I’ve ended up working on this post a lot longer than most—definitely longer than any other book in this series. I know I didn’t say everything I wanted to, but I think I covered all the essentials. I also think my trimming ideas/paragraphs/rabbit trails didn’t make this too difficult to follow. Let me know if I missed that mark, will you?
Force of Nature
by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
DETAILS: Series: Joe Pickett, #12 Publisher: Recorded Books Publication Date: March 20, 2012 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 11 hrs., 23 min. Read Date: April 13-15, 2022
What’s Force of Nature About?
Nate Romanowski.
That’s the short version anyway—but it’s not a helpful answer.
Since we met Nate, we’ve known that he’s living off the grid for more than philosophical reasons—he’s not just a modern Thoreau, But we’ve never been given the story behind that. He’s offered to tell Joe, but Joe’s smart enough to know he shouldn’t know (but he is curious).
Well now, those people he’s been avoiding are getting close to finding him. They are approaching, questioning, kidnapping (if deemed necessary), and putting all other sorts of pressure on those who may know something about Nate or his whereabouts. This includes new characters as well as well-established characters—including all the Picketts, his friends on the reservation, his mysterious friends in Idaho, and others.
To protect those who are important to him, Nate has to stop hiding and go on the offense. Along the way, the reader gets answers to a lot of the questions about him that we’ve built up over the previous eleven novels.
We also get another lesson in watching out for your ears around Nate Romanowski, just in case Free Fire wasn’t enough for you.
Yes, there are several other things going on, but they all tie back to Nate Romanowski—his past, his present, and if he has a future.
A Gripe
This is semi-spoilery, but without this, I might have rated this higher, so I have to talk about it. I don’t think reading this is going to ruin anything plot-wise. Still, feel free to skip down to the next heading.
Nate, Joe, and Marybeth all agree that the Picketts have to get out of town for their own safety. So Joe, Marybeth, April, and Lucy get to the airport so they can get out of the reach of those who might try to use them to get to Nate.
See the problem there? I said nothing about Sheridan. Sure, she’s away at college, but we’re talking about people who have gone to Idaho and Colorado to find people to get leverage on Nate. Does anyone really think they can’t get to Laramie? Yes, Joe sends his FBI buddy to talk to her, but that’s to get information, not to watch out for her.
I literally kept talking back to the recording, “What about Sheridan?” Is it possible I missed the two sentences it would’ve taken for Box to justify this choice, but I don’t think that’s the case.
David Chandler
This is book 12, David Chandler has this series down—I’m sure he’s not on auto-pilot or anything, but at this point, it’s got to be comfortable for him.
That said, he’s on his game here, and really gets to stretch his wings a little—there’s (obviously) more Nate than usual, and Nate has a greater emotional range than usual, too. Bang-up job by Chandler.
So, what did I think about Force of Nature?
This is the most action-packed, violent, and unpredictable Joe Pickett novel yet. I’m not sure it’s even close—I’m not sure it’s the best novel in the series, but I’m guessing it’s quite the fan-favorite because of all the Nate material.
It’s the C.J. Box-equivalent of Robert Crais’ L.A. Requiem where we get all of Joe Pike’s background* in the midst of a gripping thrill ride. There’s a version of this post that contains several paragraphs comparing/contrasting these two novels that I’m sorely tempted to write, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read it all. This will both serve to humanize Nate as well as build up his mystique. A nice trick to be sure.
* I just got a very real lesson in careful typing by invoking Joe Pike in a discussion about a Joe Pickett novel.
Am I happy to have a lot of questions answered about Nate? Yes. Do I have a whole bunch of new questions about him? Yes. Do I sort of hope that he disappears for at least a book so we can refocus on Joe? Yes. Do I think that anyone with a mild interest in the Joe Pickett series will dig this novel? No doubt in my mind.
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