Books for Dads and Dudes about other Dudes doing Dude stuff reviewed by a Dad Dude.: February 2021

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Review: Recall Zero

Recall Zero by Jack Mars
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Friday, February 19, 2021

Sons of Valor by Brian Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An absolute perfect spin-off!

I'm a huge fan of the Dempsey/Tier One series by Andrews & Wilson. Often citing them Best in Class to a stacked division with guys like Rapp, Logan and Harvath. Tier One novels always feel so authentic, skirting the lines between Spy and Door Kicker via a converted Tier One operator. Often times worlds converge as "Spy" John Dempsey teams up with a tobacco chewing Texan Bad-Ass Navy SEAL, Keith "Chunk" Redman. I was ecstatic to hear Chunk was getting his own series and the Andrews/Wilson duo hit a total grand slam!

A catastrophic event had previously wiped out the Tier One aka DEVGRU/team 6 operation. Sons of Valor is about it's rebirth, "Chunk" is tapped to both join and lead the new operation and with a few familiar faces. I was smiling ear-to-ear just a few pages in, authenticity felt spot-on and the characters instantly felt familiar. Told in 3 parts, 1 being selection/assessment and training, 2 and 3 getting down range and instantly into the suck! No need for a lengthy review, the plot is fantastic, action unparalleled and although I'm no Frogman it just feels real. Intriguing sub-plots like the recruiting and training of support staff, who also land in the suck, just make it a total package. I'm thankful to Blackstone Publishing for the ARC but absolutely HATE how long I'll be waiting for #2.

A must read for any fans of special operations fiction and non fiction stories.

And an OMG call out sick from work to read this for fans of Andrews/Wilson Tier One!

View all my reviews

Review: American Traitor

American Traitor by Brad Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pike #15, I always miss this crew between novels.

I think it's only fair I preface this review by admitting my normal read through time/process was wildly interrupted for American Traitor. Thanks to the crew at Harper Collins I received an advanced copy for review. However, I do most of my reading at work during downtime. My work, adult mechanical ventilation and ECMO in what is now an overflowing Covid-19 ICU. My apologies to Harper Collins and Brad Taylor for the delay, but as you might expect, down time is close to non-existent.

For the first time in a Pike novel I had trouble following the plot. More so, who each character was, what side they were on and their specific roll. I'm sure some of this was related to my gaps in read time, but not all of it. Quite a few code names, double agents and false flag operations. At times I'd just give in and accept "I don't know if he's good or bad." Even being confused at the main story progression, I still enjoyed every page. A bit disappointed we didn't see Aaron and Shoshana, those two really grew on me, must be in quarantine.

Pike and Jennifer are headed to Australia, leaving Amena behind to start her new live-in style school. The resulting coincidental turn of events, wrong place wrong time, wrong person, wrong job. I'll admit, how Pike and the taskforce get intertwined with this worldwide disaster, was a bit of stretch. But not impossible and certainly not enough to hinder reader immersion. Long standing tension between China and Taiwan sprinkled with organized crime, tech genius's and wargaming form the basis to our story. Uncle Sam is torn between protecting Taiwan and avoiding war with China, so the Taskforce is asked to expand their charter. Of course any Alpha authority given to Pike will ultimately turn violent, and American Traitor is no disappointment there! Plenty of shots fired, fists thrown, cars flipped and a few interesting hangnails...

I hope by the time #16 comes out my reading situation will have improved. Both for my benefit and yours as well. The Pike Logan series has become one of my favorites. I'm grateful to have had American Traitor in my hands these last couple months. The mental escape it gave me was sorely needed. Even in small doses, the familiarity of these characters and the distraction of a good shootout has helped me more than many will ever know. Cheers!

Be safe, mask up, isolate and vaccinate.
I quite literally was reading this during both my first and second vaccine dose... :)

View all my reviews

Review: The Final Hour

The Final Hour by Tom Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved it, not surprisingly. My only gripe is that the Victor series doesn't come out fast enough!!!

View all my reviews

Review: Consent to Kill

Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emotional addition to the Rapp series. Some good twists on the political front that I did not see coming but enjoyed. I can only imagine a very enraged Mitch Rapp is coming in the next addition.

View all my reviews

Review: The Heist

The Heist by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great story and loved all the characters. This was my first experience with Evanovich and prompted me to read through the whole Fox and O'hare series back to back over the last couple months. Fast and enjoyable read.

View all my reviews

Review: Memorial Day

Memorial Day by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great as always. I think one of my favorite parts of any Mitch Rapp book is when he really lays into some DC politician who thinks they're untouchable and "tries" to come at Mitch. This particular story has a GREAT one!

