The Devil’s Fortress by Dale Brown

Brown is a master at writing military fiction. Nick Flynn is a resourceful, creative, somewhat crazy leader. He leads his team on missions that should be impossible. Yet they always find some way, although it comes at a cost. I like his teammates. Van Horn is an amazing woman. She seems fearless and willing to do anything for her country and to protect her man. She’s got a lot of spunk.

The action and adventure are intense. I appreciate that the author can write in such a way that a person can understand what’s happening even if they have no military background. These books would make great movies. I really enjoyed it and will look forward to the next one.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Sons of Valor III by Andrews & Wilson

“Her brother SEALS were far more than just operators–more than just door-kickers. They were the PhDs of war fighting, thinking outside the box and using unconventional tactics and methods to push boundaries and test limits in every engagement” (location 348).

I love military action books like this one. I also appreciate seeing the same characters book after book and some even in a couple series. It’s easier to get into the action when you’re not starting from square one. I have always liked Chunk and Heels. Their interactions together are intense. I wish some things had ended differently for them but it makes for an interesting build up for the next book.

I thought it was great to see Watts/Heels taking a bigger role. She’s not as seasoned as the tier one men and seems more vulnerable yet still strong. It’s an interesting combination.

This was an exciting book full of danger. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who likes military fiction. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Weapons of Opportunity by Dale Brown

Pavel Voronin and the Raven Syndicate are once again trying to destroy America…and this time they may just succeed unless Nick Flynn and the Quartet Directorate can figure out the plan and stop it.

This was an exciting book filled with danger and urgency. It was fascinating seeing the lengths Nick’s team would go to in order to succeed in their mission. It makes me wonder if there are real teams with missions out there protecting our country in ways we never hear about. The final battle was pretty epic. It would make for a very tense action film.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Dempsey by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson

“Dying here tonight is simply not an option. I have too much work to do, too many promises to satisfy, and too many people to kill” (location 2985). This is typical Dempsey. He puts himself through incredible situations and wills himself through them by his grit, training, and determination. He goes to extreme lengths to accomplish missions. He’s a fascinating character. It was odd to see his team trying to get along without him. His impact on each of them was so great.

Fans of military fiction will love this book. It has a lot of action and danger and extreme plots. I love the focus on the team. It’s easy to remember characters from book to book because they’re so memorable. I enjoyed seeing the secondary plotline of Dempsey’s son going through seal training. It’ll be interesting to see how they end up crossing paths in the future.

This book can be read as a standalone but it makes way more sense having read the other tier one novels. There’s an author’s note that Tier One has been optioned for film and television and it’s easy to see why. They’re great novels with characters you care about who are kicking down doors to protect our country. The only negative for me is that there’s a lot of swearing in the book. The authors have other series that don’t have swearing so I’m not sure why they feel it’s needed here.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Dark Fall by Andrews & Wilson

This is another fascinating book in the Shepherds series.  After seeing the results of one of the worst attacks possible, Jed and Ben realize something is going on, the likes of which they’ve never seen before.  They can’t understand why the watchers are being blindsided. 

There was not as much interaction between the team and the watchers in this book.   However, there was a lot more focus on how the watchers are trained.  The breadth of their abilities was highlighted as well, especially Sarabeth’s.  I look forward to learning more about them in future books.

I would highly recommend this to people who like military fiction with a strong supernatural or spiritual element.  Thank you to Tyndale House for providing me with a free e-copy of this book.  All opinions are my own.

Countdown to Midnight by Dale Brown

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Dale Brown book and now I wonder why. I have always enjoyed this type of military or aviation/techno-thriller fiction. I think Brown’s history as an aviator brings a lot of realism and credibility to the book. It was an engaging read. It reminded me of the Tier One series by Andrews & Wilson. I like the camaraderie amongst the team members. I like their mission. I appreciate the fact that there are people out there doing everything they can to keep our country safe. The things this team did were CRAZY but necessary because of the dire straits they were in.

This is book two in the Nick Flynn series. I just purchased book one so I can learn more of the backstory and I’ll definitely look forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.