Certain Jeopardy by Capt. Jeff Struecker with Alton Gansky

Certain Jeopardy by Capt. Jeff Struecker with Alton Gansky Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: B&H Publishing Group First Released: May 1, 2009 Author Website

Source: Netgalley, online ARC from publisher

Back Cover Description:
Six American men live behind a protective façade, their real work hidden from neighbors and friends. Different in countless ways, they are intimately the same in one: at any moment their lives can be altered with a phone call, and their actions may change the world.

They are Special Ops. And one team’s mission is about to hit certain jeopardy status when the discovery of an Al Qaeda base in Venezuela becomes secondary to thwarting the transport of a nuclear weapons expert from that training camp to Iran.

Informed by the true combat experience of Captain Jeff Struecker and finessed by award-winning novelist Alton Gansky, Certain Jeopardy is an immersing and pulsating fictional account of what really happens at every level of a stealth engagement: the physical enemy encounter, the spiritual war fought within a soldier, and the emotional battles in families back at home.


Review:
This book is a military thriller. The story was written in short, quick chapters from rotating point of views--and there were a fairly large number of point of view characters. At the beginning, I sometimes got confused as to how everyone was related to each other, but that didn't last long.

The prose felt a little unrefined, but that fit the character of the story.

The book was fast-paced. The author clearly explained the equipment and jargon used in the story without bogging down the pace with too many details. Every moment was full of tension and conflict, both at home with the team's families and on mission with the team. The conflict and reactions all felt realistic and plausible.

Characters were varied and engaging. Several of the characters were Christian. Their faith mattered to them and made a difference in how they reacted in difficulties, but the Christian content was never preachy.

There is no sex in this book and all the swearing is of the "he swore" variety rather than actual printed cuss words. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book as a "good, clean fun" novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Chapter One
[From an Uncorrected Proof ARC, so the text of the published book might vary slightly from the below.]

Goats.

Sgt. Major Eric Moyer hated goats. He had a burning desire to swear at the top of his lungs. Not that it would do any good. He stuffed the urge.

Tat-tat-tat-tat.

The urge returned.

"Junior, get that radio operational. If we don't reach CAS soon, we'll leave this mountain in body bags.

"Working on it, Boss. The snow is giving me grief. I can't find a stable spot for the satellite antenna. Getting shot at from six directions isn't helping."

TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT.

AK-47 bullets whistled over their heads. Moyer pushed himself up from his shallow trench and fired a few quick rounds from his M4 carbine. He pulled the trigger again but nothing happened. Flattening himself in the trench, he barked, "Reloading."

In a practiced move, Moyer ejected the spent magazine and rammed a full one in its place, giving him another thirty rounds. The weapon could fire seven hundred rounds a minute. Only disciple and training kept him from emptying the magazine in a few seconds.

The sound of enemy gunfire erupted again. Staff Sgt. Pete Rasor grunted and raised his hands to his face.

"Junior. Junior! You hit?"

Bitterwood by James Maxey

Bitterwood by James Maxey Mass Market Paperback: 486 pages Publisher: Solaris First Released: 2007

Source: Bought on Half.com

Back Cover Description:
It is a time when powerful dragons reign supreme and humans are forced to work as slaves, driven to support the kingdom of the tyrannical ruler King Albekizan.

However, there is one name whispered amongst the dragons that strikes fear into the very hearts and minds of those who oppress the human race. Bitterwood. The last dragon hunter, a man who refuses to yield to the will of the dragons. A legend who is about to return, his arrow nocked and ready, his heart full of fiery vengeance...

Bitterwood plans to bring the dragons to their knees. But will he bring the remnants of the human race down with him?

Review:
This book is a traditional fantasy in theme, but it's set in a somewhat apocalyptic future on Earth. The story is fast-paced with complex, interesting characters. Each character has his/her own priorities and values which adds complexity to the conflict. The story is told from many viewpoints, but the story is clear and easy to follow despite the strange names and many characters.

The world-building is excellent overall, but some small details remained unexplained. (For example, Jandra's unending supply of silver dust in her belt pouch despite the way she's always throwing handfuls of it into the air). The details weren't major ones, but the lack of any explanation gave the story a slightly implausible edge in my mind.

There was no sex, nor do I remember any cussing. The magic involved is [spoiler!!!!!] actually high technology [spoiler end]. Overall, I'd rate this book "very good, clean reading."


