Kirkus Review Of LIBERTAD
In Young's latest novel (EPSILON ZETA, 2006), two college students find themselves caught in a deadly conspiracy.
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Alpha 7, a covert branch of the Cuban military designed to mitigate drug-trafficking activities in South and Central America, bungles an assassination attempt on a notorious pirate agent. Cuban officials scramble to recover their losses and maintain government secrets. Meanwhile, Pete Stephen and Ryder Westcott, recent graduates of Florida State University, celebrate their achievements by embarking on a deep sea fishing adventure off the coast of Florida. Ryder catches the big one, but, instead of a fish, he reels in a large blue ice chest containing two million dollars. The captain of their skiff pulls a gun, a fight ensues, and Pete accidentally kills him. |
Still in shock, Pete and Ryder rescue a man floating in the ocean, who, shortly after boarding, takes over their boat. Another fight ensues and more dead bodies litter the small vessel. Not far away, Coast Guard officials investigate two bullet-strewn cruisers replete with dead and unscrupulous crew members. Mack Olen, a seasoned DEA agent, is called on to unravel the ambiguity of execution-style methods and weapons used. When three savagely murdered bodies are found in a deserted fishing boat off the coast of Andros Island in the Bahamas, U.S. and Bahamian police forces join efforts to break a drug ring. They uncover links to international, upper-level government envoys. Pete and Ryder discover information exposing Cuban connections to the assassinations of several U.S. political representatives. They become pawns of international intrigue, with Olen as their only tenuous ally. Surrounded by scoundrels, crooked cops, and government bureaucrats with connections all the way up the international food chain, Pete and Ryder fight to prove their innocence and preserve their lives.
The sustained action, divided into short segments, keeps the story moving. An interesting, plausible, fast-paced tale. |
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT EPSILON ZETA
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“From start to finish, EPSILON ZETA is a captivating novel that breaks new ground in the fraternity genre. The memorable and wonderfully detailed characters bring the story to life and allow Young to expose issues that have been ignored or denied for decades. If a reader would like to experience a peek at the real frat life, politics and brotherhood, then Jock Young’s EPSILON ZETA is the best offering in years.”
—Stanford University Daily
“EPSILON ZETA is highly entertaining. Whether you’re a “Life Loyal Member” of a fraternity or an ardent feminist, you will enjoy this book.”
—University of Virginia Cavalier Daily
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“This book captures the reality of what goes on behind closed doors. It’s enticing, realistic, unpleasant, surprising, and shocking. It’s an easy read and gives the reader a chance to really understand the meaning of being in a fraternity.”
—University of Connecticut Daily Campus
“One of the book’s best qualities is the tight and absolutely real dialogue. . . . Young brilliantly gets into the minds of twenty-something college boys. He develops the characters so well that a reader will get to know these characters almost as well as they know their own fraternity brothers. . . . The result is a brilliantly honest and realistic novel about college fraternity life.”
—University of West Virginia Daily Athenaeum
“Many things happen behind the closed doors of a fraternity house, and most of the time those things stay hidden from those outside the Greek system. But in EPSILON ZETA, Jock Young gives outsiders an honest look inside a fraternity.”
—Baylor University Lariat
“Jock Young’s novel, EPSILON ZETA, takes the reader through a train wreck of humorously shocking, uninhibited, alcohol-induced scenarios that are sure to stir up some pretty unforgettable images in even the most unimaginative of minds.”
—Western Connecticut State Echo
“The real strength of EPSILON ZETA is its accuracy. Young uses his own experiences to tell a both believable and compelling story.”
—University of Pittsburgh News
“At times, the reader may find himself disgusted with some of the frat boys’ antics, yet simultaneously and fervently turning each page to follow the characters whom the author has gone so into depth describing.”
—University of Dayton Flyer News
“Emotional, yet believable, dialogue.”
—UCLA Daily Bruin
“Young makes this novel a very intriguing read. It is so truthful, I found myself many times reading with my jaw on the floor. Skipping the usual preppy school-boy stereotypes and not lacking in racy sex scenes, EPSILON ZETA is a book that is so realistic, it’s almost as if you are right in the middle of it all. The character development puts this book on a different level than any of the other Greek books out there.”
—Florida Atlantic University Press
“The book is filled with interesting characters.”
—Georgia Tech Technique
“Young is true to the nature of fraternities and the members of such organizations. EPSILON ZETA allows a reader to enter the secretive world of brotherhood, even going into the bathroom with the inhabitants to relay the deep and disturbingly strange conversations that take place there. This book is not for everyone, but forgoing the vulgarity, male chauvinism, and harsh views of women and sex, it is an eye opening look deep in one view of fraternity life.”
—University of Buffalo Spectrum
“Jock Young is an unbelievably realistic writer. He paints each character in excruciating and life-like detail. As a college student, the reader see faces like each of the characters every day and can relate to each student. This also makes it easier to understand the clash of personalities and loyalties that drive the book.”
—Washington University Student Life
“Although the characters can get confusing, they are all so authentic they could fit right into any university in the country. Readers expecting a Hollywood portrayal of a fraternity—including toga parties and supermodels—may be in for a surprise. Instead, EPSILON ZETA, presents a realistic, bare bones view of what really goes on in a fraternity, without losing its excitement.”
—North Dakota State Spectrum
“EPSILON ZETA offers an uncensored truth that will make it worth your valuable time.”
—Penn State Daily Collegian
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