Customer Reviews

The Ambassador's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #2)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Just finished Hickam's last Thurlow epic. I was enthralled throughout. Great characters, though far tougher and more nuanced than in the Keeper's Son. Once a reader is immersed in Hickam's Thurlow world, it is as if you have stepped into a vivid, non-stop place. This is not a standard World War II novel. There is something very different about the Thurlow stories. For one thing, there is woven in the text a spirit unlike anything I've ever read. Penelope and Joe Gimmee and Dave the megapode are all more spirits than real it seemed to me. There are matters of the heart and soul that peek out through the story that are perhaps disappointing to anyone who just wants to read a war story. Hickam's Thurlow novels are going for something else and this one has cranked up everything a notch. I quite often laughed out loud at the very comic style of some scenes and then the next page I was immersed in a terrible battle that was so real, it seemed like I was a part of. Maybe Hickam, who is a combat veteran of Vietnam, is bringing out the insanity of war. He's a writer to watch, this one, but not one to read if all you want is the ordinary.

I can easily say that Homer Hickam is my favorite author. I was hooked when I read The Rocket Boys (October Sky) and Sky of Stone. Every book Mr. Hickam has written has been just as good as or better than the previous book, which is VERY high praise. Hickam manages to spin creative tales with interesting characters and interesting plot lines, time after time.

Some authors, after a little success, begin to get predictable, or they begin to lose their creative edge. Not so with Homer Hickam! In my opinion, there are two authors that consistently produce outstanding works - the great John Grisham and Homer Hickam. I can only hope that Mr. Hickam's career as an author turns out to include as many books as John Grisham has produced.

This is a wonderful, epic tale of World War II life, and, even for younger readers like myself, born two decades after World War II, we can almost feel like we knew what it was like to be there. I mean no disrespect to the honorable World War II veterans (and all other veterans) out there - I truly appreciate your service and I thank you for all that you did.

For a good, entertaining read, RUN OUT AND BUY THE AMBASSADOR'S SON! You WILL NOT be disappointed!

Hickam is an interesting writer who does interesting work. I saw the movie October Sky and thought the guy was a rocket scientist but then read Rocket Boys and his other Coalwood books and was impressed by his ability to write. These "Josh Thurlow" novels are certainly a long way from his first novels but I also noted with some surprise that he wrote Torpedo Junction, an excellent U-boat non-fiction book I'd read many years before October Sky came along. So now that I've read both Josh Thurlows, I'm interested in anything else he has to write. The Ambassador's Son seems to me to be a bit "Catch 22-ish," though not so outlandish as that novel, a bit Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" and also a bit of Hickam's wit and wisdom he showed in the Coalwood/Rocket books. Thurlow is intriguing as he is quite often wrong, very wrong in fact, in how he sees things. He has evolved quite a bit in the two books. He seemed simpler and sweeter in "The Keeper's Son" but has hardened in Ambassador's. Hickam is a clever writer and just when you think you're onto him, he switches gears. Quite often, he made me laugh. Both Penelope and Felicity in this novel are caricatures, yet I fell in love with both of them. How could a man not fall for women who are as likely to kill you as love you? The novel can be approached as an adventure, pure and simple, or, as I think it deserves, as a deeply moving tale of humans cracking under a great deal of pressure. Bravo to the real Jack Kennedy and Dick Nixon for fighting in that awful but awesome world Hickam has recreated here.

I love the Josh Thurlow series. For my money, this author delivers. What a great story of life, love, adventure, sex, and war in the South Pacific. Jack Kennedy is perfectly cast as Josh's sidekick. The cameos by Dick Nixon, James Michener, and Whizzer White had great dramatic effect. Hickam is an author who does his homework. He also is a writer who will make you laugh. His style is a combination of Steinbeck and Twain. Once you get into the rhythm of it, it's impossible to stop turning the pages. Great characters, great plot, great writing. I have a new fav author.

Homer Hickam's books are a gift to an avid reader. The ambassadors son is a well structured book. This is an adventure story that moves along at a rapid pace, but doesn't drown the reader in too many small details. That is a trick for an author writing a fiction book about historical events. You have to add details, but not enough that you lose the story for the reader. Hickam is one of the best at doing this. To read this book, it helps to Read Hickams other book "The keepers son". I really think this book deserves a literary prize. Definitely worth the money!

I guess like previous readers of the Keeper's son I didn't know what to expect. I just knew I looked forward to reading about Josh Thurlow's new adventure. The first 50 pages were hard to get through, but the table has to be set sometimes, before the main course can be served. I would recommend that one read "The Keeper's son, in order to know more about Josh Thurlowe and crew. I did miss the characters of Killakeet, but came to really enjoy the new ones in " The Ambassador's Son". Pongo, Dave, Felicity and Penelope where a great additions. Even Nick, I must admit was a fascinating person and I'm a big Kennedy fan myself. I loved the portrayal of Shafty and the tragic story about Rosemary. Once Josh was given his mission, things really started to take off. Homer took us once again on a another wonderful and exciting adventure, giving us a history lesson along the way.

Once again, the Master delivers. Part history lesson, part thrill ride, The Ambassador's Son manages to be funny, sexy, and horrifying. Homer Hickam started out writing great books, and he's gotten even better with time. I don't know how he does it, but I hope he keeps it up.

