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Devolution Trilogy #1
Devolution
Michael Dolan is a stoic perfectionist and former special operations pilot working a staff job at the Pentagon when he is approached by the CIA with an improbable request, to help prevent impending terrorist attacks in Europe. As his deep-cover role in Operation EXCISE evolves, Dolan finds that of the demons he must prevail against, the most terrible are from within...
DEVOLUTION is book one in The Devolution Trilogy, a psychological spy thriller series. Book two, EVOLUTION, will be released in 2021 followed by REVELATION in 2022.
DEVOLUTION is book one in The Devolution Trilogy, a psychological spy thriller series. Book two, EVOLUTION, will be released in 2021 followed by REVELATION in 2022.
312 pages, Hardcover
Published December 11, 2019
4 people are currently reading
1382 people want to read
About the author
John Casey
7 books42 followersJOHN CASEY is an award-winning novelist and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet from New Hampshire. He is the author of The Devolution Trilogy (a psychological spy thriller series), Raw Thoughts: A Mindful Fusion of Poetic and Photographic Art, Meridian: A Raw Thoughts Book, and Things of Little Consequence. His poetry has been featured internationally in numerous literary journals and magazines. He is passionate about fitness, nature, and the human spirit and is inspired by the incredible spectrum of people, places and cultures he has experienced in life.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 16, 2021
Author John Casey has created an original and compelling character with protagonist Michael Dolan in the novel Devolution--the first in a trilogy. Dolan unveils great depth to the reader. He is an imperfect person doing his level best to support a high-stakes operation, even though the work is outside his area of expertise, and even if he's unwilling to follow all the instructions. Casey's thorough research is obvious, from gathering intelligence, planning field operations, using technology and weaponry, and shifting locations from DC to Paris to Berlin. The book reads like an autobiography from an insider! Part psychological thriller, part spy novel--this book will have you guessing and second guessing as you speed through the pages!
February 19, 2021
Cloak and Dagger stories are usually not my favorite, but it pays to take a chance now and then and Devolution paid off.
Author John Casey makes us anxious from the onset when SCALPEL’s Deputy Director of Operations, Phil Dittrich, the CIA’s top spy, pulls the plug at the last minute on a clandestine operation that goes awry. SCALPEL is tied to the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, in charge of beyond-black operations, and after barely pulling off its last near-disaster of an operation, it finds itself in hot water again.
Dittrich’s second in command, Lauren Rhodes, follows orders and aborts the mission, but with apprehension, wondering what is in store for SCALPEL as well as her own prospects.
Meanwhile, the bad guys have no doubt about their mission and they’re full speed ahead on a deadly plan, built around revenge and religious fanaticism, to kill as many Americans in Europe as they can.
Using the all-seeing omniscient POV, Casey gives us a 360-degree view of counterintelligence operations, introducing us to the SCALPEL team. Along with Dittrich and Rhodes there’s the tech-wizardry skills of Thomas Freeman, the spy-savvy operative Tony Stone and the wild-card, Michael Dolan.
Dolan is a late arrival, and he seems to be a surprise solution to SCALPEL’s latest problem, but as the saying goes, if it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t. Casey masterfully paints a complex character who is seemingly rock solid, but has defects that even Dolan himself is not completely aware of. These defects come out of his orderly emotional closet when SCALPEL’s mission hits the fan.
Casey’s frank and realistic interplay among the principals draws you into a complicated plot about believable challenges, both in the field and inside the walls of counterintelligence operations. His craftsmanship is evident as the plot progresses until the tension becomes too fervent to put aside. The pages didn’t turn fast enough.
Author John Casey makes us anxious from the onset when SCALPEL’s Deputy Director of Operations, Phil Dittrich, the CIA’s top spy, pulls the plug at the last minute on a clandestine operation that goes awry. SCALPEL is tied to the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, in charge of beyond-black operations, and after barely pulling off its last near-disaster of an operation, it finds itself in hot water again.
Dittrich’s second in command, Lauren Rhodes, follows orders and aborts the mission, but with apprehension, wondering what is in store for SCALPEL as well as her own prospects.
Meanwhile, the bad guys have no doubt about their mission and they’re full speed ahead on a deadly plan, built around revenge and religious fanaticism, to kill as many Americans in Europe as they can.
