The Ajax Protocol, by Alex Lukeman

I've jumped into Mr. Lukeman's series with book seven, but haven't felt any ill effects.   The hero  is Nick Carter; he and his team of operators are part of the "Project," an uber-secret spy force that reports directly to the President.

This is pretty good for what it is.   In this genre, the nature of things is that whatever you need is conveniently supplied by the author.   Need an island?  One of the operators owns one.  Need a flight to a restricted military location?  Someone has a buddy willing to break the law.    Personally, I find it grating, but as mentioned, it is the norm.

Anyway, in this volume, a group of fascists within the US government seek to kill the sitting president and take over the country along with committing a range of violent domestic and international terrorist acts.   Carter, his girl friend Selena (also on the team), and his boss Harker, all try to save the day.

Bet you can guess the outcome.

The Ajax Protocol (The Project Book 7)

Out of the Black, by Evan Currie

I'm just going to repeat myself.  There's not much to say, and I've been staying up way to late at night to finish the books in this series, of which this is number four.

I've been reading Mr. Currie's novels in rapid succession because as soon as I complete a volume I'm eager to keep going to learn what happens next!  As of this writing, this is the last volume in the series; when there are more, I'll read them.

As I've said before, the net of the story line is that the hero, Weston, continues to defend the Earth and its allies from an evil alien race focused on destroying them all.

Out of the Black (Odyssey One Book 4)

Homeworld, by Evan Currie

I've been reading Mr. Currie's novels in rapid succession because as soon as I complete a volume I'm eager to keep going to learn what happens next!  This is volume three.

As I've said before, the net of the story line is that the hero, Weston, continues to defend the Earth and its allies from an evil alien race focused on destroying them all.

Homeworld (Odyssey One Book 3)

The Heart of the Matter, by Evan Currie

This is the second book in Mr. Currie's Odyssey series; I quite enjoyed the first one and this was just as good.

There's really no point saying much about the books in this series except that the hero, Weston, continues to defend the Earth and its allies from an evil alien race focused on destroying them all.

Tough to put down.

The Heart of Matter (Odyssey One Book 2)

In Cold Blood, by Mark Dawson

This book is spin off from a series about a character named John Milton; in this volume, the main character is Beatrix Rose and we don't hear from Milton at all.

Let me cut to the chase: I'm not running to get the other books in the series.   If one of them shows up for free on Kindle, I will get it to read on an airplane.

Okay, if you're still interested:  Rose is an assassin.  She's angry with a bunch of former colleagues who betrayed her, killed her husband, and kidnapped her daughter.  Now, reunited with the child, she's out for revenge.

In Cold Blood (Beatrix Rose Book 1)

A Better World, by Marcus Sakey

I enjoyed the prior book in Mr. Sakey's "Brilliance" series; this was even better.

The concept is that brilliants, about 1% of the world, have come into the public eye.  Think X-men, or the movie Lucy.   The government doesn't want to treat them well.  The hero is Nick Cooper, a brilliant who worked for the government to shut down (or kill) brilliants, but who now is somewhat more sympathetic.

Bad actors in the White House are pushing the President towards a civil war.  The suspense line is, can Nick save the country?   I'm ready for book three.


A Better World (The Brilliance Saga Book 2)

Threat Warning, by John Gilstrap

Having enjoyed Mr. Gilstrap's prior book, I decided to try this one out.  It is one of a series that features hero Jonathan Grave, a former special forces operator who now runs a private security company when he's not saving the USA from evil, directly for the President, gratis.   You get the picture: it has all the trite supporting characters, from the extraordinary hacker assistant to the tacit support of the Director of the FBI.

Yet, this was surprisingly not bad.  The concept is that a group of religious fanatics in the US deliver a wide ranging set of terror attacks on Americans and set up Islamic groups to take the fall.   Graves of course saves the day.

Threat Warning (A Jonathan Grave Thriller)

Mythical, by CE Martin

In this first of a series of retro pulp action thrillers, Colonel Kenslir is a super-soldier imbued with special powers.

He's hunting a shapeshifter when things go badly enough to sort of kill him, and give him amnesia.  Two helpful teenagers become tag alongs in what may be the worst case of endangering innocent civilians imaginable.  Then end up important to the plot advancement by the end of the novel -- the "#1" in the subtitle implies that they'll have a continued role.  Sadly I'm probably going to miss finding out what happens as this just so slightly misses my interest cutoff.

Mythical (Stone Soldiers #1)

Dancing Bear, by Oren Sanderson

This novel was surprisingly good; the cover image doesn't do it justice at all.  The story is told from the point of view of David, a security guard at the Israeli Consulate in Boston.   David's an odd duck to begin with: he has a law degree and works in a position that doesn't take advantage of his education.  He seems misplaced in the world.

One day a woman comes in asking to see the consul.   She claims knowledge of a spy ring.  The consul refuses to see her, is eager to be rid of her.   David is smitten with her, and gets involved with her as they leave the office together.

At this point, things get complicated.  No spoilers here, but the ending is super.

The writing is a hair close to awkward; difficult to tell if it is author insuring David's voice is clear or too strict guidance from a writing class.  But it doesn't get in the way of character development and a complex, interesting plot.

Worth reading for sure; seems to be available only on Kindle.

Dancing Bear: Espionage & Conspiracy Thriller (Political Suspense and Mystery Book 1)

Into the Black, by Evan Currie

This is the "remastered" version of Mr. Currie's first novel in his Odyssey series; that means, apparently, that it's been edited.   From comments I've read, don't bother with the prior version.   Both are Kindle -only.

Having said this, this was a terrific novel:  interesting, exciting, and a plot line that looks capable of holding up a series.  The hero is Weston, the captain of the Odyssey, Earth's first big time spaceship. He runs into a friendly alien race, and an unfriendly one.

This could make for a fun film.   Highly recommended, if space travel's your thing.

Into the Black (Odyssey One, Book 1) [Remastered Edition]