Reviewed by Les: 7 out of 10.

Recently I was blessed with a birthday gift from my tank loving mate Burton. As I eagerly unwrapped the plain brown package, three very obviously military oriented books bristling with medals, soldiers and missiles stared at me daring me to read them.

The Books:

• Mission Compromised (2002)
• The Jericho Sanction (2003)
• The Assassins (2005)

The Author:

Oliver North and his good mate Joe Musser. Oliver North is himself an ex-marine with many decorations won in battle. The stories are fictional but are drawn from his 22 years experience in the USMC.

Not professing to be the sharpest tool in the shed, I didn’t realise that these three books were a trilogy. In fact, the only thing which designates them as such is their ranking emblazoned on the books spines like stars upon a generals’ shoulders. From one star on the first to three on the third, everything about these books oozes military subterfuge. Hence it was by shear coincidence that I picked up and started with the first in the series.

As I removed the dust jacket and hefted the weight of the large armour-plated hardback I was eager to enter a world of war and explosive mayhem. Instead I was greeted by 4 pages of Military abbreviations. Now it is at this point you as the reader have two choices:

Read all 4 pages and attempt to commit them to memory.

Ignore them completely attempting to guess their meanings within the context of the story.

Having chosen the second option I was disappointed that the abbreviations covered the pages like shrapnel and their relentless attack on every page caused my eventual capitulation.

The books are more drama than action and much like the movies of the same genres, personal taste will dictate your choice.

With a very likable protagonist in US Marine Peter Newman and an equally unlikable antagonist in the ex KGB agent Dimitri Komulakov it doesn’t take a military genius to detect the US patriotism that permeates every page. This will not be greeted with a loud ‘OOH-RAH!’ from all readers.

Overtly Christian at times, the story leaves the reader with no doubt as to the beliefs held by the author. Very biblically sound, even going as far as acknowledging which Bible version is quoted, a somewhat in-depth explanation of the basic tenets of Christianity within the story seemed to me a little overboard. Good on Ollie for getting the Word out there though.

Let me finish with a few comments that I wholeheartedly agree with:

• A highly readable tale of courage, faith and international intrigue all set within the milieu of today’s Middle east politics.
• A lot of this reads like today’s headlines…

and as one comment suggests…

• You do in fact wonder how much of this story is true.

Reviewed by Les: 8 out of 10.

There is a bit of history to this book. It all started when my great mate Burton coerced me into a fun-filled afternoon chasing the mysterious Bigfoot in Whangarei’s Mair Park (see here).

So, after winning the competition as part of the author’s viral marketing campaign I was delighted to receive amongst the very generous pile of books (payment for lying in a wet puddle) a signed copy of Pulse, the uncorrected Advanced Readers Copy – oooh aaahh.

I had previously read and enjoyed Kronos by Jeremy Robinson (See here for the review and interesting facts about the author himself) and I was keen to see how his latest offering would pan out.

I found Pulse to be a fairly light read. No deep character formation, but at just over 300 pages, less is more… more action anyway.

Jeremy Robinson introduces us to the Delta Force Operatives known as the Chess Team. You can look forward to seeing more of them in upcoming novels. King, Queen, Knight, Rook and Bishop (no really, they are cool) take you on a high speed thriller ride which blended with a touch of sci-fi produce a story that I didn’t want to leave unattended for to long.

There are some truly great action scenes (with some of the most unlikeliest villains) that would keep any James Byron Huggins fans happy and also a few twists to satisfy the Dekker fans amongst us.

Like Kronos, Pulse contains a smattering of questionable words – which for all the emphasis they added could have been left out altogether.

Short and sweet, keeping you on the edge of your seat. An easy and extremely enjoyable read.

Click here to visit Jeremy Robinson’s website.

Reviewed by Lesmond: 8 out of 10.

Just when I thought the Pendragon Cycle was all over… Taliesin, Merlin and Arthur, the original fantastical (is that a word) Arthurian trilogy written by Stephen R. Lawhead in the late 80’s – such a great era. Three became five in the mid-90s with Pendragon and Grail rounding out the now well known Pendragon Cycle. But wait there’s more…

Unbeknown to me, the author had another addition that I had failed to discover. It came in the form of Avalon which was published in 1999. I guess I was to busy partying like it was… but seriously. My ignorance of this ’sequel’ to the Pendragon Cycle was overcome by a brief perusal of my local library’s shelves and its chance discovery. Needless to say I was extremely excited as I had thoroughly enjoyed the Pendragon Cycle and rate it as one of Lawhead’s greatest works. History meets artistic license culminating in an unforgeable masterpiece.