Using the all-seeing omniscient POV, Casey gives us a 360-degree view of counterintelligence operations, introducing us to the SCALPEL team. Along with Dittrich and Rhodes there’s the tech-wizardry skills of Thomas Freeman, the spy-savvy operative Tony Stone and the wild-card, Michael Dolan.
Dolan is a late arrival, and he seems to be a surprise solution to SCALPEL’s latest problem, but as the saying goes, if it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t. Casey masterfully paints a complex character who is seemingly rock solid, but has defects that even Dolan himself is not completely aware of. These defects come out of his orderly emotional closet when SCALPEL’s mission hits the fan.
Casey’s frank and realistic interplay among the principals draws you into a complicated plot about believable challenges, both in the field and inside the walls of counterintelligence operations. His craftsmanship is evident as the plot progresses until the tension becomes too fervent to put aside. The pages didn’t turn fast enough.
April 3, 2021
This novel is an essential read for devotees of spy thrillers. What I especially liked about the book is that some spy novels portray the protagonist as a larger-than-life superhero who knows more than everyone else and is never beset by personal uncertainty and struggle. John Casey, However, has created a character in Michael Dolan who has been wounded by a past trauma, shows his humanity and whom the reader can therefore identify with. And yet Dolan also has great insight in the area of dealing with foreign agents, and he has the courage and persistence to fight past every obstacle to accomplish his mission.
John Casey, who has personal knowledge and experience in international affairs, kept me guessing about what would happen next in this story, and that made this book a pleasure to read.
John Casey, who has personal knowledge and experience in international affairs, kept me guessing about what would happen next in this story, and that made this book a pleasure to read.
January 26, 2023
Devolution is a good book. This was the first slow progression spy thriller book I’ve read. Throughout the first half of the book, I found myself turning each page saying, “COME ON! When is the big stuff gonna happen!?!” As I progressed through the second half of the book, my focus shifted into curiosity as the Casey began to unravel the persona of the main character, Michael Dolan.
This was also a realistic book. Dolan is physically and intellectually skilled, but he’s not one of those stereotypical unstoppable guys who can take out 50 people on his own and come out with a few scratches.
All in all a good book.
This was also a realistic book. Dolan is physically and intellectually skilled, but he’s not one of those stereotypical unstoppable guys who can take out 50 people on his own and come out with a few scratches.
All in all a good book.
February 9, 2020
I have been expanding my reading horizons from the literary fiction that I customarily read, which is how I came to read John Casey’s spy thriller DEVOLUTION. Prior to writing this review, I thought I should read up on the conventions of the spy thriller genre. I’m glad that I did because it provided the context I needed to fully appreciate the novel.
One of the prominent features of Devolution is the inner workings of the espionage game--and I use the word “game” purposely. The stakes are very high--taking out a terrorist cell bent on jihad--yet the egos of the various players can’t help but emerge to impose their own will--not to mention the internecine drama happening in the larger intelligence community.
The technology of spying plays a role in the novel as well, with most of it focused on the protagonist’s iPhone. I found these details both interesting and believable, albeit a little scary when the thought of how this technology might be used to spy on the rest of us entered my mind.
Casey uses setting very effectively, with the novel opening in a small, dimly lit office of the CIA, deep in the bowels of Langley. When we think of “spooks,” that’s where they are, huddled in a dingy, soundproof room looking at “the spectral glow of the monitors” and talking in acronyms.
This particular unit has failed at their current mission in Europe to take out a terrorist cell and is danger of being closed down. The head of the unit is not about to give up, and she recruits Michael Dolan, a former special operations pilot with a connection to one of the suspected terrorists, Shariff Lefebvre, to leave his staff job at the Pentagon and go to Paris.
Once in Paris, Dolan is to reestablish his friendship with Shariff and report back to his handler at Langley, all the while fighting his own demons from his previous time in Paris and being surveilled himself.
At key points in the novel, there are shifts in point of view to the terrorists, which serves to intensify the horror of what they have planned and drive the action forward. The plot then takes several unexpected, character-driven turns, which I won’t reveal here.
I would highly recommend DEVOLUTION to readers who enjoy a good spy yarn with a flawed protagonist and intriguing secondary characters. They won’t be disappointed!
One of the prominent features of Devolution is the inner workings of the espionage game--and I use the word “game” purposely. The stakes are very high--taking out a terrorist cell bent on jihad--yet the egos of the various players can’t help but emerge to impose their own will--not to mention the internecine drama happening in the larger intelligence community.
