Tip of the Spear

S.D. Hatfield
Outskirts Press (2010)
ISBN 9781432757137
Reviewed by Marty Shaw for Reader Views (12/10)

 

S.D. Hatfield delivers a story that could appear in tomorrow’s headlines. The government is worried about cyber-attacks from China, and they realize that it is computers, not guns, that will be the deciding factor if war breaks out. To that end, Danny Pearson is ‘drafted’ to help the U.S. on the modern battlefield. Danny earned the hacker nickname of ‘Cutr’ because there’s not a firewall he can’t cut through and the U.S. has plans for that talent.

Ten years down the road, Danny is still working with the government. The worst-case scenario happened and war broke out. Danny unleashed his program on the Chinese but something went wrong and the world as we know it ended. Now, he fights the good fight to make things right.

Unfortunately, the world isn’t as clear-cut as computer code and Danny soon learns that things aren’t exactly as they seem. Worst of all, he’s no longer sure about whom he can trust.

“Tip of the Spear” starts a little slow; interesting, but still slow. Luckily, it doesn’t take too long for things to get rolling and I found myself sucked into the action of the story pretty quickly. I really liked that the subject matter mirrored a possible real life threat and that the heroes were real-life people. No other-worldly or supernatural solutions here. It’s all computer geeks, military personnel, and government agencies. The realism of the story is handled well and the plot never gets too bogged down with too much detail.

While Danny is a believable character and carries the majority of the story, my personal favorite was Danny’s friend, Ajax. Seeing computer geek Danny form such a close bond to soldier Ajax was as interesting as the friendship between lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday. Chances of these two being friends in the past are slim but the war changed a lot of things and the opposites complement each other perfectly. Ajax is as close to Captain America as a character can be and still remain believable. He’s patriotic, heroic, and he’s truly Danny’s friend… even if he has no idea what the hacker is talking about most of the time. Ajax’s loyalty is put to the test when Danny appears to go rogue and I couldn’t wait to see how things turned out.

So… why rate the story a 4 instead of a 5 if it’s so great? Because I’m a stickler for proofreading. There are a few typos and other grammar gaffes here and there, but I experienced something in this book that has never ever happened to me before. Sloppy editing completely killed a point of suspense, and that was a little disheartening because that part could have really been good.

I don’t want to give any spoilers but the author really needs to aware of this because I hope the problem can be avoided in the follow-up novel to “Tip of the Spear.” Let’s say we have a character named Frank. Unknown to just about everyone else (including the reader), Frank is also known as Charles. This double-identity suspense could have really added a nice edge, but the author slips up and starts referring to Frank by the other name within mere paragraphs of Frank entering the story. We never have to wonder who Charles is because the author’s mistake has already let the cat out of the bag.

Does this ruin the story? No, it doesn’t, but it does make us miss out on an element that could have added to the suspense. Even with the editing error, “Tip of the Spear” is a great story for readers who enjoy real-life action and adventure.

Make comment on weblog

FTC Disclosure