Felt So Real I Couldn’t Sleep
4.5 out of 5 stars
Once again, Sands wrote a better synopsis that I cannot beat: “A nearly forgotten bunker in the frozen wastes of Alaska is hiding a weapon that could end the world. And only Marcus Johnson and his team can keep it from falling into the worst possible hands.”
I don’t always do back-to-back books by the same author or narrator, but when I do — they take place in Alaska and are incredibly well written and thought out. Basil Sands can write and keep me reading way into the night (2am more than once) — thankfully I didn’t have the sun never rising (or setting) to keep me up later!
The most enjoyable part of 65 below was the combination of military and non-military. From the way that they talked about the situations that they were thrown into. The back and forth made this one of the most interesting, stressful, and fun books I’ve read in a while. Sands is able to write from a military point of view without completely alienating non-military people. His intimate knowledge of weapons, armies, and operational situations is unbelievable and thorough.
Marcus was one of those bad-A main characters that also had a soft side. This was shown in the multiple flashbacks to losing the love of his life (due to her coming back into his life). Obviously things like that cause the main character to do even more than they might have done to make sure that the woman he loves is safe and no longer under threat. Sure, it sounds a little cliché, but it wasn’t done in a sappy way.
The overall story of the book was pretty scary and as I said before kept me up at night to figure out what was going to happen. 65 below was both action-packed and well thought out. Sands took his time in the pacing and storytelling in this book and I think it paid off. I love a good bio-thriller and this book felt like it was on the cusp of it numerous times. I love the feeling of hopelessness that Sands was able to make me feel during parts of this – it felt that real.
Overall, another great book by Sands and another book I’m glad that I listened to by him. I’ll be looking to add more books written and narrated by him (both his and not).
Book Description:
A nearly forgotten bunker in the frozen wastes of Alaska is hiding a weapon that could end the world. And only Marcus Johnson and his team can keep it from falling into the worst possible hands.
Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus “Mojo” Johnson – returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after twenty years of chasing bad men – enlists an elite team of combat veterans and personal friends to intercept the enemy before it releases a decades-old secret that can’t be destroyed and was never meant to be found. And it all plays out in the brutal, beautiful Alaskan wilderness, in sub-zero temperatures where human flesh freezes in mere minutes.
The chase is on, and only Mojo and his allies can stop the apocalypse before it begins.
65 Below by Basil Sands
Narrator: Basil Sands
Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
Published by Self Published on September 29, 2011
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 376
Format: Audiobook
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I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Also by this author: Invasion: Ice Hammer
