Review of Days of the Giants

[nerdychikka]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Days of the Giants" by RJ Petrella.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Days of the Giants by RJ Petrella is a fictional thriller novel based in the 1990s. This medically charged story focuses on the life of a young man called Slater Barnes. He is a first-year intern in B.C.H or, as he popularly refers to it, 'City.' Slater is trying to balance his career life, an alcohol addiction, a diagnosed aneurysm, and dealing with the death of his late father. His love life is also falling apart, and this unhappy environment often makes him question his career choices. The novel picks up the pace when he begins his internship at City hospital. However, matters start getting out of hand when a merger with its sister hospital, Academy Hospital, is considered.

The merger seems fishy to many hospital administrators as other officials, both from the City and Academy hospital, in collaboration with the mayor's office, are out to earn a quick buck through bribery to earn contracts and generally cash in the whole process. This book has prominent themes, including corruption, friendship, love, grief, and leadership. It has an unusual narration style because Slater's deceased father, a minister, also is a narrator giving us his point of view on how things occurred. The author delivers on a fascinating story of how insurance politics surround the delivery of medical care in both private and public hospitals.

The start of this book impressed me. The prologue was captivating, and it urged me to read on because it hooked me. Also, I loved Slater's sense of dry humor. He was a flawed character to who a lot of readers can relate. The story's ending was also fitting, and I enjoyed seeing how the different characters tied together to make a great plot. The medical terminologies used were not too many to bore a reader without medical knowledge.

Unfortunately, I think this book is in dire need of thorough editing. The mixing of tenses does not work out well in many places. There are punctuation and spelling errors that can be eliminated to bring out the best version of the book. Also, the scenes narrated by Slater's father, for example, some scenes that had slight sexual content to me, come off as awkward and a bit forced.

I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because of the grammatical errors I found. It is a captivating book that will resonate well with a mature audience, especially people looking for debatable topics for their book clubs or with their friends.

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Days of the Giants
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