon wouldn't be described as such.In location 2819 the author writes "You have to shoot a guy right in the heart or the brain for instant lethal effect.  But these babies,", Roche held up a 9mm parabellum cartridge out of a new box,"are full metal jacket bullets, one-twenty-three grain, with high-speed charges.  They'll punch right through a man." --- First, a shot to the heart is not necessarily "instantly" fatal.  There are quite a number of cases where a bad guy is not immediately incapacitated by a round to the heart.  Depending on the shot placement a shot  to the head may not be "instantly" fatal either.  --- Second,  9mm full metal bullets don't come in 123 grains.  They are 124 grains.  --- Third, full metal jacket rounds are not the best defensive rounds specifically because they can "punch right right through a man".  They don't do as much damage and the energy isn't transferred to the target as well as a hollow point round.The main character's use of a .50 AE Desert Eagle in combat is highly unlikely.The Glock 18c the the main character owns would be highly illegal due to federal law.  While the US Navy could own them and issue them to service members, an individual service member can not own one.One of the biggest points that indicates that an author really doesn't know much about firearms is the use of the term "clip".  It is called a MAGAZINE not a clip.  The terms are not interchangeable. ever.  It's use makes me suspect all of the author's other technical details.  I wonder, if the author couldn't get this simple fact straight how could he get the more complex things right.Seals are not grouped in battalions.  Seals are grouped into Teams, Platoons, Squads, Fire Teams, Sniper/Recon Teams, but not battalions.  The term Seal 1st class or Seal whatever class isn't used, it would be  Special Warfare Operator, First Class or abbreviated SO1.These are a few of the errors that really detracted from the story for me.  The overblown main character and the incorrect facts really detracted from an otherwise decent story line.  There were numerous editing errors, but I didn't weigh them to heavily.To be honest I don't have the time or energy to fact check all of the other technical descriptions.  I just feel if an author is writing a book with specific technical descriptions all of the descriptions should be accurate.  If the aren't all accurate they are all suspect.The bottom line is the book has a decent story line and is worth the read if you can get by the main character and descriptive errors.