View all my reviews

Review: NYPD Red

NYPD Red by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My first book by James Patterson. A nice change from my usual political/assassin thrillers. I liked all the characters and it seemed to have just the right amount of "cop grit" not overloaded like some TV shows. I've already started the 2nd stallment to the series.

View all my reviews

Review: The Pursuit

The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pretty good, I like the Fox O'Hare series but they seem to be getting repetitive. With the way the last book in the series ended I hoped this one was going change things up a little. Always enjoyable stories tho, I'll certainly read the next installment and hope there IS one.

View all my reviews

Review: The Innocent

The Innocent by David Baldacci
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the introduction of Will Robie, the action was fun to read but the plot seemed to rap up quickly in a manner where I found myself having to rethink much of the story to make sense of it. I wouldn't say I'm overly eager to read Robie #2 nor would I dismiss it.

View all my reviews

Review: The Killer

The Killer by Tom Wood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book and the resulting series is fantastic! Victors intensity and attention to detail of his surroundings makes the story very immersive. Victor comes across to me as a mix of Rambo and 007. After The Killer I promptly blew through the whole series and had legitimate sadness when I ran out of Victor stories to read haha.

View all my reviews

Review: Separation of Power

Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not surprisingly, a great story in the Mitch Rapp line. Flynn does a great job at getting me to actually dislike the politicians and their sneaky ways which i'm sure is not a stretch from the truth. If I were watching this story on a screen there would have been multiple times I would have litterally scorned and cheered. And absolute must read for Rapp fans!

View all my reviews

Review: A Time To Die

A Time To Die by Tom Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic and up to par with what Tom Wood has set as a very high bar with Victor and his fight for self preservation... and a hefty paycheck. Victor is tasked with infiltrating the small inner circle of his next target, met with no shortage of questioning eyes and combatants from both expected and unexpected sources. By all means a must read for fans of the Victor series

View all my reviews

Review: Running Blind

Running Blind by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story follows the classic Jack Reacher plotline, entertaining with enough action and mystery while letting a few questions hang for the reader. My only gripe was that the biggest "clue" about the unsolved crimes was a bit predictable, abnormal come from Lee Child. I was pleased with both the amount and depth of backstory dealing with Reacher's home life or chance there of.

View all my reviews

Review: Running Blind

Review: Nothing to Lose

Nothing to Lose by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A taste of a curveball as far as Lee Childs antagonist goes in this one. I think that was probably the biggest pull to keep reading in this one. The Reacher line comes out so fast and they're generally short reads, so I feel like each one has a specific angle that holds your interest. In this case, it seemed to be the hardcore hate Jack seems to be receiving from a town he has no history with.

View all my reviews

Review: Nothing to Lose

Review: Long Shot

Long Shot by Jack Coughlin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm a big enough fan of Kyle Swanson that I would enjoy any story with him in lead. However, while this was a great plot and well written, for me there wasn't quite enough combat for Kyle. (Pseudo spoiler alert) I don't think he fired the Excalibur throughout the whole book, nor did he take any classic Gunny Swanson long range shots. Still a good book, my 3 star is only due to wanting him kicking more A$$.

View all my reviews

Review: Ghostman

Ghostman by Roger Hobbs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Roger Hobbs did a great job telling this story from the point of a "professional heister." I found myself researching a lot of the language thinking it was legitimate underground thief talk. I'm still not sure if he made it all up or has some skeletons in his closet! I hope he keeps the series going, I liked how while establishing the main character throughtout the book you sort of get the story of two seperate and equally entertaining heist jobs.

View all my reviews

Review: The Breach

The Breach by Patrick Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stumbled across this introduction novel to Travis Chase while searching for a new series in the likes of Mitch Rapp, Kyle Swanson etc... The story had a refreshing technology/futuristic twist that I was not expecting. At times, the tech seemed a bit too far stretched and Sci-Fi for me but author Patrick Lee did a phenomenal job explaining the aspects that at first seemed too wild. Surprisingly it had a shockingly realistic feel by the end. I will most definitely continue the series.

View all my reviews

Review: Executive Power

Executive Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Big fan of the series and this one is of course no exception. My only gripe is due to my own lack of geopolitical knowledge. I had a hard time following the story because of that and found myself having to google quite a few groups of people both location wise and religious to better help me follow the story. So my rating of 3 instead of the usual Rapp score of 4 is due only from the heavy serving of foreign policy/disputes that made this one fall just a small notch below the others for me.

View all my reviews

Review: Transfer of Power

Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My reading order for the Mitch Rapp series has been all over the place. Trying to keep to Flynn's suggested line up I just finished T.O.P which seems to be his first work including Mitch Rapp. The book was fantastic! Naturally the story was less focused on Rapp himself and followed a really intriguing terrorist/political showdown. The ending is no disappointment but admittedly the only part holding me back from a 5 star review as it seems to have fell JUST short of the very climactic build up. I will undoubtedly read Flynn's entire Rapp series and also be interested in any other character series me may have.

