Customer Reviews

Miles to Go: A Rennie Vogel Intrigue

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"Miles to Go" is an impressive, ambitious page-turner of a novel set in the shadowy and brutal world of international terrorism. This is an exciting, fast-paced adventure that introduces us to Rennie Vogel, a superwoman of sorts, at least physically, driven by the need to live on the sharp edge of life. Not surprisingly, she occasionally gets cut.

The story is presented from almost every character's point of view, offering us a glimpse into not only the minds of the "good" guys, but also the minds of the "bad" guys, one can only assume to promote the understanding that good and bad are inadequate descriptions, and that assumptions about why people do what they do are doomed by oversimplification. Why is so-and-so a terrorist? Why is so-and-so a spy? Why is so-and-so a patriot? In fact, the very definition of these terms comes into question over and over, even for a heroine more than willing to risk her life for her country. This novel speaks about the ambiguity of the heroic act. But that's the way we like our heroes--conflicted and in conflict--outcasts, living somewhere between light and dark and never sure of anything.

Rennie Vogel is an intriguing character. We've gotten a tantalizing glimpse at who she is and what she can do. Now we want more.

You know that thing that sometimes happens when your consciousness threads so far into a story that you forget you're reading a book? That happens in Miles To Go.

Amy Dawson Robertson deftly takes command of many characters, locales and plot twists with confidence. From senators to terrorists. Washington D.C. to Tajikistan. Men and women all caught in a global struggle. This is a superb action adventure and a political thriller with some romance thrown in for good measure. And it's not all brains, but heart too. The inner monologue of some characters is deeply wise and emotional and fresh. I felt this book on a visceral level.

And what's interesting too is that we learn just what we need to know about Rennie Vogel for this particular story. Yes, we come to understand much and care deeply for her, but one suspects there are many more layers to this woman.

It's going to be one hell of a series. Bring it on!

Rennie Vogel is an FBI counterterrorism operative. She has devoted her life to the FBI and has no private life. Her work has become somewhat mundane. She applies to join the CT3 unit and becomes the first woman to do so and successfully complete the training to be a fully fledged member.
Her unit is sent on a virtually impossible assignment to Tajikistan. From the very beginning, Rennie faces opposition to her appointment from some of her male counterparts. Along the way, there is one disaster after another.
The story is thrilling, fast paced and a page turner from the first page through to the last page.
The descriptions of the terrain, physical and emotional feelings and the miles Rennie travels will have you believing you are actually there with her.
Will Rennie be able to complete her assignment against all the odds? Will she survive? Will she be praised or ostracized for the way in which she handles the assignment? Will she find love along the way?
All questions to keep you turning the pages until you reach the end. This book will leave you wanting more, much, much more from this author.

Despite the inclusion of women throughout the military and government agencies, there are still certain areas where the overriding belief is that women do not belong, period. One of these in particular is special forces teams where there is both a strong bond among team members and a reliance on the superior strength of every member of the team during a mission. Miles to Go focuses on an FBI special forces team and a female character who is particularly suited to join such a team.

The pet project of FBI Director Stephen Wilson is an international counterterrorism special forces team, known as CT3. The head of the committee approving funds for the project has an eye on the inclusion of women in such projects and the approval of funds for the trial program comes with a stipulation. Of twelve positions, two teams of five plus two alternates, two must be given to women. This opens the door for Rennie Vogel, a woman whose overall strength and abilities match those of her male counterparts better than many of the men have ever seen before. She pushes herself to her own limits, and fights the beliefs of the men around her, throughout the grueling training in order to claim one of the two open positions. In the end, a taxing obstacle course decides whether the position Rennie has earned will be as a permanent member of one of the teams, or as an alternate.

The story of Rennie's fight to earn a spot on the CT3 team as well as the resulting mission is a engaging and well written. The book understandably evokes images of the movie G.I. Jane, but it goes so much further with a character that has depth and internal struggles when getting embroiled in an impossible situation. The story begins with the candidates enduring the grueling training and this is the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. I couldn't put it down while wondering what would come next for Rennie.

