Executive Power (Mitch Rapp #4) ★★★✬☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Executive Power
Series: Mitch Rapp #4
Author: Vince Flynn
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 412
Words: 134K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia & Me

CIA field agent Mitch Rapp's cover has been blown following his last assignment, preventing Saddam Hussein from obtaining nuclear weapons. Rapp receives public acknowledgment by the president in response to the latest Congressional leak to the media. Though the praise is of the highest quality, the President might as well have placed a bulls-eye on Rapp's chest and that of his loved ones by singling him out as the most important person in the fight against terrorism. The spotlight makes the former covert operator an ideal international target for eradication by terrorists as the symbol he has become.

Rapp moves from CIA operative duties to that of a counter-terrorism bureaucrat. As special advisor on counter-terrorism to CIA director Dr. Irene Kennedy, Rapp uncomfortably sits in an office. However, everything changes when radical Islamic terrorists ambush Navy SEALs on a top-secret rescue mission in the Philippines. The leak had to be in either the State Department or the Philippine diplomatic corps, but nobody knows for sure. However, worse yet is that someone is trying to cause a Jihad on a scale never before seen and that unknown invisible individual is close to achieving the goal with only a too visible Rapp in the way.

Rapp leads a team to avenge that loss by defeating the Philippine terrorist network that killed two SEAL team members and rescuing the American hostages. In order to successfully accomplish this mission he must keep its existence from the turncoats who betrayed those who went before him. The coincidental plot-line has forces plotting to upset the tenuous balance in the Middle East's geopolitical situation. A flamboyant Saudi Prince, who is banished from the Kingdom, elicits the help of a Palestinian assassin to murder the leaders of terrorist cells as well as Saudi and Palestinian Ambassadors in the hopes of dissolving US support for Israel and the eventual establishment of an official Palestinian state.

The assassin completes his tasks and has Israel, the US and the UN exactly where he wants them. Unfortunately for him, Rapp finds out who he is, what he has done and leaks some of the assassins talks with Israel to the Saudi Prince, who kills the assassin. Rapp then in turn kills the prince as an object lesson to other Saudi Royals to stay out of the “terrorism as a hobby” business.

My Thoughts:

This was another enjoyable read but the dual storylines never connected and so it almost felt like two different books mashed into one. I have to admit, I wish the author had simply concentrated on one or the other and expanded it to fill the book.

The palestinian assassin storyline could have been fantastic and I was waiting for him and Rapp to duke it out assassino a assassino style. So it was a letdown the way things went. The biggest thing is that Rapp's cover is permanently blown and so his days of secret assassinations are pretty much done. And yet there are a lot more books to go so I'm left wondering how the author is going to keep the interest going. I guess I'll just have to keep reading and find out, hahahahaa.

The author handles Rapp being recently married very well. I was wondering how he was going to deal with the relational side of things and he doesn't shy away from it. Rapp and his wife Anna have a huge blowout about him going back into the field, against orders no less and the fact that he'd been wounded made it even worse. Thankfully, Rapp isn't a pigheaded jerk and he cares about his wife and her feelings and realizes that he is going to have to change some things if he wants their marriage to work. It was so refreshing and encouraging to see a character in a book place the needs of their marriage before their own personal desires or using “work” as an excuse. We will have to see how this part of the overall storyline works out in future books because it can not turn into a cycle of Mitch Rapp doing what he wants, his wife blowing up at him, making up and then promising to do better.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this series is progressing. It is book 4 and I have no real complaints. The author hasn't pulled any boneheaded moves but simply tells a good action/adventure story. Keeping my fingers crossed he can keep that track record.

★★★✬☆

• Transfer of Power (Book 1)

• The Third Option (Book 2)

• Separation of Power (Book 3)

Separation of Power (Mitch Rapp #3) ★★★✬☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Separation of Power
Series: Mitch Rapp #3
Author: Vince Flynn
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 378
Words: 133.5K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

About a month after the events in the previous book, CIA Director Thomas Stansfield has succumbed to cancer and has chosen Dr. Irene Kennedy, The director of the CIA's counterterrorism center, to take his place as director. Meanwhile, Henry "Hank" Clark, a corrupt Republican senator and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is making plans to prevent Kennedy from becoming the director of the CIA. His plan involves embarrassing her before she can be confirmed for the position, and handpick a new director and have them open up "ECHELON", a global surveillance program, and give its secrets to his investors in Silicon Valley, who will then help him get elected to become president. His original plan to kill Rapp and embarrass the CIA failed, so he begins the process of his new plan.

