The Orion Team. discussion

Prologue
8:03 P.M. Greenwich Mean Time, March 22nd
London, England

They were watching. He knew that—they were always watching, a hundred lidless eyes gazing down through the night.
Never blinking. Never resting. Just always there.
And they knew his face.
The rain came tumbling down out of the sky above him—nothing heavy, just a steady drizzle—ice-cold water running down his cheeks, collecting in the rough stubble that masked the lower half of his face.
A dead zone lay ahead, between him and the bus stop, or at least there had once been—a twenty-foot gap in London’s legendary CCTV coverage. Enough space for a man to disappear.
Disappear. There’d been times he’d wanted nothing more than to do just that. To disappear, to run—into the night.
Not yet.
There was only one camera across the street from the stop and he ducked his head as if against the rain as he approached the far side of the double-decker bus. Shielding his face.
Public transportation was a risk, but one he had to take. A thirty-minute ride would put him at his destination. After that. . .
He could only keep this up for so long, that much he knew. Had known it ever since he’d set out, he thought, ascending into the bus just behind a young Muslim woman in a hijab and jeans—her small son clutching her hand.
But it would have to be enough.

So many memories. He paused for a long moment on the curb, alone once more—the bustle of the bus ride left far behind. Looking up at the flat before him, rain soaking him to the skin as he stood there. Sadness glinting in his gunmetal blue eyes.
So many years, passed and gone.
It was the kind of place he would have expected her to have sought out, he realized—the low gate giving beneath his hand as he moved like a ghost toward the door, the black windbreaker hanging loose and wet from his tall, powerful frame.
Quiet, nondescript. Just another in a long row of terraced houses. Anonymous.
There was nothing more valuable. . .not in their business.
He glanced at the plate mounted to the right of the door, verifying the address once more before he lifted his hand to press the bell.
Hearing the vague, distant sound of it ringing through the flat as he waited, his eyes flickering back to the deserted street. Ever alert.
Footsteps within, the sound of someone cautiously approaching the door. “Who’s there?”
He turned so that his face was visible through the peephole. “It’s me, Mehreen.”
“Ya, Allah.” He could hear her gasp of surprise through the door. The Arabic so familiar to his ears. Oh, God.
Another moment, and he heard the rattle of a chain, a bolt being slid back as the door swung open.
The woman who stood in the doorway was in her mid-forties, nearly eight years his senior—her shoulder-length black hair now shot with tell-tale streaks of silver. Framing the dark features of her native Pakistan. “It’s been a long time, Mehr.”
It was a long moment before she replied, a mixture of emotions playing out across her face—and for a moment he thought she might shut the door in his face. Turn him away.
“Yes. . .yes it has.” She turned back from the door, seeming to choose her words with reluctance. “Come in, if you want—I’ll make a pot of tea.”
He followed her into the small living room of the apartment, removing his hat and running long fingers through his rain-slick black hair as she disappeared into the kitchen.
There was a framed picture on the small table, a picture of a bride in shining white on the arm of a sandy-haired man in full dress uniform—passing underneath the arched sabers of the Regiment. Something about the way they were looking at each other, eyes full of laughter. Of hope. Of love.
A wistful smile touched his lips as he picked up the frame, the memories flooding back. He’d been there that day. Experienced the majesty of that wedding.
There were other memories, and. . .well, majestic was hardly the word.
“Nick was a good man,” he announced, feeling almost shame-faced as she reentered the room to find him holding the picture.
She nodded, passing him the hot cup and saucer and taking the frame from his hands. His own sadness reflected in her eyes. “Yes—he was.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you. . .at the funeral.” He’d been in Darfur at the time. No way to get back—a job to do. “They told me it was another splinter group of the Provos. A bomb.”
Another nod, as she eyed him guardedly.
“I thought that had all died away,” he said, raising the cup of Darjeeling to his lips. Steam drifted off the pale golden liquid, warming him against the rain that had chilled his body. “That the Troubles were behind us.”
A bitter smile crossed her lips. “We always think that, don’t we? But hate. . .hate never dies. Old men pass it on to the young in the blood. Playing at war—their ‘patriot game.’ And good men die.”
Good men die. The refrain of his life.
If he closed his eyes, he could still remember it. The HAHO jump over Lebanon, standing there on the ramp of the C-130 with Nick Crawford and another SAS sergeant at his side. Preparing to jump out into the pitch black of the night.
He could feel the shock of the parachute opening, hear the crackle of automatic weapons fire, smell the gunfire—the blood. He’d saved Nick’s life that night. Brought him home safe to her.
But good men die.
He looked up to find her regarding him intently. Her tea untouched by the side of her chair. “You’re here to kill a man. . .aren’t you, Harry?”
Harry Nichols leaned back in the armchair, watching her—
measuring his words carefully. “I don’t work for the Agency any longer, Mehr.”
Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked up her teacup, something akin to fear in her dark eyes.
“That’s not what I asked.”

