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littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
I'm officially caught up with series and this one was a doozy as it seemed realistic in a scary sort of way. Nate has been hired to check out the movements of a fellow falconer who may have terrorist ties. Joe has been sent to the same area on a mission from the governor. And as luck would have it Joe's daughter Sheridan is in the same part of the state joining her college roommate on a volunteer opportunity. Needless to say things to very wrong very quickly as they tend to do. The violence factor seemed a bit higher in this book. Very satisfied with the ending.
eastofthesunwestofthemoon's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars. This book is well written and it's a reasonable plot, but it's more violent than I like and the plot is not one that I loved. I did like it, but no more than like.
chazmo1431's review against another edition
4.0
Another successful outing for C J Box in his long-running Joe Pickett Series.
Although there is an improbable encounter between Pickett, his daughter Sheridan and Family Protector Nate Romanowski in the dry desert of souther Wyoming, this book is well paced and keeps you in the story.
As usual, Box successfully makes the outdoors a part of the story. His description of the Red Desert of Wyoming, a place I had never heard of before, is fascinating and makes me want to visit to explore at some point. This story brings Wyoming's outdoor culture and modern day terrorists together in a believable tale of the development of a terrorist plot against critical American infrastructure. Fans of "false-flag" spy stories will appreciate the turn the story takes near the end with the chief (dupe) provocateur.
As usual, Romanowski is a critical and fascinating figure around who this tale turns. Pickett remains the guidon of probity and right; his every-man qualities and shortcomings making him again a tremendously sympathetic figure easy to relate to. The story moves and has Box's usual mix of great characters, twists and turns, a well described landscape critical to the tale and touches of larger contemporary questions facing civil society.
Although there is an improbable encounter between Pickett, his daughter Sheridan and Family Protector Nate Romanowski in the dry desert of souther Wyoming, this book is well paced and keeps you in the story.
As usual, Box successfully makes the outdoors a part of the story. His description of the Red Desert of Wyoming, a place I had never heard of before, is fascinating and makes me want to visit to explore at some point. This story brings Wyoming's outdoor culture and modern day terrorists together in a believable tale of the development of a terrorist plot against critical American infrastructure. Fans of "false-flag" spy stories will appreciate the turn the story takes near the end with the chief (dupe) provocateur.
As usual, Romanowski is a critical and fascinating figure around who this tale turns. Pickett remains the guidon of probity and right; his every-man qualities and shortcomings making him again a tremendously sympathetic figure easy to relate to. The story moves and has Box's usual mix of great characters, twists and turns, a well described landscape critical to the tale and touches of larger contemporary questions facing civil society.
holl3640's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
seanpatricklittle's review against another edition
3.0
After fifteen books, Joe Pickett has seen just about every bad guy you can imagine, short of an international terrorist cell.
So, let's have Joe and Nate Romanowski try to take down an ISIS fracture cell.
That's the basis of OFF THE GRID.
CJ Box is a great writer. He's not flashy, and he tells a good story, but like so many writers who do action-based mysteries, there is a tendency to get overrun with machismo and stretching the fabric of believability to a near-breaking point. Box takes this book to that breaking point and just about breaks into the eye-rolling, throw-the-book-across-the-room climax, but it's still a readable, good fun outing from everyone's favorite Wyoming game warden.
I'll keep reading Box because he's so good at what he does. And given that the fifteenth book in the series, ENDANGERED, was one of his best, I'll cut him some slack on OFF THE GRID. It's far from his best work, but it gets the job done.
Sort of like Joe Pickett himself.
So, let's have Joe and Nate Romanowski try to take down an ISIS fracture cell.
That's the basis of OFF THE GRID.
CJ Box is a great writer. He's not flashy, and he tells a good story, but like so many writers who do action-based mysteries, there is a tendency to get overrun with machismo and stretching the fabric of believability to a near-breaking point. Box takes this book to that breaking point and just about breaks into the eye-rolling, throw-the-book-across-the-room climax, but it's still a readable, good fun outing from everyone's favorite Wyoming game warden.
I'll keep reading Box because he's so good at what he does. And given that the fifteenth book in the series, ENDANGERED, was one of his best, I'll cut him some slack on OFF THE GRID. It's far from his best work, but it gets the job done.
Sort of like Joe Pickett himself.
leirben's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Off the Grid by C.J. Box is a terrifyingly realistic thriller that takes place in the very isolated Red Desert area in Wyoming. This sixteenth installment in the Joe Pickett series reunites Game Warden Joe Pickett with his good friend, Nate Romanowski, when their paths unexpectedly cross after the outgoing governor asks Joe to investigate the suspicious happenings in the desert.