View all my reviews

Review: War Hawk

War Hawk by James Rollins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Starting the 3rd chapter of this book I realized I was reading the second installment of a series. Luckily the references back to #1 weren't so frequent and did not seem to affect my understanding. Going back and reading #1 however may be a different story!
I liked Tucker and Kane right away, I found myself smiling during almost all the Tucker/Kane post action bonding sequences. The story was great, a good balance of plot and action. The addition of the dog partner was a nice change to my usual action thrillers with solo hero's. The use of story telling from the point of view of the dog in action was one of the best features. I'll definitely read more from Rollins because of this.

View all my reviews

Review: The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I tried really hard to like this book but it never really seemed to take off for me. It read surprisingly slow given the plot. This was an audio book for me, listened at about 2 hours a day during a commute. At that pace I had trouble keeping track of characters rolls, who was with who and the current plan of action by the character. I'm a fan of longer action books like this as long as the pace is kept up, in this case I felt the story could have been told in 200 less pages. I like the idea behind Bourne's character but don't see myself picking up Bourne #2 until I run out of similar characters series to which I've enjoyed much more.

Very ashamed to say I actually enjoyed the film better despite it's very inaccurate take of the novel.

View all my reviews

Review: Persuader

Persuader by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lets address the elephant in the room, it's written in first person...

This small change in writing style instantly made it feel non-Reacher for me. Along with the first few chapters being peppered with a variety of very non-Reacher like activity. I was actually convinced there was a twist coming, that we were reading about a man impersonating Jack, or it was a dream, but it was neither. I actually was online googling "why is persuader written in 1st person," within an hour of starting it. I didn't hate it, but too much was different for me to get into Reacher mode, I never shook that foreign feeling throughout the entire story.

That being said, the action sequences were up to par as was the plotline. My 3 star is rating is for the book alone and not a reflection of my obvious displeasure with the change in writing by Child.

View all my reviews

Review: The Affair

The Affair by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I usually give all the Reacher books 3 stars. Entertaining but usually something along the same “Reacher pathway” new town, new girl new people to beat up. The Affair was a notch above the rest for me, for a couple reasons. This is one of few Reacher stories where I couldn’t predict the ending within the last couple chapters. Lee Child does a great job leading us from one conclusion to another, making us feel we have it figured out then dropping curve balls. It’s also told in past tense, when Reacher was still a Major in the Army which I thought was an entertaining change. Child seems to playfully forshadow Reachers life ahead as a drifter. I will say tho, it’s no surprise when Reacher “gets the girl” but wow did this one get into some serious detail. I’m by no means bashful, and even I found myself feeling awkward reading it. 50 shades of Reacher.....

View all my reviews

Review: Ghostman

Review: One Rough Man

One Rough Man by Brad Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to give Brad Taylor and this new guy Pike Logan, a 4-star review on this first installment of the series. I can't help but force myself down to a 3 for the sheer reason of main character backstory. The amount of espionage/shooter series that feature a top-tier operator who's thrown off track by losing their family, is almost laughable now. Were it not for Taylor's great story and entertaining action sequences I'm sure I would have put this one down after a few chapters. "Are you kidding me, another SF on a rampage after losing his family?"

While Pike Logan does go into rampage mode, his reaction to the brutal loss of his family is a bit different than similar titles. This is what kept me reading at the beginning, and honestly I'd say by halfway through the book I no longer cared about the "same-ole" backstory.

Co-star slash sidekick Jennifer is a great addition, I could never really tell where that relationship was going, which was a nice change and avoided predictability. I think Brad Taylor plugs in just enough of his military experience to make the reader feel they're in-the-know, without over doing it to either extreme. When I finished One Rough Man I was compelled to start #2 right away, and a large part of that was to follow the connection between Pike and Jennifer...

All and all, Pike Logan #1 is a 4-star action novel who gets a 1-point deduction due to the outrageously overused Bad-ass with a grudge backstory. In defense of the author, the book was released in 2011 and I'm not sure who spoiled this method of main character motivation first.

View all my reviews

Review: Agent Zero

Agent Zero by Jack Mars
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyable but lacks the competitive edge needed against other well established political shooter/door kickers.

Always fun starting a new series and I'm familiar with Jack Mars via Luke Stone. I was confused to see this entire Agent Zero series was seemingly released all at once in 2019. Skeptical it was some estranged side project of Mars who later decided to bulk publish, after reading #1 I think this is indeed the case. By no means a hack job or poorly written, but if you're familiar with other political A## kickers you'll find nothing new here. Entertaining enough to keep me reading at a steady pace, action sequences detailed enough to form a nice mini mental movie, but at conclusion left a bit to be desired. Agent Zero never really hits a stride in #1, admittedly this is part of the plot, but as I mentioned he has high competition and I want to see how he compares to the rest!