Mitch Rapp is called in to visit Kennedy to talk about Peter Cameron, the CIA officer who attempted to have him killed in Germany, but was killed by an assassin before Rapp could capture him. He and Kennedy watch surveillance footage that captured the face of the assassin. Rapp realizes that the assassin is Donatella Rahn, an Israeli assassin and Rapp's ex-girlfriend. Kennedy instructs him to take his girlfriend, Anna Rielley, to Milan and propose to her, and then go visit Donatella to learn who hired her to kill Peter Cameron. Meanwhile, Clark visits his accomplice, Mossad director Ben Freidman at the Israeli Embassy, who has been helping him become president in exchange for more aid to Israel. At the meeting, Clark orders Ben to assassinate Donatella, who he hired to kill Peter.

Later that day, Ben visits President Xavier Hayes, Kennedy, and General Flood, the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of staff, at the White House. It is there he informs them that Saddam Hussein, with the help of North Korea, is only a few weeks away from acquiring three functioning nuclear weapons. He also informs them that the facility for making these weapons is hidden under a massive hospital in Baghdad, and that if the Americans won't take action, than they will do it themselves. Seeing as how an Israeli response could lead to nuclear war, The President and his team start to come up with ways to destroy the facility and the nukes.

At the same time, Mitch and Anna arrive in Milan, and after a day of touring the city, Rapp goes to visit Donatella. In Washington, Clark persuades his accomplice, Albert Rudin, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to investigate Kennedy for corruption and promises him evidence before her confirmation ceremony. In Milan, Rapp can't get Donatella to tell him who hired her, but realizes they are being followed. When they arrive at her apartment, Donatella is ambushed by awaiting Mossad operatives, but manages to kill them thanks to Rapp's warning. After Rapp promises her protection in America, Donatella confesses that Ben had hired her to kill Peter. Rapp brings Donatella to he and Anna's hotel room, where she accuses Rapp of having an affair,and she storms off before he can explain.

In Washington, D.C., General Flood concocts a plan to insert a Delta Force team into Baghdad, disguised as a presidential motorcade, and infiltrate the facility under the cover of a U.S bombing campaign across Iraq in order to steal the nukes. But Kennedy strongly recommends Rapp to lead the operation. Elsewhere in Washington, Jonathan Brown, deputy director of the CIA, meets with Norb Steveken, the head of an investigative firm hired by hank and Rudin to investigate Kennedy. Brown hands off classified information on Orion Team, a secret counterterrorism team led by Kennedy, who Rapp is a member of. Rapp returns to America and is read in on the plan to infiltrate Baghdad. He agrees to the mission and comes up with the idea of impersonating Uday Hussein, Saddam's favorite son, in order to gain access to the facility. As they prepare for the mission, Rudin reveals the existence of Mitch Rapp and the Orion Team on Meet The press and implicates Kennedy of violating international law, throwing the confirmation process into chaos.

President Hayes orders the bombing campaign against Iraq, which helps Rapp and the Delta team to successfully enters Baghdad. Rapp and the Delta team, disguised as SRG soldiers, are able to enter the facility and steal the nukes. As they fend off enemy fire, they destroy the facility, kidnap the head North Korean scientist, and escape Iraq with the nukes. After they return to the U.S safely, President Hayes reveals the success of the operation and confirms Rapp's existence by explaining Rapp's action in Iraq. Rapp returns to his home and apologizes to Anna, and after he does this, he retires from his role as an assassin and proposes to her. His plan having failed due to the fact Kennedy is looked at as a hero, Clark kills Rudin by pushing him off his balcony, making it look like a suicide.

When the Israeli prime minister comes to Washington with Ben Freidman and Yasser Arafat, Rapp and the president interrogate Ben and threaten to kill him. As a result of this, Ben reveals Clarks role in the week's events. Several weeks after this, Clark is killed by Rapp and Donatella at a bar in D.C, making it look like an apparent heart attack.

My Thoughts:

This was a good wrapup to the initial Mitch Rapp trilogy. Senator Clark (what's with bad senators? They make horrible presidents and should know better than to try to be president. A senator is a pack group animal, while a president is a lone wolf with the decisions resting squarely on his shoulders) and his plans to discredit the current administration no matter the cost fails and in the end Rapp takes care of him. Permanently. It was satisfying to read.

The thing that I enjoyed that I didn't think I would was the relational drama between Rapp and his girlfriend. She's a big time reporter and has to stick her nose into everything and Rapp is beyond secretive about everything on general principle. It comes to a head here and they have a stormy stomp off the stage I'm not going to marry you scene. I really liked how the author brought these conflicting personality types and responsibilities against each other. They are real issues these 2 are going to have to deal with if they want their marriage to last. What I didn't like was how feelingz and wuv, true wuv overcame all in the end as they get engaged. What these 2 characters need is some serious marriage counseling, as their life paths are going to continue to clash if they can't figure out how to make it work. I wanted to shake both of them by the scruff of their necks and tell them to go to Pastor Peckham. Here's to hoping the author uses this dustup to make them examine the issues in their lives and not just as fodder. * fingers crossed *

If the series had ended right here, I would have been satisfied. However, I am very glad that the adventures continue. I need some macho man reading without asshattery arrogance and Mitch Rapp fits the bill perfectly.

