Brad Taylor

The Devil's Ransom by Brad Taylor is a very highly recommended action packed thriller and the 17th novel in the Pike Logan Series.

Afghanistan has fallen and Pike and Jennifer learn about it while on a routine cover development trip to Tajikistan. They need to help Jahn Azimi, who is on the run from the Taliban as well as extract Ahmad Khan, an Afghan government official who helped Azimi flee Kabul along with the Bactrian Treasure, a priceless trunk of valuables that they liberated before show more their escape. Complications arise when every other entity in the Taskforce is hit with a ransomware attack and it appears to be tied to the Taliban. And this is only the beginning of the much larger problem and complicated action.

The quality of the writing is excellent and the action is truly non-stop in The Devil's Ransom. The plot is an intricate tangle of deceit, danger, and nefarious plans that Pike and his team must stop. The action along with the twists and new revelations in the plot moves along swiftly and will hold your attention throughout the entire novel. Pike and his team are quickly going from one mission to another in the swiftly moving, intricate, and changing novel. As you are reading keep track of who is who and where they all are and you will be fine.

Since this is the seventeenth novel in the Pike Logan series, the characters are complex and fully realized individuals. Readers new to the series might not have some of the nuance about the characters, but they will still be able to enjoy the novel. Enough backstory and information is provided to keep all readers up to speed. All the characters are distinct and great individuals. Action/Adventure/Espionage/Thriller readers won't want to miss this one.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.
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Despite the fact that this is not my genre of choice, I couldn’t help myself. The action was so intense I read the book in three days. But it felt like I was binging on bags of potato chips. Where were the deep philosophical questions? Where was the classical literary style? How could the main characters survive all those bullets? Of course, I didn’t ask these things until I finished the book! Now, if only I could insert some of Taylor’s fast pace and tension into my own sci-fi. They show more aren’t state secrets, are they? show less

This is a very good first entry in a new series by a new writer. Taylor is one of those been-there done-that types who is now translating that experience into writing. I found the book to be nicely paced with very little drag and little time off topic. I do have a minor issue with the plotting, however. There are some tropes that show up regularly in this type of thriller, and in his freshman effort Taylor uses some very familiar ones. In this book the major ones used are: One Last Mission show more Cost Him (Her) So Much, A Man Betrayed By His Country Must Prove His Innocence While On The Run, The High-Level Government Power Broker Gone Bad, The Assassin Sent To Kill The Man On The Run By The High-Level Government Power Broker Gone Bad, The President Is In On It (in this case, the "It" is a covert ops team of questionable legality), and The Covert Ops Team Of Questionable Legality. Also, there is a love interest. But the love interest isn't bad. In fact, the love interest is, uh, interesting, and well written. Her escape strategy is particularly amusing.

Taylor's use of the tropes I mentioned (and a couple others) don't hurt the story with their familiarity. In fact, for the most part he keeps them pretty fresh. We've just read or seen a variation of them before in a book or movie, and Taylor doesn't dwell all that long on them. My favorite trope here is The Irrationally Violent And Vicious South American Drug Lord which Taylor uses to set up the first major action piece (which is excellent), the out come of which I really enjoyed (a terrific "Do you know who I am?" rebuttal).

As far as the writing goes, I found the prose smooth and engaging, the action clear, and the major characters well defined. The secondary and incidental characters are recognizable individuals. The dialog is natural and generally flows nicely. The story is told in both first person and third person. Taylor switches p.o.v.s smoothly, and never left me confused about who was being written about.

Okay, so, I think it's a good start to a series. Pike Logan is actually interesting, and his tragic story of loss and redemption is well told. Logan's badassery is a lot of fun and very honest and human. I think there are characters and relationships that could have been fleshed out, but ultimately those things don't impact the enjoyability of the story.

As we see more installments in the series, I think we'll see Taylor improve as a writer. I just hope he can keep his stories fresh and original, rising above a field crowded with writers who are indistinguishable from one another.

I look forward to the next book in the series. show less

No Fortunate Son by Brad Taylor is an exciting thriller that will both satisfy current fans of the Pike Logan series as well as win him new ones.

Nephilim “Pike” Logan is one of the great action hero names and he certainly doesn’t disappoint. Taylor adds some layers to his hero so it’s not constant run and shoot but requires some brains and some skill to unravel the terrorists plot. Here again, Taylor invents a nicely complicated terrorist plot involving the new IRA, a group of show more ruthless Bosnian jewel thieves and Somali terrorists on the one side, with a government stressed over high value hostages, red herrings, and government assets on and off the books pulling in all different directions.

The multi-layered plot is one of the things that sets this book apart from a lot of other military thrillers. Not only are some false paths laid out, but the actual clues lead in different directions because of the complexity of the terrorists plan leaving Pike Logan to rely on his instincts and a little bit of luck to lead him to the truth. It also creates enough doubt in his mind to realize one wrong guess could cause the death of the people he’s trying to rescue.

The action is also top-notch with great firefights, chase scenes and car chases. There is enough here to satisfy any action fan, with a little bit extra to satisfy those who like intricate plotting. This is an outstanding character and both a book and a series worth checking out. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book. show less