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Chapter One
The sad little fire gave out more smoke than warmth. The hunter crouched before it, turning a chunk of ash-flecked meat on the flat stone he'd placed amidst the coals. The movement of the stone stirred more smoke. The hunter coughed and wiped soot from his eyes. He stretched his bony, knotted fingers above the embers, fighting off the chill. He was a thin man, hair shoulder-length and gray, the deep lines of his leathery face forming a permanent frown. He pulled his heavy cloak more tightly around him.

In the tree above him hung the body of a dragon, blood dripping from its mouth.

The creature was a sky-dragon, the smallest of the winged dragon species. Strip away the ten-foot wings and the long tail, and a sky-dragon was no bigger than a man and half his weight. They were known as sky-dragons both for their prowess in flight and their coloring, the pale, perfect blue of a cloudless day. The hunter had killed many sky-dragons over the years. They weren't particularly dangerous. Despite talons ending in two-inch claws and crocodilian jaws full of saw-like teeth, sky-dragons prided themselves on being civilized. The beasts fancied themselves as artists, poets, and scholars; they considered it beneath their dignity to engage in such menial work as hunting.

A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell

A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell Trade Paperback: 381 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers First Released: 2008

Source: Bought from Books-A-Million

Back Cover Description:
Born with the face of an angel, Marget Barnardsen is blessed. Her father is a knight, and now she is to be married to the Earl of Lytham. Her destiny is guaranteed ... at least, it would seem so. But when her introduction to court goes awry and Queen Elizabeth despises her, Marget fears she's lost her husband forever. Desperate to win him back, she'll do whatever it takes to discover how she failed and capture again the love of a man bound to the queen.

[The above description didn't give me an accurate idea of what the book was about, so here's my description. Marget is married to the Earl and is then introduced to the Queen. The Queen is jealous of Marget's beauty and takes her displeasure out on Marget and, by extension, her husband. Marget has been raised believing her sole duties in life are to bear children and increase her husband's standing at court, so she feels a failure when she discovers she can do neither. The story is about what lengths Marget is willing to go to in order to gain back Queen Elizabeth's favor for her husband.]


Review:
I think this is supposed to be a Christian historical fiction with a strong romance theme, but what it really shines at is giving a comprehensive historical look at court life under Queen Elizabeth I.

The main characters occasionally make a vague reference to God, but that's about it. God certainly doesn't impact their lives at all.

As for the romance, the 'hero' is self-centered, childish, ambitious, cruel, emotionally abusive of his wife, and a few other unflattering things. I was rooting for him to die, not for him to win the heroine's heart. His wife, the heroine, does act consistent to her age and upbringing, but eventually her gullibility and willingness to destroy herself for her husband was too much for me to stay sympathetic to her.

Also, there wasn't much depth to their relationship. One moment, husband and wife were hating and/or fearing the other. In the next, they were madly "in love" (though the hero was mainly falling in lust with her in the "but I just can't resist her even though reason says I shouldn't" fashion). Despite being madly "in love," they'd have a simple misunderstanding and immediately be back to square one. They fluctuated back and forth like this for years without building any trust or belief in the other.

An additional problem was that both character viewpoints were written in first person. There was very little indication when the viewpoint had switched, so I was often confused by the switch.

The book gives an excellent look at what life was like at the time, but this focus on the historical detail slows the pace of the story. There were many scenes that seemed to have been put in solely to illustrate something the author learned about the time period. These scenes didn't move the story forward and could have been cut without harming our understanding of what was going on in the story.

If you'd like to see what life was like at the time without reading a textbook, this book is a very good way to do that. However, while the writing itself was fine, I felt the book's characters, pacing, and plot could have been much stronger.

There is no explicit sex, and I don't recall any cussing. Overall, this book was "clean reading."


Excerpt: Chapter One
"But how could he not like you?"

"He is an earl, Joan!"

"Ad you, Marget, are to be his countess."

The Midsummer Day sun was hot and absent any breeze. We were sitting on a log at the marsh's edge, our skirts drawn up to our knees, caps resting on the ground beside us. The marsh birds would warn us of any intruder, but there were unlikely to be any wanderers this festive day. We had slipped away from the city's merriment to ponder my rapidly approaching marriage.

In several short months I was to exchange my life as a knight's daughter for life as a countess. That thought still had the power to drain the blood from my face as if January's salt-laden winds were whipping in from the Wash, stealing my breath as they continued on their way.

"Think you. For how many years now have you trained for this?"

"Twelve." It had begun at the age of five. If I whispered the number it was only because, of a sudden, I did not wish for the training to end.