Jeff Edwards
Author of "Torpedo"

Homer Hickam has such an easy style of writing that it makes me mad! I'm an aspiring novelist and it bums me that he makes it look so easy. I've recently heard him speak so I can tell you he is also a very good out loud story teller. But he also gives good tips on writing to future writers so I can't fault him because of that.

Anyway, about this novel. I read The Keeper's Son and looked forward to reading about Josh Thurlow's further adventures along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But,, no, he's in the South Pacific now (duh, maybe I should have looked at the cover), My favorite character from "Keeper's" was Dosie Crossan but she's not in this one except for a letter early on that makes Josh thinks they're no longer a couple. So this frees him to go after other women. How typically male! But I have to confess that Josh is not actively chasing women so much as they seem to just be there and very interested in well, what you might expect hot-blooded women in the tropics to be interested in.

But to the plot. There's a missing Marine officer and it looks like he's kidnapped the beautiful young native wife of a Solomon Island colonist who also heads up a vicious native militia. Of course that's bad but it gets worse when Josh finds out the officer is a close relative of President Roosevelt. Josh also knows the man. But Josh is given the assignment to go after him to bring him back dead or alive. And so begins an adventurous chase across the South Pacific with young JFK recruited to help out. Josh, however, gets stranded on an island with a mysterious nearly naked native woman who soon seduces him. Her name is Penelope and she carries a mean machete which she uses to dispatch men with some abandon. In any case, JFK must carry out the mission.

A character is introduced in this novel who I really liked and identified with. She is Felicity, a colonial woman who is trying to get back to her copra plantation. A tough woman, no great beauty, but still sexy, she is quite capable of using her pistol to blow away anybody who gets in her way. She is also the mother of all mothers, protective of her young son who is with her. She hooks up with JFK, helps him and teaches him a few lessons, too. I have to say it was very interesting to learn something of life on a copra plantation of that era. It was also interesting to learn more about young JFK. Hickam is a great researcher based on his non-fiction Torpedo Junction as well as The Keeper's Son. I trust him here, especially since Nigel Hamilton, JFK's biographer, vouched for his research. I learned a couple of things about Jack Kennedy and his family I never suspected. Also, learned something about young Richard "Nick" Nixon! The poker game between him, JFK, and "Jimmy" Michener is priceless.

My boy friend read the book after me and really liking it, pronouncing it a "guy" book but I didn't see it that way at all. I am very much a woman and thought it was a romantic book, in a sort of bloody adventurous way. Anyway, I guess bottom line is I liked it a lot.

This is my kind of book, filled with adventure and great characters. I love books about islands and tropical places, too, so I was really attracted by the cover. I hadn't read anything by Hickam so didn't know what to expect but now I'm going to go back and read everything he's written. A little about this story. The hero is Josh Thurlow, a Coast Guard captain, and he's in the Solomon Islands, given the job by the Marines to go find a Marine Lieutenant who apparently has deserted. The Lieutenant is related to the President so it's a tough assignment since Josh is also supposed to kill the man. Along the way, Jack Kennedy, yes JFK himself, joins Josh and the others, and also Dick Nixon, yes tricky Dick himself. If that sounds sort of outlandish, the way Hickam writes it, it all makes sense. Both Kennedy and Nixon were there at the same time. They have this great poker game which I laughed all the way through. I love the style of this writer and like I said, I'm going to go back and read all his stuff. Try it, you'll like it.

Homer Hickam knows how to write a romantic adventure novel in an age when so few do. He's the new Jack London. He is, based on his past books, a thorough researcher. I suspect in the guise of fiction, he's letting us know a few things about the Kennedy legend that we've swallowed gullibly over the decades. This isn't to say that JFK is handled roughly in this novel. Not at all. When Josh Thurlow needs help, "Shafty" Kennedy is there. This is a tour de force, a roman a clef, that grabs the reader from the first and carries us across the grand, wild South Pacific of the early 1940's. A Marine officer is missing and along with him the beautiful native wife of a local colonist. Josh and his boys have to find him. Why? He's the cousin to FDR, the President of the United States. He's also the son of an ambassador. What follows is a sometimes tongue-in-cheek (too bad the reviewer from Australia didn't realize that part of American humor) escapade that brings out the humanity of all concern. Certainly, the women on board are presented as strong, competent types who confound expectations. There's Penelope, Josh Thurlow's guide across New Georgia. And Felicity, the colonist who loves her plantation more than her life and iis willing to risk all to save it. Josh gets more complex each novel. He's a rough sort who goes a bit mushy around certain women, even Penelope who lops men's heads off, a warrior queen. Nixon's cameo appearance is great. I learned something about him, too. And all the others including Joe Gimmee were good characters. It's good to track what's happening to Josh's friend Eureka Phimble, too. Although a black man in a time of discrimination, he's advanced to pilot of the crew's PBY aircraft. The PBY has apparently been built by Josh's resourceful crew from scrap. Hickam doesn't say how Phimble gets to be pilot but it's clear he hasn't had formal training. I hope the author will get to this back story in another novel in the series as Bernard Cornwell has done in the Sharpe series where novels fill in the cracks. No matter. Certainly, the author kept me guessing all the way on what was going to happen next. Bottom line is I loved this novel and look forward to more in the series including maybe a prequel where we'll find out how Josh and Phimble met in the Arctic. Also I hope we'll read more about Dosie from The Keeper's Son. She's a great character in her own right.