R. A. Michaels - The United States (174 books)

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R. A. Michaels is currently reading:

Hammered (Jenny Casey, #1)
by Elizabeth Bear (Goodreads Author)

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R. A. Michaels marked as to-read:

Vellum: The Book of All Hours
by Hal Duncan

My rating:

R. A. Michaels gave

to:

Semper Fi (The Corps #1)
by W.E.B. Griffin

read in December, 2006

My rating:

My first experience in reading Griffin’s work was actually in reading his Brotherhood of War series from end to end. I thought perhaps that I had read the crown jewel of his efforts, but I was sorely mistaken. Semper Fi kicks off a series that I foun...moreMy first experience in reading Griffin’s work was actually in reading his Brotherhood of War series from end to end. I thought perhaps that I had read the crown jewel of his efforts, but I was sorely mistaken. Semper Fi kicks off a series that I found to be far superior to the Brotherhood of War, and what I consider to be Griffin’s best work to date.
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It’s January, 1941, and Private First Class Kenneth McCoy finds himself on the precipice of promotion to Corporal while serving with the Fourth Marines in Shanghai, China. From the start, you realize that he’s has street smarts and entered the Marine Corps through less than stellar means, given a choice between military service or jail. The strict discipline of the Corps was the intention of the judge overseeing his case, and Ken found himself a place within the military that he lacked in civilian life. As a marine private serving in China, he carved himself a niche life playing poker and gambling at a nearby hotel with other foreign military officers and the Shanghai Municipal Police sergeant named Chatworth. After an altercation with a quartet of Italian marines on his way back from the poker game, he ends up killing two of them and injuring the others when they attack him, using a small knife he had won off of Chatworth.

The acts of self-defense land him in trouble with the Corps, bringing him to the attention of Captain Ed Banning. From here, the story begins to snowball as Chatworth comes to McCoy’s aid in preventing a court-martial and sinking his chances of a promotion to Corporal. Instead, Banning recognizes McCoy as being a man of intelligence, especially when he learns that he can speak several languages, including Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. McCoy finds himself transferred to the motor pool, but it’s a cover while he works directly for Banning and his intelligence work in China. Immediately, McCoy is conducting missions and surveillance of Japanese forces assigned to Shanghai. His status as a killer of men is elevated sharply when on an assignment to protect a civilian convoy, he is besieged by Japanese-led Chinese attackers and he guns them down with another sergeant from the same motor pool. Almost instantly, he earns the moniker of “Killer” McCoy by his fellow marines… much to his dismay.

After being shipped out of China before the Italians and Chinese start looking to repay the favor, he quickly finds himself being asked to join the commissioned officer ranks by way of a test program running at Quantico. Once matriculating from the course, he becomes Second Lieutenant McCoy and is transferred to a special intelligence-gathering detachment operating out of the Headquarters division in Washington, D. C.

Throughout the course of the novel, we’re introduced to many new characters that almost seem like they’re merely supernumeraries. However, later in the series, a lot of the people we’re introduced to become prominent players or support characters in furthering the storyline. I love the fact that his writing style does the historical period justice, speaking strictly as a student of military history (and in particular World War II history), especially when dealing with the nuances of military politics and encounters with “candy-ass” officers who’re more concerned about their personal authority than getting the job done. One foil to McCoy’s straightforward command philosophy is First Lieutenant Robert Macklin, who exemplifies the complete opposite of what makes a good marine officer. The back-and-forth between the two turns the story from a simple recounting of events to an interesting and gripping story. I can’t gush over this book enough.(less)

R. A. Michaels gave

to:

By Order of the President by W.E.B. Griffin

By Order of the President (The Presidential Agent #1)
by W.E.B. Griffin

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R. A. Michaels gave

to:

The Hunters (The Presidential Agent #3)
by W.E.B. Griffin

My rating:

R. A. Michaels gave

to:

The Hostage (The Presidential Agent #2)
by W.E.B. Griffin

My rating:

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R. A. Michaels is now friends with MZ MegaZone
Nov 02, 2010 10:28pm
R. A. Michaels added Goodreads to their Facebook Timeline Add your books to Timeline! learn more
Dec 04, 2008 09:54am
R. A. Michaels is currently reading: Hammered (Jenny Casey, #1) by Elizabeth Bear (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Jan 08, 2008 08:44am
R. A. Michaels marked as to-read: Vellum: The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan	My rating:
Nov 06, 2007 06:58am
R. A. Michaels gave to: Semper Fi (The Corps #1) by W.E.B. Griffin read in December, 2006	My rating:
My first experience in reading Griffin’s work was actually in reading his Brotherhood of War series from end to end. I thought perhaps that I had read the crown jewel of his efforts, but I was sorely mistaken. Semper Fi kicks off a series that I foun...more
Nov 02, 2007 09:15pm · see review
R. A. Michaels gave to: By Order of the President (The Presidential Agent #1) by W.E.B. Griffin	My rating:
Nov 02, 2007 09:13pm
R. A. Michaels gave to: The Hunters (The Presidential Agent #3) by W.E.B. Griffin	My rating:
Nov 02, 2007 09:09pm
R. A. Michaels gave to: The Hostage (The Presidential Agent #2) by W.E.B. Griffin	My rating:
Nov 02, 2007 09:09pm

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