The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke

The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke Trade Paperback: 378 pages Publisher: Bethany House First Released: 2009

Source: Bought from Books-A-Million

Back Cover Description:
A sweeping saga of the dramatic events surrounding the birth of Christianity—and the very personal story of Leah, compelled into a betrothal she never wanted, drawn by a faith she never expected...

When her family's wealth and power are lost forever, Leah is sent to Pontius Pilate in hopes that he might arrange a strategic marriage. But despite her betrothed's striking countenance and position, Leah deems life as a centurion's wife a fate worse than death.

Head of the garrison near Galilee, Alban has ambitions that could one day see him at the seat of power—in Rome itself. Eager to prove himself, he takes on the assignment of a lifetime, one that will put his career, his beliefs, and his very life at risk.

But when the death—and missing body—of an obscure rabbi find Leah and Alban searching for the same answers, what they discover changes everything.


Review:
This is a Biblical fiction romance novel. When I pick up a fiction book written by Christians for Christians and it uses an account given in the Bible, I expect the novel to stick to the words and actions given in the Biblical account where the fiction story and the Bible account overlap. Unfortunately, this book doesn't. The Pentecost scene is severely chopped up to shorten it. As for the soldiers guarding Jesus tomb, Pilate puts two of his Roman soldiers under the High Priest's command to watch Jesus' tomb instead of the guards being temple guards (enough to "make the tomb as secure as you know how," which I've always assumed was more than just two men) under the command of the chief priests.

The authors also make the hero, Alban, the centurion with great faith ("I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.") yet strip him of his faith. In the Bible, the centurion believed that Jesus could heal his servant, sent Jewish elders to make this request, and then had Jesus heal his servant from afar because he understood that Jesus didn't need to physically be there to heal the servant and he didn't feel worthy of having Jesus under his roof. In the novel, Alban doesn't believe in Jesus, the elders offer to go to Jesus for him, and Alban accepts but doesn't want Jesus and his huge crowd of followers to enter his house so sends his second message to keep Jesus away. The novel still has Jesus commending Alban for his great faith even though Alban doesn't believe that Jesus is more than just a man who might, perhaps, be able to help since nothing else is. To me, this novel implies that Jesus either lied (saying the centurion had great faith when he didn't) or was ignorant (he thought the centurion had great faith when he didn't). Neither is consistent with the Jesus of the Bible.

I also had problems with some logic flaws in the novel. For example, they have Mary, Martha, and Lazarus living in a small house and so poor they can barely find food to put on the table each day. This is the family that regularly hosted Jesus and his followers (providing food and housing). The novel even stages a large post-crucifixion gathering of disciples at their house. So where did all the food and sleeping room for the guests come from?

The novel is fast-paced and full of period details that bring the story to vivid life, but I had reason to doubt some of those details. For example, they had Romans frequently drinking tea as an alternative to wine. Also, devote Jews in the novel fairly frequently referred to their God as Jehovah when speaking to Alban about him.

Much of the time, I felt distant from the emotional struggles of our hero and heroine. For example, Leah's full story of loss wasn't told until two thirds of the way through. I would have felt more sympathetic toward her fear of marriage if I'd known that information earlier. Also, the secondary characters didn't generally have much depth.

Several major loose ends were left hanging at the end, like Alban's fate (death, banishment, or whatever) and Leah is left in debt to a cruel, greedy man.

There is no sex or magic or cussing in this book. Overall, it was a clean read.


Excerpt: Chapter One
AD 33, Caesarea, Judaea Province
Six Days Before Passover

Usually Leah followed the path briskly from the main kitchen to the baths. Today, with the Mediterranean breeze caressing her face and the sun not yet a scorching heat overhead, she could not help but slow her steps. She lifted her eyes at the cry of the seabirds. How peaceful it appeared. Only a few clouds hung in the sky, like a flock of spring lambs. Down below the walkway, sea waves lapped gently along the promontory's edge. Not even the first stirrings within the palace compound behind her could diminish her sense of delight.

For one further moment Leah drank it all in, her gaze sweeping across the panorama before her. Finally she turned away from the vast blue sea and studied the beauty of the city's setting.

Caesarea stretched like a royal necklace along the seafront, with the palace of Pontius Pilate its centermost jewel. From her position upon the rocky point, Leah studied the elaborate courtyard with its columns and statuary, the opulent ceramic-tiled baths, and the impressive marbled facade of the palace itself.

