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"Hard is not hopeless." - General David Petraeus



Sunday, August 7, 2011

Highest Recommendation: Threat Warning by John Gilstrap

I just finished reading John Gilstrap's thriller, Threat Warning, and my rating is

5++ out of 5 stars

John Gilstrap, author and one of the team members over at my favorite blog, The Kill Zone (http://killzoneauthors.blogspo,t.com/) released a new novel in July, Threat Warning

It is a thriller that features hero Jonathan Graves and a nerve-wracking plot to wreak havoc in the states that goes much deeper than he at first thinks. 

I love it when the tension in a book is so strong it wears me out.  You will be captivated from beginning to end. 

Mr. Gilstrap handles difficult-to-write scenes (intense sustained action, for example) with seeming ease.  His characters are well defined and true to human nature (read as, all over the place logically and emotionally when under stress) and he educates you a lot besides.  Since I got my Kindle in January, I have never highlighted within a book as much as I did while reading this novel.

Honestly, I don't think I have liked a book this much since reading Nancy Turner's These Is My Words probably five or six years ago.  I would actually like to buy a print copy of this novel to mark up and study for craft.

It was an extremely intense read.  I say that because it is an in your face reminder of how unstable the world often feels, but it is made better by a solid hero you can root for (and would be glad to have on your side).  Nevertheless, it is so intense it's probably not the type of book I'd want to pick up and read once a week.

The other warning is just a bit of language (not much) and if you like a genteel read, this book is definitely not for you.  But if you like it high on the action and low on the smarmy, this is a most excellent choice.

It's funny.  I never set out to read in the thriller genre.  My main love has and always will be historical fiction.  But since it's difficult to find historical fiction that isn't too girlie (at least in CBA fic), the thriller genre has become a natural substitute for what's lacking in the historical arena.

If you need a weekend of intense diversion; if you want to read a book that re-invigorates you to get back to your computer and get working on your own novel; if you just want to be flat-out entertained; if you want to reaffirm that the good guys still win, then Threat Warning is for you.

Here's a link to it at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Threat-Warning-John-Gilstrap/dp/0786024925

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