The above post in the opening scene of a book written by an author who introduced me to the wonderful world of indie published novels and proved that good fiction is not the exclusive purview of the publishing houses.

His name is Stephen England and he writes some of the finest spy fiction ever to grace the amazon website and quite possibly THE BEST spy fiction outside of mainstream publishing. I have said before and will say again, that his books are among the first items that should be on your kindle tablet app. You would be cheating yourself if you didn't.

How to describe his books? Well the easiest way is that they have the pace, action and brutality of the entire "24 tv show" overture and combine that with a admirable dedication to getting the technical details just right. Think of it as if Fox had hired Tom Clancy as the technical advisor for Jack Bauer's adventures and you get the idea.

A thing that makes them unique is that they could be considered a rare example of an 'epic spy novel'. Mr England's work is very large scale stuff. Gunplay, geopolitics, fanaticism and the best and worst of human nature on display are expertly manipulated into turning the Shadow Warriors books into a clash between Gods and Titans, albeit Gods and Titans armed with explosives and automatic weapons.

Anyway, the third book is coming out. The star of the show is Harry Nicholas, a recently laid off CIA officer who like Jack Bauer, has had a lot of bad days.

The setting is the United Kingdom, suffering from extremism, a rotting social fabric and a government that no longer has the stuff to keep the country united.

The aim of the game? Mr Nicholas is in Britain to kill an Islamic terrorist, one who has placed in his sights, the most protected individuals on the British isles.

However, he has no support from the Agency and soon becomes a person of interest to the Security Services, Islamic terrorists and even members of the PIRA.

With no country for a fallen killer to return to and finding himself in a country racing along the highway to hell, Harry Nicholas revives dead alliances, makes deals with devils and begins to make the blood flow from London to Scotland in his hunt for a man who robbed him of what he once held most dear.

http://www.stephenwrites.com/2016/03/...

Online. Don't forget to buy.

https://www.amazon.com/Embrace-Fire-S...

Stephen also has another book series in the works. A historical fiction novel set in the 1990's concerning the events of the Palestinian Intifada and the repercussions of two Israeli soldiers who got butchered in a sickening manner by a Palestinian mob.
It's like a fictional secret history, something involving the legendary Kidon hitmen of the Mossad.

Just reviewed embrace the fire. The following posts are an uncut version of the review I posted. It's a galactic sized monstrosity and thus will be in parts.

GUNPOWDER TREASON AND PLOT

“I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot”. - 17th century nursery rhyme.

“Forgiveness is between them and God. It’s our job to arrange the meeting.”- USMC creed.

“Oh sinner man, where you gonna run to?”- Nina Simone

“I don't think the dead care about vengeance.”- James Bond.

It can be said that the year 2016 has been one of chaos. Great power issues are returning with a vengeance, the economic pie is toast and worst of all, extremism is in fashion. For the public at large, it seems that the crazier, louder and more violent you are, the more popular a fellow becomes. That rage, can lead the masses towards many different destinations, like off a cliff for starters. In the 21st century, it’s not just the Islamic fanatics who have the spotlight, now it’s the far left and far right sections of western politics who have found this year a golden opportunity to have the madness they preach lapped up by the desperate multitudes of society who have been made to believe that they’re doomed and in need of silver bullets. The only problem being is that these metaphorical bullets cause much collateral damage when fired. Like taking out countries for instance.

