Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Friday, July 21, 2023

Book Review: Oath of Loyalty (Mitch Rapp Series #21)

 


Oath of Loyalty is the 21st book in the prolific Mitch Rapp series of novels, and the 8th book written by Kyle Mills after taking over the series from the creator, Vince Flynn, after Flynn's death in 2010. The book, published in 2022, is set immediately after the events of the prior novel, Enemy at the Gates. I will not spoil the plot too much, but it is basically about the fallout of the events of the prior novel and includes more than one cat-and-mouse game involving Rapp. The book ends in a way that the next book could go in a totally different direction or the plot line could be continued in the next book or in later books. 

Overall, this is probably the best book in the series of the ones written by Kyle Mills. The book is just over 350 pages and is a very fast read. It has a very good blend of action and suspense, and Mills does a good job getting to the end with readers wondering how everything will play out. Mills again weaves in elements of real life into the book, specifically the political divide and hatred of the "other side". The fictional President Cook is clearly a play on t***p, but a much more dangerous version because, unlike the real thing, Cook is actually smart. Mills even goes so far as to call Cook's followers cult members, which is exactly what t***p's ball washers are. And, Cook's Wife is clearly a play on Hillary Clinton, written as ambitious and power-hungry in a marriage of convenience. It is absolutely a must-read for fans of the series.

No comments: