What just happened? A deviant read, that will mess with your mind!
Note: In the military, it’s expected and accepted that people will cuss and swear. This book imitates and encapsulates that perfectly. You’ve been forewarned.
Now, to the marrow of the story. When I began reading this book I felt as though perhaps I had entered “The Matrix”; but, then it became darker and I thought maybe I had instead stumbled into something akin to “The Butterfly Effect”. A mixture of choices that lead to different outcomes, played over and over again until a satisfying conclusion outside of the original reality is reached.
Having finished the book, I’ve focused on my breathing and calmed my heartbeat to quell my adrenaline rush and think that perhaps there’s a mixture of “The Truman Show” at play in what I’ve just ingested too; and, by golly, for certain there is heaven and hell and yet not at all what you may think.
How much of our lives are in our control? How much of our choices are made of our own free will free of temptation or inner-voices that may or may not be working in our favor? This book will make you question. Question what you’ve read and question your own life unless your roots run deep within your faith and personal beliefs.
The pros: This book is fast-paced, like the movie “Ground-Hog Day” certain things repeat but never from the exact same angle or perspective, it will keep you on your toes and you won’t be sure if you’re rooting for a sinner or a saint or someone in-between.
The cons: It’s a mine-field that plays with you. Chews you up and spits you out. It doesn’t end tidy or nice, there are loose ends that you wished your mind didn’t have to close the loop in regard to; and, yet, the ending is also one big giant exhale of satisfaction.
This book in many ways is brilliant, believable, and not, realistic with dialogue and action scenes. I’m giving it five stars not because it’s a read that’s capable of changing the world or has forever changed me as a person, but because it’s bloody intelligence on full display. An intricately woven story-line that was years in the making and should be rewarded!
And, it’s lines like these that shine and keep pulling you forward; because, for better or worse, you’ve got to finish what you’ve started: (Page 182) “That one thought yanked me back to the present like opening the ripcord on a free fall.” (Page 185) “It wasn’t a question Worthy was expecting, and it broke his concentration. His story fell from his mind like trying to lift a finished jigsaw puzzle by the edges.” (Page 204) “It’s then you realize you are all alone, and I mean really alone, that you either need to cling to some ember of hope, some wistful vision of the future, or let it all go and succumb to the darkness. Because there is absolutely no point wading in the gray.”
You’ll be agitated, flustered, and find yourself within a ball of confusion for a while but then the air will clear. It might still hurt for your lungs to breathe (Page 182) but at least you still can. You’ll go from guessing to knowing but you still won’t see it all coming. What will be your takeaways or will you be left with none at all?
May you forever choose wisely.
