Eric Wentz’s new work on terrorism, Killing Sharks: De Profundis, is not a very good book. Rather it is a great book! It will do for our understanding of the global war on terrorism what Clancy’s books did for our understanding of the Cold War. Both writers are artists with passionate intensity who deserve our attention. Many people have an aversion to reading History books, they are too dry. But wrap an action/adventure story around the event, now you have a great learning tool.
I first bumped into Eric Wentz when he published Piercing The Veil. It was a great read, you can find my comments here. I got wind of the imminent publication of Killing Sharks, and just had to get hold of a copy.
Even the title had my interest. By no means am I a linguist, but I did suffer 5 years in school of learning Latin. It seemed boring and pointless at the time, it wasn’t like you could go on a vacation and speak it. My Latin is a little rusty, but I looked up De Profundis. I started to chuckle. As with most languages there are different ways in which a phrase can be used. De Profundis, and I am using the Merriam Webster dictionary definition says “out of the depthsâ€. What a great title.
No pun intended, but at that point I dived into the book!
Ok, that’s a bit of a lie. Being a reviewer I always love to have the back story, the story behind the story. Eric Wentz writes from his first hand knowledge, not his creative mind. Killing Sharks is a work of fiction, but it is based on personal experience.
If you are going to write about terrorists, the global view, and Gitmo, get your facts straight. There is little doubt in my mind that Eric Wentz is talking from a position of power rather than one of weakness.
I have not said much about the book. I did that on purpose, I hate to spoil a good read by saying too much. Eric Wentz has selected Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisholm as his main character. The book is set post 9/11. Al Qaeda (8 ways to spell this) are in disarray. Yes they scored their (hollow) victory blowing up the twin towers. But it is a hollow victory, some members are killed, some are captured. Gitmo turns from a quiet, if unfriendly spot where we, the US point our guns at the Cubans, and the Cubans point their guns at us, into a place where we can keep our terrorist friends.
Eric Wentz puts an interesting twist on this story. Is it possible that Gitmo might become the target of an operation to free these terrorists? It doesn’t take much research to figure out that Cuba really doesn’t want us. But would Cuba assist terror groups in closing down Gitmo.
I have only touched on one aspect of Killing Sharks, but even though it is fiction, it gives me pause for thought. There are many other aspects to the book. But I genuinely do not think that it is appropriate to talk about them. Readers need to read Killing Sharks and make their own decision.
Eric Wentz also has a web site that is well worth a visit.
Simon Barrett
3 users commented in " Book Review: Killing Sharks: De Profundis by Eric Wentz "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI have read “Killing Sharks” and your review does not do it justice. The author not only appears to base the book on firsthand knowledge, but his creative mind is definitely at work in this novel, which your review seems to downplay. This author’s vast knowledge of linguistics, history, military affairs and theological studies is readily apparent and is intertwined in this well-scripted novel about terrorism. Although based on fact, it is the author’s literary genius that made the characters come to life and the book such a great read. I found his first book, “Piercing the Veil,” to be a very good book, but found “Killing Sharks” to far surpass it and I was able to easily read it in one sitting.
I’m not sure how many books this story will translate into, as this second book is an obvious continuation of the first and, it is apparent from his current novel, that a third book will be forthcoming at some point. I can only hope that it is as great as “Killing Sharks: De Profundis” proved to be.
I would encourage you, Mr. Barrett, to take a second look at the book and, once again, invite the author on for an interview. It has been, after all, four years since the release of his first book and I would love to hear what he has to say. May be it will shed new light on the characters and story line, from his perspective.
Thanks for your time.
creyes,
It is a great book, and yes Eric is a gifted writer with first hand knowledge. I will be interviewing Eric in the next few days.
You are correct, my review does not talk about many of the aspects that Eric has written about. That was a decision made after long deliberation. I would prefer that the reader discover those aspects for themselves.
My intention was to not give any spoilers, rather give some general background.
Thanks for the updated review, Simon. I look forward to listening to your interview with Mr. Wentz.
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