In an obvious clash of Jason Bourne meets Mitch Rapp sprinkled with Scot Harvath and Pike Logan's shoes. Reed Lawson is living the quiet life of a college professor when he's suddenly ripped from reality. Torn from his home, bagged and drugged, finally waking to find he's being interrogated as an infamous CIA spy/assassin. He pleads for mercy, you have the wrong guy! Do we? A magic tic-tac is plucked from his head and the flashes begin... "hostiles, that's a 9mm, the way he's holding it I have 3 seconds before he draws etc." An ensuing adventure of split personality
where Professor Reed Lawson meets Kent Steele "Agent Zero." A predictable struggle with a clumsy college geek suddenly knowing how to dodge/disarm/dismantle the enemy. My review may sound harsh considering I vote 3-stars, but again, it's not a bad book. Just old tricks and I want a new dog! I'll read #2 and hope Zero finds baseline, show us what kind of pipe hitter he really is, or isn.t...

View all my reviews

Review: One Rough Man

Review: Agent Zero

Review: Blowback

Blowback by Brad Thor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harvath #4

Blowback features a welcomed change of plot for a political/thriller/ass kicker. This realm of books has quite a few stars and subsequently lacks "fresh" storylines. Brad Thor keeps his normal action-packed pace while adding aspects of bioterrorism, chemistry and some very intriguing world history. The type of book that sends you to Google with a few "did that really happen?" The result being an impressive intertwining of non-fiction world history and modern action/thriller.

Scot finds himself baited into a trap in the early pages. Unfortunately for him and POTUS his actions are captured on camera and twisted into a social media scandal. Harvath now forced to keep under the radar while a power hungry Senator tries to propel herself into the Oval Office by means of exposing Harvath as the Presidents private assassin. Meanwhile, an outrageous human engineered disease surfaces with symptoms more consistent with a zombie flick than any known virus. Naturally our boy Scot is tasked to unravel the mystery and send some lead into the brains behind this new bio-terror threat. The ensuing adventure ranges from sand to glacier and includes what is now female prospect #3 for our former DEVGRU hero...

View all my reviews

Review: Blowback

Review: Independence Day

Independence Day by Ben Coes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dewey #5 is awesome!

The Andreas series has been improving steadily with each addition! Independence Day becomes one of my first 5-star ratings in the political/thriller/shooter realm (of which I've read nearly every series.) Most intriguing about #5 is the pull towards a few side characters, the Katie/Tacoma duo and Katya the antagonist's girlfriend. I can't tell if author Ben Coes is just trying to portray Katya's stunning beauty, OR if we're being prepped for a future interest with Dewey? This wouldn't be the first time a top-tier door kicker linked up with an advisory's women, any fan of the Mitch Rapp series would know this.

Rob Tacoma, an ex-seal gone private sector shooter, is once again in the action. I believe this is his 3rd appearance in the series? I'm a bit bias on this because I've looked ahead and seen that Ben Coes is set to launch a new series focused on Tacoma this year. That being said, he's certainly building up to it the right way, Tacoma's presence in this story is fantastic. Not overshadowing but just enough to make you think "Damn, Tacoma's a real BAMF in the making." His business partner in the private sector, Katie Fox, is also a little bad ass and #2 on my list of possible Dewey partners? :: Spoiler to Dewey #4:: I think moving forward we are going to see Dewey struggle with new feelings towards a women, while being torn at having just lost his fiancé to a bullet meant for him.

As far as plot/story telling, Ben Coes continues to be one of the best (if not The) at telling one of these political shooters without getting the reader lost in who's who and doing what. Possibly my only gripe with Independence Day is that Dewey is once again dealing with a Nuclear threat, I believe this is 3 in a row now? A Russian made nuke has been floating around 3rd party buyers/sellers and finds it's way to a genius computer hacker. I know, strange right? Although this hacker has one hell of a gripe with the U.S and the brain power to formulate and execute a nuclear attack on the U.S. Dewey, who's "settled" back down in New England for retirement, is pulled back into the action against his will in a very refreshing mini-plot. The ensuing action is a race to find the bomb, it's creator, his motive and subsequently his smoking hot ballet star girlfriend. A total can't-put-down story that leaves us with one of the best/humorous cliff hangers I've ever read in a shooter.

View all my reviews

Review: The Polaris Protocol

The Polaris Protocol by Brad Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cool concept! A believable plot involving a pseudo-Snowden who bites off more whistle than he can blow...