Skipping the backcover blurb I plowed headlong into the tale expecting to pick up in the midst of a primitive medieval battle or feasting scene that Lawhead manages to write in such delicious detail. Surprisingly I found myself in modern day Britain on a drab and dreary day. Oh well I’m sure I’ll be transported back through the ages through a ‘lost’ portal in the time between times perhaps. This did not happen to the extent I would have liked. I was pleasantly surprised with Lawhead’s ability to make modern day existence an adventure and the spiritual battles we face as Christians in the 21st Century come alive through courageous and likeable characters that had more than a little in common with their Pendragon Cycle predecessors. Characters emulated great men and women of the faith without entering into the world of ‘Christianese’. This was very well done and I applaud the author for inspiring me to live a life of adventurous Christianity. At this stage I would like to raise the point of the antagonist in Christian Fiction. Sure they are ‘evil’ or at best very ‘worldly’ but how forthright can their characters talk and act whilst still maintaining the boundaries of decency that one would expect of a ‘Christian’ author. I thoroughly enjoy Stephen Lawhead as an author and have read most of his books.

Very rarely have I found fault in the ‘decency’ contained within his books. In Avalon I was grieved by the antagonists constant smatterings of blasphemy (although common enough in real life) I felt it was an unnecessary addition to his vocabulary and a poor choice by the Author in reflecting his character traits. All this being said I thoroughly enjoyed this ‘bonus book’ tagged on the end of the awesome Pendragon Cycle and because of its association with the aforementioned masterpiece I give Avalon 8/10.

Click here to visit Lawhead’s website.

Reviewed by Les: 8 out of 10.

I finally got to finish the King Raven Series written by the historical fiction master known as Stephen R. Lawhead. This particular series, and he has written many, consists of Hood, Scarlet and Tuck.

Reviewed by Les: 8 out of 10.

Deadfall is the 3rd Robert Liparulo novel I have read and I believe it’s the third adult novel he has written.

Reviewed by Les: 8 out of 10.

The back cover blurb lets you know what you’re in for… an action-packed thriller full of powerful characters that make Bruce Willis’ Die Hard characters look soft. So buckle up…

In a world ruled by the purest survivors, the fiercest warriors, Gage was the strongest – an American executing his country’s darkest missions with legendary cunning and skill. Until, wounded and dying in a scorched wasteland, he found mercy at the hands of an aging priest. Separated from the secret world he once dominated, he chose a life of exile, pursuing a lonely peace, a solitary faith. Only the murder of his mentor and the mysterious theft of an ancient manuscript can compel him to emerge from solitude.

This one starts with a hiss and a roar and aside from a few slow patches, this is definitely a novel for the tank-loving explosion-craving kid in all of us (girls included). As with most of Byron Huggins novels (and I’ve read most of them) the main character is indeed the stuff legends are made of – sickness personified (in a good way). Gage’s profile is only increased by the caliber of the ‘baddies’ that oppose him. Without revealing too much – there are some amazing fight scenes which had my vivid imagination painting horrific scenes that literally had my heart racing, mouth open and zoned in on a world that fails to hear anything else but the chaos that world embraces. I didn’t find it macabre or disturbing in any sense but be prepared for more than the usual amount of blood to be spilled. The author has obviously thoroughly researched the dark world of the special forces and one can learn a lot about stealth and military tactics from this read. The way Huggins explores and describes the characters he creates, to me make his books so enjoyable. There are some absolutely great characters in The Reckoning, both goodies and baddies. This being said, you wouldn’t want to read his novels one after the other as a somewhat familiar plot line emerges… It would detract from your enjoyment if you were to otherwise intersperse them with the works of a myriad of other fine authors. Some might say that there are way to many descriptive words that serve only to pad out the story and annoy the reader:

A whispering gasp escaped his grimacing face…

I like this style and felt it only entrenched the reader further into the lives of the characters and the unfolding plot. However, if you are one of those readers that tends to skim portions of the text then this might serve to frustrate you. Not Huggins’ best work in my opinion (that I feel belongs to Cain) but a great book to read, in fact I’ve read it twice. However, I put that down to not having a new book in the house to read at the time and a shocking memory! Hmmm, I might have to re-read Cain soon.

Reviewed by Les: 5 out of 10.