ARA Review by RuthMitchell of Adrift

The ARA Review Exchange is a system in which authors review other authors' books, generlaly in exchange for getting their own book reviews by other authors. However, the person who reviews a author's book is not the same person whose book that author reviewed. This way, author reviews do not influence each other, such as by an author being inclined to reward a good review by deliving one in return or deliver a negative review as revenge.

Moderator: Official Reviewer Representatives

Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
User avatar
RuthMitchell
In It Together VIP
Posts: 0
Joined: 13 Jan 2020, 17:56
Favorite Author: Ruth Mitchell
Currently Reading: In It Together
Bookshelf Size: 3
fav_author_id: 216550

ARA Review by RuthMitchell of Adrift

Post by RuthMitchell »

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Adrift.]
Book Cover
4 out of 5 stars
Share This Review


With the full adrenaline of a modern-day sea wreck, Adrift by Charlie Sheldon is the story of the ‘Seattle Express’, which catches on fire in the Gulf of Alaska. The 700-foot container ship has to be abandoned by the crew who load up into two encapsulated lifeboats that are separated upon launch.

Larry and Louise, owners of a struggling salvage business scavenge up a rough crew of sailors and outfit their tired tugboat, the ‘Warhorse’ to try and save their business, a “sinking ship” itself. Battling time to get to the abandoned ship first and thus reap the rewards of maritime law to claim the assets of the ship. They must fight the elements to reach the still-burning ship before the Buckhorn Corporation, owners of the ‘Seattle Express’, get there and void their claim.

In the most climactic scene of the book, Larry has his leg and arm brutally wrenched from his body as the small crew struggles to board the burning wreak and secure it to the tug in raging seas. Larry battles for his life under the most challenging of circumstances as the crew on both ships struggle with his tragic physical impairment and what to do about it.

Meanwhile we are privy to the castaways who struggle to survive, one of the small crafts landing on the rugged shores of Haida Gwaii, a remote series of Islands off British Columbia. The whereabouts of the other lifeboat remains unknown to them as they struggle to feed themselves in the wild and stay warm in the miserably cold and unhospitable shore where snow and rain drench them unmercifully. The crew manages to club to death a baby seal, and they do have the capability to keep a fire going. But conditions are unbearable. When hunger and desperation force them to send two of their party walking over rugged terrain, their plight remains in the balance. Will they survive?

The cast of characters include the families of the crew as they struggle with the unknown fate of their loved ones. The author has chosen to segregate these stories somewhat from the sea adventure that is the meat of the story. As a reader this was somewhat difficult to follow, but by the end of the book I had a pretty good idea of who was who. Ultimately the second lifeboat is rescued, and a last-ditch search party is organized to find the survivors on Haida Gwaii.

Adrift oozes with heroic challenges, by a rugged breed of seafarers, and the authenticity of this sea-going adventure makes for a compelling tale. I am giving this fast-paced adventure story a four out of five rating. It had great suspense, and the author’s descriptions of the frigid seascape are as authentic and as daring as anything Jack London wrote of the Pacific Northwest. This book would make a great movie joining the ranks of the ‘Perfect Storm.’ I encourage you to add this one to your bookshelf or kindle library.

***
View Adrift on Bookshelves
Post Reply

Return to “ARA Reviews (Authors Reviewing Authors)”