An Early Mac Travis Adventure (Volume 1) - Wood's Relic

Becker's believable and very realistic characters combined with an intimate knowledge of the Florida Keys creates an edge of your seat adventure series. I have been a long time Randy White fan but Becker's well worth the read.

Wood's Relic by Steven Becker is another good book in the Mac Travis series. This novel takes you back to the beginning when Mac Travis first met Wood and moved to the Keys. It clears up a lot of the background in Wood/Mac Travis relationship.

The story starts with Wood working on a bridge that was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in the Keys. The insurance company has alleged that Wood's original construction was at fault. He is on the verge of loosing his business. He has lost his insurance company and bonding company will no longer cover him. He is working on the bridge for a local businessman who is trying to develop the island and pressuring Wood to do the work cheaply and quickly. The local businessman is tied up with the Mob in the development project.

Wood picks up Mac Travis along the road. After finding out he is a construction diver hires him to help finish the bridge.

The Mob's representative shows up in the Keys trying to save his life by getting the project finished quickly. There is a lot of interplay between the Mob, the businessman, Wood, Travis, Travis' ex girlfriend, a local Indian chief, and others during the story. It all revolves around the Mob trying to build a casino and they need the local tribe to prove that they have Indian rights to build a casino at that location.

The story is well told and keeps moving along without any slow spots. It is a good novel. It was a good novel to fill in the characters in the earlier Mac Travis novels. Can't wait for the next novel. There is still a gap between this story and the first novel in the series. Can't wait to read that one to finish filling in some of the other characters.

THIS IS A CLIFFHANGER!!! I hate, detest and despise cliffhangers and the "authors" who write them! If you can't write a complete story, with a beginning, middle, and end, don't write the thing at all. There are plenty of other REAL authors who write series books that have stand-alone books in the series, with subsequent books featuring previous characters. I love those authors!

From The #1 best-selling author of Wood's Reef, Wood's Wall & Bonefish Blues comes a new Mac Travis Adventure If you like Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt and John D McDonald's Travis McGee check it out. Mac Travis went to the Florida Keys to disappear, but his new commercial diving job turns out to be more than he planned. An artifact discovered while working on a bridge pier quickly draws the attention of a real estate tycoon, a Jersey mobster and twin Indian Chiefs all trying to open a casino in the pristine Keys. When his psycho ex-girlfriend tracks him down things get even more interesting

This is a romp of a mystery, written with some of the same zany humor seen in such authors as Carl Hyacinth, and it is wonderful fun. The events make their own kind of sense, though logic has little to do with anything, and I found myself wondering if these sorts of things could only happen in the Florida Keys. The writing is straightforward, and even, sometimes, glib, which adds to the hilarity, and the characters are well, characters, indeed. However, even at their most absurd, these characters are believable, and always come across like real, if probably less than sane, people, some of whom were entirely likeable (even when not at their best), and some would have been villains in the grand style …if they weren’t so funny. How the narrator could read this book with a straight face is amazing, but he did and did an excellent job, too.

I might mention, in passing, that I never realized how interesting bridge repair can be, but the author has either done this job, or done some serious research. I give this fun read 4 stars, and 5 to the narrator, mostly for not laughing out loud.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review via AudioBookBlast dot com.

I really wanted to like this series because I like the Florida Keys and vacation there often. Steven has some good story line ideas and knows the Keys well, but the inexplicable improbabilities and unlikely coincidences detracted from the over all effort. I read "Wood's Ledge", "Wood's Relic", and finally struggled through "Wood's Reef" before I just couldn't take anymore. Some examples; Mac Travis is a resourceful guy. When trying to recover a nuclear weapon before it does irreparable harm to the Keys ecosystem, the diesel fuel tank on his boat is punctured by a bullet and starts leaking into the water. Rather then trying to plug the leak, he jumps overboard. Three bad guys have guns and are holding people hostage. One of them gets shot with a fishing spear and the other two run away without even trying to return fire. The Vice President of the US decides that it would be a good idea to have a nuclear weapon that sat underwater for decades brought onto mainland Florida to a rally full of spectators so that he can personally disarm it while they watch. Not even the current VP is that dumb. I can put up with a lot, but the events of the story have to at least be believable. Slapping my head and saying "Oh, come on now" just isn't fun after the fifth or sixth time.

