You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Really fast read, can hardly say it was 200 pages. If you're not already a fan of Jocko Willink's then you can probably skip this one.
Wow, what a wild ride! The protagonist is either unstable or blinded by a desire to help his younger brother.
I wasn't sure what to expect for Jocko's first foray into fiction but I was pleasantly surprised. The writing style reminds me of a stage play in its concise, almost abrupt, format. Brief sections of stage/place setting are followed dialog that gives you just enough information to know exactly what the environment is and who the people are, but without being flowerily or overly descriptive. It somehow perfectly matches how I would envision Jocko telling this story based of listening to his podcast and reading his other books. Concise, to the point, nothing extra or superfluous, just the information needed for the mission at hand delivered in a direct, military style, clarity.
The story itself, as he said in his podcast about the book, is a story everyone knows and can relate to. We all know these characters. We've met them, worked with them, been them during different parts of our lives. The plot is interesting, and has a few twists and turns you don't see, or don't want to see, coming. Definitely worth the read whether you're a Jocko fan or not.
The story itself, as he said in his podcast about the book, is a story everyone knows and can relate to. We all know these characters. We've met them, worked with them, been them during different parts of our lives. The plot is interesting, and has a few twists and turns you don't see, or don't want to see, coming. Definitely worth the read whether you're a Jocko fan or not.
DNF at 20%
My God, this might be the worst book I've ever tried to read. I picked it up from the library on a whim and in hindsight, it was a terrible decision. This book reads like a teenage boy wrote it and just reeks of toxic masculinity. The main character Johnny is completely insufferable and actually describes himself as "pretty damn handsome for an unkempt young man"
In chapter two, Johnny assaults someone outside a bar in a show of machismo that made me want to puke and his brother, Arty, is called the R-word and characterized as "possible to tell from looking at his face that something isn't quite right." Uhm, what the fuck?
It's clear that Johnny has no self awareness, and when the very first line of the novel is "How did I end up here? I'm smart. I'm funny. I look pretty damn handsome if I do say so myself." you just know that there's not going to be any personal responsibility taken for anything that happens in this book.
I wish I could unread what I just read because spending even just that small amount of time in Johnny's POV made me feel like I need a shower. It's honestly so bad, it's almost comical.
My God, this might be the worst book I've ever tried to read. I picked it up from the library on a whim and in hindsight, it was a terrible decision. This book reads like a teenage boy wrote it and just reeks of toxic masculinity. The main character Johnny is completely insufferable and actually describes himself as "pretty damn handsome for an unkempt young man"
In chapter two, Johnny assaults someone outside a bar in a show of machismo that made me want to puke and his brother, Arty, is called the R-word and characterized as "possible to tell from looking at his face that something isn't quite right." Uhm, what the fuck?
It's clear that Johnny has no self awareness, and when the very first line of the novel is "How did I end up here? I'm smart. I'm funny. I look pretty damn handsome if I do say so myself." you just know that there's not going to be any personal responsibility taken for anything that happens in this book.
I wish I could unread what I just read because spending even just that small amount of time in Johnny's POV made me feel like I need a shower. It's honestly so bad, it's almost comical.
Girl. Brown hair, jeans, purple shirt. Bookseller. Gets free audiobooks from libro.fm. Gets this one. Plot seems good enough. She chooses it. Book begins. Author dislikes complete sentences. Is repetitive. Uses same word multiple times. Over describes. Repetitive. Book is bad. Not good. Poor quality writing. Bad.
^^This review if it was written by Jocko Willink
^^This review if it was written by Jocko Willink
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Ableism
I went in not sure what țo expect, and wondering about the prose. I came out loving it and thinking about each character all night.