There is a movie called American Assassin but it appears to be based on book 10 or 11 of the series, so I'm not even tempted to watch it yet. Who know what kind of spoilers, and probably WRONG spoilers to boot, it contains? I'll wait til I've read the book and then see if my library or Prime has it.

★★★✬☆

• Transfer of Power (Book 1)

• The Third Option (Book 2)

The Third Option (Mitch Rapp #2) ★★★✬☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Third Option
Series: Mitch Rapp #2
Author: Vince Flynn
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 357
Words: 128K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

Mitch Rapp is sent on a highly sensitive mission in northern Germany to assassinate Count Heinrich Hagenmiller V, a powerful arms dealer who has been selling weapons to Saddam Hussein and other enemies of the United States. Rapp successfully slays Hagenmiller, only to be betrayed by his mission companions "Jane and Tom Hoffman", who attempt to kill Rapp by shooting him twice in the chest, not knowing his jacket was lined with kevlar which absorbed the rounds and knocked him down. Jane (the one that shot him) quickly stages the scene to implicate Rapp and then flees the location with Tom. A shocked Rapp eventually awakes. As a result of his fall, a gash in his head has left a small pool of his blood on the floor. Not wanting to leave the forensic evidence behind, he sets the room on fire and quickly escapes.

Back in Washington, D.C., the situation in Germany quickly becomes known to politicians and officials, with a few trying to use the situation to their own advantage. Democratic Congressman Albert Rudin is not fooled by the CIA's denial of involvement, and argues that it is further proof that the CIA is bad for America and the world, and should be shut down. Henry "Hank" Clark, who is a corrupt, ambitious, and calculating Republican U.S. senator with his eye on the Presidency, is the one that ordered the hit on Rapp, hoping that his dead body would embarrass President Robert Xavier Hayes, and ruin the career of CTC Director, Dr. Irene Kennedy. Clark, along with Rudin and Secretary of State Charles Middleton, are in an alliance to stop Dr. Kennedy from succeeding the dying Thomas Stansfield as Director. Unbeknownst to Rudin and Middleton, Clark dispatches a group of contract killers led by "Professor" Peter Cameron, to initiate a widespread blood-purge that will eliminate any person that can leave a paper trail back to him.

Rapp hides in France and gathers his thoughts. He believes it is possible that his boss, Dr. Irene Kennedy, the Director of the Counter Terrorism Center and "friend", ordered the Hoffmans to assassinate him in order to cover the situation up. Rapp eventually returns to Washington and confronts her and her boss, the CIA Director, Thomas Stansfield at his house. Also found in the room was retired SEAL Team Six Commander, Scott Coleman. With gun drawn, Rapp demands answers; after a brief discourse between him and his bosses, Rapp comes to realize that they had nothing to do with the attempt on his life.

Rapp learns that many of his colleagues are being killed and that his girlfriend Anna Rielly has been kidnapped by the assassins. They kidnapped her in order to set a death trap for Rapp. The Hoffmans, (AKA The Jansens) are assassinated outside their home by Cameron. Rapp, along with Coleman and a few other agents, eventually rescue Anna, killing all of Cameron's men in the process. Cameron, who was talking to one of his men on the phone while the assault was executed, quickly learns that all has failed. Rapp contacts Cameron and pledges to kill him unless he confesses the identity of his employer. Cameron refuses to answer and quickly makes plans to leave the country. However, only moments before Rapp reaches Cameron, he is killed by an Italian assassin named Donatella Rahn, who was hired by Clark.

The president soon learns about the coup d'état against him, and summons two of the main movers of the conspiracy, Rudin and Middleton. The president lambastes them in two separate meetings for betraying their party. He then demands them to tell him everything they know, so he may find out who ordered the hit on Rapp. Both of the men do not give the president any useful answers. Rudin is left without power within the Democratic Congressional caucus and Middleton is told he will be fired as Secretary of State. Shortly afterward Middleton is found dead in his apartment, ruled a suicide. It was Clark that ordered the hit, but pretends to know now nothing about it, even to his close friend Jonathan Brown, the Deputy Director of the CIA who hates both Stansfield and Dr. Kennedy. Clark announces to a shocked Brown that he is backing Dr. Kennedy's nomination, but assures him that Kennedy "will never make it through the confirmation process".

My Thoughts:

This was a more complicated than the previous book and dealt with the political side of things a bit more than I wanted. Of course, there was still a boat load of action and assassinations going on, so I didn't feel like I had been cheated.