In this exciting novel, the first of an adventure series, Mac Travis moves to the Florida Keys and to do something he enjoys. However, his commercial diving job is a lot more than he expected. A Jersey mobster works with the local Native American leader in order to open a casino. They need the bridge repaired quickly in order to progress with their plans. Then his ex-girlfriend shows up and has chaos coming to her life and it's not guaranteed that Mac will save her from being sent to an island as a night-time dance girl. There is much action, danger, and adventure here in this well written story. However, the principles of bridge rebuilding/strengthening got me tangled up in ropes and chains at times. It is a very interesting action-packed novel.

‘Wood’s Relic’ is a well thought out and designed story but I felt as if it didn’t really grab my attention. The story has some action but not a lot nor does it have overly impressive descriptions of the keys to transport the reader there. The characters are likable but I felt as if the reader doesn’t get enough background on to feel a connection with them. Finally I’m not sure the book really resolves anything. What’s up with the relic? Is there something amazing that’s going to be discovered? I felt as if it left too much unresolved. That being said I enjoyed the author’s writing style and while I don’t have a whole lot of nice things to say about the book, while I was in the middle of it I didn’t feel as I disliked the book, but rather I wanted to keep going. Maybe I just need to go somewhere warm!

To start with in this review, let me state that I have not finished this book. I am so mentally bogged down in all the terms of which I am not familiar that I lost interest in the first few chapters. All the diving, salvage and other terminology could have had at least some description, but none was offered. Character description was equally lacking. For those familiar with the Florida keys, maybe they enjoy all the names of the keys, landmarks, etc. For all of us others, just a mention of the major ones would have been appreciated. As far as the proficiency of the actual sentence structure, correct punctuation, and detail expected from a well-written novel goes, let's just say, all of this would be a novel idea to this author.

I thot the story was interesting as far as all the Key islands stories go and there are tons of them out there.
One reviewer stated "it would be nice if the store would give you the order in which to read a series of books" It can get a little frustrating to find that the book you just choose was #3 or 4. I remember seeing Mac Travis in another book, could have been this series except this is called #1.

That being said, the keys must be very mystical given the number tales written about or around them.

Wood's Relic is my first Steven Becker novel. I found the story set in the Florida Keys easy and enjoyable to read. Of course being the first book, the characters took awhile to develop, but that is the reason to keep reading. The time taken to describe different events, such as bridge foundations, building a dam around the footing, using a dredge to remove material; all were great for someone that has used these tools in the past. Mac Travis is a different type of main character that gets involved with events usually not of his making, which is different than other authors. I was intrigued throughout the book as the different storylines were brought together. I read other authors for their style and find Steven's style refreshingly different. Good job Steven Becker.

No Dirk Pitt here. As a story based in the Key West area of Florida, I expected more Michael Reisig orLaurence Shames, two of the kings of the comic mystery. This alas has almost no intentional comedy, even though the characters are written perfectly to be comic foils! Add some comedy and less technical elements ( I do not need page after page describing how to build a bridge) and this could have been a five star book.

The plot is well defined and detailed. The characters sharply delineated. What they need is to be more human and less charactures.

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed meeting these characters and watching them figure out what to do. I often got the feeling that I was in the water with them.
There were very few typos, incorrect word usage, etc. (a big irritation for me).
I enjoyed the book so much that I got and read several others in the series.

This book had undeveloped and uninteresting characters in implausible situations doing ridiculous things.After all that the author just simply stopped writing -NO ENDING
The next book starts well in the future with no explanation of what happened between the books.

This was an easy read, for the most part, although the writing and dialog were clunky and awkward, at times. Not much of a plot, either. I didn't care about any of the characters by the end of the book, which was unfortunate. I don't think l will invest any more time in this series, nor do l recommend it.

The book was good. It did have some typo's and editing errors that should have been caught. Also, the fact that I read this first then found the rest of the series set about 10 or so years later mad things a little confusing. Overall, it was a good read.

A good cross-section of characters in his books. The book has the right amount of drama and action to keep me moving to the next one and hoping the Mac Travis series never ends.
Florida Keys, tides, diving, salt water, great weather, big boats, pretty girls, and Florida culture; what a great package. Well done Mr. Becker.

The writing and characters are fine, hence two stars. I won't be finishing this book because I'm not interested in a how-to manual on underwater construction - page after page of underwater construction. With thousands of books out there those that intend to show how knowledgeable the author is are less appealing than those committed to entertain from start to finish. I bought a set of four. Bummer!

I can't finish this book.

