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. 

Monday, February 10, 2025

Book Review: Use of Force (Scot Harvath Series #16)

 


Use of Force, published in 2017, is the 16th book in the Scot Harvath series of action-thriller novels written by Brad Thor. The plot of this novel involves a series of terrorist attacks in Europe after the body of a terrorist suspect washes ashore in Italy after a distress call is received by the Italian coast guard. The CIA hires Harvath on a black ops contract to provide the government deniability for his actions as he investigates the attacks. Intertwined with that storyline is an internal US plot that involves the surveillance of the CIA director and the head of the Carlton group, Reed Carlton. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages. It reads much like the other novels in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the other books (assuming you have read them). While it is not imperative to read the other novels in the series to follow the plot of this one, Thor does refer to events from the prior books from time to time. He also does not provide the main characters' backstories as those have been fleshed out in the previous books. So, it does help to read the prior novels to understand who all the characters are. Ultimately, the book tells a good story and blends action and suspense with some humor. If you are a fan of action thrillers, spy novels, and/or Thor's prior books in the series, this one is worth your time to read.

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