Tiger Reef

Rating:
Summary: Very little diving and 2 dimensional characters....
Review: "Tiger Reef" is an okay read from the standpoint of adventure books, but I found the characters relatively shallow (no pun intended) and the ending to be predictable. At times it has the feel of a cheap movie. At other times it has a genuine urgency of adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Good adventure story. A nail biter!!
Review: As a longtime lover of underwater stories I must say that this one was very entertaining. The dialogue, though sometimes kind of corny was effective. Mckinna's straight-forward narrative style helps keep the reader interested, as do his fairly taut underwater scenes. The diving scenes in particular kept me turning page after page. As with all good books this one was a quick, easy and fun read. Highly recommended for travellers who want to lose themselves in an adventurous romp on a long flight!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Adventure, Great Writing!
Review: Got this book for Christmas and read it in one shot. An updated old-fashioned adventure story on and in the South Seas, complete with AK-toting Sumatran pirates, killer squid, and really BAAAAD guys. Author McKinna keeps things moving quickly, the action fast and furious, not to mention funny. Like dark humor? This has it in spades. Good deep diving scenes too. You can tell the writer's a former pro. Now I gotta get the first book in the series, Crash Dive. This stuff would make a GREAT movie! Maybe Russell Crowe or George Clooney as Ben Gannon (the working class hero). This book is a real winner. Loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Holy Breath-Hold, Batman, what a great story!

Rating:
Summary: This One's Worth The Money!
Review: I love a really good adventure, and Tiger Reef is one of those. A lot of fun to read. Likeable good guys and awful bad guys. This is part of a series so I'll be looking for more. Yippee! A new writer I can get into!

Rating:
Summary: WATCH OUT! THIS TIGER'S GOT CLAWS!
Review: I really should have given this riveting read a 5 star but I just want to hold out because this new author is just getting better. CRASH DIVE was a really great, fun read - but TIGER REEF in some ways was better. For one reason is that Sasha was in this one more, and she is a cool character, beautiful but one tough cookie! I like that in a woman. Ben Gannon and her have a real good relationship and really help balance out the storylines. The story begins with them on a long voyage taking off right where it left off in CRASH DIVE. But its not long when they run into trouble with pirates and poachers, and the story just explodes off the page with this wonderful new writers charisma for storytelling that just is never slow or boring. Each chapter just builds up characters good and bad, and the action and adventure never stops. This is not a man's book either, women would love the love, action, adventure, and exotic locales which all blend together beautifully in this great series. My wife usually does not care to read this type of book but even she loved it. This is the kind of stuff that hollywood movies should be made of. Does anybody out there in movieland here me - this guys got sequels! A must read, and take it from me, a man who has read just about all genres for over 30 years, and a writer myself, this McKinna guy is great. His best is yet to come, watch out for him, I know I will.

Rating:
Summary: WATCH OUT! THIS TIGER'S GOT CLAWS!
Review: I really should have given this riveting read a 5 star but I just want to hold out because this new author is just getting better. CRASH DIVE was a really great, fun read - but TIGER REEF in some ways was better. For one reason is that Sasha was in this one more, and she is a cool character, beautiful but one tough cookie! I like that in a woman. Ben Gannon and her have a real good relationship and really help balance out the storylines. The story begins with them on a long voyage taking off right where it left off in CRASH DIVE. But its not long when they run into trouble with pirates and poachers, and the story just explodes off the page with this wonderful new writers charisma for storytelling that just is never slow or boring. Each chapter just builds up characters good and bad, and the action and adventure never stops. This is not a man's book either, women would love the love, action, adventure, and exotic locales which all blend together beautifully in this great series. My wife usually does not care to read this type of book but even she loved it. This is the kind of stuff that hollywood movies should be made of. Does anybody out there in movieland here me - this guys got sequels! A must read, and take it from me, a man who has read just about all genres for over 30 years, and a writer myself, this McKinna guy is great. His best is yet to come, watch out for him, I know I will.

Rating:
Summary: Best Thriller I?ve Read In Ten Years!
Review: I was on diving vacation in the Florida Keys when I found this book. This is simply the best action-adventure book I?ve read in a decade. My wife started it first in the hotel room and I practically had to rip it out of her hands. She finished it, then started to read it all over again! I got so into McKinna?s story, the characters and the action, I stayed up until four sipping rum and reading. Tiger Reef is unputdownable. And the guy can write up a storm. There isn?t a flat moment in the whole thing. This story?s crying to be made into a movie. I?m hooked for life on this guy?s stuff. What a great read.

Rating:
Summary: As Good As Shark Lake.
Review: I'm back with another Ben Gannon review 'cause I like the author's style. I'm reviewing Tiger Reef as I read it (can you do that? I'm doing it.) So far so good. Another very appealing high adventure read, with intriguing characters and a big role for my favorite tough chick, Sass. That's heroic tough guy diver Ben Gannon's lady, in case you don't know. This book looks like it would be a good vehicle for a strong Demi Moore kind of actress. Warning: a particularly digusting bad guy in this novel. Just gross. No kissing desired. But the book's a winner. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Wild Action in the South Pacific!
Review: Now heres a helluva good read! This is a real fast adventure that ocurs in the Java Sea involving modern pirates and the illegal killing and selling of protected tigers to make Asian medicines. Second diving novel from the ex-commercial diver (John McKinna) who did "Crash Dive" last year. This series looks like a real winner. The guy has a first rate imagination, and a lot of technical knowledge about the sea to go with it. Characters are great and really funny, or really sick and scary too! "Tiger Reef" is one of those can't-put-her-down books, and Ben Gannon's second adventure is like visiting with an old friend. Dang it, now I'm going to have to by all of this series, too. Don't matter. Money well spent. When McKinna writes, it's entertaining on every page. Love the action and the humor!