Wild Isle Review:

WARNING! INEVITABLE SPOILERS BELOW!

*Note: this review is a promotional highlight focusing on the positive qualities of the book rather than a neutral critique.*

That’s right: Ahab, like Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab on his doomed quest to best the white whale, our paratrooping protagonist Corporal Will Foley chases the impossible after meeting with tragedy during a parachuting exercise. His saving graces? A hot German girlfriend in a dirndl, a pack of military Rangers and frosty Devils, and—most importantly—a love for ice hockey. More than anything, that’s what Ahab is, a story about ice hockey and how it can sustain one through truly testing trials and tribulations. And author Brad Huestis has the experience to bring that out.

Though a work of fiction, Ahab, reads more like a series of dramatized journal entries. This effect is achieved primarily through two factors: content and composition.

Content first. As mentioned, the author has first-hand experience in just about every area of discussion brought up in the book. American military culture and language (with its maze of ranks, rules, and abbreviations)? Check—Brad was a paratrooper himself. Setting and locale? Check again—Brad spends half his time in Germany, Bavaria specifically. And what about hockey? You guessed it. Check—Brad is a life-long hockey player as well. All of this “thick ice” gives Ahab a level of realism and depth of setting that would convince many-a-reader that these fictional events actually happened.

So what about the composition? What about the writing makes Ahab so special. Worthy of note are two sub-components: scene and speed. Each chapter is broken into multiple scenes. Nothing unique there, that is until you add them up each chapter and combine them with the aforementioned depth of setting. The effect is that of a journal, as if the narrator were compiling his experiences at the end of each day, which plays upon the reader’s suspension of disbelief. I also mentioned speed. The pacing in Ahab is fast, as fast as Will Foley in a pair of ice skates. There is little down time despite the plethora of German cuisine described (in particular, the beer; more kinds than I’ve ever heard of in my entire life are described in these pages), and the scenes which capitalize on this rapid pacing the best are the games.

Ahab’s hockey scenes deserve a section all there own. Each match comes in swinging like a—well, a hockey player who thought you were playing too rough. The games are dynamic and the narration as quick witted as any sports commentary I’ve ever heard. If you’re a fan of hockey, then these scenes are especially for you; you’ll be waiting for them on the edge of your seat, just like Will Foley as he struggles to overcome loss, love, and grief.