Can you say near-future military action-adventure science fiction thriller three times real fast? Do you like Clive Cussler’s work? That’s the kind of novel Michael C. Grumley wrote in Breakthrough. I give it solid marks. Not a full on five stars, but it’s very much a standout for the genre, and I am a Clive Cussler fan. (I’m also a Lee Child fan, for those who want to know.)
Well-conceived, well-researched, and well-executed, Breakthrough stays very tightly to the tried and true–the hero, a slightly renegade SEAL and his sidekick, the scientists, and the politicos, the enigma, and the razor’s edge sequencing of scenes culminating at life-critical moments. Plus, there’s just a whiff of potential romance that never blossoms in this book. Maybe the next?
So, lots of action, lots of solid, believable science, a typical amount of political machinations and bureaucracy, along with the bypassing of said same by aforementioned heroes. There’s lots of intrique, lots to worry about, and lots of bullets and torpedoes flying as the dominoes begin to fall, never mind the nukes.
The science is believable, including the breakthrough in communicating with dolphins. The undersea mystery–both the enigma of it at the onset, and the revelations later on–are credible, as are the environmental consequences. (I’m trying very hard, here, not to give anything away.)
The main bad guy is just a bit too ‘Dick Cheney’, and goes a bit over-the-top near the end, in my opinion, but, all in all, he does demonstrate a prevalent attitude among Hawks, some legitimate, others just typical warmonger stuff.
The editing? No grammatical faults that I noticed, which is amazing for a self-published book, and excellent delivery, pacing, and transitions. My only complaint is the lack of spacing between scene changes (at least, in the eBook format). Criticism? There is a bit of head-hopping, but nothing that will throw you out. The lack of scene change spacing is the only thing that will give you pause, but you get used to it by the time you’re a third of the way in.
Story (with respect to the genre)? 5 stars.
Presentation? 4 stars.
Do I personally recommend it? For those like me who enjoy these kinds of action-adventure, near-future gallops? Definitely.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
D. L. Keur is an avid reader, mostly of those genres she doesn’t herself write, and she authors, both, paranormally-tinged, mainstream novels as well as realistic modern-day Western/Western Romances written just as much for men as for women. She writes the former as E. J. Ruek and the latter as C. J. “Country” James. And you can look for her releasing some books in the future as “D.L.Keur writing as D.L.Keur”. You can sample, both, her attitudes and her novels online at www.DLKeur.com and buy the books in print or eBook on Amazon.