Specialist Sandy Sparks has finally gotten things figured out. She's got a new boyfriend, but a detail she and her boyfriend pull is badly planned, and will fail. Sandy figures it's up to her and Ben to make the US Border Patrol's request for assistance work out. She quickly finds that things don't add up... Still, the Border goes about its daily business of smuggling, gunfighting, and trafficking. These young soldiers are on a collision course with the Border.
Size: 543 KB (98,477 words)
Genre: Fiction
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa
Review by burka_oz [other reviews by burka_oz]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
I have just given a review of "The Gunny and Lenore " and mentioned that it would be better to read "Sparks" first. I stand by that. This story gives you the background that will help you understand what is happening in "The Gunny and Lenore".
In this story a young lady names Sparks is a Specialist 4th class in the US Army and ends up, with her boyfriend, PFC Collins, working on a project with Border Control. Collins is a brother to Lenore and it is when he is recovering from a shooting that they meet up with The Gunny at a military Hospital. So these two stories are inextricably entwined.
This is a great tale of derring-do. Of gunfights and plotting. Of extensive Army training to be physically fit and mentally sharp. Together Sparks and Collins make a formidable team and have high leadership potential.
A very interesting read and worth me having a second read of it, the first having been when it first came out in 2011.
So to the evaluation: Plot: 9 . Technical: 9. Appeal: 10.
Review by richardshagrin [other reviews by richardshagrin]
Reviewed:
This is a good one, I only give one ten a month, at most, and this is the earliest in a month I have ever used my ten. The sequel for this is also excellent. It's a shame black_coffee hasn't written anything on SOL for the last 3 years or so.
The main character, Sparks is a Specialist 4 in the Signal Corps. I was a Lieutenant in the 123rd Signal Battalion in Wurzburg Germany about 20 years before the date this story is set and the military background rings true to me. The Signal Corps has two main types of soldiers, short smart guys (in Sparks case a girl, progress has been made in 20 years) who sit in truck mounted radio shelters and tall guys who lay wire. I suppose the Basic Training for both Signal and Military Police are at Fort Gordon near Augusta Georgia is so the less intelligent tall guys can be MPs. Most trainees refer to the location as Fort Garbage at Disgusta.
There is some early action near the US/Mexico border and both Sparks and her boyfriend, a PFC are wounded. A lot of characters are introduced, her boyfriend's family among them. One is his sister, Lenore and another is a Marine Gunnery Sargent who are the title characters in the sequel. After you read Sparks I am sure you will want to read it too. In Sparks the end of the story is interesting training both main characters receive. It's a real page turner. I kept reading it until 5am. Try it, it is really good.
I promised I wouldn't just give tens to all the books I review. I guess I lied. I didn't specifically check for technical quality, I was too busy reading the story. I didn't see anything bad, but it was kind of late when I read most of the story.