How do you kill a country? WMD’s are impractical and expensive. And while the weapons of science fiction such as rail guns and hypersonic missiles are becoming reality, they do not have the power to erase a country from existence. Target infrastructure? The author Brad Thor tried that in his book “Act of War”, and while the result would kill a country, there were too many moving parts in his scheme. To really kill a country in a cost effective, yet efficient fashion, you need to go back to the old saying “divide and conquer”. One needs to get as many sections of the public murdering each other so that the societal fabric that holds a nation together is eviscerated. And to do that, a lot of manipulation, hyperbole, lies, a spot of violence and even one or two good intentions goes a long way.

To kill a country could be the alternative title of “Embrace the Fire”, the third full length novel of indie published spy novelist and amazon superstar Stephen England. He’s living proof that an author does not necessarily need an elaborately negotiated deal with a large publishing house to write a good story. Mr England’s “Shadow Warriors” series is centred on the life and times of Harry Nicholas, a recently fired officer of the CIA Special Activities Division. Once tasked with the liquidation of the Islamic terrorists and all who supported them, Nicholas hit a mental rock bottom in book 2 when he was unable to stop a terrorist incident that, like a runaway freight train, tore through hundreds of innocent civilians, and flattened the woman he was falling in love with.

Deemed no longer capable of carrying out his duties as a killer in a dispassionate manner, Nicholas was made redundant by the Company. But with free time on his hands and having been consumed by a desire for revenge, Harry snuck over to Great Britain where he believes the man responsible for the events of “Day Of Reckoning” is hiding. He lands during a time of terror.

The populist political right is attempting to give British democracy enough rope to hang itself. Islamist extremists are scheming away to target the most important people in the UK. And worst of all, the Security Services and Harry’s former bosses as the Company, realize that he’s still in play and attempt to meddle in his campaign to get justice. Now to the review. What if it were possible to send an entire country down the highway to hell with your good intentions?

PART ONE

We start the novel with the protagonist Harry Nicholas walking in the dark, metaphorically and physically. He’s paying a house call on someone he knows, a British Pakistani MI5 officer by the name of Mehreen Crawford. She’s the recently widowed wife of an old friend. They talk, he guarded, she surprised and concerned. After some verbal cut and thrust, Crawford manages to wrangle out the reason why her husband’s American friend has walked back into her life. Harry is blunt. He wants to kill a man. The man in question is introduced a page later. Tarik Abdul Muhammed, Islamist terrorist who demolished much of the Las Vegas strip in the author’s excellent second book “Day Of Reckoning”. After his morning prayers, he’s greeted with the unwelcome news that his enemies know exactly where he is.

But being blessed with a mind twisted by radical Islamist ideology, he resolves not to let the prospect of imminent death get to him. We then cut to Crawford’s fellow employees at the security services. The most important are Julian Marsh, director of MI5 who has an unwelcome joint surveillance operation with the CIA landing on his in – tray and Darren Roth, Special Boat Service veteran and the hatchet man of MI5. Roth realizes something significant is happening when he’s handed a SIG-Sauer P229 and told to ensure the “cousins” don’t do any shenanigans. He is also ordered to monitor one man in particular, Thomas Parker, Special Activities Division officer and government assassin.

Harry and the intelligence services make their preparations, each preparing to go after Tarik. Nicholas hacks Crawford’s phone so he can monitor progress of the surveillance operation and know where his man is being tracked to. He also acquires weapons from an Agency asset by the name of Stephen Flattery an IRA terrorist turned arms dealer. In between these plot lines, several others are expertly introduced. The nephew of Crawford is cultivated by Islamic terrorists for radicalization. Tarik begins making inroads into the world of British jihadists. A right wing newspaper publisher and his security consultant bemoan the state of the UK. And across the Atlantic, a US Senator is horrified to discover a piece of legislation that would lay waste to his nation’s foreign intelligence gathering capability.

