By
Kelly Bridgewater
Military
fiction. Lots of technical jargon in a far away area where most readers have
never been. Especially when the story takes place in Afghanistan. Who really
wants to go there anyway with all the terrorist threats and the Muslims hating
Christians and women? Sounds like a dangerous place to visit. You don’t hear
many people saying, I want to travel to Afghanistan. I’m definitely not one of
them.
Ronie
Kendig is a military brat who has traveled probably all over the world as a kid
and an adult. If you haven’t read her books, she features military in the
majority of her books. Her latest series, “The Quiet Professionals” takes place
in Afghanistan with a group of male soldiers. The first book in the series is
called Raptor 6. The second book is
entitled Hawk.
Hawk is the nickname given to Staff
Sergeant Brian “Hawk” Bledsoe who deals with the idea of God and his past of
being called “smart.” Hawk is a strong hero who hates the terrorist, especially
after he is told to stand down and watches two men on his team die before his
very eyes. Hawk has a temper, which lands him in a lot of trouble with his
team. Even through all his character flaws, he is the type of hero any girl
would want protecting her in time of trouble.
The
heroine is named Fekiria Haidary, a Muslim lady who struggles with the idea of
the Western God and wants to be seen as an equal in the eyes of the Muslim men.
Without her father’s permission and ignoring her father’s direct orders to
leave the army, Fekiria trains to become a pilot secretly. She becomes one of
the best pilots the group has seen in a long time. Wanting to please herself
and what she believes she is called to do, she keeps flying, even though she
runs into her brother and all hell breaks loose.
The
plot becomes dangerous as Fekiria has to use her pilot skills to wreck havoc on
a local young girl school that her friend is teaching at. Through a blizzard with the reality of
frostbite while being chased further up a mountainside by the shrouded
terrorists, Fekiria and Hawk must keep their skills ready at a moment’s notice
while trying to survive the bitter cold temperatures with little children on
their backs.
I,
personally, enjoyed this military crafted story much better than Raptor 6. It was more of a struggle for
the two characters who had to deal with their past issues and come together to
find love, God, and true freedom. The writing was riveting, especially with the
details of the frozen tundra and the wind whipping through the characters thin
clothes. I felt like I was climbing that mountain with them as they struggled
for their lives.
I
received a e-copy of the book from NetGalley and the opinions are all my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment