Ratings4
Average rating3
“Bristling with intrigue, deceit, power, and treason—once you pick this book up, you will NOT be able to put it down.” —Brad Thor, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author “A completely gripping story.” —Clive Cussler, New York Times Bestselling Author Eric Steele is the best of the best—an Alpha—an operative in a unit known simply as “the Program.” A highly-trained U.S. Special Forces soldier who spent his career fighting radical Islamic militants in Afghanistan, Steele uses a deadly combination of espionage and brute strength to root out his targets and neutralize them. But sometimes the enemy gets a vote, and Steele knows all too well that every mission may be his last. Steele is in Beirut when a CIA convoy is attacked and a nuclear weapon stolen. The strategic implications are bad enough, but when he and his colleagues in Washington investigate, it becomes clear that none of this was by chance—the perpetrator is a shadowy figure from Steele’s past. Once a valued ally, he is now a formidable enemy who will stop at nothing to rain havoc down on those he believes have wronged him. Sean Parnell uses his combat experience to recreate the adrenaline-fueled excitement and sheer terror of war.
Reviews with the most likes.
Steele is a cardboard character. It's usually not clear what's happening.
Overall, 3.5 stars. It's a thrilling story that reminded me of the Bourne novels for complexity and elite levels of corruption. The author is definitely talented and can spin a good thriller. I also enjoyed how there is an expectation of stopping bad guys and that there are consequences for actions, since many of the books in this genre currently feature a lot of frustrating moral relativism.
I really appreciated that the breath-taking violence is kept matter-of-fact and that the gory scenes were described in brief, succinct terms that didn't make me want to faint. There is no graphic sex, though there is a scene between two women that almost gets there. However, the language is quite a bit worse than Bourne, and the pages are littered with heavy profanities and four-letter vulgarities.
Overall, I may read more of the series if I'm in the right mood. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes current thrillers and doesn't mind sorting through some language and a boatload of characters. 18+
Featured Series
3 primary booksEric Steele is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by Sean Parnell.