Review by DogoMulla -- Adrift by Charlie Sheldon

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DogoMulla
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Review by DogoMulla -- Adrift by Charlie Sheldon

Post by DogoMulla »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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On a Sunday, December 5th, the Seattle Express – a 700-foot container ship – caught fire. Steve Procida, the captain, tried to salvage the situation. He tried to access the damage. According to him, from the information he had gathered from his crew, it was time to abandon ship. Would they make it ashore? If so, would they make it alive?

The owners of the ship, Buckhorn, had been informed of the mishap. They did send tugs. Yet, they weren’t the only ones. Louise smelled the weather and the money. Her husband, Larry, helped gather up a crew. They even called up their rivals – the Dark Cloud’s crew. Aboard the Warhorse, a 160-foot tug, they were going to dare to tow the ship. Would they make it before the Buckhorn tugs?

Adrift is one of the liveliest mariners’ tale I’ve read yet. It’s a standalone sequel to Strong Heart – I’d like to read that one too. Charlie Sheldon catches your attention right from page one. Then he doesn’t let go. The ending is sad. Sad because you don’t want it to end. The story is fast paced. The character development and interaction is commendable. There are quite a number of strong characters and they are all relevant to the narrative. This is not an easy fit to achieve. The prose is exemplary. As a result, the flow of the narrative is amazing. It is easy to connect the dots and hard to get bored.

The thing I liked most about Adrift was the part when William and Anne decided to go find help instead of the others. Some of the crew even thought it was far-fetched. This eventually cost them both. It’s this kind of sacrifice that makes humanity better. Again, there’s the part where the steward and the ordinary went to hunt seal for meat. This was courageous and daring. It’s the few who dare that support the most who wait. I didn’t like the fact that Buckhorn fired Steve just because they could. He had been with them for years only to let him go. Something has to be done about this.

Charlie Sheldon knows his stuff. This is one of the reasons the book was so interesting. With some experience at sea, he has done more than enough research concerning his plot. Even if one has read a tale at sea before, you’ll learn more on this one. Considering I have all these good things to say about this must-read, it would only seem fair it gets a perfect rating. This is not the case though. I found more than ten errors; some punctuation and others wording. For example, the last line of chapter 62 has no closing quotation marks. Then there’s this one at the beginning of chapter 7, at location 624: “Yeah. Wasn’t I was starting a week from Monday?” I still think it was well-edited, but it needs another round of proofreading. It is for this reason only that I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Let’s get something straight. Adrift comes highly recommended. I recommend it to lovers of mariners’ tales. If you like sea stories, this one might be better than any you’ve read before. It’s a true to life adventure. The characters range from a 13-year old to a 69-year old. Therefore, anyone from any age group can relate with this one. If you wouldn’t want too much details on ships and crew, or prefer urban plots, you should probably pass on this one.

******
Adrift
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Post by InStoree »

I'm impressed by your transparent, yet concise and firm review. I've enjoyed reading it. In some ways, it reminds me of the beauty of simplicity. I'm glad you savour the book. Thank you for your peachy review, DogoMulla! 🙂
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Post by Prisallen »

I read this book as well. I didn't read the first book and I was a little confused at time with some of the characters and William's stories. However, I did love the story. It was captivating. Thank you for a great review!
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Post by Delaney35 »

I just finished reading this one and quite enjoyed it as well. I do agree that having not read the first one there was a few confusing spots. Great review!
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Thanks for the wonderful review and pointing out some flaws in the book too. I thought you were going to state a different reason as to why the book has a sad ending. I am also in support that at the end, you have a feeling that the story should just continue.
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Post by sarahmarlowe »

Thank you for your thorough review! I just finished this book, and I saw some of the same things, but I was delighted to read your differing opinions. That's one of the things I love about OBC!
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Post by Jeremie Mondejar »

Nice review, this book will be my first marine novel. I also curious on marine life.
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Post by kdstrack »

"The few who dare that support the most who wait." I really enjoyed those insightful words and wise observation. Your described the book in a positive and inspiring way. Thanks.
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Post by Connie Otwani »

I have enjoyed reading your entertaining but thorough review. I recently reviewed this book too (though it is not yet published). I'm happy to note a different perspective from mine. For example, I was sad about the ending because it didn't have to be so abrupt. Otherwise it was an enjoyable read. Great review!
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Post by lhardey1996 »

Thank you for an impressive review. it is concise, very well detailed and informative, I have to read this book.
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Post by Hiruni Bhagya 81 »

I began reading this book and found it quite interesting. Like you said, I too noticed the errors and know you're justified in deducting a star, which is really unfortunate. So, thanks for your interesting review.
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Post by Nisha Ward »

I still haven't gotten to read this and I still want to. It sounds interesting and highly satisfying to read, even with the errors involved, and I want to know how Larry and Louise fare on this undertaking.
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Post by allbooked+ »

I like marine books but not in detail so I think I will take your advice and skip this! Glad you enjoyed it!
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