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Subverted: A Berk Renner Thriller
While fighting to save his friend, Berk Renner stumbles upon a conspiracy that could change the world. If Renner is to stop the conspiracy, he will have to face an enemy unlike any he encountered as a Delta Force operator.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 4, 2016
Subvert: undermine the power and authority of.
Set mainly in the American east, Berk Renner is the American hero we've come to love and respect of our military men and women returning home from overseas deployment in today's modern warfare. Forced out of service due to the American politic, Berk Renner now serves his countrymen in the private sector as a Private Investigator. Serving in this capacity, Berk Renner's character exhibits a devotion to his God as much as he does to his Country, but not in an overt over-the-head way.
Faced with the mission of uncovering the truth behind his childhood best friend's wrongful imprisonment and sentence to the electric chair, Berk soon finds himself in harm's way in more ways than one. Fast paced and full of action, Berk is quickly plunged into conspiracy and an underground plot to overthrow the American Government.
While I'd describe the characters of the book developed, I reserve this for the main characters. It seemed that with each new chapter, I was being introduced to a new character that for a chapter or two played a role, but ultimately got lost in the running credits at the end - characters that were far less developed, but fit their plot niche.
The plot is not only credible, I think an argument can be made that the essence of the plot is in fact in motion today. It's stated in the book that '...to bring down a country, one of the first things you must do is erase their past.' Poignant, but insightful.
While I feel the book is well plotted - I love the construction of the story line - I get the feeling in the final half-dozen chapters that the project suffers from being rushed to the finish line.
Berk Renner is a welcome hero in a genre that lacks a Christian influence. It's certainly good to know that a thrilling story can be told without the inclusion of copious amounts of cussing and abhorrent sexuality. I look forward to his next adventure.
Now, on to the the gorilla in the room - editing. This book, and it's ultimate success on the bookstore rack would do well with a fresh edit. That stated, the story is a solid four-star debut.
Set mainly in the American east, Berk Renner is the American hero we've come to love and respect of our military men and women returning home from overseas deployment in today's modern warfare. Forced out of service due to the American politic, Berk Renner now serves his countrymen in the private sector as a Private Investigator. Serving in this capacity, Berk Renner's character exhibits a devotion to his God as much as he does to his Country, but not in an overt over-the-head way.
Faced with the mission of uncovering the truth behind his childhood best friend's wrongful imprisonment and sentence to the electric chair, Berk soon finds himself in harm's way in more ways than one. Fast paced and full of action, Berk is quickly plunged into conspiracy and an underground plot to overthrow the American Government.
While I'd describe the characters of the book developed, I reserve this for the main characters. It seemed that with each new chapter, I was being introduced to a new character that for a chapter or two played a role, but ultimately got lost in the running credits at the end - characters that were far less developed, but fit their plot niche.
The plot is not only credible, I think an argument can be made that the essence of the plot is in fact in motion today. It's stated in the book that '...to bring down a country, one of the first things you must do is erase their past.' Poignant, but insightful.
While I feel the book is well plotted - I love the construction of the story line - I get the feeling in the final half-dozen chapters that the project suffers from being rushed to the finish line.
Berk Renner is a welcome hero in a genre that lacks a Christian influence. It's certainly good to know that a thrilling story can be told without the inclusion of copious amounts of cussing and abhorrent sexuality. I look forward to his next adventure.
Now, on to the the gorilla in the room - editing. This book, and it's ultimate success on the bookstore rack would do well with a fresh edit. That stated, the story is a solid four-star debut.
April 6, 2016
I enjoyed this book, but it did leave me confused a lot of times.
Berk Renner is trying to find evidence to save his friend from death row. However, someone is trying to keep him from finding the truth and Berk finds himself escaping hit after hit. The bulk of the story I did enjoy. The action was good and the way he escaped was smart and realistic for a special ops guy. However, I found myself pulled in by the suspense/mystery, but then again confused with a lot of the story. I never really understood how the death of Berk's friend played a role in Yeri's plans. It was never really explained and the explanation provided did not really make sense.
There was a lot of characters. This also added to some of the confusion, because just as I'm thinking okay that is why this person is introduced, something happens and he is not part of the story anymore. These characters should either have been given more of a purpose in the book, or just left out. For me it was just too much information on characters which didn't play a real part in the story.
There was also a few editing issues - sentences which didn't make sense until I reread them with the correct wording (where vs were, was vs way) but this was limited and didn't take a lot away from the book.
*I received a free copy from the author for an honest review. Thoughts and opinions provided is my own.*
Berk Renner is trying to find evidence to save his friend from death row. However, someone is trying to keep him from finding the truth and Berk finds himself escaping hit after hit. The bulk of the story I did enjoy. The action was good and the way he escaped was smart and realistic for a special ops guy. However, I found myself pulled in by the suspense/mystery, but then again confused with a lot of the story. I never really understood how the death of Berk's friend played a role in Yeri's plans. It was never really explained and the explanation provided did not really make sense.
There was a lot of characters. This also added to some of the confusion, because just as I'm thinking okay that is why this person is introduced, something happens and he is not part of the story anymore. These characters should either have been given more of a purpose in the book, or just left out. For me it was just too much information on characters which didn't play a real part in the story.
There was also a few editing issues - sentences which didn't make sense until I reread them with the correct wording (where vs were, was vs way) but this was limited and didn't take a lot away from the book.
*I received a free copy from the author for an honest review. Thoughts and opinions provided is my own.*
March 29, 2016
I received a free ebook from the author. This book was full of exciting, dangerous moments that made it hard for me to put it down. There were a couple of slower spots that caused me to almost give up, but I recommend that you keep on reading because it suddenly picks up. The details of the characters, settings, and weaponry are well done. There is some violence, but it is written in a way that is tasteful. There are no graphic gore or violent moments to sicken the reader. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for another Berk Renner Thriller.
December 20, 2019
Subverted, A Berk Renner Thriller by Don Mathews is a Christian suspense-thriller that caught my attention from the first paragraph. I gave it five stars.
Linda Powers had two items hanging on the wall where she saw them when she first woke. One was a human silhouette target with several holes where a real man's heart would be and the other are her framed divorce papers.
Michael Greenwood and Allan Smothers are sitting in a darkened car with silencers on their guns.
I received a complimentary Kindle copy from the author. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Subverted-Renn...
Linda Powers had two items hanging on the wall where she saw them when she first woke. One was a human silhouette target with several holes where a real man's heart would be and the other are her framed divorce papers.
Michael Greenwood and Allan Smothers are sitting in a darkened car with silencers on their guns.
I received a complimentary Kindle copy from the author. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Subverted-Renn...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews