Book Review: The Last Refuge

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Book Review: The Last Refuge

The Last Refuge

by Ben Coes

Ben Coes–you get better every time.

If you read either of the first two Dewey Andreas novels–or both of them–don’t miss the next in the series, The Last Refuge (St. Martin’s Press 2012). Coes has always been a good-to-great writer, but here, he’s on a par with the best (I won’t name names). Dewey is vintage Good Guy with the loyalty, strength, common man characteristics we Andreas fans have come to expect from our hero. There are lots of Great Dewey moments like this one:

Dewey sprinted through the terrace door, onto shattered glass, then jumped, right foot first, to the railing, then out into the open air. As he leapt, he turned, rotating, and fired back up at the terrace.

Can you see him running full-tilt, leaping into thin air while maintaining the presence of mind to pivot and fire at his enemy? God, I love Dewey.

The supporting characters are fully fleshed and likeable. The plot is non-stop action that tingles with twists and tricks. Coes uses the questionable device of multiple point of views to bury the reader in the action. In the hands of Coes, it works brilliantly, infusing the story with rich, full emotion and drama. From the beginning, Coes leaves us wondering how Andreas can accomplish his assigned task. Over and over, we see no way, yet Dewey has a plan and works it, built on nothing but his cleverness and belief in success.

I found it surprising that Coes characterized Andreas as NOT a planner. Dewey is always a step ahead of me in his problem-solving. I spent much of the book trying to figure out why he did some of the creative stuff he did, only to see it all wrapped up nicely in the end.

What a great read. Don’t–really, I mean it–don’t miss this.

Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-sixth grade, creator of two technology training books for middle school and three ebooks on technology in education. She is the author of Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com , Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blogger, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.