This could easily be a case of not truly understanding an audience, but i dont think that is what this is. No, I think there is a real tragedy unfolding. I watch it with each turn of the page and each moment of the audiobook. W.E.B. Griffin is destroying writing. He’s killing it with poorly contrived characters and absolutely empty plots. He’s doing it while hitting the NYT Best sellers list with every single book.
W.E.B. Griffin is the pen name of William E Butterworth, a longtime military fiction writer and a man whose political views and views on the role and honor of the military are on full display with each passing novel. He writes what is akin to a military procedural, a book that focuses painstakingly on the minutiae of military operations. In the case of his newest series, he is focused on the details of special operations–specifically those of the U.S. Special Operations Group.
His series, dubbed the Presidential Agent Series, follows the adventures of one C.G. Castillo who we repeatedly are told is perhaps the coolest MF to ever walk (or fly over) the planet. He is at once a Texican millionaire, German royalty, Newspaper magnate, top tier special operator, superstar military pilot (trained on multiple fixed wing and rotor craft), Mind boggling strategist, part time jerk, deeply honorable and loyal man, womanizer, and (deservedly) egotistical S.O.B. I write sci fi and I couldn’t dream a dude like this up–let alone pull it off. W.E.B. does pull it off for at least 2 of the (so far) 8 books driving the series. Our dear Karlchen (as he is referred to when in that part of the world) is beloved by all and hand picked by multiple presidents to solve all the ills of the world.
It doesn’t fly.
It doesn’t fly because the stories meander. The stories spend so much time establish how bleeding cool Castillo is that there is little time for plot. Everything exists as a flashback or a story shared by those who love him or hate him. In the latest book there isn’t even a legitimate plot. It is hundreds of pages of reminding the reader what came before and a few pages of advancing the story. I’m nearly halfway through and here is what went down:
1. President goes looking for Charlie. Sends people to call him back to active duty.
2. Charlie’s friends want to protect him.
3. Charlie’s enemies want to kill him.
4. Charlie gets the president’s message, boards a plane, meets with a Mexican cop. Boards another plane, heads to Germany.
That is the entire freaking story.
I’m waiting to be impressed.