The technology of spying plays a role in the novel as well, with most of it focused on the protagonist’s iPhone. I found these details both interesting and believable, albeit a little scary when the thought of how this technology might be used to spy on the rest of us entered my mind.
Casey uses setting very effectively, with the novel opening in a small, dimly lit office of the CIA, deep in the bowels of Langley. When we think of “spooks,” that’s where they are, huddled in a dingy, soundproof room looking at “the spectral glow of the monitors” and talking in acronyms.
This particular unit has failed at their current mission in Europe to take out a terrorist cell and is danger of being closed down. The head of the unit is not about to give up, and she recruits Michael Dolan, a former special operations pilot with a connection to one of the suspected terrorists, Shariff Lefebvre, to leave his staff job at the Pentagon and go to Paris.
Once in Paris, Dolan is to reestablish his friendship with Shariff and report back to his handler at Langley, all the while fighting his own demons from his previous time in Paris and being surveilled himself.
At key points in the novel, there are shifts in point of view to the terrorists, which serves to intensify the horror of what they have planned and drive the action forward. The plot then takes several unexpected, character-driven turns, which I won’t reveal here.
I would highly recommend DEVOLUTION to readers who enjoy a good spy yarn with a flawed protagonist and intriguing secondary characters. They won’t be disappointed!
August 9, 2020
DEVOLUTION is that rare combustible blend that results when an author’s knowledge of human nature, poetic sensibilities and worldly experience combine to tell a compelling and explosive story. In this case, actual bombs are set to go off and the protagonist is tasked with saving thousands of live. To survive physically and emotionally while completing his mission, newly-recruited spy Michael Dolan must first form crucial, inter-dependent relationships that are based on trust that is not always earned. To compound things, Dolan’s worst enemy may be his obsession with keeping his mind detached, his emotions boxed in, and his heart protected from his painful past. Dolan’s strengths, which are tested to the limit, are his immense resourcefulness and his unwillingness to blindly obey orders. And then—surprisingly enough—there is his growing capacity to love.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. John Casey’s unrelenting realism and technical expertise take the reader behind the scenes in a way that few spy thrillers do. At times Michael Dolan reminded me of George Smiley in John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.”
This book is the first in a trilogy and I look forward to seeing more of Dolan as he continues to struggle with himself and those he works with to “do good things.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. John Casey’s unrelenting realism and technical expertise take the reader behind the scenes in a way that few spy thrillers do. At times Michael Dolan reminded me of George Smiley in John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.”
This book is the first in a trilogy and I look forward to seeing more of Dolan as he continues to struggle with himself and those he works with to “do good things.
July 21, 2021
———
In two days, I finished reading John Casey’s DEVOLUTION, the first in the Devolution trilogy.
Two days, a first for me, and no wonder—I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN.
The magic of this novel is in the details. Casey understands the importance of this in a spy novel, but his are details of such significance that it leaves you wondering how much actual truth is written into the story. And given Casey was a combat pilot and DIA diplomat himself---well????
The protagonist, Michael Dolan, a former special operations combat pilot with a dark and troubled past is carefully chosen by the Central Intelligence Agency to help them forestall a terrorist attack in Europe in the belief his background at the Sorbonne in Paris and the unlikely friends he made there would be valuable to their cause. As well, he was not known as an operative, another advantage to the agency.
With his photographic memory, intelligence, and rare skill set, not only is he an outstanding pupil, but an individualist who can think outside the box, often giving angst to members of his black ops team.
Casey’s fast-paced style is so apt for this type of novel, and if your heartbeat increases with each page, or you cannot catch your breath with each well-chosen phrase, if you have a heart problem, don’t read this book. You should only read it if you love to be lifted into the realm of fear, terror and the abnormally normal horror of the world of espionage. I can assure you, you will be well satisfied.
I am most keenly looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.
———
In two days, I finished reading John Casey’s DEVOLUTION, the first in the Devolution trilogy.
Two days, a first for me, and no wonder—I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN.
The magic of this novel is in the details. Casey understands the importance of this in a spy novel, but his are details of such significance that it leaves you wondering how much actual truth is written into the story. And given Casey was a combat pilot and DIA diplomat himself---well????
The protagonist, Michael Dolan, a former special operations combat pilot with a dark and troubled past is carefully chosen by the Central Intelligence Agency to help them forestall a terrorist attack in Europe in the belief his background at the Sorbonne in Paris and the unlikely friends he made there would be valuable to their cause. As well, he was not known as an operative, another advantage to the agency.
