Scribner
In shops now

What is brotherhood, one might ask… Personally I will never know…I’m not in the Armed Forces. But novelist, Christopher Rice, in his fourth outing, tries his hand at the answer. ‘Blind Fall’ is the tale of a Marine Vet from the Iraq War and the journey one takes to prove his worth and bond to a fellow soldier. Plagued by the demons of his past, Sgt. John Houck (our hero) falls short on a reconnaissance mission and is saved by fellow soldier/friend and commanding officer Capt. Mike Bowers. Long story short: years later, Bowers turns out to be gay (SHOCKER) and dead (another SHOCKER) . . . and his house boy is to blame. Or is he? Houck takes it upon himself to solve this vicious murder and protecting the boy maybe the answer…also the cause of all his ‘manhood’ troubles. Rice always reads to me like a kid with a really great thesaurus who does his research - which is a good thing, btw. Me, I’m used to picture books. I always enjoy Rice’s novels, though, “Blind Fall” included. His characters always ring true and have great arcs. The military lingo is well-written and incorporated into all the folds. I am sure there is a brotherhood that exists among soldiers, but I was hoping for more of a Falcon Video Package when I dove into the printed text. But . . . is porn literature? I guess we’ll have to wait until Annie Proulx writes an Armed Forces novel. All in all, it’s a quick read and I was left wanting more. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse is still up in the air.