With his new girlfriend, Rapp has to deal with the entanglements that go along with it, voluntary or not. He gets a taste of “normal” life only to have her used against him, which makes him that much more determined to get a “normal” life. Near the end of the book, he's offered a job as an “analyst” for the Center, ala Jack Ryan. That would keep him out of the field and the danger but still allow the Center to make use of his experience and skills. I don't see that happening though.

Of course, what I'm afraid of is that the author is going to use the girlfriend as fodder and turn her into a plot point for revenge or something. While it might have worked that way for Mack Bolan, I don't want to see Mitch Rapp go that route. It's too easy and convenient and I really hope Vince Flynn can do better. And he better make Mitch better than that puling pig, that scumsucking slime, that piece of excrement, Scot Harvath. If I have to choose between Mack Bolan and Scot Harvath though, I'll choose Bolan every time. The Executioner is a man's man while Harvath is just an arrogant asshat.

On a side note, whenever I read Irene Kennedy's name, all I can see is the CIA Director from the movie RED.

★★★✬☆

• Transfer of Power (Book 1)

One Killer Force (Delta Force #4) ★★☆☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: One Killer Force
Series: Delta Force #4
Author: Dalton Fury
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 301
Words: 107K

Synopsis:

From Kobo.com

Still recovering from his near fatal wounds suffered at the Yellow Creek Nuclear Plant, Delta Force Commander, Major Kolt "Racer" Raynor, is thrust into a new battle with some of the toughest killers he's ever faced - US Navy SEALs. Government austerity measures have the Joint Chiefs of Staff contemplating the unthinkable - combining Delta Force and the SEALs into a single unit: One Killer Force. In this installment of Dalton Fury's Delta Force series, Kolt's career is in jeopardy and worst of all, the final say rests in the hands of men who have reasons to want to see Kolt gone.

Recovered from her own wounds, Cindy "Hawk" Bird is closing in on becoming the first official female operator in the history of the US military...She only has to survive an insertion into the most repressive regime on earth.

Meanwhile, a new terrorist threat looms on the horizon in the form of not one, but possibly two mushroom clouds. Kolt earns his call sign as the action has him racing to the world's hottest combat zones from Syria to Ukraine on hunter-killer missions to eliminate the terrorists before they can enact their deadly mission.

Half a world away, a spy deep in the secretive North Korean regime sends a desperate call for help. A new danger to world peace and security is growing in the heart of the increasingly unstable Communist country and no amount of sanctions or political negotiations are going to stop it. Violently applied force is needed, and needed now before it's too late.

My Thoughts:

In my Currently Reading post about this book I stated I wouldn't be continuing the series even if the book ended up being much better. Well, it wasn't much better, hence the 2 stars. Plus, I found out the author died back in '16 and there was only 1 more book anyway, so I'm sitting pretty.

This was as much about the political side of the military as it was about killing the bad guys. Reading about “Points” (“appointed” military people) always annoys me and the whole “Git da wimminz in'ta Delter” was just more than I wanted to deal with.

Overall, this series has left a very “bleh” taste in my mouth. I didn't particularly hate it, but neither did I truly enjoy it. It felt, and I suspect it was meant to be, very “true to reality”. That is what the radio and tv are for, for me.

At least now I can go to my Calibre library and pick the next reading selection to replace this. At least that process is always enjoyable.

★★☆☆☆

• Black Site (Book 1)

• Tier One Wild (Book 2)

• Full Assault Mode (Book 3)

Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp #1) ★★★★☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Transfer of Power
Series: Mitch Rapp #1
Author: Vince Flynn
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 458
Words: 168K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.com

Rapp is introduced while he is performing a covert operation in Iran and he discovers a possible terrorist attack planned for the nation's capital to happen in the near future. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Anna Reilly is starting her first day as a White House correspondent for NBC. It also happens to be the day where the terrorist, using a secret entrance, takes over the White House and holds it hostage. The president, who barely escaped the hostage situation, remains trapped in the unfinished bomb shelter. With the vice president using this opportunity as commander in chief to glorify his political career by being lenient towards the terrorist demands, Rapp must find a way to fight the terrorists from the inside of the White House. It is here where he saves Anna Reilly from being raped by one of the terrorists and their relationship, which will be seen throughout the later books, begins.

Several Navy SEALs sneak into the White House while Rapp eliminates the terrorists, and saves the hostages and the president. The leader of the terrorist group manages to escape the White House while detonating his strategically placed explosives. He is later found in South America only to be killed by Rapp

My Thoughts:

This was a thoroughly enjoyable macho man book without the macho-ness dragging along a boatload of jerkitis. I hate when testosterone turns to stupidity. That was my main issue with the Scott Harvath series (which I touched on in the Currently Reading & Quote post last week). I did go into this a bit gingerly because of that. Even 4 years later Harvath sticks in my mind as an icon of douchebaggery. Thankfully, Mitch Rapp doesn't seem to be that way. While he's not a smooth tongued political serpent, he doesn't go out of his way to be a jerk either.

