Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Force of Nature is an action packed thrill ride through the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado that finally reveals the secrets of Nate Romanowski's past. Picking up just a few weeks after the events of [b:Cold Wind|12410609|Cold Wind (Joe Pickett, #11)|C.J. Box|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1323568150s/12410609.jpg|14292502], Nate is in hiding after confirming the mysterious Five led by the ruthless Nemecek, his former commander and falconry mentor, are hunting him down. He barely survives the first assassination attempt that leaves three locals dead and makes him the prime suspect in a cold blooded murder. When Nemecek begins to target anyone who can be linked to him, including Joe Pickett and his family, Nate stops running and goes on the offensive, determined to end things once and for all.
Force of Nature is primarily Nate's story though Box doesn't neglect Joe or the characters we have become familiar with in the series. While Nate dodges assassins that have taken apart his entire former Black Ops team, Joe wrestles with his conscience, the ever more boorish Sheriff McLanahan and an irritating trainee.
There is less mystery in this novel than in previous installments, though the fast paced action makes up for it. A boat containing three bloodied bodies discovered in the first few pages sets the tone for the murder and mayhem to follow. I'm reluctant to share too many details because I think Force of Nature works best if you simply hold your breath and hang on for the ride through twisting mountain passes. I will reveal that the conclusion is quite spectacular and I really enjoyed getting to know more about the enigmatic Nate whose depths has only been hinted at previously.
Force of Nature is an exciting page turner and a great addition to this terrific series. I think it works more effectively if you have read at least a few of the previous 11 titles in the series and is a must for fans. I'm looking forward to the next one already.
If you read the previous 11 books in this series, you will become acquainted with Nate Romanowski. You won’t be intimately acquainted, mind you, but you’ll be intrigued by him enough to wonder why it is that he insists on keeping a well-defined distance from anything that smacks of government or law enforcement. Yet, he has a complicated but enduring friendship with Joe Pickett, the game warden in the district where Nate lives solitarily with his falcons. In this installment of the series, you’ll read about Nate more than Joe. Oh, Pickett is there behind the scenes in some cases, but this is essentially Nate’s story. And while I enjoyed it, it wasn’t as strong or memorable in plot as Joe’s perspective usually is.
Nate’s mentor in Special Forces in the mid-‘90s was John Nemecek. He taught the fine art of brutally disposing of an enemy. But he also taught Nate more about falconry than he had known. In fact, it is Nate’s connection to the birds that single him out in Nemecek’s mind as someone he wants to mentor. But Nemecek has serious character flaws, and he and his team become part of a problem that arguably negatively affected us all—at least that’s what Nate thinks. Whatever horror happened out there in the Middle East desert is motivation enough for Nate to stay off the grid and hide from law enforcement. But when Nemecek decides Nate must die because of what he knows about Nemecek’s past, Nate realizes he is in more trouble than ever.
Nemecek will use Joe Pickett and his family to get at Nate. Nate figures he can handle Nemecek, but he will have to step outside the bounds of the law to do it. The question is whether straight-arrow Joe will be a hindrance in that process.
I didn’t find this book to be quite as gripping as the other books in the series have been. The writing is highly skillful, and you will continue to be fascinated with the nuances of all the relationships of the characters to one another here. And while most of us don’t think of a library as being the place to craft a creepy almost-rape scene, Box does that such that you’ll not likely want to be the last patron to exit your public library as it is closing.
Nate’s mentor in Special Forces in the mid-‘90s was John Nemecek. He taught the fine art of brutally disposing of an enemy. But he also taught Nate more about falconry than he had known. In fact, it is Nate’s connection to the birds that single him out in Nemecek’s mind as someone he wants to mentor. But Nemecek has serious character flaws, and he and his team become part of a problem that arguably negatively affected us all—at least that’s what Nate thinks. Whatever horror happened out there in the Middle East desert is motivation enough for Nate to stay off the grid and hide from law enforcement. But when Nemecek decides Nate must die because of what he knows about Nemecek’s past, Nate realizes he is in more trouble than ever.
Nemecek will use Joe Pickett and his family to get at Nate. Nate figures he can handle Nemecek, but he will have to step outside the bounds of the law to do it. The question is whether straight-arrow Joe will be a hindrance in that process.
I didn’t find this book to be quite as gripping as the other books in the series have been. The writing is highly skillful, and you will continue to be fascinated with the nuances of all the relationships of the characters to one another here. And while most of us don’t think of a library as being the place to craft a creepy almost-rape scene, Box does that such that you’ll not likely want to be the last patron to exit your public library as it is closing.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve ended up working on this post a lot longer than most—definitely longer than any other book in this series. I know I didn’t say everything I wanted to, but I think I covered all the essentials. I also think my trimming ideas/paragraphs/rabbit trails didn’t make this too difficult to follow. Let me know if I missed that mark, will you?
