Show No Fear by Marliss Melton
Posted: January 29th, 2010 | Author: ClaytonBye | Filed under: Fiction, Romance, Suspense | Tags: Author Marliss Melton, book review, Fiction, novel, reviewer clayton bye, Romantic Suspense, Show No Fear, the deepening | 14 Comments »
Show No Fear
by Marliss Melton
Forever, Hachette Book Group
Sep 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-50927-5
Mass Market Paperback
292 pages
Romantic Suspense
Buy Now at Amazon.com
Buy Now at Amazon.ca
Lucy Donovan is somewhat of a CIA legend. It seems there’s no risk she won’t take to complete her mission. However, after being captured and tortured on her last field operation, Lucy is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and ends up behind a desk for several months. Anxious to get back into the fray and to prove to herself and everyone she works with that PTSD is no longer an issue, Lucy is thrilled to be assigned to a UN team headed to Bogotá charged with the task of recovering two American prisoners from that country’s home-grown terrorists. If the team can’t manage the task through negotiations, she’ll rescue the men her way. Except…
Lucy, who always works alone, is saddled with a jungle-savvy Navy Seal by the name of Gus. They are to go into Bogotá undercover as a married couple who are actual UN team-members. Their job? Identify the camp where the captives are being held so that a Seal team can extract them and find out what’s going on with the suddenly silent and mysterious terrorist organization named FARC. And things get worse: it turns out that Gus is her college lover, who she dumped (after surviving a bombing) in favour of fighting terrorists. Neither of them ever resolved their feelings for each other.
As they are thrown into forced intimacy and as the pressure of the work builds, the two give in to the obvious passion they still share. Lucy is determined to show none of the fear she’s trying to deal with, and Gus is determined to show her, through their unusual partnership, that she needs to embrace life instead of putting her’s continually on the line because of survivor guilt and the need to fight her own fears.
Show No Fear is an interesting romance packaged within the framework of a convincing CIA extraction. Author Marliss Melton has done her homework and weaves a believable tale of political intrigue and terrorism set in the mountainous jungle just outside of Bogotá. Strange and unexpected situations involving the rebels (FARC), the Columbian army, and elite, American trained Venezuelan soldiers escalate the danger level of the mission to a point where both agents must fight for their lives.
This is only the 4th or 5th novel I’ve read by a woman author who weaves tales about romance in the midst of war. All of these novels have an added element of emotion, a depth, to what could just as easily have been traditional and convincing action or suspense novels. Are the stories better or worse for the added dimension? No, I would say they are simply different.
If you enjoy good suspense, lots of action, plenty of plot twists and realistic romance, then Marliss Melton’s Show No Fear is for you. I’m sure you’ll also be pleased to know there are 6 other books in this “Navy Seals” series.
Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2010
So glad you liked the book that you won on our blog contest. Marliss is a great lady and talented author.
Great review.
Kelly
xo
I like this genre of novel. For me it adds an extra element to the story. I’ve frequently mentioned that what good is a love story if SOMEONE doesn`t get killed. I`ve read another novel similar to this one, but I can`t remember the name. It starts out in South America and the woman has a child with her who just happens to be fathered by an important and dangerous Columbian drug lord. I would like to read this novel as well.
I’d like to ask Johanna Minnder what you mean by “what good is a love story if someone doesn’t get killed?” Do you feel it is really necessary for someone to die for a story to be good, be it a love story, a thriller, or any other genre? If so, what makes you say that? Why is life sacrifice with its resulting sorrow and grief so very necessary, in your opinion? What is it about stories which don’t contain these elements that you feel makes them failures? Last, if this is true of stories, is this also true, do you think, of our 21st perspective on life’s reality–that there must be some extreme loss endured to contrast success, joy, or personal growth?
BTW, I posted this to my Facebook page about this conversation, which I admit, totally intrigues me:
“An interesting conversation in “Comments” was initiated by Johanna Minnder. I’d be interested in pursuing this because I think what she says bears examination with respect to our world views in the 21st century.”
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1368351662&ref=nf
You know, I can almost identify with what Johanna was saying. Loss and conflict have often been known to set passions loose that might otherwise have remained buried. No, I don’t believe someone has to die to make a love story work, but there definitely has to be some kind of disturbing conflict and/or situation. All novels need this, even if the conflict is only internal.
As for the idea with respect to current, real life? My opinion is that divorce rates are so high because it’s easier to get out of a marriage than it is to work to keep a relationship going. We live in a disposable society. Relationships reflect that.
I can guarantee that a couple who faces some kind of intense or harrowing experience, including loss, and stays together, deals with it together and continues to try to find happiness in their lives, will always have a stronger bond than those who don’t have a similar experience.
It’s a good question and got me thinking about the books I’ve read recently. Let the Right One In, and No Country for Old Men. Both of these had very strong themes, while not having to do with death, were brought about by quite a bit of death. Would they have been as “good” without some of the characters dying?
No.
That being said, I’ve read plenty of good books where no one died at all. That being said, there are books where death isn’t literal (1984).
Death is a powerful literary device. I think that’s why it’s used so often to convey various themes.
