Book Details:
Book Title: Drone Strike: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano
Category: Adult Fiction, 290 pages
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Release date: April 15, 2019
Format available for review: ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF)
Tour dates: April 15 to 26, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (for graphic violent terrorist scenes, no sex, no f-words.)
Book Description:
Karim’s family is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, collateral damage. The Islamic State in the Levant exploits his rage, recruiting him for a terrorist attack on the U.S., and only Anthony Provati can stop him. Drone Strike takes you on a fast-paced adventure across the Mediterranean, into Mexico, finally arriving in the States. Drone Strike explores the psychological realities that seduce Karim to commit an act of terror, includes a love story between Moslem Karim and Miriam, a Christian woman he defends in Turkey and highlights the plight of Middle Eastern and Central American refugees.
To read reviews, please follow Joe Giordano’s page on Italy Book Tours.
Drone Strike: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated in any way and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
First of all, this is a thriller. Thankfully, there’s not much profanity in it (a few words here and there), no descriptive sex (though rape is discussed), and no gratuitous violence. In other words, there are some scenes that are difficult to read about, and the author does describe them, but never in great detail. This book deals with terrorism and religious persecution. It is rather realistic at times, but never more than most readers could handle.
I had the experience of spending three weeks in the country of Yemen many years ago, and therefore, stories that take place in the Middle East always capture my attention. This book is no exception. The fact that the two main characters are of different faiths and yet somehow are thrown together and change each other’s perception of that particular religion makes this story fascinating. I felt as though the story was authentic and realistic, but I also know it must have been toned down somewhat. After all, the typical book reader does not want to read in great detail just how bad things are in the Middle East. However, I believe the author placed enough realism into the story to make the reader squirm a bit, and hopefully, that gives us all a better understanding of how things are for those coming and fleeing from the Middle East.
The most intriguing thing about this book is the perspective from which the story is told. The voices change depending on which character’s story is being featured, but I actually found myself sympathizing with a terrorist even though I realized what he was being tasked to do was heinous. It is rare that an author can write in such a way as to humanize someone who would be described as evil and without conscience. It further reinforces what is often reported on the news. The amount of propaganda that the terrorist organizations pump into their recruits is appalling. All too often, we don’t begin to comprehend these people who carry out the attacks. These poor men, women, and children have been fed an incalculable amount of lies, and while they must be held responsible, it is really the terrorists doing the training who are the real monsters in this story. And yes, America bears responsibility for the way in which we sometimes retaliate, thus costing the lives of the innocents. It’s a sobering, eye-opening story in which I never found myself getting bored. In fact, my only complaint is, “What happens next?”
As a former International Executive Vice President of 3M, Joe Giordano’s experience included running a business in the Middle East out of Athens, Greece. Born in New York, he’s had first-hand experience with the cultures and most of the locations in Drone Strike.
Joe’s stories have appeared in more than one hundred magazines including The Saturday Evening Post and Shenandoah. His novels, Birds of Passage: An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story (2015) and Appointment with ISIL: An Anthony Provati Thriller (2017) were published by Harvard Square Editions. Read the first chapters and sign up for his blog at http://joe-giordano.com/
Joe was among one hundred Italian-American authors honored by Barnes & Noble Chairman Len Riggio to march in the 2017 Manhattan, Columbus Day Parade.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest
Joe Giordano Author Interview by Ruth, My Devotional Thoughts
Q1: Why did you decide to become a writer? What kind of training have you had?
I retired in 2004 as International Executive Vice President of 3M. My first foreign assignment had been as Managing Director, running a business in Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa out of Athens. I developed a deeper sense of history and wanted to write historical fiction about the Ancient Greek-Persian Wars – Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis. When I left 3M, I tackled the task, but the book was rejected for good reason – I knew nothing about writing fiction. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the creative process. I attended a class at the University of Texas given by Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and was inspired to try my hand at short stories. Writing classes provided useful tips, but their main value was to guide me to teach myself the art of writing. Analytically reading great authors and constant practice improved my skills.
Q2: Tell me more about your journey as a writer?
After the failure of my first novel, I began to write short stories. The cycle time for short story rejection was relatively quick, and I embraced critical feedback as an opportunity to improve. After a semi-trailer truck’s load of rejections, my work began to be accepted by magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, and Shenandoah. Persistence is an underappreciated success factor. Eventually, I developed enough confidence to write another novel, Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story, published by Harvard Square Editions in October 2015. The process to publication required two years of writing, rewriting, editing, rewriting, submitting, editing, and rewriting before acceptance. Whew!
Q3: Birds of Passage was a historical fiction while Drone Strike and Appointment with ISIL are contemporary thrillers. How did you decide to write on each of these genres?
All my grandparents and my father were immigrants from Naples. They entered the United States during the Progressive Era. I took a graduate course about the period at the University of Texas. Italians were termed ‘birds of passage’ because they were the first immigrants making multiple round trips to the States. During the semester, I wrote a short story, “The Sour Smell of Pain” about an Italian immigrant’s experience, the precursor for the Birds of Passage novel. The famed poet, Jorge Luis Borges asked, “What will the world lose when I die?” When my generation passes, the first-hand connection to the turn-of-the-twentieth-century Italian immigrants will be lost, their culture, their thinking, their experiences. Birds of Passage was an attempt to maintain that sacred flame.
My experience doing readings and with book clubs was so enjoyable that I felt encouraged to write a second novel. My experience traveling in the Middle East plus another University of Texas class on Islamic history inspired me to write Appointment with ISIL, An Anthony Provati Thriller, and Drone Strike, the just-published second book in the series.
Q4: What can readers expect from Drone Strike?
Iraqi Karim’s family is killed by a U.S. drone strike as ‘collateral damage.’ The Islamic State in the Levant exploits his rage, recruiting him for a terrorist attack on the U.S., and only Anthony Provati can stop him. Drone Strike takes you on a fast-paced adventure across the Mediterranean, into Mexico, finally arriving in the States. Drone Strike explores the psychological realities that seduce Karim to commit an act of terror, includes a love story between Moslem Karim and Miriam, a Christian woman he defends in Turkey, and highlights the plight of Middle Eastern and Central American refugees.
In Drone Strike, we find Anthony where we left him in Appointment with ISIL, the Greek island of Santorini, although each book can be read as a stand-alone work. Anthony’s an unlikely hero with strengths and weaknesses, a normal-type guy thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
Q 5: Have you thought about your next novel?
Anthony will have a female co-protagonist, Angelica Esposito. Brilliant, beautiful, intrepid, with forbidden secrets in her past. I’ll be launching another series of books with her in the lead.
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1 Comment
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Thanks for taking the time to read and review my book. Joe.