On the big day at Leeds city station, just as Nicholas is within range of putting a bullet in his target’s spine, Tarik gets texted with directions on how to avoid the people who are about to arrest him. He follows them, is promptly kidnapped and taken off to a moor up North. There he comes face to face with Arthur Collerville, newspaper baron. Collerville is a fanatic like Tarik, but of a diametrically opposed ideology. Xenophobic, outrageously nationalistic and loathing of all Muslims, peacefully moderate, radically violent and any in-between. Being someone who believes the British establishment no longer has the fortitude to rule Britain in a way benefitting the citizens of the nation he loves, Collerville decided to craft a silver bullet, one which he believes would allow him to terminate the things in his way with extreme prejudice.

Offering Tarik a partnership, one which is self-serving on both sides, Collerville dives head on into treason and proposes to sponsor a terrorist attack, one which Tarik and the Islamists whom he’s been getting to know will play centre stage in. Tarik accepts the offer and just before the meeting breaks up, Harry is rumbled by Collerville’s security detail. Running for his life, Nicholas kills his pursuer and to his horror, discovers his victim is a British soldier whom he knows from his previous life. The killing sets off alarm bells in Thames House who realize there are several unknown quantities in the mission to hunt the terrorist. With time running out, Harry Nicholas, a man who has lost his country, allegiances and everything he’s cared about, races across Britain to bring one of the world’s most dangerous men to an early grave, before his target kills the most important family in the United Kingdom.

PART 2

In terms of plot, Embrace the Fire can only be described as an espionage epic. Very rarely does a spy novel turn out to have the scale and scope of this book. The only other recent series which comes close is the six book Ryan Drake saga by Will Jordan. England however takes a different approach to Jordan’s clash of espionage demigods. His books, which focus on a former government assassin who has many bad days, are the literary equivalent of a “24” season mixed with the real world accuracy of Tom Clancy.

That means while well researched and full of action, guns and explosions, they are packed with more psychological brutality than the Scott Harvath and Mitch Rapp books combined and devoid of the Pax Americana wish fulfilment inherent in both characters. While paying tribute to the resilience of the covert and overt American warriors in the world today, they do not glorify the profession of spying and killing and show how wretched it can make the men and women who operate in the twisted shadows hidden behind civilization’s curtain.

As for the story of Embrace the fire itself, it came at the right time. With its snapshot of a first world nation torn asunder by social, economic and political divisions and plagued by extremist violence, such a scenario is by far the most chillingly relevant spy novel plot of 2016. Evoking real world issues, like terrorism, great power geopolitics, economic hardship, changing demographics and a broken law enforcement infrastructure, the author intensifies their severity to breaking point to craft the dark, twisted fictional universe Harry Nicholas is a resident of. It’s a world which seeks to subvert and crush underfoot the most notorious and overused tropes done to death in the spy fiction of the last decade.

Embrace The Fire is a book which incinerates Boy Scout idealism, sets wish fulfilment ablaze and toasts the very idea that you can do horrible things for the right reasons and not have consequences fall on you like a heavenly thunderbolt, three conventions which for better or worse, hijacked espionage fiction in the last decade and drained much creative potential out of the genre. The author however is not a man who plays safe and is perfectly willing to thrill his readers by kicking them off the proverbial cliff and only tossing a plot relevant parachute when they’re halfway down and feeling genuine excitement, interest and terror.

Action and setting? Well having previously written 2 full length novels and three short stories, crafting exciting moments of violence has become second nature to the author. Being a writer of “Christian” thrillers, at first glance, most thriller readers who have been brought up on profanity spewing, macho heroes would laugh at England. There’s not a single swear word in his books or gratuitous sex for that matter. But those people would rue underestimating how dark Embrace the Fire can get. England’s spy novels feature the best and worst of human nature on display and when he comes to focusing on the worst, the proceedings involve many bodies hitting the floor.

