Sam Stone

Unrelenting action and pulse-pounding excitement as a Green Beret mountain warfare specialization team engages deadly Haqqani fighters in Afghanistan’s Shok Valley.

Raven’s Wrath by Sam Stone is a pulse-pounding military thriller about a Green Beret mountain warfare specialization team on a recon assignment in Afghanistan’s Shok Valley. The novella lays the groundwork for the relationships and shared experiences of the team members for the author’s upcoming Texas-set Task Force Raven show more series.

Captain Jake Baylor and his brothers-in-arms are ambushed by a large, organized force of Haqqani fighters while on recon, traversing the mountainous passages of the Shok Valley. While gravely outnumbered and not in the best defensive position, the team is holding its own, but in order to make it out alive, they must somehow turn the tables, making their hunters the ones who are hunted.

Jake Baylor is a born warrior and leader whose natural skills are honed by intense training. He’s also a true son of Texas with generational roots in the state going back to Sam Houston himself. I liked how Houston’s history is woven into Baylor’s with the hand-me-down war tomahawk and the use of Houston’s Cherokee moniker of “The Raven” for his present-day descendant. Jake is all business and keeps the welfare of his command in mind, even as he must make life-and-death assignments.

While action-packed and heart-poundingly exciting, the descriptions of each man on the team to the cinematically envisioned desert-to-mountain settings are amazingly detailed and realistic without slowing the story down one iota. I could almost feel their surroundings and smell the fumes of destruction and the results of their fighting.

The foreshadowing of the danger ahead on the team’s mission gave me eerie prickles on the back of my neck as Jake and Turner both sensed something was “off.” Their nighttime trek on foot toward the Haqqani stronghold was riveting, edge-of-your-seat suspenseful. The Special Forces team is absolutely resolute in the face of the onslaught by opponents who are persistent but with ill-placed determination. Sergeant Joe Garza comes by his nickname of “Joker’ honestly and has some stellar quips to alleviate a little of the tension throughout their ordeal. Considering this is just the introduction, I can hardly wait for the meat of the series to get underway.

I recommend RAVEN’S WRATH to readers of military thrillers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery. show less

Non-stop action, excitement, and complex, coordinated operations made for riveting reading!

Reaper is the first novel in author Sam Stone’s gripping new political thriller series, Task Force Raven, and its exciting and complex, coordinated operations made for riveting reading. With its multidimensional characters and storyline scenarios that dovetail current events, I didn’t want to put this book down!

Jake Baylor, with familial ties to Texas’s Sam Houston, leads the state’s innovative show more mobile response team known as Task Force Raven, the name an homage to the name given to his illustrious relation by the Cherokee. The task force responds when an horrific attack is made on a McAllen area Border Patrol station, the ensuing chaos and horror only a diversion to launch an even more insidious plot to do damage on American soil. Jake has a personal connection to the attack, as his longtime best friend, Clint McNamara, was on-site when it occurred. You could clearly sense the emotional toll that the events have on the characters.

The story unfolds from multiple points of view, giving readers a front row seat to the motives, planning, and preparations behind the action for both the good guys and the bad. Those who enjoy the technical aspects of military-style operations will definitely be rewarded with interesting detail, without overwhelming those readers who do not. The author provides a nice glossary of terms, acronyms, and jargon at the beginning of the book that I found helpful when characters were “talking the talk” and enhancing the feel of the story’s authenticity.

The action hits the ground running, and the suspense never lets up as Jake and his RAVEN team race to stop the multi-pronged attack by the bad guys led by ISIS adherent, Abu Waleed Hassan, or REAPER. With several plans in motion, the action moves around the state, from the Rio Grande Valley to the Hill Country to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, highlighting some iconic local settings. As a local, I enjoyed the scenes featuring these familiar locations, and I think others from the various areas will as well

I recommend REAPER to readers of political and military thrillers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. show less

The Story

After Kat and the gang defeated the shadowy evil at the Pollitt's place, we were left floating in the airship, with more than a friendship brewing between Pepper and Kat.

