Abdul Zarawal

Like nothing I've ever read, it covers the emotional toll and all of the deprivations, inhumanity, and general nastiness of my profession while remaining proud of the accomplishments of the Marines in the Pacific Theater of Operations. No "dulce et decorum est" account, this is enough to make anyone question the madness and waste that is war. I appreciated the personal window into Sledge's internal conflict and terror as he underwent his baptism by fire, and as he fought through and observed the campaigns on Pelelieu and Okinawa.

McCarthy's prose is an endless and breathtaking cascade of stunning brutality that would probably defy description in the hands of a lesser author. However, I didn't find the story compelling at all when contrasted with The Road, so it got tedious quickly and my mind wandered. I never connected well enough with any of the characters to care much about what would happen to them, so the plot (what was it really?) just faded into the background, barely stringing together events. The Road is one of the best audible books I've ever listened to. Go there first.

Great voice acting, but the story seemed slow and plodding and full of holes compared to the original. Without the first book to prop it up, this would have been even less Interesting. It marks the end of my Dune journey.