I am a little concerned with the romance angle. Most Operators aren't the kind of people who can focus and do what needs to be done AND have a perfectly balanced family life. While I'm rooting for Rapp and Reilly to work out I'm not letting it become a big thing in my mind. That way if it doesn't work out or she dies or becomes a terrorist or WAS a terrorist the entire time, I won't be torn up about it.

I'm also currently reading the Delta Force novels by Dalton Fury and that has given me a lot of background into certain terms and processes used by teams like Delta, that while not necessary to completely understand here, certainly make for a fuller reading. In the final assault on the White House Flynn talks about small helicopters loaded up with 4 Delta members on the skids. It's a 2 sentence description that by itself you just kind of read over. But Dalton references the practice in much fuller detail in his books and so I was able to transpose the knowledge from that to this. Not a big thing but reading books like these are all about the experience and that made for a fuller experience. I'm happy about that.

One word of warning. There is a scene where Anna is going to be raped by one of the terrorists. She isn't because Rapp steps in. However, if reading about attempted rape is something that bothers you, you should be aware of that. I'm not a fan of reading about that situation and should it be used again I'll have to think hard about the series. But it made sense for the situation (ie, it wasn't thrown in as titillation), wasn't graphic and in the end, doesn't happen because a good man puts a stop to it.

The title refers to the Transfer of Power from an incapacitated President to the Vice President. Said VP is a real scumsucking politician being advised by an even worse scumsucking politician and they both get their just desserts by the end of the book. Too bad real life can't follow certain parts of this book.

I've got 17 more Mitch Rapp books to read by Flynn. Flynn died and another author stepped in at book 13 or so, so we'll see how the series goes. Sometimes a series is long because it is good and sometimes it is long because it is pablum for an undiscerning audience. I am pulling for the Good option here!

★★★★☆

Full Assault Mode (Delta Force #3) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Full Assault Mode
Series: Delta Force #3
Author: Dalton Fury
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 335
Words: 121.5K

Synopsis:

From Kobo.com

When SEAL Team Six killed Osama bin Laden, they pulled a treasure trove of intelligence on planned attacks on U.S. soil. Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's new leader, is activating his most trusted (and deadliest) terrorists to carry out his newest plot: to detonate a bomb inside one of the sixty-four commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. in an attack ten times worse than 9/11, causing radiological fallout that would kill hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans.

The President wants answers quickly, and after Kolt Raynor saved his life a few months earlier, he knows Delta Force is fully capable. But Kolt is on the verge of getting forced out of JSOC for disobeying orders in Pakistan—and when he's offered a slot in Tungsten, an ultra-secret deep-cover organization, he jumps at the chance. Now his task is to infiltrate al Qaeda and prevent this deep-cover terror cell from making their plot a reality before it's too late.

My Thoughts:

The above synopsis isn't that full because I didn't care enough to write out any more and what Kobo included was good enough. Needless to say, there was a lot more involved than what was described. In fact, by the time I was done with this book I was exhausted myself and beginning to think that maybe Superman needed to take a few lessons from Kolt Raynor.

The book starts out with Raynor locking horns with his new boss and disobeying direct orders so that Raynor can rescue a fellow Delta Operator. This also allows him to bag a big time terrorist and get some much needed info to Agencies like the CIA, etc. It has the bad effect of putting him into direct conflict with his superiors which leads to him being “re-evaluated”. We all know what that means.

That opens up Raynor to be recruited into Tungsten though. If Delta Force is a black ops, then Tungsten is blacker than black AND they can operate on American soil. Think Treadstone without the brainwashing from the Jason Bourne franchise. Raynor gets involved with helping terrorists and I have to admit, I was wondering if he was going to cross a line. Thankfully he didn't but that was because he really played Superman.

In the final attack on a Nuclear Power Plant, Raynor figures out that the terrorists are actually planning three levels of attacks, so as to distract and confuse anyone responding. Not only does he figure it out, he singlehandedly deals with them all, WHILE being fired upon by the security forces at the Power Plant. I was expecting a Dagwood sandwich in terms of heroics and this book felt like my order was Supersized without me wanting that.

That “too much action” (which if I'm being honest I wouldn't have believed possible to be a problem for me in a bleeding Delta Force Military Action/Adventure book!) was one of the reasons this didn't get a higher rating. The other reason was the inclusion of Miss Delta Force, codename Hawk. Mainly because there were some small but not subtle “romance vibes” between her and Raynor. I don't care if it's realistic or not, keep your filthy romance out of my action books please.

