Assessment:
Plot: Sherman tells the story of a father and son who both serve in Afghanistan. Focused on imperfect families, war, and revenge, the story delivers a satisfying narrative arc.
Prose: Sherman capably captures a sense of place through vivid description, yet the prose is otherwise weakened by awkward and overly long dialogue, clunky sentence construction, and repetition.
Originality: Sherman's decision to focus on two generations of marines impacted by the same war is a novel one.
Character Development: Sherman's characters develop most significantly through moments of personal reflection, rather than through interactions and dialogue. Readers may not gain a clear sense of the protagonist beyond his quest for justice.
Date Submitted: April 05, 2018
The Chief and His Marine crafts some real dilemmas and asks many hard questions, and making top reading for military novel enthusiasts looking for more overall philosophical and psychological depth than most such writings offer.
The story of The Chief and His Marine is an incredibly dynamic, piece of work that took my breath away on more than one occasion.
The writing is gritty and authentic, with the dialogue between Marines striking sincere notes in almost every scene. This is not an assumption of what life would be like in Afghanistan, but rather an authoritative depiction, with details and moments that seem directly ripped from experience.