True Devotion by Dee Henderson

True Devotion by Dee Henderson Trade Paperback: 327 pages Publisher: Multnomah First Released: 2000 Author Website

Source: Library

Description from Back Cover:
She was going to drown...

Lifeguard Kelly Jacobs watched the sun go down and knew time for her rescue was running out. The naval base glittered in the fading light, like a jewel she could not reach. The sea surged and pulled, stinging her with cold.

Until he came.

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Joe "Bear" Baker plucked Kelly from the raging sea when she had nearly given up hope. She'd known he would come--he was her best friend--and she clung for all she was worth to the safe haven found in his arms.

Then she said the wrong thing...

Kelly had already paid the ultimate price of loving a warrior. She had the folded flag and the grateful thanks of a nation to prove it. She didn't dare risk loving another man in uniform. But held close in Joe's arms, Kelly said the wrong thing, and their friendship suddenly hung in the balance.

Now they're both in danger.

The man who killed Kelly's husband is back and closer than either Kelly or Joe realize. They're about to discover that God is a refuge, because this time there may be no rescue...

Review:
This romantic suspense novel was a fast read. The characters were honorable, interesting, and engaging. I cared what happened to them, even to the 'bad' guy. The heroine is just as strong (in the non-physical sense) as the hero. Though Kelly is rescued by Joe, her own actions go a long way to making that rescue possible. (As in, the smart heroine doesn't do something extremely stupid and then stand helpless and in danger just so the hero can rescue her.)

The obstacles to the romance were realistic ones based on Kelly and Joe's past history with each other (rather than the artificial "if they'd just talk about it" misunderstanding variety).

Both Kelly and Joe are Christians and their faith is integral to their lives, but the book never gets preachy. It explores their struggles with their faith, specifically why God allowed Kelly's husband (who is also Joe's best friend) to die and Joe live.

The details about SEALs, their missions, and what their wives go through when they're on mission were very interesting and immersed me into their world.

There was some kissing, but no sex. I don't recall any cussing. Overall, I'd recommend this as "a good, clean fun" novel.

Excerpt: Chapter One
They were going to drown.

Kelly Jacobs could already see the headline on the front page of the weekly Coronado Eagle newspaper: "Riptide Kills Teen and Lifeguard." The cold water had her by the throat. Six minutes had passed since she'd last seen the boy bobbing in the swells, and they were being pulled out to sea at a horrifying clip.

She had a lifetime of experience in the Pacific waters off San Diego, numerous rescues, but nothing like this. The water in early May, warmer than usual from La Nina, was still only sixty-seven degrees, cold enough to induce hypothermia. The swells dropped her four feet down in the troughs. If she didn't find the boy soon she wouldn't have the ability to get them back to shore. And this was a big ocean for a search party to cover in the dark--to her left the sun had already set and twilight was fading fast.

The riptide created by the conflux of ocean currents and the outgoing tide had formed late in the day with an explosive suddenness. When conditions changed, the riptide would fade as abruptly as it had formed, but whether it lasted a few hours or a day would not matter in the end. It was already on the verge of becoming deadly.

The fear of what was coming overwhelmed her. This fight to reach the boy was turning into a personal life-and-death struggle. The saltwater burned her throat and sent her gasping as another wave caught her in midbreath. To give up the attempted rescue to save herself, to let the boy drown-- It had been years since she had cared about something this much. She wasn't going to give up, and she wasn't going to fail.

Kelly strained to find a way to work with the waves rather than against them. The boy was here, somewhere near, and she was going to reach him. She thought about her husband as she fought the cold sea. Nick, did you die because you drowned? The Navy had never told her.

Montmorency by Eleanor Updale

Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Eleanor Updale Trade Paperback: 233 pages Publisher: Scholastic First Released: 2003

Source: Bought from Half.com

Back Cover Blurb:
London, 1875. When a petty thief falls through a glass roof while fleeing from the police, it should have been the death of him. Instead, it marks the beginning of a whole new life. The thief is sewn back together by a brilliant young surgeon, and before long he's become the chief exhibit at medical gatherings across the city. It's at one of these learned discussions that he first hears about an amazing addition to the London streets--the sewer system--and an idea begins to form.

The sewers are the perfect escape route for a series of daring robberies, and the thief is the only one with the ingenuity to pull them off. He takes on two identities--the wealthy, sophisticated gentleman Montmorency and his filthy, corrupt servant, Scarper. But Montmorency must constantly be on guard. His whole life is built on lies, and the slightest mistake could betray him...