Next thing we know, Kat and Pepper are scurrying up a rope ladder, trying to reach the airship before their cleverly placed dynamite sticks go off. Sure, they had narrowly escaped death...again...but that's just how Kat loves life - fast, gritty and always on the edge. If not for her, Pepper and Martin, who would show more defeat the darkness? Even with them always pushing back, the darkness will always be there. Hopefully it will not reach the same stage as it did with the zombies, but lately the darkness has been growing. It's finding its way in to corners, creating a gloom over everything - would there be another uprising? One thing's for sure, there are a lot more creatures from the dark than there used to be, including their latest kill - gargoyles.

Their new focus on gargoyles has led them to a dilapidated church, abandoned some 20 years previous. Nothing seems right, but they know why. The darkness has entered this church, in a way unlike any they have encountered before. Would this evil be as easy to beat, especially when they have to do it under the watchful eyes of the church?

Kat and the gang jump full throttle into this church With life always on the edge, fast paced and never knowing whether they'll get through a day, it's hard not to take advantage of each moment. That attitude leads Kat and Pepper down a path they never thought possible. When they are caught in a loving embrace, by Martin and Kat's mother, they are rushed toward marriage. Luckily, Kat's mother is able to find a lovely hotel for them to have the ceremony at, and they all head there for the weekend to plan, but -as with all things Kat - nothing is quite what it seems.

They arrive at the hotel, all in a flutter. Kat is overwhelmed by beauty, love and marriage, which is nothing like the Kat we all knew. Is she changing, or is this all part of a sinister plot? Why do the ladies who've just checked in look so different, pale with bright red lips - almost as read as blood? Why does it seem like everyone is falling for Pepper? Why can't Kat seem to remember anything important and what on earth do bats have to do with it?

Let's only hope Kat and Martin can get to the bottom of this problem, before the problem flies out of hand and Pepper finds himself between more than a rock and a hard place...

What I Thought

I have yet to be let down by the brilliant writing from Sam Stone. This third instalment of the Kat Lightfoot mysteries is no less brilliant than the other two. Again, Stone has chosen to keep the overall premise of fighting the darkness as the main story of her mystery. She has also kept with the theme that each book, while fighting off darkness is key, also starts at a slightly different time and involves different minions and settings. I, personally, find this to be one of the reasons that her stories are so addicting. It is nice to know I am going to sit down and enjoy the gang, steampunk brilliance and lots of action, but I also love the fact that I know that there will not be any repetition and I will have loads of surprises awaiting me!

The characters in this story, outside of Kat and the gang, are very well developed. They have depth, emotion and we are given enough detail to be able not only to picture each of them, but to know what faces they would be making when they are talking, feel the emotion exuding from them and even believe (completely) the surprise turns they make take in the story. I love this, as all the characters are real and plausible, rather than finding myself thinking ' err, I wouldn't have seen him doing that, how disappointing' I find myself thinking 'damn, i knew that guy was bad news.' It's great!

I also found that we are delving even deeper into the main characters of our story. We are getting to know even more about Pepper, Kat, Martin, Kat's mother and even Holly! Unlike a lot of series, I like that they characters have many layers and depth, giving us more insight into them with each story, rather than building the characters in the first book and just leaving be.

The plot to this book was done perfectly, and was completely believable - with the understanding and knowledge of what we have come to expect from both the darkness and from vampires. The pace held its own, ensuring that the story had twists/turns exactly when they were needed and that you were never left waiting for something to happen to boost the story - there was always something to keep your interested piqued and your mind craving for more.

I also love that this book ends with an option for so much more from Stone and the Lightfoot mysteries. I, for one, hope she doesn't plan to stop here. I want to here so much more of the gang's adventures.

