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(More customer reviews)"SEALS," by Jack Terral, is a novel about the exploits of a platoon of U.S. Navy SEALs. Known as "Brannigan's Brigands," the platoon is led by Lieutenant William "Wild Bill" Brannigan. The novel has a post-9/11 setting, and the Brigands' mission takes them to wartime Afghanistan, where they face conflict with a local warlord. The backdrop for the story includes opium poppy cultivation, the effort to bring democracy to Afghanistan, and the aftermath of the Soviet occupation; the hunt for Osama bin Laden gets mentioned.
"SEALS" is a fast-moving, entertaining adventure story that is full of violent action. There is plenty of killing. However, the book is hurt by painfully cliched characters and dialogue. For example, a SEAL named Bruno Puglisi is described as coming "from a mob family," and his dialogue further reinforces the unimaginative stereotype. The overall structure of the book is awkward; informational passages are clumsily incorporated into the story. There is also a ridiculous romantic subplot that seems absurdly out of place and includes such unforgivable lines as "'He's so handsome! So Brad Pitt!'" At times it almost feels like Terral is purposely trying to write an over-the-top parody of military fiction.
Readers may be offended by the author's frequent use of the slur "raghead" to describe Afghan characters. It's one thing for a character to use it, but the third person narrative voice also uses the slur a number of times. The overall portrayal of the Afghan people is very negative--in this story they basically are either corrupt, greedy exploiters, foolish religious fanatics, or pathetic, passive victims of abuse. Still, Terral's Afghan villains and their henchmen are much more interesting and entertaining than his ridiculous cardboard SEALs. Although Terral's "SEALS" can be fun at times, the book left a foul aftertaste. The book's back cover promises that it is just the first in an "explosive new military action series."
Click Here to see more reviews about: Seals #1
In Afghanistan, a native CIA contact wants to defect with detailed knowledge of anti-American insurgent operations. But time is short, and the risk is high. William "Wild Bill" Brannigan and his SEAL platoon are called in for the difficult and dangerous mission. According to plan, they night-jump into the lawless Afghan desert and make their way to the rendezvous point. Then things stop going according to plan.
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