Off the Grid

Off The Grid is the 16th book in the hugely successful Joe Pickett series by C J (Chuck) Box. The book was launched in March this year in the States and went straight to No 1 in the New York Times best sellers list Joe is a Wyoming Game Warden and, in Off The Grid, is asked by the State Governor to search for an acquaintance called Nate Romanowski whom the Governor believes has been despatched in somewhat strange circumstances to the desolate Red Desert area of Wyoming to check out a possible Jihadi plot. Nate is on the run from justice and was tracked down by two very secretive US intelligence agents who promised him immunity, and the wiping of his criminal record if he cooperated He was chosen largely because of his falconry expertise and the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness one of the key suspects believed to be operating in the desert, Muhammad Ibraaheem (Ibby), is also a keen falconer. Joe was in turn promised that the large medical expenses for his daughter following her hospitalisation would be met by the State if he assisted in the way the governor asked. Both men have the same more than scary dream of what is about to happen a sort of Butch Cassidy stance against overwhelming force.

Joe and Nate (who actually know each other) embark, separately but ultimately together on a fast moving and thrilling adventure in the desert. Joes daughter, Sheridan, is also in the wasteland innocently involved in the plot, but also in grave danger. The action is dramatic, a real page turner, and builds to a terrifying and violent conclusion.

In one sense the plot is far fetched, but in another it is quite believable. The weapon the terrorists are planning to use (an EMP no more for fear of a spoiler) is truly frightening in its implications. The scheduled impact, as Nate says, was more major than 9/11.

Off The Grid is a real treat for TripFiction readers. The glorious wildlife and natural beauty of Wyoming (the smallest US State in population terms) come through loud and clear from tracking a grizzly bear in the Bighorn National Forest to the initially desolate, but ultimately teeming with life, Red Desert. Chuck is a proud inhabitant of Wyoming and his love of the State is quite apparent he is also a member of the Tourist Board. All the locations in the book ring true.

I guess that after 16 books in the series, you might expect another Joe Pickett thriller to be a little tired and formulaic but Off The Grid is absolutely not. It is a great read for anyone who loves a really good thriller written by a master of the art.

Over on our blog we chat to the author: […]

Box is a current writer who researches his topics well and makes the reader ask questions as they read. His plots are intriguing and the reader is never certain where they will lead. He knows the American west and intertwines that environment with his narrative. Having lived and traveled these areas, I always find myself visualizing the environs of the story and becoming an omnipotent voyeaur while reading his books. This is especially true in this novel set in the Red Desert.
Nate and Joe are once again working together; yet they don’t know it! Joe has been sent by governor Roulon to find Nate while Nate has been blackmailed by the government to come out of hiding off the grid to save his current girlfriend and perhaps our entire country. Their individual journeys take twists and turns that threaten the existence of all they know and love as well as the entire American population and way of life.
If you have never lived in the West or have never understood the mindset of rural Westerners, this book may give you some insight into the political views held by individuals in this part of our country. It is definitely a thrilling adventure and it will make you wonder how close we are to all portrayed within these pages. We can only hope there are some brave individuals left to save us if it should happen this way!

I saw George Martin – the Svengali behind the Beatles Music – quoted somewhere once, he said something like “I missed out on royalties for most of the Beatles recordings but I’m happy with what I’ve got. I look at a man and wonder are you a ‘good’ person? It’s love and family that matter most in this life”. I see something of this philosophy in the work of C J Box and which is one reason as to why I both like and enjoy his writings.

“Off the Grid” seems to me to have a pretty much more complicated, albeit fascinating plot than previously for a Joe Picket novel though I read it with my usual great pleasure. [As an animal loving vegetarian I do wish he’d ease up a bit on his description of hawks turning their prey into a mush of blood and feathers however!:-) ] I had expected publication a few moths earlier than the actual day of its release so perhaps there had been a problem with the plot? At any rate I was a bit confused only for a little while with “Ibby” – a gentleman of Middle East origins – being the surrogate leader of a band of Middle Eastern, obviously terrorist thugs.

C J brings all the loose ends together just as successfully as usual though and I’m looking forward to the next book in the Joe Picket series coming out in early 2017.

The latest in the Joe Pickett series by C J Box is right up there with the rest – all brilliant!

As a UK resident, reading these books and Box’s dramatic descriptions of the landscapes simply make me feel as I’m right there, riding with Joe or flying falcons with Nate.

And of course the stories are all so good – fast-paced, clever, with sub-plots to keep the reader engaged though out. The characters created by C J Box are all true and believable – and have the rare quality of making the reader actually care for them and for what happens to them.

I have really enjoyed following Joe and his family as they have grown and changed as the years have passed.

And how great that Nate is back – him and Joe are the best pairing!

Here’s looking forward to the next one already.

I stumbled across this book and recalled another CJ Box book a few years ago which I thoroughly enjoyed. Off the Grid didnt disappoint and I think what makes this authors stories so engaging is his characterisation and in this age of superheroes in super-costumes its refreshing to read of an ex-military hero capable of ripping the bad guys ears off with his bare hands whilst still ensuring his hawks (peregrine, red-tail and gyrfalcon) are fed.

Nate Romanowski has the true warrior mentality, and Box shows an understanding of this in that although Nate doesnt really want to kill anyone anymore hell do so in a heartbeat if its the right thing to do, and he will feel no guilt about this. It wont bother him. No post traumatic stress disorder for Nate, he just wants to be left alone. But he has a past, and once the FBI (or whoever they are) discovers his whereabouts they promise to make his past disappear if hell complete just one more mission.

Nate trusts them as far as he could throw them, but understands that he has no choice.

I loved the description of yarak which I understand comes from the Persian yrak (power and boldness) and the Turkish yara (readiness) and which refers to a trained hawk in proper condition for hunting. The peregrine falcon sees its prey as the one true thing to the exclusion of everything else, and its with this sense of yarak that Nate enters into battle with the enemy as the ‘one true thing,’ just like peregrine.

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