Book Review: The Warrior, by Ty Patterson

The good, the bad and the verdict. #1 For my first book review I have chosen The Warrior, by Ty Patterson. First, the Good: The book starts out in the Congo. Where our protagonist, Major Zebediah Carter is on assignment for the "agency." What ensues plays out like fantasy for most of us. He witnesses something unspeakable, is ordered to do nothing about it, and completely ignores those orders. Zeb goes on a Jason Bourne"ish" vengeance spree. Interrupting dastardly men doing dastardly things to women and children, but in the chaos, several of the bad guys escape. The Warrior starts out strong. You are thrown right into the action on page one. There is no warm up, cuddle with your hero "get to know you" back story lead-up or other frivolous fluff. The pace moves along at a fast clip and only stalls out in a few spots where you might have to put it down to look up something on google. Our hero engages in a therapeutic form of percussion that I admit I only understood because I looked it up. Perhaps its time to broaden my horizons. The writing in the book is tight and spares flourish for only a few small spots where Patterson seeks to set mood or allow the reader a wider gaze of spacial awareness. Side characters are introduced to ground Major Carter. Some offer depth and development, while others appear at times only to move along dialogue or tie together scenes. Secondly, the bad...guy(s) Zeb doesn't fight off waves of bad guys in The Warrior. Conflicts are strategic but sparse. This may disappoint readers looking for gratuitous violence, but I found it refreshing. Especially considering some thrillers devolve into heroes sliding from fist fight to gun fight right into another fist fight with machine-gun like regularity. With that said, there is actually story here. The main antagonist is Holt, a former military, turned private security contractor who led the group of willy nilly booty-plunderin bad guys in the Congo. As the story moves from the jungles of Africa to the concrete jungles of New York, Zeb's focus narrows, although a cleverly introduced journalist presents a "bigger fish," character that ties together the subplots nicely. Along the path for revenge, and ultimately redemption, Zeb is joined by "Broker" a private intelligence specialist who turns out to be Zeb's swiss army knife. After all, what would a thriller be without gadgets. The other characters that are introduced along the way add a little depth, although you probably won't get too attached to any of them. If for no other reason than the book's fast pace. Lastly, the verdict. Anyone capable of raping and torturing women and children deserves to die. We are all thankful that Zeb Carter feels the same way. Ugly deeds reap quick deaths, but in this case the quick pace of the book is almost a detriment. Some moments are highly anticipated, but flash by too quickly to appropriately savor. Tension builds effectively and it speaks to Patterson's writing that you genuinely start to care about the character of Zebediah Carter. This should speak volumes, considering at the start of the book you are prone to ask yourself:what sets this hardened, ex-military bad ass apart from Reacher and the others. Patterson effectively teases with his sullen and introspective leading man. Providing a delightfully flawed but deathly effective killing machine that hasn't completely given up on humanity yet. Like so many characters in similar books, you can tell immediately that he is a tormented soul. His clip, terse and sometimes painful dialogue speak to a scarred and traumatizing past. That mixed with his lethal combination of talents makes Zeb the character you ultimately want to learn more about. Small flashbacks and perspective breaks are used to add depth, but the real revelation comes in the end. Don't worry, I don't do spoilers. I picked up The Warrior on a Friday night and finished it only a few short days later. I found it a crisp, clean and thoroughly enjoyable read. I look forward to reading future offerings from Mr. Ty Patterson.

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Detail, unearned information and fishing. How much is not enough?

Readers beware. Every writer is different. Some want to take you along for a brisk ride, never stopping long enough to smell the flowers. While others want to take you for a leisurely stroll through their imaginary world, stopping to take notice of all of their vividly painted details. Some will disagree with me, but I think both styles have their advantages and disadvantages. It doesn't make one method more "right" than the other. After all, we aren't all going to like the same books. Some will always like specific genres, while others will argue over specific styles within a genre itself. One of the main reasons why I started my career as a novelist with a fantasy book was I was getting burned out on the same kind of books. I blame myself for this more than anything, I call it my "literary tunnel vision." And yes, I could throw myself a curve ball and try some different reading material. But sometimes that is easier said then done. I would go to the book store and naturally gravitate towards the same places, looking for the same authors and the same kinds of books. Take fantasy and science fiction. Part of me wanted something within the genre that just did things differently. Paint a different picture. Two parts there, paint a different picture, but also paint it in a different fashion. I am the kind of reader that wants to have to think about things. I am more than willing to dedicate the time and the brain power to dig a little deeper into the meaning and the significance. That is primarily why I write the way that I do. I want something to have significance. I want it to have impact, but I don't always want to just come out and tell you exactly why, or how it is happening. When you have to tell someone that means you aren't necessarily showing them. Some of my favorite stories do this, and it doesn't matter what medium. I think in the long run it can make revelations mean so much more. It makes it deeper, broader and more compelling. So many books give away unearned information. I know that authors will argue that without pertinent facts you lack context, or background. But I struggle with this, and would beg to offer back, "its all in the delivery." My philosophy is: If the character can't see it, smell it, or experience it, then neither should you. We step into a new world through a book, we see it through our character's, or in some cases, our narrator's eyes. Lets not spoil the view. Have you ever read a book with a lot of acronyms in it? Thrillers and mysteries may have a lot of these, especially if they are rooted in a military setting with appropriate vernacular. I have seen some books, told in the third person mind you, that include a lot of acronyms. And instead of having the acronym's meaning addressed and expounded upon through the narrative or dialogue, it is simply provided to the reader free of charge, usually captioned or bracketed. I don't know about you, but this bugs me. Not only does it make the book come off as dry but it feels a bit like an actor stepping out of character in a movie. Even if it is just for a fraction of a second, you are going to notice. I recently started thinking about how much thought you want to inspire in your readers. When someone finishes your book do you want them to have to sit down and think about things, or would you rather have them seamlessly push off onto their next project? I would think you want your story to stick with someone for as long as possible after they finish. Does the story draw them in, captivate them and set their imagination spinning? Are they thinking about characters and what situation they were in when the book ended? By all means you want to draw a story to a close, or if its a series, draw that segment of the story to a close. But I think it is important to leave people with something to think about after they have finished. Drop some breadcrumbs, instill some mystery but most of all, keep the imagination churning. If your book is going to have a sequel, is someone going to jump right onto the internet to find out when the next in the series is going to come out? Should that reader be mad at you, as the writer, for intentionally leaving them perched on a cliff with the only company of questions left unanswered? I can't say no, but it all depends on your execution. Therefore I must say "yes." I would rather have someone tell me, "I loved the story, but what about this...and this...and what is going to happen to this...and did this really happen?" Chances are strong that after they get done slapping you and bombarding you with questions they will ask when the next book comes out. In a nutshell, thread that worm, cast your line and sink that hook...sink it deep!