Pure Fusion

Rating:
Summary: I really wanted this to be a 5 star book... oh well
Review: I truly wanted this book to be a five star read. I was ready in all respects.

I will state that the story is truly frightening. The idea that there could be what the author postulates is a scary one. The execution of the main line of the plot goes along fairly well.

However... (you knew there was a "however")

The devil is in the details. The cover of this book makes it look like a techno-thriller. That allows the reader to assume certain things. The first assumption is that while there might be one or two less than believable main plot points to get the book started, the details in the book will be accurate.

Its the details that fail. There is one scene where a helicopter uses "burners" to exit an area. On a helicopter? Afterburners? Really now. Anyone who has read anything past the most basic of flight knows this is absurd. And as long as I'm complaining about helicopters, this book is supposed to take place several years in the future. Why then is the US military using Huey helicopters, a design that is currently in its 50th year for critical missions? Were all the Blackhawks grounded? In addition, it would seem that the Iraqi military has somehow gotten ahold of some of these overage Hueys for their own use. Somewhat unbelievable.

The narrative itself seems to jump around a bit, requiring the reader to backtrack to figure out what happened.

In addition, there are some plot points that go unresolved. Without giving away too much, at one point an alternate target is mentioned after a major primary target is hit. Then nothing. We never find out what happens to the alternate. Was it hit also? It seemed important enough for the bad guys to mention it, so what happened to it? In addition, after the main target is hit, there is almost no mention of the after effects of the strike. This is surprising since it is the after effects that were the main reason for the strike in the first place. No mention of the results.

As far as the romance end of things, while I am in favor of the hero getting the girl, having this discussion in the middle of a firefight is extremely unrealistic to say the least.

It seems as if Mr. Buchannan wanted to get a message across about red mercury (not giving anything away here), and just tossd in a generic mix of action, characters and some details to do it.

Not a bad story idea, but not 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Pure excitement and suspense
Review: Pure Fusion by Bill Buchanan not only opens our eyes up to a very real possiblity of a terror threat, it is also suspenseful and the imagery used throughout the book is written unbelievably well. Though this book is primarily an action novel, Bill Buchanan expertly blends in human kindness and romance that makes for all out good reading. You won't want to put this book down once you start it.