This is an exciting adventure story that is hard to stop reading. It has good characterizations and lots of suspense. The sub plots are developed consecutively so that the action runs smoothly. The setting in the Florida Keys makes the story interesting also.

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed meeting these characters and watching them figure out what to do. I often got the feeling that I was in the water with them.
There were very few typos, incorrect word usage, etc. (a big irritation for me).
I enjoyed the book so much that I got and read several others in the series.

A little bit comedy. A little bit tragedy. A lot of crazy adventure and unusual characters. I liked reading how the series all began. I'm onto book two now. I'd read the last two in the series first. Not necessary to read them in order.

This book had undeveloped and uninteresting characters in implausible situations doing ridiculous things.After all that the author just simply stopped writing -NO ENDING
The next book starts well in the future with no explanation of what happened between the books.

This was an easy read, for the most part, although the writing and dialog were clunky and awkward, at times. Not much of a plot, either. I didn't care about any of the characters by the end of the book, which was unfortunate. I don't think l will invest any more time in this series, nor do l recommend it.

The book was good. It did have some typo's and editing errors that should have been caught. Also, the fact that I read this first then found the rest of the series set about 10 or so years later mad things a little confusing. Overall, it was a good read.

A good cross-section of characters in his books. The book has the right amount of drama and action to keep me moving to the next one and hoping the Mac Travis series never ends.
Florida Keys, tides, diving, salt water, great weather, big boats, pretty girls, and Florida culture; what a great package. Well done Mr. Becker.

The writing and characters are fine, hence two stars. I won't be finishing this book because I'm not interested in a how-to manual on underwater construction - page after page of underwater construction. With thousands of books out there those that intend to show how knowledgeable the author is are less appealing than those committed to entertain from start to finish. I bought a set of four. Bummer!

I can't finish this book.

This is an exciting adventure story that is hard to stop reading. It has good characterizations and lots of suspense. The sub plots are developed consecutively so that the action runs smoothly. The setting in the Florida Keys makes the story interesting also.

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed meeting these characters and watching them figure out what to do. I often got the feeling that I was in the water with them.
There were very few typos, incorrect word usage, etc. (a big irritation for me).
I enjoyed the book so much that I got and read several others in the series.

A little bit comedy. A little bit tragedy. A lot of crazy adventure and unusual characters. I liked reading how the series all began. I'm onto book two now. I'd read the last two in the series first. Not necessary to read them in order.

I really liked this audio book. It's perfect to listen to in the car!

This book was awesome!

This was a great read. It happens so very rarely that it's a wonderful surprise when it does.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Very good start to a new adventure series with Wood and Mac the main characters. Well developed story with great characters. A very quick read that is hard to put down. The ending was great and gave us something to look forward to in the futher adventures of Wood and Mac. I highly rcommend this book to all readers. I will definitely be reading more books written by Steven Becker.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an hnest review.

Great characters, great story line, kept me interested. one thing against it, the ending left you needing the next book of the series. I like the stories to completly resolve themselves and then if I like them independently I will buy the next in the series, he doesn;'t need to leave you hanging in order for you to want the next book.

I've been reading a lot of sailing novels lately and this kept popping up in my searches. Wasn't sure it was quite what I wanted to read but I finally decided to give it a try and I really enjoyed it. Good story line and interesting characters. Looking forward to reading the next one.

What a week on the keys. Wood and Mac on a wild ride is how I'd sum up this exciting read from Steve Becker. Now we know how Wood and Mac came to work together and why they are such an interesting pair. Boy oh boy does trouble find them in this book. I was gripped from the first pages to the explosive end. More please Mr Becker. I'm up for more excitement like this book as I'm sure other readers will be!

I was somewhat interested in where the storyline was starting to go, but I had to call it quits after the 3rd obvious misspelling. Ma I am too picky, but it really makes me lose interest and feel like I am wasting time when I see common mistakes that are in the text.

An inexpensive page-turner, this book generates one improbable incident after another - and starts to drag. The usual crazy mix of Florida gangsters, petty criminals, scumbags and accessory girlfriends seems very contrived and unoriginal. "Been there, done that" dozens of times ....

I'm really glad Steven Becker went back in time to show us how the relationship between Mac and Wood started. From their first meet through the relationships with the other "locals", this prequel helps it all make sense again.
And the storyline and character development are top-notch. The action scenes make it thrilling, as well.
Altogether, a can't-miss.