OVERALL: This book blew me away. I would highly recommend this book and the entire Lightfoot mysteries, as they are addicting. They are great reads for adults and even down to YA, probably over 15-16, with the dark details. They are great for a fast read - if you want to sit for a few hours and just immerse yourself, but are also great for a pick-up read if you only have minutes to spare. The depth and breadth of writing make this book one not to be missed and the skill from Stone will make you fall in love with Kat, Pepper and Martin more with each page. show less

The Story

Kat Lightfoot is not your average girl. Our first adventure with her, in Zombies at Tiffany's, saw her and her steampunk fuelled gang - Pepper and Martin- hoisting guns, packed with diamond shards and lasers to blast zombie heads, fighting a war much more important to mankind's survival than the civil war taking place in the south.

We catch back up with her a few years later, still toting more firearms than most swat teams. She's honed her skills, weapons and attire - opting for show more tight-fitted trousers rather than the puffy skirts. She is gracious enough to hide this fact, wearing her trousers under a removable skirt, so as to keep her mother at least slightly pleased.

Though Kat, Pepper and Martin fought of the major attack from the darkness, pushing the zombies back enough for them to be thwarted, the darkness still surrounds them. Everywhere they go, lat and the gang are on watch for demons and other minions of the darkness, trying to fit in with the crowd until they need to feed.

With such an action-packed life, Kat is pleased to travel with her family, and Pepper of course, to the south to see her brother and meet his new family, after getting married to the lovely Maggie Pollitt. Who wouldn't want a nice break from fighting evil?

Soon, they are caught up in more than they expected. From Orlando, the attractive brother of Maggie, hitting on Kat constantly, to Henry and Maggie having troubles, they find that family life is not all as it seems in the south. Soon Kat starts to notice, maybe that's not all that's wrong with this family...especially with a nephilim in the family.

What were the Pollitts doing to have a child who is the spawn of a human and demon mix? What is the shadow everyone seems so afraid of? Why are there drums constantly playing at night?? Is all this talk of voodoo really necessary?

One thing's for sure. There's something happening on the Pollitt plantation, something very dark indeed, and Kat's not leaving until she gets to the bottom of it...ichor and all. The question is, will she make it out alive?

What Did I Think?

Another story of written perfection from Sam Stone. She knows exactly how to give characters enough detail to make you fall in love with them, hate them, want to know them in real life. You feel as though you have know them your whole life. Yet, you are still able to be blown away by the surprises and twists that Stone throws at you. You feel betrayed, heartbroken and angry when another turn in the story happens. How? Why? You question how this 'person' you have know everything about for the last 100 pages of your life could possibly be anything other than what you thought.

You find yourself glued to the pages, wondering what is really happening, hoping for the safety of some and wishing for the demise of others. There are tears of joy, feelings of fear and the stench of burnt flesh.

I love the fact that the plot has depth and it is much more than the typical 'family playing an evil trick on guests' sort of story. It has so much more to it and all the emotions you would expect in those occasions, has been written by Stone. She hasn't missed a single detail and in shows in the truly brilliant story she has woven.

I found it intriguing that, unlike many other series, she hasn't just picked up where the last story left off. She broke ties and moved on to a new adventure, but still kept the underlying link to the darkness. I found the was perfect, as it meant that we knew the main characters and what they were battling as a whole, yet there was a fresh feel to the story as you were introduced to new types of demons and evil, all had to be battled in a different way, the back story was completely new and this kept you both hooked and itching to find out the truth behind Callon and the Pollitts.

OVERALL: I think if I gave this book anything other than a perfect rating I would be lying. It is superbly written, has depth, twists/turns, emotion, blood, gore, fear and even makes time for a little love (but only a hint of it ;) )

The more I read from the Kat Lightfoot mysteries, the more I become obsessed. I want there to be more more more. She is a brilliant main character, standing out against the mold of the Civil War era women, and she's proud of it. The backstory is excellent and has so much room to be explored, as well as each new book having a different timeframe and plot - but all still based around defeating the darkness. I love it!

I would highly recommend this book to any of my readers who like/love fantasy, dark fantasy, steampunk and even sic-fi as I feel you would all find something to love in this book. I also think it is good for most ages - YA to adult, male and female alike. show less