Piercing the Veil by Eric J. Wentz is the story of a man who is a soldier through and through; if it means he has to sacrifice something, he will do it in a heartbeat. This is the story of Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisolm, who is as brainy as he is brawny. War has taught him to think with his mind and learn from his heart and this is the lesson that he keeps with him. This is also the reason why he and his team of elite SEALs are so successful at what they do. He is confident, but not over-confident, and this is why he does not even think twice before he accepts a mission that will change his life.

He and his team are on a very secret mission in which they have to save a hostage from a megalomaniac and a very cunning sub-Saharan African rebellion leader. Grant had no idea that this mission will bring a very deep and well buried history to the forefront, and he would have to ask questions he would rather not ask. He was prepared for it, but when you are facing a challenge that either ends in life or death, you have to be prepared for everything and anything.

Eric J. Wentz did an amazing job at writing a novel that is very well thought out. The characters are rounded and well-developed, the story is fast paced and is actually very quick to read. It is not short, but the story itself is so good that you will not be able to put the book down until you have read till the end. I loved the fact that Grant was portrayed as a man and not as a perfect war hero; he was everything we aspire to be and everything we struggle with. This is truly an amazing novel and I enjoyed every single second of it.

Piercing the Veil by Eric J Wentz is an action adventure novel that would appeal most to a mixed audience of young adults and adults who enjoy fast paced action and do not mind the inclusion of graphic violence and sexual exploitation. In 1941, an elite fighting force was fashioned to carry out special missions and to act against the fascist regimes of Europe. Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisolm is the leader of an elite SEAL team; this position leads to him being assigned a secret mission of the highest order to rescue hostages in sub-Saharan Africa. This mission takes him further than he ever thought was possible as he learns about his life, his ancestors, and the legends surrounding him. Will his mission shape him into the man he was meant to be, or will the weight of it cause him to crumble beneath it?

Piercing the Veil by Eric J Wentz is a very unique book that I hesitate to assign to any genre as it had so many different genre elements in it. Yet, the author managed to combine all those elements together flawlessly in a way that created an intricate plot line that was unpredictable and thrilling. Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisolm was a very interesting and well-developed character that drew my attention right from the very beginning. He reminded me a lot of Jack Bauer from 24 and John Shepard from Stargate Atlantis in that he was intelligent, brave, and had an astounding grasp of tactics. Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading this novel and I hope the author decides to write a follow-up!

Piercing The Veil by Eric Wentz is a good, old-fashioned, military spy thriller that hits most of the right buttons. Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisholm of the US Navy Special Forces is seconded to Britain to work with a deep cover, black ops team run by the British. Chisholm has a vested interest in living and working in Britain, though. Not long after the end of World War II, his grandfather had returned to Scotland for a reunion of his own WWII commando force. He never returned and Grant is keen to discover what fate befell the grandfather he never knew. Tie in a megalomaniac self-proclaimed ruler of an as yet non-existent Sub-Saharan African country, involved in the “blood diamond” trade as well as claiming the continent for Christianity, along with some not-so-Christian Catholic priests and you already have a potent mix for a rollicking novel. Just to add more interest to the story, there are Celtic remnants that threaten to become the greatest archaeological find of the century and a love interest for Grant in the form of eminent archaeologist, Blanche.

There are a lot of different and seemingly disparate arcs running through Piercing The Veil and Wentz does well in managing to tie them all together satisfactorily by the end. The characters are well drawn, especially with respect to their capabilities as current or former Special Forces soldiers, and Jomo, the leader of the Soldiers of Christ, definitely comes across as a powerful, charismatic leader, with just the right touch of madness and civility, a credit to the author. The story runs at a breakneck pace as you’d expect from a thriller, and takes us from Britain to Turkey, Amsterdam, and the heart of Africa. Of course, the violence is endemic in the story, but I felt it was sensitively handled by the author without being too graphic. Piercing the Veil is a solid action thriller.

Piercing the Veil by Eric J Wentz is a political thriller that is action-packed, a novel with a fascinating setting and wonderful characters. The reader is drawn into a very tense and convoluted political atmosphere, set against the backdrop of World War II Europe. It’s a time when fascism was gaining ground in Europe. Now, an elite group comprising of powerful and secret intelligence members of the OSS, the CIA, and the British SAS is set up to create dissident activities in the fascist territories in Europe. It is within this context that Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisolm undertakes a very dangerous and important mission, leading a specialized and highly trained team of SEALs on a mission to rescue hostages held by a dangerous and magnetic African leader. Read on to find out how this mission brings him face to face with history and with himself.

This is a story with significant historical and political undertones, but it is also a philosophical read, a book that shows how one man tries to make sense of the chaos happening around him. The reader will be intrigued by the plot and how Eric J Wentz’s characters fit into the exciting canvas. Themes like political intrigue, freedom, the quest for meaning, and many others are beautifully integrated into this story. I found the title of the novel to be very symbolic and the reader will be surprised to find out what the veil symbolizes. Piercing the Veil is a tightly written story that is every bit as entertaining as it is compelling. It’s a hard-to-put-down kind of book with memorable characters.