After writing all that I had to sit back and make sure this was actually a 3 star read. It was. While I might have complained about Action Fatigue, that is 1000% better than complaining about a LACK of action in a book like this. For example, Hawk, the female operative, gets captured in her civvies and ends up putting 2inches of her high heel through one of the terrorist's skull. How awesome is that?!? That is what I expect from a series called Delta Force.

Another thing that I realized that I liked, was the whole Group Dynamics. Usually, I'm a single hero kind of guy, none of this group stuff for me. But when Raynor went on his own in Tungsten, I realized I really liked how the Delta Force Operators worked together. They weren't a group of single heroes, but a real unit. Personally, I hope Raynor goes back to Delta Force in the next book. We'll see though.

And holy tabascoman, did I write a lot more than I intended! See you tomorrow.

★★★☆☆

• Black Site (Book 1)

• Tier One Wild (Book 2)

Tier One Wild (Delta Force #2) ★★★✬☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspott, Librarything & Bookhype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Tier One Wild
Series: Delta Force #2
Author: Dalton Fury
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 344
Words: 124K

Synopsis:

From Devilreads & Me

Former disgraced Delta Force commander Kolt "Racer" Raynor has earned his way back into The Unit after redeeming himself during an explosive operation at a black site in Pakistan. But he is about to face his deadliest challenge yet.

The most wanted man in the world, American al Qaeda commander Daoud al Amriki, and his handpicked team of terrorist operatives, have acquired stores of Russian-built, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles (SAM's) from ex-Libyan spies in Cairo. Their mission: infiltrate the United States and take down American aircraft. The country's best are tasked with stopping them. But when a SEAL Team Six mission to take down al Amriki goes wrong, Major Raynor and his Delta Force team find themselves front and center as Amriki and his terrorists work their way closer to America. And time is running out.

Amriki and his group make it into American and bring down several planes. One cell is caught, which was Amriki's plan to distract everyone from his real plan to shoot down the President of the United States who is going to be traveling by helicopter. With the laws of the land forbidding them to act, Delta Force is left on the sidelines as an official agency. But when Raynor and his friend TJ (who was captured by Amriki in the previous book and knows him like a second brother) strike out on their own, they know they are doing the right thing.

TJ gives his life to stop Amriki and Raynor kills the son of a monkey, thus saving the President.

My Thoughts:

While I'm giving this the same rating as the previous book, I enjoyed my time reading this more. Raynor isn't so much of a jerkface due to his returning officially to Delta Force, but he doesn't let the reader forget for one instance that he's the new and improved version of Kolt Raynor. I think most of my enjoyment sprang from the fact that Raynor isn't as much a solo character as in the first book. Usually, I'm a big fan of the Lone Cowboy (in whatever setting) against the world, but Raynor just works better as part of a team and Delta Force is ALL about the Team.

The action starts out hot and heavy with Delta Force taking down a hijacked 747 WHILE IT IS TAKING OFF! That was just cool. It felt like the author started out with a sprint and then we eased into a long, loping run to go the distance. The rest of the book was us getting to the scene where Raynor and Amriki face off and the President of the United States is in danger.

The one issue I did have was with there being a female in Delta Force. Given, she's not supposed to be on the Action Team but she's part of an initiative to broaden the scope of what Delta can do (ie, married couple's are a lot less suspicious than a group of four men). I've google'd women in the special forces and most of the articles are by publications that I don't trust, not one iota. So while they report that there are women in the various branches of the Special Forces, nothing has been said/written if the regulations for entering have changed (ie, the physical side of things). Aside from that, I am not in favor of women serving in combat positions in the military anyway. I realize that is yesterday's fight though and have pretty much moved on.

That does bring me to something that I did like about a modern military, the psychology of the people who can operate as Special Forces. The author shows how the various teams are rotated so that they can not only get some R&R but also be examined by Shrinks. People can't go around killing people (even ones who really do deserve to die) without there being consequences to the mind and emotions. While Fury doesn't do a full on “Headology 101”, he does acknowledge it is a real factor and needs to be addressed. I talked about this briefly in my Whose Body? review earlier this month but it feels like this generation of soldiers is the first where their mental space is as of much concern as the physical side of things. I for one find that encouraging.

To end, this was much more enjoyable than book one and I'm looking forward to what Kolt Raynor and his team has to deal with in the next book.

