Book Review: CODE OF HONOR by V.C. Weeks

Code of Honor, a debut novel by V. C. Weeks, grabs the reader by the throat in the first sentence and doesn’t let go. The novel is the tale of Sargeant Hank Siemans, who opens this gripping story on reconnaissance in the mountains of Afghanistan, hunting for Osama bin Ladin and his al Queda crew, reportedly on the move toward Ali Kheyl and the Pakistani border. The American soldiers are ambushed and Siemans wakes up from a coma in Walter Reed Medical Center to the voice of an angel, his nurse Ashley Blake. He is instantly smitten.

This book is identified as a political thriller, and it certainly is that. It is also about love. In a clear homage to Hemingway, there’s Siemens’ passionate love for Ashley, but there’s also the story of United States Senator Paul Whitman and his wife Marilyn, whom he loves as though they’d just been wed, despite decades of marriage and three devoted children.  Even more so, it is the story of the senator’s love of his country, a fierce love that never wavers, despite constant attempts by the opposition to discredit him. He’s even threatened by his own party. All this while Whitman is fighting another battle – with MS, a diagnosis he’s just received from his doctor over the summer. Code of Honor is dedicated to the late Senator Paul Wellstone from Minnesota, but it is difficult not to see in Whitman the current Independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.   

Siemans and Matt Whitman, the eldest son of the senator have been friends since high school and are looking forward to Hank’s wedding. Sieman’s father, General Siemans, who has just received a death sentence in the form of an aggressive cancer, is head of intelligence for U.S. Central Command and doesn’t plan to slow down, much less stop, until he is forced to by his condition. While visiting his son in the hospital, he hints at some disturbing intel coming out about Iraq seeking weapons of mass destruction. This troubles his son, who wonders whether he’ll be sent back to Afghanistan or whether the Iraq situation will heat up.

You won’t want to miss this exciting book. It takes the reader into a dark world of politics, war contractors, big money and intrigue, as Hank Siemans wrestles with a decision that will define him as a man and could determine whether or not the country goes to war.

The novel has just been released in print and can be purchased for $ 15.95 from the 99 Percent Books eStore on CreateSpace (https://www.createspace.com/4692635) or is available as an eBook at www.Amazon.com.

Check out the book trailer: http://video214.com/play/gpXYJixxcAkOJ5m8qrd2LA/s/dark