The Pride by Patricia Morse
Summary
Six brave Americans heard
their calling after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Evie, Lexie, and the
Four Fellas courageously volunteered to become super-human hybrid warriors, to
aid the United States against her war on terror. Little did they know,
sometimes the terror comes from within. The Pride will take you on a cross
country journey full of action, suspense, and even a little romance, as Evie,
Lexie, and their brood take on an enemy that none of them could have seen
coming.
Review
Let me start this review by stating that I chose not to
finish this book; therefore, my review is premature and should not necessarily
deter others from giving this book a chance.
I downloaded this book, excited about the premise. Following
the September 11th terrorist attacks, the military takes a select group of
soldiers from various branches of the military and each undergoes a
transformation that combines lion and human DNA to create "super
soldiers" known as The Pride. Two
of the central characters, Lexie and Evie, are females, and the point of view
switches between them (as far as I read).
In many of the military suspense novels I have read, the protogonists
are male, so I was looking forward to the story told from a female perspective.
For me, a good story will grab the reader's attention and
pull them into the fictitious world created. The book begins with Lexie describing
how she feels upon waking from her transformation and providing background
information to set up the plot. I found the exposition behind the story's
permise to be lacking. Why choose to use
lion DNA? How did scientists and doctors
know this would work? What are the
benefits, the risks for everyone involved?
I just learn that it happened. Lexie says, "I stared at myself in
the mirror, hardly recognizing the face staring back at me. My hair was
luminescent and golden, my skin flawless and glowing, and my eyes the color of
emeralds. I guess the combination of lion and human DNA makes for a nice
package."
I use that quote to
lead me into the second issue I have with book, the portrayal of Lexie. She is self-absorbed about her physical
appearance and constantly stares at herself in the mirror. As a woman, I
understand the desire to feel attractive, and there is nothing wrong with being
feminine. However, the way she thinks just doesn't mesh with the idea of a
warrior. For example, on the group's
first mission, they are doing reconnaissance, and Lexie complains about her
situation: "I hated reconnaissance missions with a passion. I'm more the
maini, pedi, shoe shopping type of a gal."
Several paragraphs later, she goes on to say, "Anything was better than
laying in pine needles and mud. I'd never get the dirt out of my hair. I didn't know why we were here, and I didn't
care....Besides recon isn't my role in the pride. I seduce the prey and the
others flock in for the kill."
Okaaayy, I'm left wondering how in the world did she make it as a marine
with that mindset?
Lexie does make a good point, though...she and I both are
unclear about the purpose of the mission and why they are there. The pride
members don't seem to have a concrete
plan for completing this mission. Again, I may be premature in saying this
because I didn't read far enough, but as a reader I wanted more information and
details by this point.
My final issue with the story that stopped my reading
progression is that the author told me what was going on rather than showing
me. In an online article called "Showing Versus Telling," Pamela Rice
Hahn explains the difference between the two:
"Showing in a story merely means that you're allowing the reader to
participate in the events rather than just rattling off what happened. When the
reader participates, it creates involvement-he or she can see the events
unfolding, and then is left wondering what is going to happen next." Hahn then provides a great example of
narrative that tells and is then revised to show. I'll include the link for the
article at the end.
I am not one to give up on books very easily, and I try to
read the entire book before forming an opinion. However, as I get older, I
value my time more, and there are so many other books out there waiting to be
experienced.
Other readers' expectations may differ from mine, and they
may find the book enjoyable and satisfying. The plot certainly provides a
creative angle on fighting the war on terrorism, so try it to see if it appeals
to you.
