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Mike (the Paladin)'s Reviews > The Last Mile
The Last Mile (Amos Decker, #2)
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Look...David Baldacci is a good writer and I plan to read the next Amos Decker book.
So why you may ask do I only rate the book 3 stars. "Well" (he said leaning back and sipping from his Jack and Coke) Mr. Baldacci continually spits in my face...
I'm going to repeat something I say a lot. I support a writer's right to include their political point of view in their novels. I support freedom of speech, this (and these) are his work. That said he or she needs to be aware that their opinion can be very...subjective.
Mr. Baldacci seems to think that in the south it's still 1961 rather than 2021. In almost every case here southern characters (here I must say caucasian southern characters) are not only racist, they are caricatures of the stereotypical southern racist. At one point our protagonist and the subordinate 2nd protagonist (who is black or African American) are accosted in a diner by 4 young men who use the epithet "boy". The evil prison guards also call Melvin (Mars) by the same offensive name. It goes on and on. The prison in Texas is pictured as something like Andersonville from the Civil War (or States War if you prefer) as I said... it goes on and on.
I live in Nashville, now admittedly it's not Texas but I have been there and believe me racism is as frowned on here and there as it is in New York or Washington. As a matter of fact though it may be hard for my left wing friends to comprehend here in "fly-over country" we have flush toilets, electric lights and everything. And the vast majority of us are not nearly so worried about the color of a person's skin as the lefties think we must be.
Okay rant over, Mr. Baldacci is a good writer and tells a good story. he just can't keep his left wing point of view out of his writing I suppose. Just be aware going in that if you're from the South, especially Texas you're going to get insulted, a bit.
As for the story, good one. The synopsis on the book is accurate and Mr. Baldacci does (as I've already said) tell a good story. So with bruises on my psyche I can (with certain reservations and this caveat) recommend it as a novel...
So why you may ask do I only rate the book 3 stars. "Well" (he said leaning back and sipping from his Jack and Coke) Mr. Baldacci continually spits in my face...
I'm going to repeat something I say a lot. I support a writer's right to include their political point of view in their novels. I support freedom of speech, this (and these) are his work. That said he or she needs to be aware that their opinion can be very...subjective.
Mr. Baldacci seems to think that in the south it's still 1961 rather than 2021. In almost every case here southern characters (here I must say caucasian southern characters) are not only racist, they are caricatures of the stereotypical southern racist. At one point our protagonist and the subordinate 2nd protagonist (who is black or African American) are accosted in a diner by 4 young men who use the epithet "boy". The evil prison guards also call Melvin (Mars) by the same offensive name. It goes on and on. The prison in Texas is pictured as something like Andersonville from the Civil War (or States War if you prefer) as I said... it goes on and on.
I live in Nashville, now admittedly it's not Texas but I have been there and believe me racism is as frowned on here and there as it is in New York or Washington. As a matter of fact though it may be hard for my left wing friends to comprehend here in "fly-over country" we have flush toilets, electric lights and everything. And the vast majority of us are not nearly so worried about the color of a person's skin as the lefties think we must be.
Okay rant over, Mr. Baldacci is a good writer and tells a good story. he just can't keep his left wing point of view out of his writing I suppose. Just be aware going in that if you're from the South, especially Texas you're going to get insulted, a bit.
As for the story, good one. The synopsis on the book is accurate and Mr. Baldacci does (as I've already said) tell a good story. So with bruises on my psyche I can (with certain reservations and this caveat) recommend it as a novel...
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Beanbag
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Mar 20, 2021 11:59PM
I'm so sick of the sucker punches.
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Life I guess. Still it seems more and more common.
Honestly he is so heavy handed in his opinions, I rarely read his work. I try to take the political stump out of author’s writing but it gets tedious and bogs down the story. I like the John Puller series though.
I've read a few of Baldacci's books and yeah, occasionally the political view completely pushes the story aside, but not always.
Good review but I'm so sick of lefties that I think I'll give it a pass.
That's why I mentioned it. I've not reached the point that I avoid the books (though I won't buy them I get them from the library) but I have reached the point of mentioning the...highly imaginative views I run on of conservatives, Christians and now southerners.Oh, and gun owners and shooters, let's not forget the stereotypes of gun enthusiasts.
Sounds like a good one for me to avoid since I am a conservative southern gun toting NRA enthusiast.
Me to... But I read it anyway, I just fumed a lot and then told everybody about it.Maybe if the sales drop off he'll rethink, or maybe I should just say, maybe he'll think.
Well, I'm from TN but then the 2 states have a long history together (beginning with the likes of Crockett and Houston). But my daughter did go to college There.LOL