★★★✬☆

• Black Site (Book 1)

Black Site (Delta Force #1) ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Black Site
Series: Delta Force #1
Author: Dalton Fury
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 347
Words: 122K

Synopsis:

Kolt Raynor, code name Racer, was at the top of his game as a Delta Force Commander when one bad decision on a covert operation plunged him into the abyss. After being kicked out of Delta Force and the military completely, for three years he took odd jobs to get by and drank his life away. Then one day there was a knock at his crappy trailer door and he was offered the chance to get back into the game, but as a civilian. The job was very risky, as in not-come-back-alive risky, but it was worth it for Kolt to do it and do it well. He had three weeks to train and it wasn’t going to be a piece of cake. If he survived the training then he would be able to start the job.

After dropping in, making contact with his local guide, Raynor begins surveillance of the compound where a group of American soldiers are being held captive. They're in captivity because they tried to rescue Raynor during his disastrous mission 3 years ago. Raynor breaks orders, infiltrates the compound, learns there is a huge operation underway by Al-Queda and exfiltrates with the vague info. His bosses refuse to act on the info and Raynor has to rely on a former Intel Spook gone native and the local guide to figure out what's going on.

Turns out Al-Queda has found a Black Site where high value prisoners are being held. They wish to rescue the prisoners, destroy America's credibility in the region and use it all as propaganda to demoralize the general American populace (with the help of the damnable propaganda machines known as the news outlets). Raynor warns the site, helps them survive the various attacks and makes his own way out of the country.

My Thoughts:

This was enjoyable but in a very ambivalent way. Raynor gets his team killed, regresses to an alcoholic, takes on a rescue mission and cleans himself up. There are no surprises as far as I was concerned and while the final goal of the Al-Queda terrorists remained a mystery up until it happened, I simply didn't care to try to figure it out. I just rolled with it.

Honestly, this is just another military action/adventure story among a whole host of them. I haven't read a lot in that particular genre so I can't tell if this was better or worse, but in general, this was ok. I've got 3 more books by Dalton and nothing here persuaded me to not read them.

★★★☆☆

Breakout (Fugitive Marines #1) ★★☆☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Breakout
Series: Fugitive Marines #1
Author: David Ryker & Douglas Scott
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 244
Words: 73.5K

Synopsis:

From Davidryker.com

When a meteor strike unleashes an alien intelligence bent on taking over the human race, only a ragtag band of ex-Marines can stop them.

The only problem is, they're in prison for a crime they didn't commit. For the next 98 years.

And their prison is two and a half billion kilometers from Earth on a good day.

And their fellow inmates want them dead.

Hey, nobody ever said saving the world would be easy.

My Thoughts:

While this wasn't “bad”, I did have much higher hopes that weren't met.

The entire tone of the book was of the flip, I'm so qualified that I'm not worried about you, light humor. After a while it began to grate. Here are 4 (or was it 5? I honestly couldn't tell you by the end of the book how many were in the group, more on that later) Marines in space jail for a crime they don't remember committing, suddenly fighting off an alien body snatcher invasion. And they quip and one liner for the entire time?

Of course, Mr Quinn, their leader, but not Captain because he's been stripped of that (we're reminded by him of this constantly), is Mr Muscles from Brussels (I wanted to write muskles from bruskles to imitate Popeye, but wasn't sure anyone would get the phrase if I mangled it that much) who is so conscientious and takes everything so seriously. But it fails, completely. He's an idea of a person, not an actual person.

That is probably my biggest issue with this book, everyone had their place and were the idea, not the person. And that is why I couldn't tell you if there were 4 or 5 guys in the force. There were first names, last names, possibly some nick names. They all had defining characteristics, but they weren't people. I don't know how to describe the lack, but it was evident. Then you had Miss Rich Love Interest Who Loves Everybody So Much that She Goes Outside Her Comfort Zone into Real Combat as a Medic. You know she and Captain Not Captain Muscles are going to fall in love, they have to. Their very character type demands it.

The background of the world was quite interesting. A world war that has seen the world divided into economic unions and space the new frontier. It had great underpinnings, just not the follow through. If you are looking for some quick Mil-SF to hoover through, you'll probably like this series. There are 4 books currently out, but I'm done. I simply don't care about the alien threat or how the Guys will solve their problems. They'll solve it and laugh and beat some heads and Miss RLIWLESMSGOHCZRCB and CnC Muscles will probably smooch. But the problem won't be fully solved, so you'll have to read the next book.

Waiter, I'd like my check please.

★★☆☆½

Odysseus Ascendant (Odyssey One #7) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Odysseus Ascendant
Series: Odyssey One #7
Author: Evan Currie
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 303
Words: 81.9K

Synopsis:

The Empire is done with playing around with the Priminae and their unknown allies (ie, the humans). They send an entire sector fleet to take the territory of the Priminae and to find the lone homeworld of humanity. It is up to Weston and his small group of ships to stall for time by playing tricks and being ingenious with the resources they do have.

Odysseus, the sentience on the starship of the same name, is learning what it means to be part of a group, as it must work with the humans occupying the ship. At the same time Gaia is in contact with another cosmic entity she simply calls Saul, an entity that seems apathetic (at best) or even inimical to humanity. Saul introduces himself to Odysseus at the very end of the book and pretty much just mocks the kid.

Weston and his allies hold off the Empire for a month but finally the Empire makes it to the Priminae homeworld where the remaining ships helmed by Weston prepare for a do or die last stand. Only to have the Empire's commander pull a fast one and head to Earth. Where the Earth pulls a rabbit out of a hat with Project Prometheus and is able to wipe out any object in known space with the power of a sun. They give the Empire Commander a stand down ultimatum and he wisely takes it.

The book ends with the Commander vowing to find and destroy this super-weapon and Earth and the Priminae taking a breath and gearing up for the long haul of a fight.

My Thoughts:

Overall, I was pleased with my read. It was typical Currie and the action was pretty good. He dips his toes into the subject of transgender and shows what a woke author he is by including a whole conversation of 2-3 paragraphs. Token-warriors, Unite! I am opposed to the whole transgender movement and even I found it insulting.

However, while I enjoyed the action, it is become evident that Currie is just going to keep writing these as ideas strike him. With a name like Odysseus Ascendant I kept waiting for the named Sentience to do something “Ascendant”. I think my idea of Ascendant has been ruined by how it was used in the Malazan Books of the Fallen, ie, ordinary ascending into the super. Oddyseus never ascends in that sense. I kept waiting for the ship to develop super powers or do something fantastic in the battles but nope, he just “learns” stuff. Throw in the deus ex machina of Project Prometheus and I just kind of rolled my eyes.

I won't be reading any more by Currie. What pushed me over the edge was the introduction of “Saul”. We met Central, then Gaia and the Odysseus, but to introduce another being, and to leave neon bright signs of “mystery, mystery, mystery” that even Scooby and the Gang could pick up on was a direction that I just didn't care for. I also changed the genre designation from SF to Fantasy. Currie goes from a science setting to a deeply fantastic setting where the only explanation, an honest one, is “magic”. Sure, he covers it up with quantum this and that and science blather, but the real meaning is “magic”.

“A Decent Read” about covers this book and series. It is no where near ending but I simply don't have the patience or reading availability for just decent reads. If you like open ended military SFF, then give this a whirl. I think book 8 just came out recently?

★★★☆½

• All My "Odyssey One" Reviews

Legionnaire (Galaxy's Edge #1) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Legionnaire
Series: Galaxy's Edge #1
Author: Jason Anspach & Nick Cole
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 308
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Sergeant Chunn, along with his fellow Legionnaires (elite soldiers of the Republic), are on a planet running a political mission, ie, support the natives who want to join the Republic. They're supported by Repub-Army and are led by a political appointed “Legionnaire”, Lt Devers.

Things go sidewise when the orbiting support ship is destroyed, their base on the planet is over run and their supposed native allies turn on them with help from an alliance that is opposed to the Republic. The Legionnaire's commander, Pappy, is out of commission and Devers takes over. To disastrously bumble everything, to the point that the soldiers attack a village of natives that are hosting some Republic scientists.

Pappy wakes up long enough to make Chunn a brevet Lt and the current Lt Ford, a brevet Captain. One of the Legionnaire grunts, Exo, tries to kill Devers for all his mistakes but is pulled back by his buddies.

Everybody holes up and makes a last stand, only to have the MCR (Mid Core Rebels) show up with an old star ship and fighters. Only to have the Republic's Big Guns show up and rescue them.

The book ends with Devers getting all sorts of awards and Exo drinking himself into a stupor wondering why he's even in the legion. He runs across an old legionnaire who tells him a story to hopefully inspire him to get back in the fight.

My Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this Military SF story. It was all about the ground pounders and that is what I like.

I think the authors did a good job with the characters, as I was cheering for the Legionnaires and absolutely hating Devers the political appointee. When you can feel that much distaste for a character you know the authors did their job correctly!

There are no real surprises, which I was perfectly ok with. When it comes to Mil-SF, I prefer the tried and true formula of SNAFU, Fight, Good Guys Win, Bad Guys Lose. It is very comforting. It is like eating mashed potatoes. Good, warm and filling.

This is a longer series, currently running around 9 books. I have no idea if the series goes into a longer story arc or if each book is a standalone'ish story. Personally, I'm hoping for standalone story time but we'll see. We shall also have to see if the authors do the whole “token SJW wokeness” thing. I'd like to think not, but considering how I've seen it in other indie books, I'm not holding my breath.

To wrap up, a thoroughly fun book that hit all the right buttons for me and the start of a series. I hope the series continues as well as this book.

★★★☆½