What’s Force of Nature About?
Nate Romanowski.
That’s the short version anyway—but it’s not a helpful answer.
Since we met Nate, we’ve known that he’s living off the grid for more than philosophical reasons—he’s not just a modern Thoreau, But we’ve never been given the story behind that. He’s offered to tell Joe, but Joe’s smart enough to know he shouldn’t know (but he is curious).
Well now, those people he’s been avoiding are getting close to finding him. They are approaching, questioning, kidnapping (if deemed necessary), and putting all other sorts of pressure on those who may know something about Nate or his whereabouts. This includes new characters as well as well-established characters—including all the Picketts, his friends on the reservation, his mysterious friends in Idaho, and others.
To protect those who are important to him, Nate has to stop hiding and go on the offense. Along the way, the reader gets answers to a lot of the questions about him that we’ve built up over the previous eleven novels.
We also get another lesson in watching out for your ears around Nate Romanowski, just in case Free Fire wasn’t enough for you.
Yes, there are several other things going on, but they all tie back to Nate Romanowski—his past, his present, and if he has a future.
A Gripe
This is semi-spoilery, but without this, I might have rated this higher, so I have to talk about it. I don’t think reading this is going to ruin anything plot-wise. Still, feel free to skip down to the next heading.
Nate, Joe, and Marybeth all agree that the Picketts have to get out of town for their own safety. So Joe, Marybeth, April, and Lucy get to the airport so they can get out of the reach of those who might try to use them to get to Nate.
See the problem there? I said nothing about Sheridan. Sure, she’s away at college, but we’re talking about people who have gone to Idaho and Colorado to find people to get leverage on Nate. Does anyone really think they can’t get to Laramie? Yes, Joe sends his FBI buddy to talk to her, but that’s to get information, not to watch out for her.
I literally kept talking back to the recording, “What about Sheridan?” Is it possible I missed the two sentences it would’ve taken for Box to justify this choice, but I don’t think that’s the case.
David Chandler
This is book 12, David Chandler has this series down—I’m sure he’s not on auto-pilot or anything, but at this point, it’s got to be comfortable for him.
That said, he’s on his game here, and really gets to stretch his wings a little—there’s (obviously) more Nate than usual, and Nate has a greater emotional range than usual, too. Bang-up job by Chandler.
So, what did I think about Force of Nature?
This is the most action-packed, violent, and unpredictable Joe Pickett novel yet. I’m not sure it’s even close—I’m not sure it’s the best novel in the series, but I’m guessing it’s quite the fan-favorite because of all the Nate material.
It’s the C.J. Box-equivalent of Robert Crais’ L.A. Requiem where we get all of Joe Pike’s background* in the midst of a gripping thrill ride. There’s a version of this post that contains several paragraphs comparing/contrasting these two novels that I’m sorely tempted to write, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read it all. This will both serve to humanize Nate as well as build up his mystique. A nice trick to be sure.
* I just got a very real lesson in careful typing by invoking Joe Pike in a discussion about a Joe Pickett novel.
Am I happy to have a lot of questions answered about Nate? Yes. Do I have a whole bunch of new questions about him? Yes. Do I sort of hope that he disappears for at least a book so we can refocus on Joe? Yes. Do I think that anyone with a mild interest in the Joe Pickett series will dig this novel? No doubt in my mind.
Am I happy to have a lot of questions answered about Nate? Yes. Do I have a whole bunch of new questions about him? Yes. Do I sort of hope that he disappears for at least a book so we can refocus on Joe? Yes. Do I think that anyone with a mild interest in the Joe Pickett series will dig this novel? No doubt in my mind.
FINALLY, we find out who's been after Nate Romanovsky after all these years. But... Maybe there's more to it. Oh well. I'm a little tired of Nate's superhuman everything. Basically suspense, not mystery. I think I'm done with CJ Box, much as I like Joe Pickett.
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pretty good...first C.J. Box novel I've read, and I enjoyed it. Nate Romanowski is the kind of human, but uber-skilled, character that I enjoy escaping with, and Box didn't disappoint in that regard. Others have reviewed the content of the book, so I won't do that in my review, except to say that the conflict in the book is well set up, the action seems well-researched, and the resolution is satisfying. It was good treadmill reading.
I don't know when I'll read another C.J. Box novel (Joe Pickett doesn't sound as interesting to me as a main character), but perhaps some day. There are too many other things I want to read.
I don't know when I'll read another C.J. Box novel (Joe Pickett doesn't sound as interesting to me as a main character), but perhaps some day. There are too many other things I want to read.