The Polaris Protocol gives us a three-course dinner of bad guys, including a Mexican Deadpool without the suit, the coke bottle glasses dude from PL #3 and a nerdy computer hacker who’s developed an outrageously dangerous software program. The threat is an interruption to the worlds GPS satellites, which at first glance seems very unglamorous. At first you’re thinking, so Google Maps won’t work? Then the hackers 5 second test of the program shows how catastrophic an interruption can be, along with just how reliant we are on it’s function, most notably the military. The extremely dangerous software “The Polaris Protocol” is about to hit the market, with the sale being middle-manned by Mexican drug cartel. American hacker set on treason wants to sell weapon of mass destruction to terrorists via drug cartel, what could go wrong?

Pike and the Task Force, including his now facebook official GF, head to Mexico to intervene. Interestingly enough, it’s not the terrorist plot that draws them south of the boarder, but Jennifers brother who accidentally gets involved and calls for help. The adventure is built on both unraveling what the threat is, what it does, who has it and who can stop it. Plenty of delightful ass-kicking and shootouts ensue. A highlight of PL #5 is definitely Jennifer, we really see the Task Force accepting her as an equal. It’s no longer just Pike backing up her ability as an operator, there’s real loyalty and respect and I found it one of more intriguing parts of the book. I think in the future I see some real difficult decisions on Pike’s part, separating the two connections he now has to Jennifer. One as a Task Force teammate, and the other as a romantic partner. I love the series and will most definitely begin #6 asap.

View all my reviews

Review: The Enemy

The Enemy by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Again I started with a frown...

I was happy to begin #8 with a fresh start, having been a little put-off by Reacher #7 being written in first person. As I mentioned in my review, I had troulbe getting into “Reacher mode” due to the perspective change. So page 1 paragraph 1 of The Enemy, i’m “Damn it, first person again!?” Easier to pallete this time since it was less of a shock, now lets just hope returning to 3rd person doesn’t throw me out of whack again!

This is a throwback Reacher, back to active service days as a Major with the notorious 110th MP division. The story sticks to the ongoing Reacher theme, a new mystery/conspiracy, a new sexy partner and a few new faces to kick in. Military times are changing, circa 1990’s and the transition from heavy artillery to more mobile means of global ass kicking. A combination of “who done it” and investigative action gives us multiple (albeit predictable) plot twists with just a tang of “legal thriller.” An enjoyable story with nothing of note to push me beyond the baseline 3 star review. I did enjoy it being fully told during his time as an MP, compared to a few short flash backs. Also, there is a hefty dose of intriguing Reacher history revealed. On the downside, the last 1/4 of the book where the mystery unfolds and questions are answered, I got a bit lost with who,what and why. Also, the main motivation behind the antagonists actions seemed overkill to me. As per the usual, if you’re a fan of Reacher I would certainly recommend reading, if nothing else for the Reacher history lesson, but don’t expect to be blown away. Now please Lee Child, can we get back to 3rd person!?

View all my reviews

Review: One-Way Trip

One-Way Trip by Scott McEwen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In search of a new series along the lines of my beloved Mitch Rapp, Kyle Swanson, Pike Logan and Court Gentry, I've discovered Gil Shannon...

Master Chief Gil Shannon is a battle hardened, long gunner Navy SEAL. I was relieved his story didn't follow nearly all the other Tier-One operator series, of a shooter out to avenge his slain family. Instead, Sniper Elite felt like a story only a real-world BAMF could create and put to paper. Admittedly, the writing lacked emotion or detail at times, giving the impression some editor was telling McEwen "you need to add XYZ." My gut tells me #2 in the series will flow a little better. As with most #1's, there's a good amount of information thrown in regarding character backgrounds and story base. Thankfully, despite all new information I didn't have any trouble following who was who and who was doing what. The action sequences were great, the level of detail/brutality, while at times making me wince, is what made it feel real. Author Scott McEwen does well to let us see inside his new characters head, understanding how and why he does what he does.

Overall this book is what I expected. An action story that highlights the unique bond between special forces men (and women), and the political BS their commanders deal with. Gil Shannon ends up on an unsanctioned mission into very hostile territory, tasked with rescuing a special forces pilot with little/no help. It may sound generic but is everything but. I will most certainly be reading #2.

View all my reviews

Review: Use of Force

Use of Force by Brad Thor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Awesome!

Some great new additions to the series in Use of Force. Harvath is matched up with some other CIA ground branch door kickers, a mix of SEAL's, DELTA and Recon Marines. These dudes blend into the Harvath universe seamlessly, I actually had to check back into #16 to see if they were introduced (they were not). They're not given much of an introduction yet fold right into the action, all instantly likeable and equally bad ass to Scot. I'm obviously not quite current on the series, I only discovered Thor's boy about a year ago but am plowing right through them. I believe his intention with the new crew is teeing them up to be Harvath's new **Pseudo spoiler alert about this book** special activities team within Carlton Group. Either way, I liked them all and hope they're all back in #18.