With his photographic memory, intelligence, and rare skill set, not only is he an outstanding pupil, but an individualist who can think outside the box, often giving angst to members of his black ops team.
Casey’s fast-paced style is so apt for this type of novel, and if your heartbeat increases with each page, or you cannot catch your breath with each well-chosen phrase, if you have a heart problem, don’t read this book. You should only read it if you love to be lifted into the realm of fear, terror and the abnormally normal horror of the world of espionage. I can assure you, you will be well satisfied.
I am most keenly looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.
———
February 28, 2021
Good quality book, really good autograph with a signed letter from the author. Excellent win and fine addition to my collection. Wish other giveaway authors would show as much pride in their giveaways. Thanks John Casey.
February 21, 2020
A very “smart” book. Super read!!
June 23, 2020
Devolution is the story of Michael Dolan, an American Afghanistan war veteran recruited for a secret mission to foil a plot involving his college friend. The story takes the reader deep into Dolan's past and his psyche, and from Washington, DC to Paris to Berlin. Devolutions is fast-paced and well-written, with excellent dialogue and characters, and suspenseful twists and turns that will keep you eagerly turning pages until the very end. I highly recommend Devolution and look forward to the next Michael Dolan thriller.
January 16, 2021
I was fortunate to win a copy of DEVOLUTION by John Casey.
Before I had a chance to read it, my husband saw the book sitting on the counter and claimed it, so I had to wait for him to finish before I could read it and write a review. My husband said it was an excellent book and he can't wait for the other 2 books in the trilogy to come out. He also said he thought it would make a great movie.
I enjoy mysteries, especially when they are filled with action and suspense. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, there would be another twist. This book is not anything I expect. I found it difficult to put it down, but sometimes you need to sleep and even occasionally do some chores. I highly recommend this book, as does my husband.
We are both looking forward to reading book two - EVOLUTION.
Before I had a chance to read it, my husband saw the book sitting on the counter and claimed it, so I had to wait for him to finish before I could read it and write a review. My husband said it was an excellent book and he can't wait for the other 2 books in the trilogy to come out. He also said he thought it would make a great movie.
I enjoy mysteries, especially when they are filled with action and suspense. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, there would be another twist. This book is not anything I expect. I found it difficult to put it down, but sometimes you need to sleep and even occasionally do some chores. I highly recommend this book, as does my husband.
We are both looking forward to reading book two - EVOLUTION.
April 28, 2020
Michael Dolan – a meticulous, stoic operative whose motto is Ordnung muss sein – is recruited by stealth operatives for EXCISE, an off-the-books black ops program. Michael is sent to Paris, where he ingratiates himself with an old college friend, the son of an Algerian militant, and begins to infiltrate the network of jihadists who are threatening a stealth attack on a European capital. Michael, who is a master of compartmentalization and at corralling inconvenient feelings, returns to the scene where his girlfriend, many years earlier, died under mysterious circumstances. With granular detail on terror networks and spy craft; and deft depiction of the psychological calculations as between handler and operative, between spy and target, between US and foreign governments – Casey’s tale thrills and keeps the reader turning the pages!
November 13, 2019
If you are a like me, a devotee of thrillers but are tired of shallow cardboard cutout characters, DEVOLUTION is a book for you. Travel, suspense, all a reader could want and then some. Can't wait for the next installment in this remarkable trilogy.
February 19, 2021
I have honestly never regretted choosing a new year read like I did with this book. I had to read it for work and it's definitely one of the worse ones I have ever read. The whole SCALPEL operation felt like kids in kindergarten - there was absolutely no organization and it never made me feel like this might actually be some actual secret dark operations service. Everyone just did their thing, had their own motives, no matter what they heard from their superiors - just why?
Not to mention that the book absolutely lacked any resemblance of emotions, it was just flat. Also the subject of terrorism felt really... weird.
Needless to say I will not be reading the next installments. It wasn't an entirely bad book overall (for example, the action scenes were nicely written!) but genuinely just not for me.
Not to mention that the book absolutely lacked any resemblance of emotions, it was just flat. Also the subject of terrorism felt really... weird.
Needless to say I will not be reading the next installments. It wasn't an entirely bad book overall (for example, the action scenes were nicely written!) but genuinely just not for me.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews