Review of The Date Farm
Posted: 14 Aug 2024, 15:30
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Date Farm" by Jack Winnick.]
It was a warm summer weekend at Beverly Hills Mall, and a crowd of young people wandered the busy mall happily, listening to the various musicians who were set up outside the closed shops on every level of the building. The atmosphere was festive, and the performers all did their best to stand out, so nobody was concerned when the group of men in black joined the throng and methodically spread themselves throughout the lively mass of revelers. They weren’t, at least, until the men released gas grenades and then took out machine guns. Indiscriminately spraying bullets everywhere, the men maimed or killed everyone they could find before finally killing themselves with a triumphant cry of “Allahu Akhbar.”
That is the shocking opening scene in The Date Farm by Jack Winnick, the fourth installment in the Lara and Uri series about a pair of agents working for the FBI and Mossad, respectively. Uri and Lara, newly married, are taking a vacation in the United States when they hear about the deadly attack at the mall and are ordered to the grisly scene. While there, the agents are alerted by Homeland Security that the government’s highest level of secure communications has been hacked, making them wonder what could be coming next. They begin to put the pieces together when a new threat emerges in New York City, where terrorists have seized the Federal Reserve and Chase Manhattan Banks. The agents must discover the terrorists’ motives and stop them without endangering the lives of everyone in New York City.
The book opens with a pulse-pounding scene but slows down significantly afterward. It spends too much time detailing how the terrorists plan their vile acts and their long, uneventful journey home from the scene of the attack. Their leader, Sheikh Abidin, repeatedly boasts to his comrades about his cleverness in long, monotonous speeches that become tedious as he doles out information in a melodramatic manner. Most of the book is dominated by exposition, slowing down the pace considerably. It takes over 200 pages to get to the date farm referenced in the title, which is the most engaging part of the book. Once the story reaches this point, things pick up, and it is easier to get immersed in the plot. The author does a great job building tension and suspense in this section, making one wonder why it is not a bigger part of the overall story. Unfortunately, the ending is ultimately lackluster.
Another issue with this book is the numerous grammatical and punctuation errors in the text. The overwhelming number of semicolons is distracting, especially since many of them are used incorrectly in place of more appropriate punctuation. There are also issues with commas, unnecessary hyphens, and unusual word order in certain sentences.
The author did an impressive amount of research for this book. The simple, understandable explanations of the science and technology utilized in it showed that Winnick studied and understood the concepts well. He also vividly described the social and environmental details of different places around the world, as well as the cultural and religious traditions found in those places. Those who enjoy learning about these things will undoubtedly appreciate this book more than readers who are more interested in staying involved in the story.
Due to current events happening in the Middle East, it’s important to point out that this story is very pro-Israel and pro-United States. The portrayal of the Iranians is almost cartoonishly stereotypical, and the term “Palestinian” is placed in quotation marks when referring to its flag, possibly indicating that the author is questioning the authenticity of the term.
While The Date Farm did not meet my expectations as a thriller, it offers valuable information and some moments of excitement. I recommend this book to mature readers who are interested in political intrigue and the workings of the intelligence community, but who are not necessarily looking for a suspenseful page-turner. Due to some graphically violent scenes, I do not recommend this for children or young teens. There is also a non-graphic sex scene and a few instances of profanity. Considering both the positive and negative aspects discussed above, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.
******
The Date Farm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It was a warm summer weekend at Beverly Hills Mall, and a crowd of young people wandered the busy mall happily, listening to the various musicians who were set up outside the closed shops on every level of the building. The atmosphere was festive, and the performers all did their best to stand out, so nobody was concerned when the group of men in black joined the throng and methodically spread themselves throughout the lively mass of revelers. They weren’t, at least, until the men released gas grenades and then took out machine guns. Indiscriminately spraying bullets everywhere, the men maimed or killed everyone they could find before finally killing themselves with a triumphant cry of “Allahu Akhbar.”
That is the shocking opening scene in The Date Farm by Jack Winnick, the fourth installment in the Lara and Uri series about a pair of agents working for the FBI and Mossad, respectively. Uri and Lara, newly married, are taking a vacation in the United States when they hear about the deadly attack at the mall and are ordered to the grisly scene. While there, the agents are alerted by Homeland Security that the government’s highest level of secure communications has been hacked, making them wonder what could be coming next. They begin to put the pieces together when a new threat emerges in New York City, where terrorists have seized the Federal Reserve and Chase Manhattan Banks. The agents must discover the terrorists’ motives and stop them without endangering the lives of everyone in New York City.
The book opens with a pulse-pounding scene but slows down significantly afterward. It spends too much time detailing how the terrorists plan their vile acts and their long, uneventful journey home from the scene of the attack. Their leader, Sheikh Abidin, repeatedly boasts to his comrades about his cleverness in long, monotonous speeches that become tedious as he doles out information in a melodramatic manner. Most of the book is dominated by exposition, slowing down the pace considerably. It takes over 200 pages to get to the date farm referenced in the title, which is the most engaging part of the book. Once the story reaches this point, things pick up, and it is easier to get immersed in the plot. The author does a great job building tension and suspense in this section, making one wonder why it is not a bigger part of the overall story. Unfortunately, the ending is ultimately lackluster.
Another issue with this book is the numerous grammatical and punctuation errors in the text. The overwhelming number of semicolons is distracting, especially since many of them are used incorrectly in place of more appropriate punctuation. There are also issues with commas, unnecessary hyphens, and unusual word order in certain sentences.
The author did an impressive amount of research for this book. The simple, understandable explanations of the science and technology utilized in it showed that Winnick studied and understood the concepts well. He also vividly described the social and environmental details of different places around the world, as well as the cultural and religious traditions found in those places. Those who enjoy learning about these things will undoubtedly appreciate this book more than readers who are more interested in staying involved in the story.
Due to current events happening in the Middle East, it’s important to point out that this story is very pro-Israel and pro-United States. The portrayal of the Iranians is almost cartoonishly stereotypical, and the term “Palestinian” is placed in quotation marks when referring to its flag, possibly indicating that the author is questioning the authenticity of the term.
While The Date Farm did not meet my expectations as a thriller, it offers valuable information and some moments of excitement. I recommend this book to mature readers who are interested in political intrigue and the workings of the intelligence community, but who are not necessarily looking for a suspenseful page-turner. Due to some graphically violent scenes, I do not recommend this for children or young teens. There is also a non-graphic sex scene and a few instances of profanity. Considering both the positive and negative aspects discussed above, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.
******
The Date Farm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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