Here’s my standard disclaimer. I received a free copy of this title from the Author in exchange for an honest review. A rating will follow this review on Goodreads and Amazon.
I review books based on the story itself. I’m not an editor and I’m not reading these books to proof them for Authors. I’ve read classics or best sellers with mistakes in them. The only time I will let mistakes effect my review is if the mistakes made reading the book cumbersome. At that point, I will just give it a lower number rating while reviewing the actual story itself.
I don’t like reading a review that is basically the back cover blurb, or something that gives away too much of the story. Personally, I like suspense. I like to discover the details of the story as I read them. So, please enjoy this spoiler free book review!
I’m happy to announce that the thirteenth book I’m reviewing on my blog is a book called SUB-SAHARA by Ethan Arkwright.
SUB-SAHARA is war & military thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It had all the hall marks for a suspenseful read. There were private security companies, mercenaries, former service members; good guys, and bad guys. Your good guys like Cavill were good, and your bad guys like Lockyer were bad. You knew who to root for, and knew who to hate! The use of modern military technology, gear, terms, and operations was a nice touch. The fight scenes were great! Aerial, on ground, under ground, in moving vehicles, stand off, indirect, close quarters, hand to hand… You get it all, and it’s realistic! All I have to say is, Willy Pete!
The story was action packed, as it should be when you have former SF/SOF guys going up against each other. Especially when they have private security/defense industry money to back them up. The story was also compelling for me because I’m a Marine Veteran and also a person who used to work in the defense industry sector in the Middle East. I wasn’t private security, but did work on several contracts alongside private security companies. All I have to say is that the friction and attitudes are real! Good and bad guys join the military and good and bad guys use their military backgrounds to get jobs in the private security sector. Even on the same sides, people bump heads. The tension between Cavill and Lockyer, and what happened in their past to create that tension was intriguing. Justice is served!
The setting for the story fascinated me. I’m a fan of ancient ruins and prehistoric sites, and have visited a few myself. I’d love to see a second book with the ancient city explored, and described. Was it Egyptian, or a precursor civilization to the Egyptians? What did they do with the discovery in their day? What will Stratton do with the discovery? The story had closure, but I can see a sequel spawning from this story. Also, I won’t post a spoiler, but who originally found the site and built the scaffolding/shipping containers as seen on the cover? That was surprising! I would never have expected them to have found it. Imagine seeing that blast from the past in the containers!
Overall, this was a great story. It was fast paced and the good guys were up against great odds. There was subterfuge, you didn’t know who to trust, and there was plenty of twists. The diagrams in the book were awesome and the cover looked good. If you like a good military thriller with former Special Forces/Special Operations Forces/Direct Action guys, I recommend this book. I rate this book 5 out of 5!
-PRP3 The Author Media. December 30, 2016
Paul Russell Parker III 