Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Shooters by W.E.B. Griffin

In The Shooters by W.E.B. Griffin the President of the United States orders Delta Force officer Charley Castillo to rescue a DEA agent kidnapped by drug dealer in South America. In spite of the characters (special forces operatives AKA shooters) and the plot (snatch-and-grab rescue in the jungle), the book was devoid of action. The actual rescue is accomplished in a few pages at the end of the book. The remainder of the tale entailed talking heads, political infighting, conspiracy theories, and macho dialogue.
"What kind of supplies?" Richardson asked.
"The kind that need someplace secure to store them," Castillo said, pointedly avoiding details.
"I wouldn't do that," Sergeant Mullroney said, more than a little righteously. "Junior's my brother-in-law, for Christ sakes. My wife's brother."
"I've always wondered what a brother-in-law was," Castillo said.
However, if you like a world where the President orders macho guys to perform jungle rescues, where the men talk tough and drink, and where the women serve food and look pretty, this is the book for you. However with a 400 page back story leading up to a four page action scene, one of the characters in the story expressed my opinion:
"Can't we get to the point of this?"

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