A nice change of scenery in this book, both physically and metaphorically. A good chunk of it is based in Italy and I really enjoyed all the details and descriptions. We can get tired of Scot kickin ass in the sands of the Middle East. Also, the Italian mafia is tied into the antagonists roles, cool! The combined interest of ISIS and Mafioso types was a bit scary, and unfortunately realistic but made for interesting plot paths.

Not so fresh, but certainly not boring, Scot is up against Islamic terrorist with chemical intentions. He and his new team are out to bust heads, find answers and bust some more heads. I could have used a bit more sub-plot because what Thor has brewing up with Carlton Group is very interesting, I wanted more. Nicholas and his giant pups are back, always a welcomed addition and Lara has more of a cameo...

As always, #17 leaves me eager for #18. And the only good thing about not being current with release is that I don't have to wait and will be starting "Spymaster"....... NOW

View all my reviews

Review: Ballistic

Ballistic by Mark Greaney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyable, but this installment of the Gray Man series felt to me as a "filler." Like when an addictive TV series has a rogue episode that strays away from the main plot.

First off, although the scenario and action can serve as a stand alone story I would not advise reading #3 without 1 and 2. In #3 we find our boy Court inadvertently thrust into the cartel world, by means of a connection to an old friend who's recent passing drew him to Mexico to pay respects. Gray Man's old buddy had become part of an anti-cartel federal police task force who's recent botched assassination of king pin "DLR" fuels a vicious retaliation, despite killing nearly the entire task force during the attempt.

I demoted down to 3 stars from 4 as given to Gray Man 1 and 2 for a couple reasons. I didn't feel any new connection to Court in this book, usually in a series as each book passes I become more familiar with the character, their personality, actions, emotions etc. I had a lack of that in Gray #3. Also, #2 ended in dramatic fashion and there is very little in the form of continuation from where we left off.

But on the plus side, the action sequences are great and I am by no means turned away from the series because of my 1 star demotion. I also liked how Greaney put Gray through outrageous pain and punishment yet again, showing what a crazy bad ass he is to not only survive but continue to push forward. I will definitely read #4.

View all my reviews

Review: The Widow's Strike

The Widow's Strike by Brad Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Widow's Strike (a title which I feared was a spoiler to the ending of Pike #3, but isn't) is a great addition to the series. I enjoyed the new angle of bio/chem warfare instead of another straight terrorist with a bomb threat. I felt the story had just the right amount of "sciency" stuff to both explain the plot help us as the reader understand the threat.

A corrupt pharmaceutical company (who's CEO sits on the Task Force oversight committee) see's opportunity for profit in a vicious new strain of bird flu. The idea was to genetically modify the virus so humans could contract it but in a controlled and highly secured lab, then create an antigen so when the inevitable bird flu pandemic hits, they'll have the "cure" and sell it at ridiculous margins. Without spoilers we can say an old enemy of the Task Force comes back into play, learns of the bird flu and hopes to both steal and weaponize it.

The ensuing story is a multi-country chase lead by Pike's team to uncover the plot and isolate patient zero to stop a devastating fatal flu outbreak. As always, Brad Taylor gives us no shortage of close quarters combat and well detailed shootouts! I suppose one could argue the outcome was a tad predictable. It's tough to establish such a horrible global threat in a plot and lead us as readers to believe it's really going to happen, especially since I know for certain there is Pike #5 waiting for me right after this one. That being said, the ending did not disappoint and was not as easily predicted as you might initially think.

I continue to enjoy the building tension between Pike and Jennifer but am starting to boarder on "enough already." Not that I want them to elope to Las Vegas, but considering we're 4 stories into the series and still dangling on "we still haven't had that talk" I think it's time to S or get of the P if you follow. Especially with the ending of #3, I think that lead us to believe things were going to happen now, but without spoiling this edition I can tell you no it does not haha. A good read by all means and I will most definitely start #5 asap.

View all my reviews

Review: Red Metal

Red Metal by Mark Greaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely epic!

I bought this book simply out of respect for Mark Greaney, I'm a big fan of his Gray Man series and assumed this would be a well written but sub-par side project. It's almost double the size of a Gray novel and being "an account of World War 3" I assumed a long overly military tactic focused story. Holy sh#t was I wrong! The array of simultaneous mini-stories was so immersive I was having dreams about the battles and tactics almost every night haha.

