Examine Dark Sky (Joe Pickett, #21) Formulated By C.J. Box Presented In Ebook
thisst book of C, J. Box's Joe Pickett series, Dark Sky G, P. Putnam, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is hornswoggled into taking the owner of a Facebooklike social media platform on an elk hunt so he can experience the wild outdoors.
Joe would have skipped this but his lovehate with the Wyoming governor makes it clear if he refuses, he'll probably lose his job, And, if he fails to show this wannabe outdoorsman a successful hunt would be another reason Joe loses his job, What starts as simply an annoying task quickly turns into a dangerous one when one of the thousands of users of Price's platform decides to kill him because he blames him for a personal tragedy.
Joe and Price end up fleeing for their lives and become stranded in the wild with no food, no weapons, and clothing inadequate to the approaching snow storm.
Thankfully, Joe's wife contacts Nate Romanowski, former special forces outdoorsman and a friend of Joe's who will stop at nothing to save him, If you've read earlier stories that include Nate, you'll realize that this is where the fun starts,
This is not only the next in the series, a wellpaced story that never slows but probably one of the best so far.
If you like survival stories about the great outdoors, you will love this one, This is thest book featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, and I don't think I've missed a single one, This one, happily, came as a prerelease copy through NetGalley, thank you very much and even though I diligently go through my stack of tobereviewed books in order of publication date, it took me all ofseconds to move this one to the top of the list.
And I think it's one of the best in the series,
In large part, that's because it's more of a plain old, relatively uncomplicated story that's fastpaced and easy to follow, There are two parallel plots, the first of which puts Joe in charge albeit reluctantly of an elk posse for the edification of a spoiled Steve Jobs wannabe who wants to get in touch with his backtonature feelings.
Knowing he could lose his job if he passes on the assignment and that the same is true if something goes awry, Joe grabs his winter gear, takes a deep breath and sets off.
No surprise: Something goes awry, This time, it's a guy who has an axe to grind against the tech CEO and who will do anything to take him out of commission permanently.
That, in turn, ends up with Joe and the CEO with no weapons, no communication devices and fighting to stay alive in the mountain wilds with snow and a potential killer at just about every turn.
Meanwhile, Joe's former special forces friend, Nate Romanowski, has troubles of his own, Joe's daughter Sheridan, who's in training with Nate to learn the art of falconry, discovers empty nests that indicate there's a raptor thief at work.
Incensed, Nate sets out to find the culprit and just like the guy and the tech CEO do anything to take him out of commission permanently.
Another no surprise: The two plots do come together but not before both keep readers on the edge of their seats, And the end, while satisfying, isn't complete there's at least one wrong still to be righted, which presumably will happen in the next installment.
As always, I look forward to reading it!
Won't Marybeth be surprise
Me dancing like a crazy woman
How am I supposed to wait another year until the next book! Boy, this was gooood!
In Dark Sky, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett was tasked by the Governor to guide San Francisco big tech Twitterlike billionaire on an Elk hunt.
Little did they know, they were being hunted,
This was timely in terms of social media responsibility and content censorship, And as always with Pickett novels nature, guns, and wildlife, Nate has his side story of illegal smuggling, inspired by a sitelinktrue story, The "guest star" Steve, big tech CEO grew on me, Box is superb with giving this guy such character who is smart and successful in his world is so out of place in the Bighorn Mountains.
I'm almost ashamed to admit that this is the first C, J. Box novel I've read. I've heard of him, of course, and friends have recommended him to me but having grown up in Wyoming where the novels are set I was afraid I'd be too busy nitpicking the setting descriptions to enjoy the stories.
I'm happy to have found that's not the case, Box is spoton with his setting descriptions with the single exception of not having the wind constantly whipping around as is the case in most parts of the State.
Once I got over my preconceived ideas of what the novel would be like, I got into the story and characters and thoroughly enjoyed this book.
So much so, that I purchased BACK OF BEYOND so I can start reading that series from the beginning,
In this twentyfirst outing in the Joe Pickett series, Joe finds himself coerced by the Governor into leading an elk hunting expedition for a Silicon Valley tech mogul who wants the experience of securing his own food.
Joe's secondary mission is to convince the billionaire to build a server farm in Wyoming, The mogul, nicknamed Stevebecause Steve Jobs will always be the first tech Steveand his entourage arrive amid piles of hightech equipment so Stevecan document his experience on his social media platform ConFab.
Little do they know that the hunters will quickly become the hunted, It's up to Joe with his backcountry knowledge to outwit the men seeking revenge against Steve,
I'm so glad I put my misgivings aside and finally read a C, J. Box novel. He not only nails the wildness of Wyoming, but the type of person drawn to live there, Joe Pickett could be any number of men I grew up withincluding my own father, Box writes from the heart and this story is so compelling I read it in just a couple of sittings, Even though this is twentyfirst novel in the series, Box gives enough background to make the reader familiar with the characters without giving away too much of the plots of previous books.
I'm looking forward to my next Box noveleven if it does make me a little homesick,
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC, It will be published on March,, “Youre a good man, Joe Pickett, I cant say Ive met many like you, It warms my heart to know men like you still exist, ”
C. J. Box, Dark Sky
Trouble seems to have a way of finding Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, In thest book in the series he is asked by governor Colter Allen to lead
a Silicon Valley billionaire, Steve Price, on a elk hunting trip.
