15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice present-day military action by a rising SF writer, June 30, 2004
This review is from: The Scope of Justice (Mass Market Paperback)
The first in a new trilogy by Mike Williamson (Freehold, The Hero), Scope of Justice is modern military fiction. Better than Tom Clancy on the details (Williamson researches them as well as the experts - as a combat engineer he presumably doesn't *need* to do much research - but unlike Clancy and most of his contemporaries, he makes it interesting and doesn't dwell on the technical stuff), and faster-moving than most military fiction out there, this book is definitely worth reading.
US Army snipers Kyle Monroe and Wade Curtis are sent into the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region on a covert mission (it's Pakistan, US troops aren't supposed to be active there) to take out Al-Qaeda's number three man, a charming fellow who likes to rape and murder American journalists. It's a realistically-drawn country; not many good-guys or bad-guys, but a LOT of neutrals whose allegiance, to badly paraphrase Lehrer, is based on expedience.
There's a minor romantic subplot, logically drawn. Monroe is white, Curtis is black, and there's buddy-cop byplay that wouldn't be at all out of place in a Hollywood movie. The two characters are realistic: most snipers, by the temprament needed for the job, are *not* outgoing kick-ass-and-get-laid Schwarzenegger types. Monroe and Curtis read like snipers, not Rambos.
Worst problem that I had with this book was the slowness of getting started. To be fair, it's the start of a trilogy and the other books presumably get moving a bit faster, but almost half the book goes by before the first shot is fired in anger. Not that the setup isn't interesting, but you read this type of book for action and plot, and there aren't even a lot of significant plot twists in the first half. (Admittedly, the second half moves fast enough to make up for a LOT of that.) And I suppose there's only so much detailed interaction you can *have* when your characters are in a rural part of a foreign-language-speaking country.
Williamson proved in Freehold that he knows his combat and he knows how to write it; the battle sequences in this are as good as anything by Drake, which from me is about as high as praise can get. If you're willing to go through the slow leadup - think of it as an education in the stuff the main characters worry about every day in the field - then this is about as good as modern military action gets.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging and Imaginative, August 14, 2004
This review is from: The Scope of Justice (Mass Market Paperback)
Williamson is able to put together something that you don't find much in military fiction anymore... something new. Scope of Justice is a top of the line military novel in all the standard respects. He has done meticulous research on the tactics and weapons of his story, and writes some of the best combat scenes I've ever come across.
What sets this book apart from the rest is that the plot is unique and different. Let's just say that not everything goes the way you expect it to. Also refreshing is his deep understanding and portrayal of the society of Afghanistan and Pakistan in which this novel takes place. It's good enough to make you think about your perspectives about the region.
Great read!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good Book!, July 28, 2004
This review is from: The Scope of Justice (Mass Market Paperback)
This turned out to be a very good book.You are given close up
details of the role of a sniper in wartimw activities.You are
shown the training that Army snipers go through.
In this book SFC Kyle Monroe is given the assignment of killing
the number three leader in al-Quaida,Rafiq bin-Quasim.He and his
spotter Wade are dispatched into Pakistan to locate the terrorist leader and assassinate him.They have to overcome the
various tribal factions that have no loyalty to anyone.They finally find an ally in Nasima,a teacher who serves as their
translator.Then you are given the action of the carrying out of
their assignment.
This is a very good book that you will enjoy.
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