Official Review: Cut Off by Col Foley

[Beatus]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cut Off" by Col Foley.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Awful pain as a nickname to a young boy is enough torture to his mind than any spanking on his rear end. As an African child, I grew up on a farm, and I have no regrets whatsoever as far as my childhood experience is concerned. However, as a firstborn child, more chores and, of course, bearing the responsibility of all my siblings’ faults was the order of the day. This meant more spanking and definitely more chores. When you read Cut Off by Col Foley, you get into the mind of Orville Payne. A farm boy from a poor family having to go through the fear of bullies, segregation, and loneliness.

This young boy’s journey in life, his growth as a human being, and as a soldier is articulately narrated to a point, I totally became him. I experienced every detail of his life from the excruciating pain to the explosive pleasure. The story gets you a vantage point to observe Orville Payne’s life through his mind’s eye. Being a poor family's farm boy, then getting a chance in the US Army and survive the jungles of Vietnam, severely injured and cut off from all he knew and love Mr. Payne is the embodiment of a professional soldier. Dedicated and deeply in love with his profession but also a good human being at his core.

Immediately after joining the US Army, his parents died. This made him focus totally on being the best among the best soldiers in the world. After a few assignments, he quickly rose through the ranks and even got a female partner, Kay. In one of those assignments, he is severely injured and was completely cut off from his team and from the conscious world. If anything is to be taken from this book is Mr. Payne's will. Just get the book and find out how he fares. Spoiler alert, there is some good romance.

The author developed the characters so beautifully; it may seem like a Utopian mindset. The characters make each other shine through and bring forth the quality of their personalities. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Mr. Payne couldn’t find a reason to participate in the burial of his parents. I am not judging, but probably what is needed was a bit of depth in the reasoning that led to that conclusion on Mr. Payne’s part. I think this is the only part of the story that I felt was a bit off.

Cut Off by Col Foley is a book about survival and uprightness for a professional warrior. A warrior whose life revolves around war and death. Narrated in the first-person point of view, the book is perfectly arranged and very well edited. You will love the tempo of the flow of the plot. Not very fast but satisfying. I love the choice of words and how the concept is built by the protagonist. The author was very logical, and even emotionally, the conclusions were perfectly in sync with the situations.

With all this said, I rate Cut Off by Col Foley 4 out of 4 stars. I will recommend this book to readers who love army stories and soldiering. For younger readers, this book is not for them. The language is strong and coarse, and the scenes are not for the faint of heart.

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Cut Off
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[Ogoskino]

This sounds like a really sad story. I hope Orville Payne gets some form of break in the end. Thanks for the concise review.

[kdstrack]

It's good to know that Orville found love after such a difficult childhood. It is admirable that he dedicated himself to becoming a good soldier. This is an interesting story. Thanks for the review!