From a lone wolf terrorist hacking his way with a machete through London’s largest Gay nightclub, to gun battles in the woods of North England, the story even takes us to a destructive siege of the holiday house belonging to the most important family in Britain and finally climaxes with a messy, chaotic assassination in a Scottish container port. And interspaced with the set pieces are acts of violence which help enhance the doom and gloom during the quiet moments. Riots, bombings of Mosques, dirty little murders and torture in forgotten streets here and there. The violence in this spy novel is no mere afterthought, while thrilling, it’s also statement on how dehumanizing such actions can be, if done on a national scale. Such a statement is rare in the genre and I commend the author for adding that subtext.

Research? There are a lot of indie thriller writers out there, and mainstream novelists who skimp in this area. Stephen England however, would never be caught dead getting the real world details that go into the fictional narratives he weaves wrong. The amount of research he does for his spy novels would quite literally blow your mind. From accurately name checking the firearms used and giving a decent portrayal of their actual capabilities, he then goes further, much further.

From showing the complexities of modern physical and electronic surveillance, to assault and close protection tactics, the RAF air procedures in an event of a national crisis and even the interplay and dynamics of asset cultivation and Islamist radicalization, I confess that I’m scratching the surface.

What amazes me is that he’s been able to integrate a national archive’s worth of real world detail into his book without it disrupting the narrative flow. Mr England equals if not surpasses many of his mainstream published counterparts in the research department and only a few of England’s fellow indie published novelists come close to his level of accuracy, which borders on actual “insider” knowledge.

PART 3

Now to characters. Mr England has always been productive in his department, and “Embrace the Fire” is no exception. There were so many stand outs in the story that I regret that I can only give some limited mentions. Well here goes. First, we have Harry Nicholas our anti – hero. As noted previously, he’s hit a psychological rock bottom with the foundation of his world, his job being snatched from him. With nothing left to lose, especially with Tarik Abdul Mohammed stealing his one chance for a normal life, Nicholas is on a mission to drag the Jihadist down with him to the fires of hell itself.

Hence, unlike his days as a professional killer, where he was a criminal with a government pay cheque, Nicholas has nothing limiting him anymore. No “morality pet”, no “presidential findings” and not a single shred of remorse or doubt. He’s now a man who is willing to leave a river of blood from one end of Britain to the other, and that is what he proceeds to do in this book, racking up a body count that even Jack Bauer at his very worst would have a hard time equalling. From using a well-paced chain of omissions which sends a friend of his on the road to ruin, to incapacitating a MI5 surveillance team with almost lethal force, Nicholas does some very ghastly stuff in this story, for the purposes of exploring the central theme of Embrace the Fire, Revenge.

Unlike your usual revenge story, which is supposed to be satisfying and cathartic, such as the excellent “Consent to Kill” by Vince Flynn, Embrace the Fire takes a different approach and uses Nicholas as the vehicle to explore it. The author attempts to point out that from the perspective of those who aren’t the individual on a revenge quest, such actions would look borderline psychotic and terrifying. Furthermore there’s no true glory in it, as seen when Harry tortures a vile Islamist radical. Normally, his victim would be someone you wouldn’t give a toss about.

But, when Nicholas proceeds to disassemble the man via a hundred or so whacks with a rubber hose, breaking most of his limbs and adding in a spot of water boarding for good measure, you will be guaranteed to shiver like I did. Unlike other mainstream writers who glorify torture, England resoundingly slams his fist down and points out a simple fact. It’s a tool, one which brutal, messy and effective. Nothing more, and it sure as hell is not something to revel in like certain sections of society do.

That being said, England manages to perform a classic balancing act with Harry’s characterization. Another review mentioned how Nicholas admits he’s doing this job for selfish reasons, after a lifetime dutifully fighting for his country. That makes him much more relatable unlike the antagonists who delude themselves into justifying their atrocities with a healthy dose of self-righteousness. Despite living in a world gone mad, Nicholas is the only honest man, who has a clear, sympathetic mission which he does not deviate from during the novel’s events. You share his suffering at several points in the story when he’s about to fall and pray for his ultimate triumph.

