Rating: 
Summary: Great book, great writer--New novel on the market....
Review: As a diver, I was thrilled to discover the Ben Gannon novels by John McKinna. They are technically accurate and just plain good old-fashioned adventure fun. Sharp characterizations, too. Shark Lake is the latest one, and its great. Loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Bought the Trilogy
Review: As an enthusiastic sport diver, I love coming across good adventure fiction with a diving theme. Compared to crime or legal thrillers, for example, there isn't that much out there. Cussler you can more or less forget about: what he writes doesn't have much to do with real diving. His novels are more like literary versions of James Bond's more ludicrous adventures (Moonraker, etc.). Author McKinna, on the other hand, was a real working oilfield diver, and his experience shows in his writing. The Ben Gannon Trilogy (Shark Lake, Tiger Reef, Crash Dive) is hands-down the best diving fiction in recent memory . . . and possibly ever written. The reason is that in addition to his practical diving knowlege, McKinna is a writer of genuine skill. His characters are sympathetic and interesting, his storytelling is adept and keeps you involved. The diving parts are of course excellent, but so are the character interactions. This is just great relaxing reading for anyone interested in things-underwater. I'm writing this review under the most recent novel, Shark Lake, but my recommendation extends to all the Ben Gannon novels by John McKinna. Just excellent stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Disappoint
Review: Excellent book. This is the third Ben Gannon book I've tried and it continues the high standard of entertainment established by the first two. Diving and mercenary action in a Rwanda-like African country with two opposing tribes trying to cut each other to pieces. Diver Ben Gannon is out to save an old friend imprisoned by a diabolical South African mercenary--a classic McKinna bad guy--and has to swim at night through a shark-infested inland lake to do it. Heartstopping inwater and onland action to go with the crazy characters and plot twists. Humorous sometimes too. Excellent adventure fiction which should be made into a movie any day now.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Fast Read!
Review: I can't remember the last time I was this satisfied with a paperback thriller I picked up in an airport. This novel was really good, not something I labored through or was underwhelmed by, but something I really enjoyed. Great prison-break, run-for-the-border story in revolutionary modern Africa, well-written in a fast, literate, and darkly humorous style. The characterizations are especially good, particularly the Bedouin supporting hero, "Naji". This is the third book in the "Ben Gannon" series by author John McKinna (who's a former oilfield diver, like his hero, according to his bio) and it doesn't disappoint. I give it two thumbs up and five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: So So
Review: I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as everyone else. A year after reading it, I can't really remember too much of the plot except for the main story. I couldn't remember Ben Gannon's name, or who he was trying to rescue and why. What i do remember is that the story kind of bored me. I bought it because I hav a large interest in sharks, and have thought the idea of bull sharks being able to swim in fresh waters fascinating. Of course, i figured a title like "Shark Lake" would be filled with shark stuff. The sharks take up maybe 30 pages in the book, and the book wasn't really about sharks. It was an action/adventure story about a rescue, that happened to have some sharks in it. Kind of like an episode of MacGyver, except with less duct tape and more sharks. I didn't feel that the main character, Gannon, was very wel developed. I wasn't very interested in him, and there were weak attempts to create a back story revolving his love life. I don't even remember who the vilian was in this story or how he died, but it must not have been very exciting to me not to have stuck. While I don't really feel I wasted my money, I would have rather have checked this out from the library than spent $8 on it. It's a decent novel, but there are thousands like it and Ben Gannon is more of a "poor man's Dirk Pitt (from the Clive Cussler novels). If you're a fast reader and just want to pick this up for a day at the beach, it's not a bad read. But don't invest too much time or money into it. While the book was okay, I don't have any interest in following up on the adventures of Ben Gannon.
Rating:
Summary: So So
Review: I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as everyone else. A year after reading it, I can't really remember too much of the plot except for the main story. I couldn't remember Ben Gannon's name, or who he was trying to rescue and why. What i do remember is that the story kind of bored me. I bought it because I hav a large interest in sharks, and have thought the idea of bull sharks being able to swim in fresh waters fascinating. Of course, i figured a title like "Shark Lake" would be filled with shark stuff. The sharks take up maybe 30 pages in the book, and the book wasn't really about sharks. It was an action/adventure story about a rescue, that happened to have some sharks in it. Kind of like an episode of MacGyver, except with less duct tape and more sharks. I didn't feel that the main character, Gannon, was very wel developed. I wasn't very interested in him, and there were weak attempts to create a back story revolving his love life. I don't even remember who the vilian was in this story or how he died, but it must not have been very exciting to me not to have stuck. While I don't really feel I wasted my money, I would have rather have checked this out from the library than spent $8 on it. It's a decent novel, but there are thousands like it and Ben Gannon is more of a "poor man's Dirk Pitt (from the Clive Cussler novels). If you're a fast reader and just want to pick this up for a day at the beach, it's not a bad read. But don't invest too much time or money into it. While the book was okay, I don't have any interest in following up on the adventures of Ben Gannon.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked Me And Kept Me Hooked.
Review: I like this book. It's an Indiana Jones kind of thing but more adult. Most important though, it kept me interested all the way through. Even when the action slowed down, what the author was telling me was entertaining and intriging. There are plenty of clever twists and turns here, and a good surprise ending. This author John McKinna appeared a couple of years ago and has a couple other books out in the same diving adventure vein. He keeps you interested and doesn't bore you. Good book.
Rating:
Summary: Industrial word-candy.
Review: John McKinna knocked it way out of the park with Shark Lake, the best of his three excellent Ben Gannon novels. You can taste steel, smell sea-water, hear the clang of iron giants with his incredable tanent for capturing the exact essence of a working man's world. His characters are as complex, humorous and quirky as the people in our own lives that we think of as "real characters." The action, twists and turns, and empathy for our heros keeps you reading when you should be sleeping. He pulls no punches in driving home the danger, roller coaster thrills, and just deserts for the bad guys. Is is concentrated industrial word-candy.
Rating:
Summary: Super Read for Divers + Adventure Lovers
Review: Shark Lake is an excellent fastpaced book of high adventure. It helps if you're a diver, but its not necessary to enjoy this book. This has excellent characters and a fast, twisting story line. The author entertains you and throws you some unexpected curves at the same time. I suggest this book for a good fast read.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely First-Rate Adventure Story
Review: Shark Lake was wonderful. I enjoyed it from cover to cover, and particularly the dry sense of humor that pervades the writing. The story drove on hard and fast, but the characters were surprisingly real and sympathetic, if a little hard-bitten. (Especially one of the women! Tough as gristle!) In terms of the way he expresses himself, author John McKinna is a writer to watch. You can put your tongue in your cheek (where his seems to be most of the time!) and go along for the exciting and often humorous ride. I kid you not: the guy's good. There are two other books in this series (Crash Dive and Tiger Reef, according to Amazon) and one of them, Crash Dive, is about an Arab terrorist attack on a Louisiana oil rig--written in 1999! Talk about predicting the future. I'll be interested to see where McKinna's imagination takes him next.
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