Blog Archives
Four Minutes to Zero
Former SAS Sergeant Rick Fernscale is shown in the opening pages of Four Minutes to Zero enjoying a luxurious life and expecting a child with his beautiful wife years after the events of 24 Hours to Doomsday. Unfortunately, his wife is abducted by terrorists, who tell him that he must fulfill a perilous assignment or risk losing her. When he discovers that the terrorists’ main goal is to drastically reduce the world’s population, he is forced to choose between saving the rest of the world and saving his wife. Four Minutes to Zero by Colin M Barron follows Rick in his action-packed, fast-paced race to save his wife and the world from the nefarious machinations of the rich and powerful.
Like Mission: Impossible and the Jason Bourne film series, Four Minutes to Zero keeps its audience on the edge of their seats with its high-risk missions and highly competent and trained protagonist. It was interesting to see Rick attempting to infiltrate a foreign nation with a strong military and surveillance system. Fans of espionage stories will like the scenes in which he attempts to blend in and hopes that the foreign soldiers do not discover his actual identity.
Colin’s tale is certainly complicated and exhaustive since it offers specific information about the firearms and other instruments used in the characters’ attacks. However, I appreciated learning that the Milan, a guided anti-tank missile, was utilized in both the Falklands War and the first Gulf War. Furthermore, the protagonist’s intricate, game-like attack strategies are clearly spelled out for readers, making the missions highly intriguing and exciting.
Four Minutes to Zero is a complete, dexterous combination of heart-pounding action and suspense, complex international missions and attack plans, extremely high stakes involving the most cutting-edge weapons, extremely powerful villains who want to rule the world, and well-developed characters with engrossing backstories. It’s the kind of book that makes you remember why you initially fell in love with action novels.
Pages: 266 | ASIN : B0BQMRNBK8
Red Sinai
Joseph Mather’s Red Sinai is a riveting and unforgettable spy thriller. From the very first page, readers are thrown into a high-stakes situation, and then transported back 23-hours to watch intelligence officer Captain Freya Coraline Mathew’s story unfold. This is a great way to capture readers attention right from the beginning, and I was certainly hooked. Fan-favorites from the first book, The Silver Prince, return, this time with a keen interest in northern Africa. In this fast-paced thriller, the United States and United Kingdom join forces to safeguard international protocols from a rogue campaign aiming to destroy Egypt and NATO. Working alongside Richard Armitage as the head of MI6’s Egypt desk, Freya Mathews investigates religious histories within the country’s development to save millions of people from a flood – only one of many threats they face in less than 24 hours.
With cliffhangers, plot twists, and shocking character deaths, Red Sinai is a relentlessly entreating espionage thriller. Readers are taken to some exotic location and many scenes were “picture-perfect” and serve the plot well. Freya has to pick apart clues to her case, and answers come from all directions.
Rather than facing day-to-day obstacles which would have slowed down the team’s operations, everything was accomplished speedily and efficiently. Considering the deep complexities and thematic nature of this book, I was surprised to find a plot that was easy to follow, and one that makes for an encapsulating read. Without having to focus on the context of modern-day London or other niche problems often found in political fiction, readers can focus solely on the characters and their perilous journey. My heart was warmed to see the collective strength and community in Mather’s Red Sinai, epitomizing the heroine spy for all thriller books on the market.
Red Sinai is an exciting crime novel that keeps one thing in mind all throughout the story; entertaining the reader. If you have no more Robert Ludlum books to read, then this should be the next book you pick up.
Pages: 237 | ASIN: B0BS1VN6CX
Liberator: The People’s Guard: Vol. 1
When duty calls, Tovarich Revanov answers. The zealous young man is a member of the Ruthenian secret police tasked with fishing out enemies of the communist state and clamping down on any anti-government uprising. This time, Tovarich has a peculiar mission: consenting to become a genetically enhanced state-sponsored hero. He approaches his new mission with his trademark commitment and gives his all to protect what he believes to be a just cause. But Tovarich soon begins to wonder if he is indeed on the right side.
