Review of The Date Farm
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Danielle Zdranik
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Review of The Date Farm
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Date Farm" by Jack Winnick.]
In The Date Farm by Jack Winnick, readers go on a top-secret mission with the main characters, Uri and Lara, to recover the stolen, valuable, American resource, rhenium, from Iranian terrorists. Given the nature of the tense relationship between America and the middle east and the parameters of the mission, as outlined in the story, this book had potential to be a great thriller. Unfortunately, I felt the pace of the book dragged due to overwhelming imagery of machinery and gadgets being used, detailed, physical descriptions of minor characters, and long breaks in the action devoted to the scenery of the travels and/or escape of key players. For these reasons, The Date Farm fell short of being the adrenaline-pumping, page-turner, I had hoped it would be, and received a rating of 3/5 stars from me.
I found it refreshing that Winnick portrayed terrorism as the evil that it is. Regardless of race or religion, any group that earnestly seeks the destruction of others for simply existing, ought to be stopped, and that is a main theme of this book. Some content may be triggering for select groups of readers as Winnick pulls no punches in his descriptions and explanations of the lengths jihadi Muslims and their leadership will go, to eradicate their perceived enemies.
In general, I find that books written from multiple perspectives tend to be faster paced reads. However, at the beginning of The Date Farm, Jack Winnick does not use this technique in a way that accelerates the plot. Often, when the perspective changed, information would get repetitive with no new insight to the character's thinking or plot being revealed.
Ironically, I felt more connected to the villains of this story than the heroes. Not that I was rooting for the bad guys, but it seemed more time was devoted to explaining their thoughts, their relationships, and their goals, than those of Uri and Lara. Additionally, keeping track of the character cast was often challenging, as it was large. Some minor characters played significant roles in the plot's advancement, which may justify the lengthy depictions of their physique, living quarters and rank/job in society. I did not find such depictions necessary for all the characters they were provided for. I would argue they largely detracted and distracted from the heart of the plot.
Overall, I found the execution of this novel to be meandering and a bit clunky. Sticking to the action-packed, high-energy scenes, and prioritizing developing the fondness and banter between Uri and Lara and the conniving, manipulation of the terrorists over the surface-level characterization of minor players would greatly improve the "thriller" element and pace of this book.
******
The Date Farm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In The Date Farm by Jack Winnick, readers go on a top-secret mission with the main characters, Uri and Lara, to recover the stolen, valuable, American resource, rhenium, from Iranian terrorists. Given the nature of the tense relationship between America and the middle east and the parameters of the mission, as outlined in the story, this book had potential to be a great thriller. Unfortunately, I felt the pace of the book dragged due to overwhelming imagery of machinery and gadgets being used, detailed, physical descriptions of minor characters, and long breaks in the action devoted to the scenery of the travels and/or escape of key players. For these reasons, The Date Farm fell short of being the adrenaline-pumping, page-turner, I had hoped it would be, and received a rating of 3/5 stars from me.
I found it refreshing that Winnick portrayed terrorism as the evil that it is. Regardless of race or religion, any group that earnestly seeks the destruction of others for simply existing, ought to be stopped, and that is a main theme of this book. Some content may be triggering for select groups of readers as Winnick pulls no punches in his descriptions and explanations of the lengths jihadi Muslims and their leadership will go, to eradicate their perceived enemies.
In general, I find that books written from multiple perspectives tend to be faster paced reads. However, at the beginning of The Date Farm, Jack Winnick does not use this technique in a way that accelerates the plot. Often, when the perspective changed, information would get repetitive with no new insight to the character's thinking or plot being revealed.
Ironically, I felt more connected to the villains of this story than the heroes. Not that I was rooting for the bad guys, but it seemed more time was devoted to explaining their thoughts, their relationships, and their goals, than those of Uri and Lara. Additionally, keeping track of the character cast was often challenging, as it was large. Some minor characters played significant roles in the plot's advancement, which may justify the lengthy depictions of their physique, living quarters and rank/job in society. I did not find such depictions necessary for all the characters they were provided for. I would argue they largely detracted and distracted from the heart of the plot.
Overall, I found the execution of this novel to be meandering and a bit clunky. Sticking to the action-packed, high-energy scenes, and prioritizing developing the fondness and banter between Uri and Lara and the conniving, manipulation of the terrorists over the surface-level characterization of minor players would greatly improve the "thriller" element and pace of this book.
******
The Date Farm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Donny, Mary Grace and the Ugly Marbles by Catherine A. Pepe
