The Shooters

Sometimes maybe a little more wordy on descriptive information but necessary to the action which is fast paced. Good character building..Good factual information woven in.

WEB continues to suck me into his intrigue on every book he authors. I love the continuity of chacters and scenarios that prevail. Being a retired combat arms officer I have been amazed at how he waves intrigue and seat of the pants realism into every story.After I finished all of the Brotherhood and Corps books, I waited too long for the new breed to get started. Amazing how the all of them tie together I have been very pleased.

Castillo makes a great hero, even when he is acting like an arrogant bleep. He seems like a real person as well as the guy you would want your own son or daughter to serve with or under. This story seemed like it went on a bit long for the final assault to free the captives. A little less detail about some of the equipment, planes, and weapons would make the story move on a bit faster. It's nearly enough to make me stop reading, but I realize that some of the ex fliers and soldiers appreciate reading all those details, so it's just me. You can read any of Griffin's books alone because they do give you some of the background in each book, but it means more if you know all of the characters from the previous books. Plus, you really almost feel like you know all the characters by the time you complete a series and miss them when the series ends. My favorite character in this one is the dog.

After having read every one of WEB Griffin's Marine, Army and Army/Air Force books. I enjoy the continuous story lines and in depth character development.

Forgive me. I like the yarns spun by W.E.B. Griffin, more recently aided by his son. I am re-reading several of the series. The "Charley Castillo" series is a later series, enjoyable to me, with plots that are preposterous, with the books getting weaker and weaker as the series progresses into later books. The best were the Marine series and the Army series and even there the later books were of far less quality than the early books in the series. My biggest gripe with the "By Order of The President" that I call the Charley Castillo series is that the authors can't keep their facts consistent from book to book. There are so many factual contradictions with the earlier story telling in previous books that the mistakes cannot be counted. For instance, it is disturbing that one book ends dramatically when a canine character, Max, who saves Charley on at least two occasions, is rewarded when Charley obtains a female Bourvier d'Flanders as company for Max, and in a later book the female canine's acquisition is ascribed to another character in another place in another time having nothing to do with Max's contributions to Charley's welfare.. However, I still enjoy the fanciful tales and will continue to re-read at least one more series. That is why I subjectively gave the book a higher score that it deserves.

This is the fourth book in the Presidential Agent series and it introduces a new plot. The first novel had a story about a stolen airliner. The next two concerned the kidnapping of an American diplomat in Argentina. This novel is set in the same period of a few weeks when all these adventures occur but has a new plot line. The first one-third is marred a bit by excessive exposition in filling in the back story of the first three books. It is a bit annoying as new information about Charley Castillo is included, along with the summary of the previous books. Because of that, the reader who knows the story cannot skip the exposition. Once that section is over, about a third of the way into the book, the pace picks up and this is another good yarn. A couple of unlikely developments suggests more sequels to come. The characters are interesting and the plot is good but this is a half step below the others. Another reviewer suggested that the other series are better and I agree. Still, if you like WEB Griffin's novels, you will enjoy this one. It is all set in South America and does mention the damage from Hurricane Katrina that occurred in the Gulf Coast area that is the setting of parts of the earlier books. I recommend it but will probably not reread it like I do many of the others

When a DEA agent is kidnapped in South America by forces unknown, Lt. Col. Charlie Castillo and his team are ordered to find out who’s holding him and free him. As usual he has to ford various cross-currents, including Washington bureaucrats who obstruct him and Latin American authorities whose loyalties are uncertain. And he slowly gloms to the fact that the CIA there has been penetrated – but he’s not sure by whom.The Castillo saga evolves, as Castillo acquires the formidable but entertaining dog Max, who accompanies him everywhere. Landing at an Alabama air base Castillo was stationed at years before reopens a chapter of his life with startling results. And Castillo’s team keeps growing, often because someone who stumbles upon them now knows too much to do anything else but participate.They fly around a lot, there’s endless talk about radios and who operates them. Hurricane Katrina hammers the Gulf Coast and people from New Orleans drink a lot of Sazeracs. It’s a typical entry in the enjoyable Presidential Agent series.

Yes. The worst of all possible ratings. Three stars because I sort of like these things, yet it is so miserably badly written, if not quite Dan Brown execrable, if you see what I mean.For all the gung-ho Special Forces, flying around (when the action is not being killed stone dead by getting bogged down in logistics (which, tragically I quite like....) and blowing stuff up stuff, WEB sure knows how to pad out a story in the most shameless way. If you are interested in the series, just read the first one (By Order of The President). Then save several hours of the rest of your life by not reading the salient (and they aren't all that salient) plot and even more turgidly, character biographical, points, over and over. And Over, in the following books.Please trust me. I am not exaggerating.The books are informative, certainly, but even allowing for them being fictional characters, I don't know anyone who looks at anything, and instantly recalls the W***pedia entry (in full) about the history of the street, district and town since 1658 and the pivotal role played by the house the protagonist is about to enter.Most authors would just say that "he went into the house"...Worse still, this happens in conversation. If something is mentioned - and I have to say it is rarely something obscure, a character will pipe up and declaim out of the blue ...the history of the street, distri... etc etc.The nearest I can compare it to is CSI, where the lab equipment's purpose (forensic, I would have guessed) is described at length to any passer by. This is a piece of lab equipment that they presumably use every day.But I digress.I am not sure I will persist to the bitter end of the series, as the later ones are collaborations (admittedly with his son, but still...)I read a book because it is by an author. I can't be bothered by something by a hack with "Tom Clancy" plastered all over the cover because the author bought a typewriter off EBay that had once been used to draft The Hunt For Red October.

What do you want me to say ? I t was a good read but how often to tell you about it?

as normal you can't put a griffin book down

Nothing to complain about.

Great series and a real page turner I have devoured 3 books in this series in a week! Highly recommended!