Review by va2016 -- The Expansion by Christoph Martin
Posted: 12 Oct 2017, 06:28
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Expansion" by Christoph Martin.]
4 out of 4 stars
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This is a review of the book The Expansion by Christoph Martin. This is a fiction based on the situations surrounding the Panama Canal expansion project.
Max Burns is a reputed geomatic engineer who lives in the United Kingdom. He has a work contract with the Beauvoir Group, which is owned by Henry Beauvoir. Max is requested by his college professor Dr. Moyle to be part of another company’s team to work on the expansion of the Panama Canal. While Max is considering this, he gets one more request on the same project from his childhood friend Godfredo. Max breaks his contract with the Beauvoir Group. He moves to Panama to work with Godfredo’s father Paco. A few major nations compete to grab this project contract. Some vested interests try to make money as well as gain political mileage through this project. The reader is motivated to find out what happens next in this scintillating story.
What I like the most about this story is the detailed coverage of the prevailing geopolitical situation in Central America. The story narrates vividly the push-pulls and the treacheries that can happen in a big international project. It’s worthwhile to note that the story covers a Chinese national’s interest in constructing a canal through Nicaragua purportedly for movements of Chinese submarines between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The author’s knowledge of Panama and the Panama Canal is commendable. It’s admirable that awareness is created in this book about the environmental impact of huge canal projects.
The book is meant for adults only, as there’s sexually explicit material present. A significant amount of narration revolves around United States’ efforts in maintaining its strategic importance in Central America. The narrations about United States’ secret operations, its capabilities and its resources are exciting to read about, but it gets boring after a while. It feels good to have the human emotions and feelings expressed through the Alexandra character.
The formatting throughout the book is faultless. There are 73 short chapters in this book. It would have been nice if the content had been condensed into lesser number of chapters. I could spot two mechanical errors in the book: “I” instead of “It” in the sentence that starts with ‘I would be nice’ in Chapter 9, “Summers’s office” instead of “Summers’ office” in Chapter 45. I have to mention that the cover of the book is not at all appealing. This will most probably put the reader off from selecting this book while browsing through the list of books. There are several tasteful Central American themes and designs available which could have been chosen as the cover.
Overall, I found this book a great read arguably worthy of being taken as a movie. People who like International Politics, Engineering and Business will love this book. The plot is pretty strong, which is backed by the current geopolitical situation in Central America. The various aspects of the story have been skillfully handled by the author. There are a couple of mechanical errors present, but they can be pardoned. The formatting is perfect. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Expansion
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like va2016's review? Post a comment saying so!
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
This is a review of the book The Expansion by Christoph Martin. This is a fiction based on the situations surrounding the Panama Canal expansion project.
Max Burns is a reputed geomatic engineer who lives in the United Kingdom. He has a work contract with the Beauvoir Group, which is owned by Henry Beauvoir. Max is requested by his college professor Dr. Moyle to be part of another company’s team to work on the expansion of the Panama Canal. While Max is considering this, he gets one more request on the same project from his childhood friend Godfredo. Max breaks his contract with the Beauvoir Group. He moves to Panama to work with Godfredo’s father Paco. A few major nations compete to grab this project contract. Some vested interests try to make money as well as gain political mileage through this project. The reader is motivated to find out what happens next in this scintillating story.
What I like the most about this story is the detailed coverage of the prevailing geopolitical situation in Central America. The story narrates vividly the push-pulls and the treacheries that can happen in a big international project. It’s worthwhile to note that the story covers a Chinese national’s interest in constructing a canal through Nicaragua purportedly for movements of Chinese submarines between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The author’s knowledge of Panama and the Panama Canal is commendable. It’s admirable that awareness is created in this book about the environmental impact of huge canal projects.
The book is meant for adults only, as there’s sexually explicit material present. A significant amount of narration revolves around United States’ efforts in maintaining its strategic importance in Central America. The narrations about United States’ secret operations, its capabilities and its resources are exciting to read about, but it gets boring after a while. It feels good to have the human emotions and feelings expressed through the Alexandra character.
The formatting throughout the book is faultless. There are 73 short chapters in this book. It would have been nice if the content had been condensed into lesser number of chapters. I could spot two mechanical errors in the book: “I” instead of “It” in the sentence that starts with ‘I would be nice’ in Chapter 9, “Summers’s office” instead of “Summers’ office” in Chapter 45. I have to mention that the cover of the book is not at all appealing. This will most probably put the reader off from selecting this book while browsing through the list of books. There are several tasteful Central American themes and designs available which could have been chosen as the cover.
Overall, I found this book a great read arguably worthy of being taken as a movie. People who like International Politics, Engineering and Business will love this book. The plot is pretty strong, which is backed by the current geopolitical situation in Central America. The various aspects of the story have been skillfully handled by the author. There are a couple of mechanical errors present, but they can be pardoned. The formatting is perfect. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Expansion
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
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