PART 4

Next we have Mehreen Crawford and Stephen Flahatry. Crawford is the MI5 officer whose world falls apart during the events of the novel. As a Pakistani British citizen who is a member of the security services, she’s caught between cultures and worlds. A patriotic woman who fights for her adopted homeland, she’s also divided from certain members of her family that hate the life she’s chosen to live. Her plot line in the story is one of the most compelling, due to the troubles that land on her plate. From quietly assisting Harry and balancing her commitment to MI5, she’s also met with the unwelcome news that her nephew is an Islamist terrorist. If Nicholas is the only honest man in the story, than Crawford is the only honest woman who tries to endure the cruel world she lives in and do the right thing, even if she gets hurt in the process. Her story is a very tragic one as you shall discover.

As for Stephen Flahatry, England created one of this year’s surprises. Flahatry is the arms dealer Harry uses to get weapons, but whose involvement becomes more long term due to a series of unfortunate events. A former IRA bomb maker, Flahatry is a gleeful cynic whose ideological illusions were crushed long ago. As a terrorist from a simpler time, you wouldn’t expect him to become the borderline deutertagonist of the story. While not a spy, Flahatry is a cunning, tough man forged in the fires of the Irish troubles. An old dog, but one whose teeth take large chunks out of whoever he bites. Providing much of the black comedy in the story with his snarky commentary on Harry’s roaring rampage of revenge, he also surprises in another way. While Harry is on his way down, Flahatry soon finds himself on a mission to redeem himself by doing one good thing in his life, namely help destroy a man far worse than himself.

PART 5

Now the Villains. We have three. Tarik Abdul Muhammed, Arthur Collerville and Connor Hale. First, Tarik. I must say that I found his first appearance in “Day Of Reckoning”, rather unsatisfactory. It was his scheme and several other secondary characters who stole the show for me. My opinion of Tarik back then was a clever, but not terrifying terrorist. In this book however, the final act of his life, he finally jumps off the page, with a very interesting character arc that allows me to appreciate the work the author did with him much more and see the Jihadist in a new light. What makes Tarik a great antagonist is his great mind and even greater fanaticism.

Everyone loves to believe they’re the hero and Tarik is no exception. This is a man who believes he’s been blessed by Allah to wage war on the world. Like most Islamists, he suffers from a colossal amount of self-righteousness which contrasts him from Harry who is devoid of such pretensions. For Tarik however, everything is justified in the pursuit of what he believes will make the world a better place, up to gory mass murder and torture. Unlike man of the fictional terrorists in the last decade however, he’s got a lot of bark to bite up his bite. While not a fighter like say Joshua Hood’s Al Qatar, Tarik’s skill lies in plots and plans. For a man who left Las Vegas in ruins, this time he sets the bar even higher by putting in his crosshairs, the most guarded individuals in the United Kingdom, with a pretty feasible scheme that would have high chances of success if attempted in real life.

Finally onto Collerville and Hale. Collerville is a most despicable individual. The owner of a paper that for all intents and purposes is the Daily Express with the serial numbers filed off, he combines the machinations of the American Steve Bannon with the messiah – like ego of Khomeini. Like his business partner Tarik, Collerville is another dishonest man in contrast with the protagonist. Self-deluding himself with self-righteous designs of violently reshaping the political situation in his country, he too believes that the treason and murder he’s sanctioning is justified by a greater good. But ultimately, Arthur is nothing more than a grubby crook who’s willing to burn down Britain just for the chance to rule over the ashes. He’s such a loathsome fellow that you will cheer like I did when he finally panics and finds he can’t negotiate with death and the hollow point bullets sent his way.

Next, Hale, a former SAS trooper turned trouble shooter for Collerville. Unlike his boss who at his core is a fundamentally selfish fellow, Hale is a true believer who has lapped up the ideology of his master. Having served his country well and fought with distinction in the regiment, Connor soon found himself at the end of his rope, finding fighting the endless war a wearisome task. Desperate for a solution to a problem that would destroy the country he loved, Hale decided to follow a man who he thought would provide a “silver bullet”, to solve the ills plaguing the UK, Collerville. Like his employer, Hale is under self-delusion of sorts. But his are rather more meaningful especially due to make several good points about the one hand tied behind the back mentality that has caused counter –terrorism efforts much grief.