While Rennie and her team are out on a mission things unfortunately go drastically wrong and Rennie is forced to make difficult decisions and rely on her own inner strength to survive. The book maintains the fast pace that is set at the beginning as Rennie tries to continue with the mission. She is trying to prove both to herself and others that assigning a woman to a special forces team was not a mistake, and the fact that she's willing to go to almost any length for this raises the tension of the story and makes it an even more engrossing experience for the reader.

Throughout the book, the POV shifts between characters which provides some unique insight to the overall story as some of the POV's are from the "enemy." This works well within the book, and the shifts are clean and well differentiated. My only issue came near the end of the book when the majority of the POV's are not Rennie's. Though it is clear why these are included, to drive the story toward the ending, I found myself missing Rennie. At times there might have been a few too many secondary characters with their corresponding POV's. The plot and resolution could have still been reached with a bit less confusion from the multitude of additional characters.

Rennie is a lesbian, and due to demands from her job she has little time for a relationship. Within the book we get a glimpse of a couple women Rennie has spent time with, mostly as a way to kill time and satisfy base needs. Within the book, Rennie forms a particularly strong connection with two female characters. Both are introduced to Rennie under extreme conditions, adding a rare intensity due to shared experiences. The second connection was expected yet was well detailed and developed to make it easy to embrace. It was the first connection that I was more intrigued by, and I can't help but hope that there will be a return of the character. Through her relations with the women, we learn more about Rennie and it helps make her an even more well-developed character.

The ending of the book is quite abrupt and a lot of questions about Rennie's future are left unanswered. This can work in one of two ways for readers. Some readers might be frustrated by the lack of a "happily ever after" ending, but I expect that many will be like me, clambering for the next book in what I can only hope the author intends to be a series. At the end of the book I was left quite curious about what will come next for Rennie and I definitely want to read more about this character.

Overall this is a very well executed story about a fiercely strong woman who challenges herself and others by attaining a position on a special forces team, a feat most around her think is impossible. The action moves quickly and it's easy to quickly become invested in the story. Rennie is a fascinating character and it's clear the author has barely cracked the surface of possibilities. I anxiously await another book about this character and definitely recommend Miles to Go for anyone who enjoys reading about strong female characters.

Well-written and tautly paced with an intriguing plot. Very pleased that Ms. Robertson's novel was more than just a vehicle for another lesbian romance. Rennie Vogel is an interesting character and it will be fun to see where she goes next.

Miles to Go is an excellent thriller with spy novel elements expertly thrown in. The author is a masterful storyteller who understands characterization, pacing, and plotting. She's also done her homework, and the research makes the story grimly real.

I was most impressed by the deft way the main plots and sub-plots are intertwined. It's a sometimes dark story with multi-faceted, memorable characters. Be prepared, too, for surprises along the way.

The dialogue rings true, the characters are complicated, and the story is fast paced. What more can you want from a novel? I'm eager to read future books from this talented writer.

I had quite a bit of trouble getting into this book initially. A lot of it is just because it's set-up, but the gender politics were also a bit too heavy-handed for me, the main character is too flawed (or perhaps just not idealized enough), and it almost turned me off. I was having a hard time connecting emotionally, but I soldiered on, and am I glad that I did. As the story gained layers, and aspects of characters were revealed to the reader through actions and a robust internal dialogue, a rich and satisfying book developed. The details of life as an international operative seemed authentic. The actions and reactions of the characters were believeable and well-supported by prior motivations. The initial tone was uneven, as stated, but the tale really picked up momentum, and I was definitely left wanting more in the end.

I tend to get impatient with time spent from the point of view of peripheral characters and/or "villains" but the author didn't dwell on these scenes, and each did add a dimension to the entire mission and problems that were central to the book, and that will probably affect things in the future, so I can't really complain. In retrospect, even the initial distance between the reader and the protagonist seems purposeful, as Rennie holds herself aloof from other people, partially due to the politics of her FBI position, but also because she's just very focused. You really get a sense for how her mind works, and some of the events in her life that helped shape her. The lovely thing, and what really sticks in my mind as I think back on the book, is that this happened so gently, so gradually--this getting to know Rennie--as she ventured deeper and deeper into the jungle, intent on accomplishing her mission, that it was like taking the journey with her.

