Review of Expendable Soldiers 2

[Tony Official]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Expendable Soldiers 2" by SJ Aspen.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Expendable Soldiers 2: Retribution is a fictional historical action novel written by S. J. Aspen. It has twelve chapters and follows the story of John Knight and his fellow soldiers who had previously been the prisoners of war held by the Japanese. It shows how John and his team of seven, comprising mostly part-time soldiers, evolve into an efficient unit, operating out of a stolen Japanese gunboat.

The book begins with the team being assigned the relatively easy task of transporting a group of Australian officers to meet with some native leaders. The mission gets complicated when both the officers and the leaders are kidnapped by the Japanese, leading John and his team on a rescue mission. Following the rescue, the team begins to receive increasingly dangerous missions behind enemy lines from Army Intelligence, requiring high levels of coordination. How does the team succeed? And at what cost? Find out in this amazing book.

The book has a lot of positives. The author does a good job of ensuring a steady development among the main characters, especially John. He also builds a bond between the team that is organic and easily relatable, thus, making the reader fully invested in the fates of the characters. A lot of focus is given to detailed planning and coordination by the characters to achieve their goals. This is a breath of freshness to the action genre, which typically focuses on individual bravado rather than collective efficiency. The use of simple vocabulary and language is maintained throughout the book, and great detail is given to the weaponry and equipment used. The author also does well in capturing the scenery experienced by soldiers during the second world war, especially within the New Guinea area. I also appreciate the writer's efforts to humanize people who would ordinarily be considered just stone-faced killers by exposing their fears, misconception, uncertainties, and the decisions they make to overcome them. The book's final chapter does well to pay off John's efforts from the beginning, bringing it to a wholesome conclusion that will leave you asking for an encore.

I could not find any substantial negative aspects to this book. It has almost no errors as it was professionally edited.

Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The intriguing and compelling nature of the story, as well as the reliability of the characters, ensured my satisfaction with the book; as a result, I cannot rate it any lower. I recommend this book to action novel lovers as well as people in need of a good historical fiction book.

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Expendable Soldiers 2
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[Kyrian007]

Well written S. J. Aspen. The amount of focus planted on the coordination of the characters to lay a plan and achieve a set goal is lovely.

[Amy Luman]

I don’t like to think of anyone as expendable. The focus of the author on the characters is commendable especially since they are based on so much research.

[Azubike Richard]

Your review is very entertaining and shows your understanding of the book. Thank you for sharing this. Nice piece