Death is also used to get very cheap reactions. If your writing doesn’t have an emotional punch, often writing falls back on death as an emotional crutch in order to draw some sort of response from the reader.
I think it’s always been this way, but is perhaps more common now. It makes me think of all the horror movies that are just torture porn. Death is cheap and means nothing when over-used.
Does death and it’s various themes make or break a story? No. I like to think it just is. Do I require death in what I like to read? No. I require a good story. Anything, just about, can be a good story if written properly (at least, that’s what I tell myself). Frequently, themes about death/dying make me very uncomfortable. It isn’t something I enjoy.
That’s the thing.
Why do people LIKE death so much? I don’t have the answer to that. It’s something that human kind has always been fascinated with, but why do we -like- it?
Rachel, can I quote you? I absolutely LOVE the phrase “torture porn” when describing some of the crap movies (and books/comic books/graphic novels/videos/video games) around. Excellent phrase.
Now, back on topic after that aside.
You say “death is cheap and means nothing” with respect to bad writing or when used as a device when the story isn’t powerful enough. You also suggest that it does raise the stakes, whether the death is figurative, symbolic, or literal, in well-written stories. So, therefore, is “stake” rendered as metaphorical “death” or “terminal loss” key to powerful fiction? More, do you think it absolutely necessary for a novel’s success now?
Quote away, I didn’t coin the phrase, but find it is very apt when referring to god-awful movies like the Saw series, Hostel, and other media of the like. The worst is when some of these movies trick you into believing they have something to say, but instead, USUALLY via misogyny, we get a bunch of splatter, gore, and pain MEANT to titillate/excite. What I find more disturbing than these “films” are people who get off on them, and I know several.
Death (in all senses) -can- raise the stakes, but isn’t always needed to do so. I think what we may be talking about is change. Death, be it literal or figurative, is change. People want to read/see things change. They want the villains to be punished, heroes to be rewarded, because life isn’t like that and most people never change. People have an innate need and sense for fairness. And since -most- people read to escape (perhaps escape a world that doesn’t reward and isn’t fair) that’s what they’re seeking.
I could list (and will if you like) several successful books/movies that have no death as a literary device, but what most of them have in common is change.
That being said, I can also think of several books/movies where nothing changes. But think of this: Does the -reader- change after reading? I think so.
Wow, I didn’t think my flippant comment about that genre would evoke such serious responses. I just meant, jokingly, that I’m not a fan of love stories, unless there is some mystery to them. It certainly doesn’t mean that I think a novel without them is a \failure\. It’s all just fiction, and again wow- \life sacrifice…. is so very necessary in your opinion\ You have no idea what my opinion is in relation to death and the losses I’ve suffered in my life just because I make a comment about one genre. I think you response was very unfair to someone who certainly won’t feel free to express her opinion in the future.
Dear Ms. Minnder,
I wasn’t in the least disturbed or meaning to be unfair, at all. Your comment got me thinking and my questions to you were meant sincerely, without rancor. I’m sorry that you feel I was being critical of your perspective or tastes. I was truly interested in the perspective you shared and how it defines our tastes in reading.
@Rachel,
The SAW series–ugh. Watched the first one. That was that. In fact, I didn’t even make it through it. Not for me. I don’t watch gore. Heck, I don’t even like the old zombie movies. Not my kind of tension.
I think you’ve quite hit on something about fairness and justice. I know that I’m not a fan of many of the modern “classics” that emphasize realism with respect to fairness and justice–that it doesn’t exist, deal with it.
I think readers want to know that something is possible, that, even if real life doesn’t often work that way, the fact that fiction can be written with fairness and ethics and justice, it means that there are others in the world at large that also hold these things as preeminent. I think that brings hope amidst the despair of our Darwinian-styled society where the meanest, nastiest, and most Machiavellian wins.
I think you’ve quite hit on another point that REALLY bears examination and attending: It’s not the change in the characters, but more the change that happens in the reader that readers seek. They want to learn something different–a new way of thinking or seeing reality and/or humans–whether in a historical, present-day, or future context. It’s all about possibilities when it comes to why we read fiction, I think…that and believing in ourselves. Maybe that’s why “downer” books aren’t as popular as “Ye Olde English Teacher” wants them to be.
Hi Rachel,
This is regarding your comment “I can also think of several books/movies where nothing changes. But think of this: Does the -reader- change after reading? I think so.”
Excellent point. I always harp on the idea that the protagonist/hero must experience change in a story, whether that is overt, even external change or some kind of internal change. But rarely have I given consideration when writing to effecting a change in the reader. I’ve learned something important today.
Thank you.
This sounds like an interesting book. I’ll need to add it to my wish list.
Hi there! I’ve just stumbles upon this site from Chapters.ca. Thought I’d stop in and take a peek! I read your review for Show No Fear and I think I have actually read this story way back when? The plot line is very similar, at the very least. Of course, I am sure that is where the similarities end, but this has made me curious to a0 read the book and b0 see if I can’t find that other story and compare the two!
Thanks for sharing!
mleger 0546 @ rogers (dot) com