Steveis the founder of a social media app called ConFab, Steveand ConFab could bring serious business to Wyoming and thus increase Allen's popularity and chances at being reelected, It is no secret how Allen feels about Joe and he hints that Joe's job could depend on how successful this trip is,
Joe normally checks other hunters for hunting permits, etc, and doesn't act as a guide so he enlists the help of an local outfitter, Stevebrings a lackey and body guard, Steveis a controversial figure, While Joe is leading the party on a trip to hunt elk there are others who are out to hunt Steve, As Joe often says things are about to go Western,
Joe calls his wife, Marybeth, every night, If his cell phone is out of range he has a satellite phone, When she doesn't hear from him two nights in a row and Stevehasn't posted anything on ConFab about his trip she knows something is wrong.
She goes to the new sheriff and tries to get him to mount a search and rescue for Joe and the hunting party, The sheriff is hesitant. He is looking forward to retirement and thought Saddlestring was a sleepy town, So Marybeth calls her daughter, Sheridan, and Joe's closest friend Nate Romanowksi,
Nate and Sheridan set out to find Joe but Joe and Steveare alone and being hunted in the mountains, They have to rely on their wits if they hope to get off the mountain, No horses, no gear, no food, no shelter, no way to contact help,
There is a side story here, Sheridan has been working for Nate as an apprentice falconer when it is discovered that someone has been raiding Nate's sites for falcons, Whoever it is has not only been encroaching on Nate's sites but he has broken every creed amongst falconers, While Nate is out trying to find Joe things go from bad to worse, It is no longer just business, It becomes personal. That will have to wait until sitelinkShadows Reel, First he will have to help Joe, I'm a fan of the Joe Pickett series, It's easy to like the values that are front and center: honesty, hard work, family life, friendship, and nature, This book didn't deviate from those values,
Another everpresent attribute is overcoming adversity, Joe Pickett and his friend Nate Romanowski frequently have a plate full of bad guys, horrible weather, and just plain bad luck, But this book is overthetop with bad guys, bad weather, bad luck, and primadonnas, Even the wolverines give Joe a hard time, Dark Sky is thest book in C, J. Box's Joe Pickett series and it is one of the best, although I have not yet read one that was just okay Box is just, in my not at all humble opinion, a superb writer.
Pickett is a Game and Fish Warden in Wyoming who has been tasked, by the scumball governor is that redundant of the state with guiding a social media gazillionaire on an elk hunt.
The governor hopes that the gazillionaire will build a large data center in Wyoming providing tons of jobs, As it turns out, there is a man who, along with his two ne'er do well sons wants the gazillionaire dead,
The story was masterfully told, the characters were typical of Joe Pickett books and, all in all, the book was a delight.
I heartily recommend it to those who have enjoyed Joe Pickett books, For those who have not, start at the beginning of the series, although each can be read as a standalone, they are more enjoyable when read in order because they portray the development of a man, a family, a town, etc.
Over and Out Sometimes I struggle between givingorand occasionally I hesitate between ratings ofampstars, Bookin the series is an easystar rating for me,
Fast paced story and interesting backstories, same great characters fans have grown to enjoy and the ending leaves you wanting more, I finished in two sittings despite intentionally slowing down,
In hindsight Im glad to have started the series several years after it began because it allows for some prime time binge reading The plot was good but as usual with CJ Box books i've read the bad guys were over the top.
Their vile dispositions make Bond villians, who have some couth, seem tame, Seems the story could have been told without the wanton nature of some characters, C J Box just seems to get better with every book, I've read all his work and Joe Picket and his family are my favourite, I imagine that not too many people will be starting the series with this book, After all there are overthat come before it, But this is really good and, to my mind, the best of the lot so far, I had a job to stop reading it once I'd started, There is going to be another because the ending is left on something of a cliff edge, I can't wait. Highly recommended to all C J Box fans, I will say at the beginning of this review that, atbooks in, I will keep reading this series,
Having said that, I think that Joe Pickett may have come to the end of the road, Having apparently exhausted all potential Wyoming based, reasonable plausible story lines, the last four or five Joe Pickett books have reached well outside the borders of Wyoming to set up increasingly laughable scenarios where Joe Pickett is in mortal peril and must save everyone with the help of Nate Romanowski and now Sheridan, too.
This one is possibly the most ridiculous plot of all of them although the drug cartel plot was pretty ridiculous, albeit entertaining.
Annoying billionaire tech bro who is a combination of Mark Zuckerberg Elon Musk randomly decides that he is going to provide all of his own food for a year.
Decides to go on an elk hunt, Governor of Wyoming picks Joe Pickett to go with him on the elk hunt never mind that this makes NO SENSE AT ALL, NONE. ZERO. Joe Pickett is a grumpy motherfucker who dislikes politicians and rich people equally, so why anyone would think that pairing him up with a dilettante tech bro who is surgically attached to his smart phone would be a good idea beggars belief.
A spoiler tag before I continue,
This story line also makes very little sense, but whatevs, we aren't looking for verisimilitude here, we're looking for Joe to be Joe and save the day in his usual upright DudleyDoRight fashion.
Which he does,
The End.
Well, not quite the end, Because Joe and Marybeth might be rich now, Stay tuned! I know I will,
Oh, and there's also a falconry side plot of dubious interest, .