Red Metal is a shockingly realistic account of what World War III would look like. It begins with the controversial control of a new rare earth metals deposit found in Kenya. Russia feels it's rightfully theirs and after being forced out, return 3 years later with a multi-continent plan of attack, counters and feints with hopes to recapture the mine. Where Red Metal really shines is the variety of combat, long range rifles in the snowy mountains, submarine vs submarine, air-to-air, ground-to-air etc. It was fantastic, every battle had its heroes and just enough backstory to feel emotionally involved. I've read every Gray Man, Rapp, Pike, Andreas, Harvath, Raynor, all the ass kickers and Red Metal is truly one of the best action novels I've ever read. I'll certainly continue to read Mark Greaney's Gray Man series but seriously hope he has another side project cooking up. My first 5-star review in over a year.

View all my reviews

Review: Backlash

Backlash by Brad Thor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Epic, but tough to read...

Hard to review such an intense book without spoilers. I say it's tough to read only because by #19 we're all quite attached to Harvath and his array of supporting characters, we don't want to see anyone struggle! That being said, there is some SERIOUS ass kicking in Backlash.

Good thing Scot has roots with SEAL team 2, the cold weather SEALS, because he's up against the harsh winter elements of Russia. Some flavor characteristics of Mark Greaney's "Gray Man" in this book, that guy takes ridiculous amounts of punishment in every story and now it's Scot's turn. Think "Reverent vs Liam Neeson in The Gray, starring Scot Harvath." He's out for revenge and lets his deepest darkest corners of emotion out to call the shots, or take the shots in this case, PEW PEW! An excellent read from start to finish, albeit a little more emotionally taxing than I'd prefer. Whatever you do don't skip out on Backlash, whether you're a fan of Harvath or not. This book is appropriate for anyone who just wants a good ass kicker novel!

View all my reviews

Review: Backlash

Review: Hunter Killer

Hunter Killer by Brad Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic!

Of course it was great it's a Pike Logan book! I believe the last time I wrote a review for Pike was #12 and had boasted about the growing presence of Aaron and Shoshana. Well that has grown in 13 and 14 and with each new story I like them more and more. In a smaller yet equally important role is the little Bad Ass we met in Daughter of War, Amena. I see all sorts of possibilities for her in the future and I think Brad Taylor is teeing her up for just that.

Admittedly, nothing about the plot jumps off the pages in Hunter Killer. It's a standard Pike Logan/Taskforce ass kicker that holds the par level set in previous editions. Where #14 shines, at least to me, is the violence of action. We know Pike is always doing his best to avoid the deep abyss he once knew, a shark sensing blood in the water with no control. But sometimes it feels warranted, as the reader we can feel his pain and crave vengeance. Well in this one, I think we get it at levels not yet seen from Pike, and for me it was a high point!

There's always a healthy amount of action sequences in the Pike series, and this was no different. A few pleasantly surprising jumps from paper pusher to trigger puller, plenty of hand-to-hand mixed with gunfights and even a few long shots! My biggest gripe is that Taylor leaves us one HELL of a cliff hanger in the last pages! HURRY UP WITH #15 I can't handle this kind of fake stress!

View all my reviews

Review: Enemy of the State

Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kyle Mills has managed to seamlessly continue the Mitch Rapp series after the late Vince Flynn. While I enjoyed the previous installment "Order to Kill" Mills' first crack at the series, Enemy of the State is a serious jump forward.

Mitch is asked to take on an impossible task while abandoning the support of the CIA and his deep roster of highly skilled allies. As in many of his past clandestine operations, his capture will be met with denial of his involvement with any U.S government agencies. BUT in this case it's true, and while asked not only to operate outside the agency, he will be actively pursued by the very people he as so long relied on to back him up. As such, he is forced to assemble a new team for the upcoming mission, one I would describe as the "Suicide Squad" of Mitch Rapp's past, and it's as awesome as it sounds!

Apart from the action packed pace, intriguing twist of operational support and captivating plotline, Kyle Mills manages to create that classic Vince Flynn build up of impending "I told you so!" This has always been one of my favorite aspects of the Rapp series, the proliferating tension of him finally coming face to face with some bureaucrat dumb enough to turn on him or his country. I was so happy to see this book return to that continuing theme in the series, finding yourself pausing throughout the book thinking "OMG when Rapp gets his hands on this guy..."

I have no gripes with this story, my only withholding of a single star, aside from very rarely giving a full 5, is that I would have preferred a bit more confrontation at the end. And without giving away any spoilers, Mr. Mills if this review ever finds your eyes, bravo but HOW DARE you shake us up like that???? And please get to writing #17 if you haven't already!

View all my reviews

Review: End Game

End Game by David Baldacci
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it, holding at 3 stars instead of 4 due to a couple gripes. Mostly with too many instances of me thinking "yeah right," on some really hard to believe actions.

