The Brotherhood
GENRE
ACTION ADVENTURE DETECTIVE DRAMA SUSPENSE / THRILLER WAR CRIME
Core Theme
OVERCOMING ONE'S DEMONS FOR A GREATER GOOD.
TIME PERIOD
Contemporary
COMPARABLE TITLES
JACK RYAN, BLACK HAWK DOWN, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
CHARACTER LIST
MATT: 37. LEAD. BADASS, INSECURE, TROUBLED, LEADER, MORAL, CAPABLE, HEROIC.
STEVE: 39. MATT'S MAIN COMPATRIOT AND BADASS SEAL BROTHER.
SEAMUS: 50. A NAVY PILOT WHO HELPS WITH THE MISSIONS WITH PLANES AND BOATS.
GARY: 30-40S. AN INJURED SEAL WHO HAS MADE A FORTUNE AND BANKROLLS THE MISSIONS FROM NEW ZEALAND.
A-WUT. 40-50S. A MYSTERIOUS ASIAN MAN WHO IS THE POINT MAN FOR THE MAIN VILLAIN AND THE SEAL'S MAIN ADVERSARY.
VICKY. 14. THEIR TARGET, IN THAT SHE IS THE ONE THEY ARE TRYING TO RESCUE FROM THE HUMAN TRAFFICKERS.
Logline
Navy SEAL Matt Barrett, an ironic victim of his own heroism, is retired early for combat related injuries and set adrift. Then, when he's contemplating suicide, he receives a cry for help from an old friend in trouble. Redemption and renewal, beckon.
Target Audiences
Age: 18-34,35-54,55+
Target Gender: Male Leaning,Universal
Setting
Key West, Michigan, Hawaii, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Publisher: Amazon.com Amazon KDP
Year Published: 2020
Starting Description
Lieutenant Mathew Barrett was a SEAL. A recipient of the Navy Cross and a veteran of scores of combat deployments. The story opens with Matt in his Key West bungalow, a drunk, contemplating his pitiful fall from lethal competency into an abyss of despair born of decisions he can't take back.
Ending Description
Matt's patched together team of former SEALs and specialists have carefully picked through the shadowy world of human trafficking, bringing them at last to their final objective, the rescue of a teenage girl, and the elimination of the man who controls the sex slave business in Asia.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
978-0999481073
Mature Audience Themes
Extreme Violence
Plot - Other Elements
Happy Ending
Plot - Premise
Internal Journey/Rebirth,Overcoming Monster/Villain
Main Character Details
Name: Matthew Barrett
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Badass,Complex,Empathetic,Heroic,Strong Moral Code,Masculine,Selfless,Skillful,Leader
Additional Character Details
Name: Steve Auger
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous,Badass,Aggressive,Masculine,Patriotic,Blunt,Selfless,Decisive,Confident,Heroic,Honorable,Skillful
Additional Character Details
Name: Seamus Flanagan
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous,Masculine,Complex,Charming,Crazy,Engaging,Faithful,Flexible,Gracious,Heroic,Educated,Honorable,Leader,Lone Wolf,Unapologetic,Sophisticated,Sarcastic,Skillful,Blunt,Patriotic
Additional Character Details
Name: Vicky Burnell
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Role: emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Complex,Confident,Blunt,Desperate,Strong Moral Code,Unapologetic,Lone Wolf
Genre
ACTION, SUSPENSE, DRAMA, WAR, THRILLER
Brief
Matt is awakened from his depression by a comrade whose daughter has been kidnapped. He organizes a mission to rescue her. With other former Navy Seals, they travel all over the world to catch the human traffickers and save the girl. They finally track them down, kill them, and return trafficked girls to their families.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: GOOD
Characterization: GOOD
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: EXCELLENT
Premise: GOOD
Structure: EXCELLENT
Theme: EXCELLENT
Accuracy of Book Profile
Yes, the profile depicts the book.
Draw of Story
The promise of a military mission.
Possible Drawbacks
No
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY RELIES A LITTLE BIT ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
Saving a girl from evil human traffickers.
Fanbase Potential
Low-medium. There are a lot of similar movies with more complex and intellectual plots and characters.
Awards Potential
No. There is nothing in the story, characters or dialogue that would put it in the realm of awards potential.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
JACK RYAN, THREE KINGS, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
What’s New About the Story
It's original in that there's a clear mission and they easily find all the resources they need to complete it. It would be more interesting if there were more hurdles to overcome and the mission was more difficult with more twists and turns that cause the soldiers to use more of their training and their wits.
Lead Characters
Matt is at the end of his rope and it's ironic that a dangerous mission he's no prepared for would pull him back into a better place in life.
Uniqueness of Story
No. Everything is too straightforward and everything comes too easily to the soldiers despite the danger and the resources of their adversaries.
Possible Formats
Film - Streaming, Film - Studio
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
It lacks in twists and turns, reversals, betrayals, complexities and tougher situations.
Tips for Improvement
A more complex plot with a greater adversary who poses more of a threat to the mission. As it is, everything comes a bit too easily to the soldiers and the mission is too easy to complete. Conflicts between characters that throw a wrench in the works would also keep it interesting. There are flawed characters but the flaws never surface to endanger the mission.
Brief
Vicky has been kidnapped by human traffickers. Her father, and ex Navy Seal, calls in his warrior buddies to try and find her. With a solid team all with special skills, they embark upon the mission which takes them all over the world. They track down Vicky and defeat the human trafficking kingpin.
What We Liked
Military missions are usually exciting and the drama couldn't be higher. Life and death is at every turn. Heroes are made and lost. Add innocents who need to be saved and the gravitas deepens. This story has all of that, including a main character who has his own pathologies to get through to save the girl and return himself to his former glory as a Navy Seal. There is adventure around the world and some high tech gadgetry that keeps it novel. The villain is as evil as one gets, so the desire to defeat him keeps you rooting for the heroes. There is a satisfying ending that makes it all worthwhile in that the lives risked and lost are not in vain.
Theaters of war are great cinema, and although these aren't as grand as, say, a huge battle, the fights are more up close and personal but that does nothing to take away from their gravitas. There are villains that are clear and deserve what they get, and an audience would root for their defeat. The mission doesn't have a murky, undefined purpose, but a clear target who is out of their depth, in grave danger, and empathetic. You want the good guys to win at any cost, and the danger they put themselves in is worth the outcome - the lives of little girls.
Key points: Military; Scenic locales; Experts in their fields; Grave danger of innocents; High tech gadgetry
Synopsis
Matt is at the end of his rope, but a call from an old Navy Seal friend springs him into action. His daughter has been kidnapped, and because he's handicapped, he needs all the help he can get. Luckily his friends come to his aid and immediately start a mission to save his daughter from international human traffickers who operate in the Pacific.
Matt and Steve get right to work despite flying blind. They go to Hawaii to investigate the kidnapping and are immediately attacked and told to keep out of it. On the contrary, they're more intent of saving Vicky and call in other Seal buddies to join their rescue mission. With the invaluable help of a wealthy comrade, they're able to fly all over the Pacific, culminating in Bangkok where the trafficking freighters are docked. Their pilot and boat captain Seamus provides the important transportation and logistics.
A-wut is the Asian crime lord who is after them at every turn, and a war of information keeps the cat and mouse game afoot. When they finally get to Bangkok and infiltrate the freighters, they find a few imprisoned girls but hear that Vicky has been moved already. The journey culminates at the private island of Roger Maddox, international smuggler, who had hand-picked Vicky to be his personal sex slave. The Seals break into his compound in the nick of time, save Vicky, and kill A-wut and Maddox while saving other girls in the process.