Book Review & Giveaway: As Good as Can Be by Bill Glass

As Good As Can Be by William A. Glass

Publisher:  Hawkeye Publishers, (April 14, 2020)
Category: Fiction: Coming of Age; War and Military; Family Saga

ISBN: 978-1-946005-34-2
Available in Print and ebook, 400 pages

‘As Good As Can Be’ is a novel about the wayward son of an alcoholic army officer.  As his dysfunctional family moves from one military base to the next, Dave Knight develops a give-a-damn attitude that goes well with his ironic sense of humor.  In high school he joins other delinquents in a series of escapades, some dangerous, others funny, and a few that would be worthy of jail time should the troublemakers be caught.

After barely graduating Dave gets drafted into the army and sent to guard a nuclear weapons depot in Korea.  There he runs afoul of his sergeant and must scramble to avoid dishonorable discharge.

‘As Good As Can Be’ draws on the author’s experiences growing up in an out-of-control military family during the 1950’s and his own military experience.

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Guest Review by Sage Nor

‘As Good As Can Be’ is a delight! William A. Glass has the storytelling apparatus of a really good mini-series writer or movie-writer. I kept getting sucked into this book while I was reading it the same way I do with a good Netflix series. Coming-of-age is a type of story that can be very difficult to execute well. You have to create a likable character, figure out where you want them to end up and then mix in the discord that makes for relatability. Because who among us didn’t suffer a little when we were in our adolescence?

In this case, the likable character is Dave Knight and the discord centers around his alcoholic father and his large, unruly family. Oh, and the general building tension of the mid-20th century. Can’t forget that! Dave’s father is a very high up officer in the Army, so, of course, his family moves around frequently, upending Dave and his siblings’ lives every single time. The Knight’s do love their kids, but with a busy father and flaky, forgetful mother, no one is really getting the attention they need to grow into a stable adult. Of course, the 1950’s were the era of “go play outside and come back when the streetlights come on” so maybe it’s safe to say Dave and his siblings were never going to get that attention anyway.

Regardless, after some missteps, Dave does manage to begin to mature and become stable just as he is drafted into the Vietnam war. From there he must relearn everything he thought he knew about being a man and do it all under extremely high pressure. Although there was one small place where the story dragged a bit, I would absolutely say that anyone reading this review should read this book. I had a great time reading it and I felt for the characters so deeply. You won’t regret picking this one up! I give it 4.0 stars.

Praise for As Good As Can Be

“A sweeping family saga that takes you into the world of a military family.  A great read.”

“William’s book flows magically, I had a stack of papers to grade one night but thought I would read a chapter before I started. Next thing I knew it was 2:00 am and I hadn’t graded anything!”

About the Author

William A. Glass, formerly a VP at Gallup, now coaches soccer at a small college in South Carolina and writes. He lives with wife, Bettina, who is a high school German teacher.  They have three sons who have all moved away to pursue careers.

Website: https://williamaglass.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.glass.50767?ref=bookmarks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamasaglass/

Giveaway

This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of print or ebook however, print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 3 winners. This giveaway ends July 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Book Review: Dead Ground by Rod Humphris

31701679Dead Ground (Simon Ellice Book 1)

by Rod Humphris

Genre: military/war

Length: 57 pages

Publication Date: May 24, 2016

Summary

In the mountains and passes of Nuristan, the men of patrol base Azun grind through their days and nights of constant vigilance. They hunt the Taliban and try to win hearts and minds. Trouble is coming, that is certain. How or when, where and in what form, they do not know. They fear it and also long for it.

Only Lieutenant Simon Ellice, with a clarity born of grief and anger, can see the shape of it. Only he, being beyond care, will do what has to be done and pay the price. Not that he will be the only one to pay.

Dead Ground is a story of the impossibility of the task assigned to British forces in Afghanistan and the heroism of some of those who attempted it.

 

My Review

I chose to read this novella after receiving a free e-copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

Simon Ellice has just returned to his patrol base after having time off due to the loss of a loved one. He is still in the anger stage of grief and, on top of that, he has a bit of a problem with authority which doesn’t serve him well. When he figures out when the base is going to be attacked, he takes it on his own to take his company to try to defend the base because he knows his commanding officer won’t believe him.

Dead Ground is short but not sweet. There was a lot packed into these few pages. I felt like I was just getting to know Simon Ellice and the book was over. It was one I won’t soon forget even though it was short. The futility of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan is well portrayed and a good lesson for all of us.

There were a lot of military terms in this book and most of them I knew or could figure out but there were some I didn’t understand. A glossary would have been nice for someone like me who has never been in the military.

Although Dead Ground could have been longer, it is a good beginning to the Simon Ellice series. 

 

Available on Amazon.