Review by shravsi -- Adrift by Charlie Sheldon

[shravsi]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Adrift, an adventure fiction is the story of hope, perseverance, and survival. This book is written by Charlie Sheldon, as a stand-alone sequel to his previous book, Strong Heart. Adrift has many characters who were also there in its prequel, but this book stands on its own as a great read.

On the North Pacific Ocean, near the Gulf of Alaska, in extreme December weather, far away from any help, two lifeboats are drifting with a faint hope of survival. The members of the two lifeboats are the crew of Seattle Express. They have abandoned their ship on orders of Captain Steve Procida because of uncontainable flames overtaking their ship.

The desertion of the ship triggered a glimmer of hope in the lives of the married couple, Louise and Larry Hunter. Salvaging a mighty ship like Seattle Express is their last chance to rescue their dying salvage company. And they have to be faster than their competitors just using their ancient salvage tug, Warhorse. The couple along with their marital and money problems have to fend of Buckhorn Corporation’s big tugs and protect themselves and their crew, from Buckhorn’s mean attempts to snatch the ship. On the other side of the story, a small community of tribal people of Sol Duc is fighting against the potential impact on archaeological treasures of their tribe, because of a mining venture which could take place in the Olympic national park.

This book has many stories that are running along with the main story. For example, Mariana and Pete's relationship and Steve’s son Jimmie’s life in a caring facility. This book is the story of people whose lives are hanging by the thread from falling into danger. Everyone’s lives are about to change drastically, but whether that is for better or worse, you will have to read the book.

The technical details of running a ship and emotions hiding behind marine workers have been written so perfectly because of Charlie’s real-life experience as a seaman. These are not the things one can merely imagine. His experience supplies an air of authenticity to this book, which sets it apart from any other adventure fiction. Geographical accuracy of the story and technical details while salvaging a ship are apt. Emotions of families left behind on land, the crew's reaction to the disaster and especially Steve’s emotions while deciding to abandon ship as a captain are realistic. This could be someone’s autobiography, and no one can object it. This book reflects real life. A pro mariner can dive into this book to recollect his memories on the sea and a novice will get a realistic experience into marine life on the sea and also on land.

Charlie narrates this tale through the character's perspective. The story moves along beautifully but also this technique presents a unique chance for the reader, to understand each character’s perspective and emotions hidden inside them. The maps and places used in the book are true. Like people calling Haida Gwaii as the charlotte islands. Hiking trails in the national park are real. The struggle between protecting traditional heritage and also needing economic developments, large corporation’s greediness and putting employees under bus for their profit and people like Mark are too real. If you are an adventure reader who has the idea of native American tribes and is familiar with locations mentioned in the book, this is a goldmine.

There are no glaring mistakes in the book except a few missing articles and missing commas. This did not hinder my reading in any way. I did take time to grasp all the characters and their story in the beginning, but after a few pages, I drifted along easily. I felt like I associated with them. There is a little bit of blood during an accident, if the reader doesn’t want to read it, they can just skim through that one scene.

I will rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I want to give four stars but minor mistakes are repeated more than 10 times. I thank the author for giving a fiction with such realistic details. I will recommend this to everyone in search of a great adventure book filled with some mysticism and hope. And of course, to the readers of Strong Heart.

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Adrift
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[JGretz-7]

I just finished reading this book and concur that Sheldon's experiences on the sea certainly allowed the reader to experience it as well. Thank you for your review!

[shravsi]

I just finished reading this book and concur that Sheldon's experiences on the sea certainly allowed the reader to experience it as well. Thank you for your review!

Thank you