PART 6

Now to constructive criticism. This is going to be highly embarrassing because I don’t have any. “Embrace The Fire”, is the second book I’ve read this year where I’ve been at a loss for words, the first being the awesome “Warning Order”, by Joshua Hood. Stephen England’s third novel is perfect as it is and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, Embrace The Fire. My verdict is this. Stephen England has written the best spy novel of 2016, period. A glorious, scary book that seeks to take art imitating life to a whole new level, with its cast of highly damaged yet engrossing characters, operatic scope and coolly realistic vision of the world as it is, rather than what we wish it could be, the book is a complex, brave work of espionage fiction that deserves more attention than it will sadly receive as an independently published thriller novel. Three years ago, I wrote that Mr England had written "the perfect spy thriller for our time--chaotic, cynical, with only a few good men keeping the barbarians from the gate."

And in 2016, that sentence is still more than appropriate to describe his third full length novel. In these chaotic times we live in, many of you would wish for escapism in the fiction you read. I argue however, that the world needs more spy thrillers like “Embrace the Fire”. This is a book which makes us aware of how dangerous the world is, makes us more appreciative of the men and women who sacrifice normal lives and their very humanity itself to protect the rest of us, and forces us to cast aside any delusions, self-pity or wilful blindness that we might entertain in our darkest hours. With Mr England ending his book in his characteristically brave and blunt manner, I can only sit back and marvel at what he’s accomplished as a spy novelist and wait with bated breath, to see how Harry Nicholas escapes the presence of his enemies to live and die another day.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED.

Awesome review, Samuel. Many, many thanks.

Stephen wrote: "Awesome review, Samuel. Many, many thanks."

My pleasure Stephen.
I consider, the "Balmoral Blast out", my favorite action scene of the year. Very harrowing and a chilling look at how one of the most famous residences in Britain could be turned into a big kill box simply by exploiting geography and an access point.
Was it difficult to plan out?

Stephen wrote: "Awesome review, Samuel. Many, many thanks."

And for book 4, will you be continuing to deconstruct the "lone fugitive on the run trope"? In this day and age, there aren't too many places to hide.

Even someone who knows all the tricks in the book and is willing to kill most people who get in his way is going to have trouble doing a Richard Kimble.

Which is a reason why I included the lovely refrain by Nina Simone as one of the opening quotes for the EBF review. Since after what he's done, the question is whether there is any safety left for Harry to run to.

Stephen wrote: "Awesome review, Samuel. Many, many thanks."

I also used Embrace The Fire as an example in one of the trope/convention threads. You seem to be found of this one in particular....

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I hear there's now a box set of the first three books......

Samuel wrote: "I hear there's now a box set of the first three books......"

pity it's only on Amazon......

Samuel wrote: "Samuel wrote: "I hear there's now a box set of the first three books......"

pity it's only on Amazon......"

buy the box set here.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Warrior...

“You weren’t prepared for chaos,” Kranemeyer interrupted quietly, finishing Arntz’s sentence for him as his dark eyes flickered between the lawyer and the DNI. “Because that’s what you set in motion, with every bullet fired, with every missile launched. Chaos. You think because our technology is so advanced that we can put a missile through a window—a specific window—that we can control who it kills once it’s through, that we can decide then who lives and who dies? Because that’s not war. That’s not reality. Chaos. . .that’s reality.”

He was born Michael Warnick, a native of Duluth, Minnesota. Now he's known as Umar ibn Hassan, and he's a spiritual leader for the Islamic State in the Egyptian Sinai.

The CIA and Egyptian special forces have been tasked with bringing him in. They've failed.

So now the mission has been simplified: kill him.

On February 2nd, the Shadow Warriors return. . .

So.....the details that have been revealed so far......
This story is about a counter - terrorist operation, a targeted killing executed by the Egyptian Army and the CIA Special Activities Division in the dusty Sinai.

