Review by Mallory Whitaker -- The Expansion

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Mallory Whitaker
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Review by Mallory Whitaker -- The Expansion

Post by Mallory Whitaker »

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Expansion" by Christoph Martin.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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What are you willing to do to get what you want? What are you willing to do when you're about to lose everything? Christoph Martin's thriller, The Expansion, is all about the power of greed and desperation. The book is full of betrayal, revenge, espionage, and power struggles.

The story follows Max Burns, a geomatic engineer, who has been offered the job of a lifetime by his childhood friend, Godfredo. Max has a chance to work on the expansion of the Panama Canal. His team (the British team put together by a company called CISCO) must beat out the other countries' teams by having the best plan and budget. Max has issues with his own group, including Godfredo and Godfredo's temperamental father, Paca, the owner of CISCO. Meanwhile, information starts getting leaked from different teams leading to an unforeseeable conclusion. The task has turned into more than he could have ever anticipated. The competition is more than just about expanding the canal. It's about more than prestige. It's a global play for power.

This was a really entertaining read. In the beginning, I was worried the parts about engineering were going to be very technical and detailed. That didn't happen at all. Martin does a great job of being informative without being tedious. The story is told from the point of view of a few different characters. Personally, I'm not always a fan of this, but it's done really well. It adds a lot to the story by allowing the reader to see different sides of the political plots and intrigues.

All of the characters in this book are pushed to their limits. You get to see how far characters are willing to go to get what they want. Their desperation oozes from the page. Really, everything about these characters makes them jump off the page. They're all very real, nuanced and have secrets the reader slowly learns about throughout the novel. Materialism, and the downfalls of those who subscribe to it,is a major theme in this book. It shows what greed and a need for a certain image can do to a person. The author also makes a point of how people who dedicate themselves solely to their work lose part, if not all, of their compassion. Instead of people, they see dollar signs or scapegoats.

I rate this book four out of four stars. I immensely enjoyed reading it. It had me going from start to finish. It's an easy read with a complicated plot. That's right up my alley. I recommend this book to people who like political intrigues, power plays, and dynamic characters who are wounded in one way or another. I would give it four stars for the characters alone. I loved them that much. A word of warning: this book contains strong language, prostitutes, and domestic violence.

******
The Expansion
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Post by aussiebooklover »

"It's an easy read with a complicated plot."

Mallory, that's also the part I liked most about this book! Great character descriptions and a surprising and complex plot. I could not put it down!

Many thanks for a great review!
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Mallory Whitaker
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Post by Mallory Whitaker »

Yes! Martin really did a great job of making things complex without dragging you down in the details. I enjoyed the pacing immensely. I couldn't put it down either.

Thank you!
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Post by juliusotinyo »

Hi,
Thanks for an insightful review. I am gaining more interest in this book, despite crime thrillers not being my thing.
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Post by Mallory Whitaker »

Hi!
Thank you. You should give it a shot! I'm not even sure I would call it a crime thriller, honestly. I'm not quite sure what specific subgenre it is, but if I go with wikipedia's short blurbs about thriller subgenres, I'd say it's more of a spy thriller.
Threats to entire countries, spies, espionage, conspiracies, assassins and electronic surveillance are common in spy thrillers.
I guess it's still about crimes, just on a much larger scale. Let me know if you give it a shot!
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Post by juliusotinyo »

Mallory Whitaker wrote:Hi!
Thank you. You should give it a shot! I'm not even sure I would call it a crime thriller, honestly. I'm not quite sure what specific subgenre it is, but if I go with wikipedia's short blurbs about thriller subgenres, I'd say it's more of a spy thriller.
Threats to entire countries, spies, espionage, conspiracies, assassins and electronic surveillance are common in spy thrillers.
I guess it's still about crimes, just on a much larger scale. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Hi,
I will, thanks.
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Post by geoffrey ngoima »

I don't know, these days I shy away from stories packed with "...betrayal, revenge, ((NOT THIS>> espionage<<,)) and power struggles. " but as I read further read thru your review I saw it might be worth sth.
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Post by Darakhshan Nazir »

Great book to read and learn some lessons from it .
Admirable review .

Do check out my latest review and share your views. I will be very glad to see you there
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Post by Mallory Whitaker »

geoffrey ngoima wrote:I don't know, these days I shy away from stories packed with "...betrayal, revenge, ((NOT THIS>> espionage<<,)) and power struggles. " but as I read further read thru your review I saw it might be worth sth.
It's pretty good! But there's a lot of betrayal, revenge, and so much power struggles. So I don't know if this would be your cup of tea. But let me know if you do check it out!
Darakhshan Nazir wrote:Great book to read and learn some lessons from it .
Admirable review .

Do check out my latest review and share your views. I will be very glad to see you there
Thank you! I absolutely did. It was lovely.
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Post by geoffrey ngoima »

Mallory Whitaker wrote:
geoffrey ngoima wrote:I don't know, these days I shy away from stories packed with "...betrayal, revenge, ((NOT THIS>> espionage<<,)) and power struggles. " but as I read further read thru your review I saw it might be worth sth.
It's pretty good! But there's a lot of betrayal, revenge, and so much power struggles. So I don't know if this would be your cup of tea. But let me know if you do check it out!
Darakhshan Nazir wrote:Great book to read and learn some lessons from it .
Admirable review .

Do check out my latest review and share your views. I will be very glad to see you there
Thank you! I absolutely did. It was lovely.
Will do!
To posit that the war brings us closer to faith is a sleight of hand that makes fools of us all. "There Are Only Atheists in Fox Holes"~ Michael Carson
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Post by Mallory Whitaker »

Perfect! :D
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Post by Ezekielafog12 »

thanks for a great review,Great book to read and learn some lessons from it ,God bless you
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Post by gali »

A thriller revolving around political intrigue and the adventures of a geomatic engineer sounds intriguing. It is good that the book is informative without being tedious and that the transfer between the POV is smoothly done. I don't care for political intrigues, but I am glad you enjoyed the book. Thank you for the review!
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Post by Fozia-Bajwa »

This is a story of two friends Max and Godfredo. The two friends are close to each other since their childhood. Godfredo offers a job to Max and he then examines and observes the behavior of different people in his company including Godfredo. You have reviewed it very well.
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Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

The easy read with a complicated plot and dynamic characters make this book stand out. Thanks for the lovely review.
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