Romance wasn't the central theme to this book, and writing this review from Afghanistan it wasn't quite escapism for me like I usually read, so don't go into this expecting lightness and happily ever after. The author was so careful with the details, doling them out sparingly, making you savor each one that there is ample fodder for sequels if that is her goal. I'm intrigued by the deep changes wrought in the main characters through their shared experiences, and that there was an awareness of how profound it all was for each of them, main and peripheral characters alike. Where do they go from here? What will be the consequences of their actions? How will internal agency politics play into this? Will Rennie continue on the path she's forged, or head down an alternate one by choice or necessity? Has she won allies through her actions who will give her choices?

Ultimately this was a thoroughly engaging novel, and I look forward to more time with these characters in the hands of this author now that the more awkward establishment bits have been accomplished.

What a wonderful thing, to read a book that isn't 1) formulaic and 2) predictable. Surprises all along the way and characters who are believable, human and interesting. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more to come.

Rennie Vogel achieves the impossible through torturous training and determination. She is the first woman even chosen to be on an FBI international counterterrorism team. Most people think she's a product of affirmative action and will destroy her team, but Rennie is determined to prove that she's as good as any man on the squad. She prepares until she is a lean, instinctive operative totally focused on their mission and stripped down to the bare essence of her soul, with no personal life and no need for one. When the team is given an impossible mission to assassinate a terrorist leader, Rennie is ready to play her part.

When the assignment is disrupted by one disaster after another, Rennie is determined to carry it out to its conclusion. What she didn't count on was rescuing Hannah Marcus, an American journalist who had been held by the terrorists for two years and was presumed dead by most of the world. Surviving the completion of her assignment had always been questionable, but surviving it with Hannah in tow seems impossible. As they flee through the hostile territory of Tajikistan pursued by members of the terrorist band, Rennie has to deal with two issues she hasn't trained for. She has to depend on someone else and she develops an attraction for Hannah. Even if they survive, secret dealings of the American government will probably keep them from having a future, but they have to try.

The first question the reader is going to have after reading this book is whether Robertson herself has ever been an agent for the government. She includes tremendous detail about the training that agents go through, the way they think, and the way that covert missions are organized. She also shows an intricate knowledge of how intrigue within the government works, how agencies interact and how they cover up what they don't want known. Robertson demonstrates more insight into international politics than the average citizen and creates a story that contains so much realism at times the reader will have to remember that it's fiction and not a telling of factual events.

The other strong part about this novel is the way it's written. There are no extraneous scenes. Each one has a purpose and adds to the flow of the story. The characters are well developed, but at the end of the book you still won't know everything about Rennie or Hannah. There is enough revealed to move this story, but there are aspects of both women that can be developed in later books. The real beauty of the book, however, is the language it's written in. The prose used in the book almost comes out as poetry. At times the reader can get lost in the way the words are used and their descriptive quality. You can taste the sweat, feel the heat and smell the blood.

Miles To Go is a must read for anyone who likes a story full of adventure, thrills, and intrigue that comes straight from current events. It's also for the reader who likes an exceptionally well-told story.

I love action/suspense lesbian fiction and found that this did not disappoint. I have never read anything from this author until now and can not wait for the follow up book! I found Rennie to be somewhat believeable, but come on, to do the mission alone,was a little far fetched. I am a firm advocate for strong women, but seriously. I do realize that this IS fiction. This story did hold my interest and I could not wait to see what happened next. Overall, this was a good read and I enjoyed it. I also wish that the story line with Rennie and Hannah were more developed. Was it just circumstance that drew them together? Did they really fall for each other? This kind of got a little muddied. But, hopefully things will make more sense in the next book.