The Sinai Peninsula, formerly returned to Egypt by Israel is a very barren undeveloped stretch of desert. The boondocks of the country, it's the region where Egypt's Bedouin

Recently it's been the sight of one of the three most significant insurgencies in the middle East. The boys at Daesh have set up shop, capitalizing on the neglect and sloth like distraction of the Egyptian dictatorship. Radicalizing people under their ultra - hard line Islamist vision, the insurgency they've initiated has been characterized with a snake like viciousness and slick sophistication, appearing to strike at will and vanish like a cloud of sand.

Like the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, what appeared to be a pinprick at first has grown into a nightmare where death stalks the villages and remote farms and towns of Egypt. A shooting here, a massive bomb here, people getting kidnapped and getting a lot off the top, the worst is yet to come........ which sums up the series this novella is based in.

So, plot details......a new President who gets his first taste of the covert operations hot seat. A Director of the National Clandestine Service who is apprehensive about the new boy and how he'll react to the power at his finger tips.....and a Special Activities Division officer who tries to survive a long day with Mr Murphy Law breathing down his neck.

Drones take off, bullets fly, I.E.D's lie in wait for their command detonation signals and as what should have been a surgical strike becomes messy, a domino falls in this new chapter of the smash hit indie thriller spy fiction series that has taken amazon by storm and proven that indie fiction can at times teach the NYT best seller list a thing or two. The Shadow Warriors series.

So......how to describe the Shadow Warriors series.
It's one of the closest things we'll get to an epic spy novel saga in the 21st century. It mixes the psychological brutality and pacing of "24" with the grand sweep and technical detail of a Tom Clancy novel and the prose of Jack Higgins.

This series is not in the wish fulfillment side of spy fiction. Imagine the universe trying to actively squash Scott Harvath flat and you get the idea of what group member Stephen England's work is about.

The Shadow Warriors series is many things.

A spy novel saga that's captures a shattered world. Where ideals have died a dog's death long ago and where some at the top and middle let the wolves at the door in.

A tribute to the tenacity of the American warrior, overt or covert, but one that avoids glamorizing their hard, high stress job look cool, which makes the times when they step up to the plate and be heroes even more powerful.

A showcase at the potential of indie thriller writing when people use the opportunities it provides to become true artisans and be willing to do things that those limited by mainstream publishing are unable to do.

A series that systematically demolishes subverts and gleefully twists tropes with the hard whack of a .45 ACP hollow point. No cows are sacred as the author is more than happy to destroy the ones you love, protect the ones you hate and even let the protagonist's body hit the floor. Sometimes the guns don't come on time, the last boat out leaves the hero behind and always, the best laid plans go askew and there are no last minute stays of execution when it comes to the business the Shadow Warriors are in.

Daring, audacious and jaw dropping, In place of someone like Mitch Rapp, the counter - terrorist operative we hope is out there, the story focuses on Harry Nicholas the counter - terrorist operative who is.

A Paramilitary operations officer who one day gathers intelligence and the next day shoots the enemies of the American state from Paris to Yemen, Harry Nicholas is one of the titular shadow warriors. No medals for him as he fights on the world that's become a battlefield once again. Leading a Special Activities Division team, the first three books chart Harry's fall from the top shooter at the Company NCS into becoming one of the most realistically portrayed rogue agents in spy fiction.

With terrorists and hostile spies to the left, and politicians to the right, you'll find yourself stuck in the middle with Nicholas as he tries to avoid getting shot, blown up and betrayed too much.......which is all in a days work for him.

So.....do check out the series. Nothing quite like it. A true diamond in the rough of indie published fiction.

I read the goodreads description - sounds legit - maybe not as long as a Tom Clancy novel but more intense

Janagan wrote: "I read the goodreads description - sounds legit - maybe not as long as a Tom Clancy novel but more intense"

Absolutely. Stephen's work doesn't have the bloat his fellow Marylander became notorious for at the apogee of his career.

Samuel wrote: "“You weren’t prepared for chaos,” Kranemeyer interrupted quietly, finishing Arntz’s sentence for him as his dark eyes flickered between the lawyer and the DNI. “Because that’s what you set in motio..."

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