2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
What do you get when you cross terrorists, biker gangs, nerdy scientists, and futuristic technology? Ben Schneider gives us a glimpse into such a world in his action-packed thriller, Chrome Mountain. Following a duo of protagonists, Sonya and Trey, the narrative starts out by laying the background for each of their stories. Sonya has recently escaped from a biker gang and its leader, her violent ex-boyfriend, and after a series of near-miss run-ins with the gang’s cronies, goes to live in hiding at her grandmother’s house. Trey is a scientist who invented an invisibility shield but destroyed it out of fear of it falling into the wrong hands and being used for nefarious purposes. They cross paths by accident, after Trey begins to be pursued by the Chrome Falcons, a widely-reaching and heavily-armed terrorist organization. Trey is unsure why he is being targeted, unable to seek help from the authorities who believe he is working alongside the terrorists, and as he and Sonya join forces to flee from the group, they are pursued not only by the terrorists but by police as well.
With sheer luck and bravado, the pair is able to board and sabotage one of the terrorists’ planes, and gain access to weapons, money and diamonds. Using these items, they set up a temporary home in a hotel, meanwhile preparing for the showdown they know is coming. They are also contacted by the FBI who want to join efforts toward the cause of apprehending the terrorists. However, this is easier said than done, as the group is large, widespread, and has access to deadly technology that is not even known to exist. Trey and Sonya must fight to keep themselves and their friends and family safe from the evil organization, while also trying their best to ensure that massive casualties are avoided. Meanwhile, the ghosts of Sonya’s past continue to lurk and threaten the duo from yet another direction.
This is, undoubtedly, an exciting, intense and thrilling story, with several elements that mark it as unique in the sea of action thrillers. One element particularly worth mentioning is that the author works a story of Christian redemption (as well as a character’s faith conversion) into the events. This is not something I was expecting out of this particular genre, and I can see how different audiences may have different reactions to this aspect of the book. To me, the character who came to adopt the Christian perspective did so rather suddenly, with little contemplation yet quite a bit of commitment, which rang somewhat hollow and unrealistic. I would expect a faith journey to take some time, and be a source of deliberate questioning and at least some resistance, yet it seemed instead that the author was eager to skip the blissful post-conversion stage, where the character already feels strengthened and emboldened by their new relationship with a higher power. Though I can see how folks who are specifically looking for this in a story would appreciate it, I am not sure that it would have a reaching message to a broader audience.
I also found the writing style to have a mix of positive and negative qualities. One aspect that I appreciated was how the two main characters, as well as some of the side characters, had deep and richly developed back stories, which thoroughly explained their motivations and character profiles. On the other hand, I found much of the dialogue between characters to be unrealistic in a number of ways. It was often overly expository, explaining every element of the situation in greater detail than a person who is having a natural conversation with another person already aware of the situation they are in. It was also often laced with verbal clichés, especially in the scenes where the two main characters were discussing their budding romance, or their faith in God. Similarly, there were quite a few scenes in which the characters had an internal monologue, which was also often written in an overly-expository and verbose manner – not the way one typically speaks to themselves.
Finally, there was one additional element that rubbed me the wrong way. The author appears to lack a certain level of cultural sensitivity when describing certain groups of people. Some examples of this include his repeat mention of one character’s Asian background (which was not necessary to any elements of the plot), including referring to the character as “that Asian” at one point, repeat references to Trey’s “jewfro” (despite Trey not being Jewish, as far as I could tell from the plot), and numerous instances of disparaging remarks about fat or “obese” people, including a story of one falling asleep behind a motorized shopping cart and knocking over a stack of groceries, which was supposed to be a funny story. I did not find this funny, and did not understand what place the negative commentary about body size had in a story full of exploding cars, planes, and helicopters.
Nonetheless, I believe there is an audience out there for this book – primarily action lovers, and perhaps those looking for a new spin on Christian fiction. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I would not recommend it to minors, as there is quite a bit of violence, along with a small amount of swearing (along with quite a few uses of the words “slut” and “whore” when referring to women).
******
Chrome Mountain
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like bluegreenmarina's review? Post a comment saying so!