Nate has been living completely off the grid when an unspecified government agency sends two of its agents to coerce him into finding missing journalist Muhammad "Ibby" Ibraaheem. Although Ibby's reputation is impeccable, his disappearance nearly two years earlier certainly caught the attention of the federal government and it appears he may be involved in some type of terrorist plot. Nate wants nothing more than to be left alone, but the agents' promise of expunging his record coupled with some very unsubtle threats convince him to accept the assignment.
Just as Joe is heading home from a long day in the field, a distress call about a rogue bear possibly attacking a hunter puts his evening plans on hold. Using info from the GPS trackers on both the hunter and the bear, his worst fears are realized when he finds the nearly dead hunter in the bear's cache. Joe narrowly escapes the hunter's fate when the bear returns but both he and the bear escape the encounter unscathed. With the bear's whereabouts now unknown, he thinks outgoing Governor Spencer Rulon is planning to assign him the nearly impossible task of tracking the bear but much to his surprise, Rulon wants Joe to investigate what is going on in the Red Desert.
Neither Nate nor Joe is prepared for what is awaiting them in the desert. The conditions in the remote area are harsh and unforgiving but what they discover at Ibby's camp ratchets the danger level into the stratosphere. Ibby's idealistic plan is about to come to fruition but, unbeknownst to him, the other men he is working with are planning an attack so catastrophic that it is nearly incomprehensible. Nate and Joe are determined to foil the terrorist plot but they are so completely outnumbered and outgunned, they cannot help but wonder if they will escape with their lives.
With a plausible plot and plenty of action, Off the Grid by C.J. Box is a pulse-pounding thriller that is fast-paced and engrossing. The storyline is horrifyingly realistic in this post 9/11 era and the bad guys are chillingly brutal and willing to die for their cause. The beautiful yet desolate Red Desert is the ideal setting for these nefarious dealings and it is also the perfect backdrop for Joe and Nate's final stand against the evildoers. A riveting novel of suspense, this sixteenth installment in the Joe Pickett series can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend the entire series.
Off the Grid by C.J. Box is a terrifyingly realistic thriller that takes place in the very isolated Red Desert area in Wyoming. This sixteenth installment in the Joe Pickett series reunites Game Warden Joe Pickett with his good friend, Nate Romanowski, when their paths unexpectedly cross after the outgoing governor asks Joe to investigate the suspicious happenings in the desert.
Nate has been living completely off the grid when an unspecified government agency sends two of its agents to coerce him into finding missing journalist Muhammad "Ibby" Ibraaheem. Although Ibby's reputation is impeccable, his disappearance nearly two years earlier certainly caught the attention of the federal government and it appears he may be involved in some type of terrorist plot. Nate wants nothing more than to be left alone, but the agents' promise of expunging his record coupled with some very unsubtle threats convince him to accept the assignment.
Just as Joe is heading home from a long day in the field, a distress call about a rogue bear possibly attacking a hunter puts his evening plans on hold. Using info from the GPS trackers on both the hunter and the bear, his worst fears are realized when he finds the nearly dead hunter in the bear's cache. Joe narrowly escapes the hunter's fate when the bear returns but both he and the bear escape the encounter unscathed. With the bear's whereabouts now unknown, he thinks outgoing Governor Spencer Rulon is planning to assign him the nearly impossible task of tracking the bear but much to his surprise, Rulon wants Joe to investigate what is going on in the Red Desert.
Neither Nate nor Joe is prepared for what is awaiting them in the desert. The conditions in the remote area are harsh and unforgiving but what they discover at Ibby's camp ratchets the danger level into the stratosphere. Ibby's idealistic plan is about to come to fruition but, unbeknownst to him, the other men he is working with are planning an attack so catastrophic that it is nearly incomprehensible. Nate and Joe are determined to foil the terrorist plot but they are so completely outnumbered and outgunned, they cannot help but wonder if they will escape with their lives.
With a plausible plot and plenty of action, Off the Grid by C.J. Box is a pulse-pounding thriller that is fast-paced and engrossing. The storyline is horrifyingly realistic in this post 9/11 era and the bad guys are chillingly brutal and willing to die for their cause. The beautiful yet desolate Red Desert is the ideal setting for these nefarious dealings and it is also the perfect backdrop for Joe and Nate's final stand against the evildoers. A riveting novel of suspense, this sixteenth installment in the Joe Pickett series can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend the entire series.
ekloretto's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75