We interrupt the regularly scheduled political screed for some spontaneous horn-tooting.
For some reason, my debut novel remains the most popular book I’ve written. At least it’s accumulated the most “social proof” of all my books. Here’s the latest review of Hell and Gone:
I hadn’t planned on writing a review but the end of Hell & Gone had a comment by the author, Henry Brown, that struck me. Military fiction is a genre that’s has been dearly underserved by mainstream publishing. While there may be a financial justification for this, and it is a niche genre, the real reason is that publishers simply don’t like it. It’s difficult to market, requires a knowledge base few editors possess and, yes, it’s considered “icky” by an industry that leans so far to the left that some publishers have trouble getting through doorways. It also happens to be MY industry, and I know all this from experience.
That being said, the genre suffers from another problem: A lot of the material written for it just isn’t that good. Creating a story is hard work, and doubly so when it’s easy to slide into stereotypes and cliches instead of crafting realistic characters with original and interesting motivations. Combat action, while essential to a story, can cease to be what moves a story along and instead threaten to overwhelm the plot. And lastly, God save us all from the author that simply doesn’t bother to do research and spits out jarring technical mistakes.
This book has none of those problems. The characters are interesting and as a reader you are motivated to care about them. The action is fast-paced, with colorful description, and it serves the purpose of the story instead of the other way around.
In short, this is a damn fine book. Read it and enjoy a real treat.
Anyway, the reviewer claims to work in the industry. Perhaps that’s why he’s keeping his identity anonymous–probably a wise move in today’s climate. In any case, I’m very grateful he posted.