We find Robie reunited with Reel after an uncomfortable absence. The two are tasked with investigating the disappearance of their CIA handler "Blue Man," who's gone missing in his home state of Colorado. The resulting search brings an array of anti-government groups, racists and doomsday preppers. The frequent hand-to-hand combat and shootouts is definitely a highlight for me. If you're a fan of the Robie series you won't be disappointed. I would however advise against reading this #5 without the priors as there is quite a bit of back reference even if not directly related to the current plot.

Likes: Reel's confession to Robie. Pretty much all the shootouts, Baldacci gave us some good action in this one. A welcomed change from the last addition. And Rourke's bunker, COOL!

Dislikes: Avoiding spoilers i'll describe it as a completely irrational/unrealistic decision by the antagonist at the end. Similar to Austin Powers unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism into a pool of ill tempered sea bass (with laser beams) instead of a bullet to the head. The Scooby-doo like reveals we get of BOTH gang leaders.... Good one shaggy

View all my reviews

Review: Red Metal

Review: American Traitor

Review: Target Zero

Target Zero by Jack Mars
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wanting to give Reid/Kent a 3.5 star review, but having to round down, I'm back to 3.

My frustration with #1 being the sort of wonky balance between "Who am I Reid/Kent/Zero" was thankfully improved in #2 but still peppered in. I did enjoy it a bit more, characters started to resonate with me a bit more, and admittedly I think the second half was closer to 4-star. Where thus far any "twists" were mostly predictable, Jack Mars starts to get some legit curve balls into the plot. Speaking of plot, these editions really build on each as a rolling story, I would not recommend any as a stand-alone (not in a bad way, just would be confusing.) Although I've only read two, Target Zero clearly ends in a manner where #3 will absolutely have to pick up exactly where it left off. And to that, Mars does well to make sure I continue reading :)

Based on prehistoric strand of Smallpox resurfacing and falling into the hands of bearded badmen, albeit, smart virology type badmen. Reid Lawson is forced by CIA handler "you're either in or your out, right now." Meaning go back to your quiet life as Professor Lawson and get back to being Zero. As you can imagine, the Kent Steele side of him can't say no and in we go. A teetering romance between him and Maria carries throughout. Reis and his demonic nine-lives keeps ticking and he's on the hunt, oddly just as a side plot but well peppered into the story. A bit cringe worthy reading about another outbreak, especially since I'm quite literally reading this book while working in a Covid-19 Intensive Care Unit. But hey, prehistoric Smallpox sounds WAY worse. Zero teams up, unwillingly, with a few familiar faces from #1 and they're tasked to find the source, reason, creator of the virus which has now been modified/weaponized.

My attention did drift a few times. Some aspects were just too far a stretch or too convenient for our heroin, as seen in the first edition as well. But overall I enjoyed it. As I mentioned, Jack Mars seems to hit stride about halfway through this one and hopefully keeps that momentum going in #3. Which I plan to start in 3....2.....1

View all my reviews

Review: File Zero

File Zero by Jack Mars
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm always on the cusp with this series, on the edge of giving up yet always compelled to read the next.

Jack Mars is a good author, the stories are great and the action is on par with other Spy/Thriller/Door kickers. But, I've always felt Reid Lawson is TOO much of a doofus, even for a college professor haha. His inner monologue even as Kent Steele feels like a Scooby-Doo episode. "Wait just a minute, if he's here and you're their that means. Uh ohhhh." It's been a downside, to me, for the whole series. Even as Zero gets more Bad Ass-er, his thought process as both Reid and Kent make me want to yell "NERRRRRD!" Unfortunately, this was all compounded when Brian Callanan took over the narration back in #4. He's a great voice actor but it seems he chose to kick the Doofus level up even more while expressing Reid/Kent's persona. Also, his portrayal of Bixby the R&D tech dude, wow HARDCORE doofus. He's like the stereotypical nerd scientist from The Simpsons with the Geek Lisp and all. It's just a bit much for me, enough where I almost dropped the series. BUT, to Jack Mars defense, this well connected series where each addition falls seamlessly into the next has kept me interested.

Zero #5 has the biggest information bomb drops and unexpected plot twists of the series so far. We left off #4 knowing his full memory returned, thankfully #5 doesn't disappoint and sh#t starts hitting the fan. The political antagonists were "bad" enough that my drive to see them called out was enough to keep reading. Sure, there are a few "okay that's a bit convenient" moments but tolerable. I've always been a bit confused how the Zero saga seemed to drop all at once like a Netflix series, in the past I assumed it was rushed or written as a side project and later released in bulk. #5 while possible the best so far, still leaves me with the same opinion "good but rushed." Needless to say I've already purchased #6 so for now I guess "rushed" will do just fine for me.

View all my reviews