Review of He Who Dares
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Malik Bakare
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Review of He Who Dares
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "He Who Dares" by Rob Buckman.]
Mike Gray, a young and impressionable man from Avalon, a planet in the stars, flees the stars after a bad incident that cost the lives of some people. Through some connections, he applies to the Royal Navy and starts his training at HMS Marchwood, a shore station. There, they are taught and given the necessary education. Not being from Earth, as he is from the colonies, Mike has some enemies who are also jealous of his abilities. In the story, there are two kinds of people: those from Earth (the elites or classists) and those from the colonies (who are seen as bottom-barrel people and not worthy of great positions in the navy). Mike is not concerned with this segregation as he tries to downplay his abilities so as not to be in charge of other people’s lives after the incident that also took the life of his grandfather. Was he able to hold onto this promise he had made to himself? Will Mike Gray be able to stand seeing people in danger and not trying to rescue them? Read He Who Dares by Rob Buckman to see how this worked out for Mike. Also, how was Mike better than most of his colleagues? What life had he lived before applying to the Royal Navy?
I found this book interesting, though it started off quite slow. The author, Rob Buckman, has some experience working on sea shuttles, so his experience is evident in the description of controlling the shuttles, the different roles each member plays during war, the hierarchy in the Navy, and how things work in the field. I didn’t know one could get promoted during fieldwork if the person formally in charge was indisposed or dead. Mike is hard-working and truly humble. He treats everyone with respect and makes sure to stand up to those who try to bully him. Mike proves repeatedly that he is worthy of being a captain, though he never wants it. His relationship with his grandfather greatly shaped his life. His grandfather, an ex-Royal Naval Admiral, taught him a lot, not only about ships but also about relating to people. Due to Mike’s intelligence and proactiveness, he gains the trust of his seniors, teammates, and juniors easily without realizing it.
There were a few things I found confusing while reading. The Navy is associated with the sea, but in this book, their fieldwork is in the sky or space, according to what I read. This part is not properly explained in the book. Also, the book description mentions some problems with his family, the Tregallion clan, but this part is not discussed. His grandfather died due to his overzealousness according to Mike, but this particular mission is not explained in detail. It is paraphrased, which I feel should have been fully explained if the author could have described how Mike (Michael) met Richard, the Prince of Wales, and his other missions. I also found many errors throughout my reading, both punctuation and grammatical. They didn’t greatly disrupt my reading. Because of these reasons, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is a lengthy, interesting read. I learned about the Battle of the Coral Sea, what the Victoria Cross (VC) means in the Navy, and other things I mentioned in my likes.
I would recommend this to people who love to read war books. It also has some romance, which makes it more entertaining. People who work or aspire to work in the Navy or Marines would find this enjoyable.
******
He Who Dares
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Mike Gray, a young and impressionable man from Avalon, a planet in the stars, flees the stars after a bad incident that cost the lives of some people. Through some connections, he applies to the Royal Navy and starts his training at HMS Marchwood, a shore station. There, they are taught and given the necessary education. Not being from Earth, as he is from the colonies, Mike has some enemies who are also jealous of his abilities. In the story, there are two kinds of people: those from Earth (the elites or classists) and those from the colonies (who are seen as bottom-barrel people and not worthy of great positions in the navy). Mike is not concerned with this segregation as he tries to downplay his abilities so as not to be in charge of other people’s lives after the incident that also took the life of his grandfather. Was he able to hold onto this promise he had made to himself? Will Mike Gray be able to stand seeing people in danger and not trying to rescue them? Read He Who Dares by Rob Buckman to see how this worked out for Mike. Also, how was Mike better than most of his colleagues? What life had he lived before applying to the Royal Navy?
I found this book interesting, though it started off quite slow. The author, Rob Buckman, has some experience working on sea shuttles, so his experience is evident in the description of controlling the shuttles, the different roles each member plays during war, the hierarchy in the Navy, and how things work in the field. I didn’t know one could get promoted during fieldwork if the person formally in charge was indisposed or dead. Mike is hard-working and truly humble. He treats everyone with respect and makes sure to stand up to those who try to bully him. Mike proves repeatedly that he is worthy of being a captain, though he never wants it. His relationship with his grandfather greatly shaped his life. His grandfather, an ex-Royal Naval Admiral, taught him a lot, not only about ships but also about relating to people. Due to Mike’s intelligence and proactiveness, he gains the trust of his seniors, teammates, and juniors easily without realizing it.
There were a few things I found confusing while reading. The Navy is associated with the sea, but in this book, their fieldwork is in the sky or space, according to what I read. This part is not properly explained in the book. Also, the book description mentions some problems with his family, the Tregallion clan, but this part is not discussed. His grandfather died due to his overzealousness according to Mike, but this particular mission is not explained in detail. It is paraphrased, which I feel should have been fully explained if the author could have described how Mike (Michael) met Richard, the Prince of Wales, and his other missions. I also found many errors throughout my reading, both punctuation and grammatical. They didn’t greatly disrupt my reading. Because of these reasons, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is a lengthy, interesting read. I learned about the Battle of the Coral Sea, what the Victoria Cross (VC) means in the Navy, and other things I mentioned in my likes.
I would recommend this to people who love to read war books. It also has some romance, which makes it more entertaining. People who work or aspire to work in the Navy or Marines would find this enjoyable.
******
He Who Dares
View: on Bookshelves
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Kibet Hillary
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What special abilities does Mike have that might put his life in danger and that he fears displaying? The story sounds really interesting and it appears readers will be enthralled, particularly how Mike will react when faced with seeing people who are in danger and knowing that he can do something to help them. Thanks for the brilliant review, @Malik Bakare.
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Latest Review: Sooner Secrets by Shelley L. Levisay