Review:
This novel is a middle-grade historical adventure that will probably appeal to boys (and girls). Details of the time period are skillfully woven into the story, and the problems Montmorency faced came from the problems of the period.

The pacing was very good. The characters were interesting and had depth. I felt Montmorency changed realistically. He's not a very nice person at first but, by the end of the story, he gains a conscience and a goal beyond indulging his desire for wealth.

There was no romance (so no sex or kissing), and I don't recall any cussing. Overall, I'd recommend this as "a good, clean fun" novel.

Excerpt: Chapter One
The pain woke him again. Not the constant throb that was so familiar he could hardly remember being without it. This was one of those sharp stabs from the wound along his thigh. Doctor Farcett had dug deep to get through to the shattered bone, and the layers of catgut stitching pulled as the torn flesh struggled to realign itself inside. After so many interventions by the keen young medic, Montmorency should have been prepared for the agony, but each time the aftereffects seemed worse, and the limited pain relief (alcohol and the occasional treat of an experimental gas) less effective.

The candle on the central table had burned almost to nothing: It must be nearly morning, but there was no sign of light through the bars high up in the wall. Montmorency knew there was no point in calling for the night guard. Marston, silent, still, and unsmiling, saw his duties in the prison hospital as strictly limited to preventing escapes. Never mind the fact that Montmorency couldn't even turn over in bed, let alone run away. He'd have to wait in the dark for the arrival of Nurse Darnley, a brusque but well-meaning woman who believed that bad people could be made good and that providing a sip of water to a sick criminal might help that process.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce Hardback: 396 pages Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books First Released: 2008 Author Website

Source: Bought from Books-A-Million

Back Cover Blurb:
The gold thread shimmers in the fading light . . .

It promises Charlotte Miller a way out of debt, a chance to save her family's beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, livelihood for her townsfolk, security against her sinuous and grasping uncle. It might even promise what she didn't know she needed: lasting hope and true love.

But at what cost?

To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past -- secrets and bonds ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte's mill, her family, her friends, her love . . . What do those matter to a powerful stranger who can spin straw into gold?

In her brilliant debut, Elizabeth Bunce weaves spellbinding fairy tale, spun with mystery and shot through with romance

Review:
This book is a re-telling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, though many of the details are different from the tale I read as a child. The story is set in a country on the verge of an industrial revolution, and the vivid details of the working of the mill bring the story alive. The other world-building details and the pacing are also excellent.

The characters are varied, interesting, and engaging. I found myself really caring about the characters, which was emotionally difficult since there was also a pervading feeling of pain, darkness, and hopelessness in the story. I kept feeling like the heroine couldn't possibly win out even though I knew she had to. The story did have a satisfying ending.

There was no explicit sex, though the heroine obviously has some because she has two children after she's married. There are ghosts in the story. The magic involved is folk superstitions--curses, hex symbols, corn dollies, and the like--but treated as if they were real. Overall, I'd rate this book "good, clean reading."

Excerpt: Chapter One
When my father died, I thought the world would come to an end. Standing in the churchyard in my borrowed mourning black, I was dimly aware of my sister Rosie beside me, the other mourners huddled round the grave. Great dark clouds gathered over the river, and I knew them for what they were: The End, poised to unleash some terrible wrath and sweep us all right out of the Valley. I let go my hold on Rosie's arm, for I was ready to be swept away.

Yet, somehow, I found myself still standing at the end of the service. I stooped and cast a handful of earth atop the casket, accepted a lily from the vicar, and joined the train of black-clad figures trailing back to the Millhouse--all the while wondering what had gone wrong. Surely at least the mill would mourn his passing, and I would find the old wheel splintered and cracked, riven from its axle, ground to a standstill in the wheelpit.

In the millyard, the old building stood as ever, casting its vast shadow over the house and grounds. Far above where the stones met the roofline, an old sign, so faded and weather-eaten as to be near illegible, spelled out STIRWATERS WOOLLEN MILL: MILLER & SONS, SHEARING. There was no Miller now, and there had never been any sons--just two half-grown orphan daughters, a crumbling ruin of a water-mill, and the mountain of debt it was built upon.

"Charlotte." The voice at my shoulder was gentle but insistent, and I turned to see Abby Weaver, big with child, standing beside me. The black gown I wore, twenty years out of fashion and so tight I could scarcely breathe in it, had been her mother's. Abby squeezed my arm and steered me into the Millhouse.