Into the Fire

I am a total non-geek. Non-tech savvy. Non-person when it comes to technology. I wholeheartedly admire those who take to it, young and old. My brain does not function at any technological level. Talk to me about horses and writing, and we could carry on all day, but if you want to converse in computer lab dialogue, I'm outa here. You are speaking foreign words to my English comprehension. So it is with this personal disclaimer that I review Off the Grid by Mark Young which can be purchased in the Kindle edition for a mere $2.99. Geekiness lovers, this is the thriller for you.

I might be a bit skewed when it comes to the thriller genre since they were originally defined for me by reading Robert Liparulo's first three adult novels, particularly Germ. I think Robert's breakneck pace, multi-faceted plots, and the intensity of "mission-oriented" good and bad guys (and gals) epitomize what the thriller genre truly is supposed to be. Although that definition can be further categorized into sub-classifications, i.e. political, legal, medical, etc. thrillers, I think all of the aforementioned characteristics should apply to some extent. Few authors can equal the pacing factor of Robert's Germ and his other gems.

Off the Grid can scoot into the thriller category because of it's constant and immediate relocations due to the effective success of technological wizardry. The pursuit and identification of the protagonist Gerrit O'Rourke and his uncle and associates make for critical chases by evil antagonists who seek – what else? – to control the world with their technology.

Once again we encounter a character in Gerrit who holds an eidetic memory and a doctorate in some kind of computer genius from MIT. After he chose to continue his expected military service with the guys under his command in Afghanistan instead of assisting his brilliant father at MIT with a discovery that he wouldn't reveal to Gerrit for reasons Gerrit didn't understand, Gerrit's parents were murdered by a car bomb in Seattle where it was disguised by law enforcement. When Gerrit learns of his parents' death, he leaves the Marine Corps and joins the Seattle Police Department, working his way up to detective, his real purpose to investigate how his parents died.

In Gerrit O'Rourke we see a man who's locked off his emotional investments, bent on avenging his parents' deaths. He's invited – or coerced - to visit an amazing technological compound outside of London, given a push by the female prosecutor he occasionally sleeps with and her D.C. Senator father in a private rendevous.

After meeting the compound's head honcho Richard Kane, Gerrit's discernment level ratchets up and produces an uneasy assessment of and underlying agenda to what he's been shown.

The thrills take off from this point and don't stop until the last few pages with an open ending to insure further Gerrit O'Rourke ventures to come. Peripheral but important characters contributing to the various pursuits include Gerrit's Uncle Joe, another brilliant computer genius, his ragtag team of a hulking ex-con, a female so similar to Ziva David from NCIS that I couldn't help but "hear" her everytime this woman spoke, and another computer wizard "Willy" along with a secretive FBI agent, a military contact, and various traitors mixed throughout the ensemble of characters. There is a vague faith thread sitting just below the main action offering an available reliance for future storylines.

I will mention a couple of weaknesses in this story. However, nothing severe enough to not recommend it to those readers who love technological thrillers. There were a couple of instances where "too available" solutions seemed to appear, causing me to balk at the possibility of their convenience. The other thing is that Richard Kane (noting the possible implication of his last name) and "Stuart" play to the typical stereotype of evil guys who lust for power and want to control the world. There's nothing to distinguish them from any other villain, and I found them and most of the bad guys to be one-dimensional with the exception of one traitor. Also there were some proofreading errors that made it through process of production and seemed to increase toward the end of the story. Outside of these minor "problems", geeks who love thrillers will thoroughly enjoy this high-tech story. Off the Grid by Mark Young will satisfy those tech-savvy readers who long for more stories examining their ever-expanding tecnological advances.

Father, please continue to bless the career and life of Mark Young. Give him more stories to tell and the provision to write them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.