Craig Weidhuner’s Liberator: The People’s Guard (Volume 1) is a fast-paced, action-packed novella that pits a totalitarian government against local rebels. It takes an interesting approach by featuring not just the regular tactics that totalitarian states adopt such as media propaganda but also unconventional tools like superheroes — quite imaginative, if you ask me. Weidhuner’s writing is direct and clear and reads almost like an action adventure comic that you can read to young kids at bedtime. This takes nothing away from the immersive experience the story offers, though. Weidhuner definitely has compelling ideas and I reveled in them. He excels at using his work to mirror the hypocrisy that dominates global politics and focuses on two superpowers which he doesn’t name but alludes to (you’d easily figure them out). He also does well at vividly presenting his characters. You can put a face to each key character and understand their personality.
Although Weidhuner got a lot right, and I enjoy the brevity of the story, I would have loved to have seen more depth in the plot and more time given to flesh out the fantastic ending. If you are down for some light reading featuring a good story you can blitz through in a few hours, you might want to check out Liberator: The People’s Guard: Vol. 1 because it is entertaining.
Pages: 98 | ASIN: B0BCPPDRPJ
A Killer, Or Someone Who Could Love
The Killer Half follows a dispirited military veteran who stumbles across a plot to invade America and is forced into action to stop it. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I read a magazine story, with pictures, of a horrible thing that happens to some women when they are being led illegally across the border. The leaders will take some of the women to a predetermined spot and gang rape them, and leave the undergarments of the women hanging on a tree that the whole company would pass by—and the article included a photo of one such tree. I wondered if I had been there would I be able to stop it. The answer was probably not because those men are armed. Then I asked myself who would be able to stop it, and that’s when the character of Hawk was born. I dreamt about it every night for two years, building on the story of Hawk. I reached a point when I decided I must write it down before I forgot it. When I wrote the story from my mind it was like taking dictation—I didn’t have to stop writing to think what would come next. It was about 50,000 words on that first pass. I continued to reread the book and more sections came into my mind as completely finished scenes. When I finally decided to find a publisher, the story was slightly more than 93,000 words.
Hawk is a fun character to follow. What were some driving ideals behind his character’s development?
Hawk would need expert combat skills and a good support group of operators around him. He would be conflicted about who he was: a killer, or someone who could love. He would be a leader that others with similar skill sets would follow. He would not take for granted the feelings of those who were close to him. His relationship with women would be conflicted because of his experience in seeing the horror of rape on the psyche of women who were caught in the middle of a war.
This seemed like a fun book to write. What scene in the book did you have the most fun creating?
There are so many it is difficult to pick just a few, but I’ll try.
I love dogs and I know their body language very well. The scene of canine separation anxiety makes me laugh when I read it. The dogs are alone on base without Hawk’s supervision. They drag loose stuff from around the base and make a big debris pile outside of Hawk’s hooch. Then, they accidently set fire to the debris pile in the middle of a large military base. His conversation with them, and their resulting shame is a classic for all dog lovers.
The rescue of Sarah Stuart, a beautiful British MP, from the Miss-Tique night club is a big scene involving Hawk’s team. That’s all I’m going to say about it—except to say that Hawk walks in looking like a very big Don Johnson from Miami Vice.
Hawk delivering a baby in the middle of a battle and wanting to name it “AK” because of the rifle fire he hears around them.
The rescue of Heidi Lothbrok, a beautiful, young, inexperienced FBI agent. Hawk refers to her as a Viking Shield Maiden.
Any scene with Uncle Peter, the degenerate gambler and Night Stalker pilot.
Hawk meeting the beautiful Mossad operator, Rachel.
Hawk having Leah Parker, a young actress, literally fall into his arms.
The big scene with the wolf attack and how Hawk and his dogs resolved it.
The final battle scene.
Do you have future books planned featuring Hawk and his exploits?
With a large wink of my eye I will say that it is possible that there is more to the story of Hawk. I’ll reply in the best practice of a covert operator, who would say, “I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of a Part 2 of The Killer Half: The Legend of Blackhawk 6 Deuce.” Try not to notice that I’m winking again!
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
His naïveté about the purpose for the war in Afghanistan was gone. Witnessing the death of someone he was close to was the final blow that shattered his spirit. Hawk declined reenlistment and went home brokenhearted only to find another war beginning. Would he always be just a cog in a combat machine? Would Hawk become a warrior again?
In a chance fight with a border-crossing scouting party, Hawk discovers a plan for an armed invasion of America. All of his combat instincts return. Using all of his special operations contacts, he organizes a resistance. Will the resistance succeed? Will he find love again? If Hawk is torn between combat and love, which would win, the killer half, or a man who could truly love?
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JB Blake – Student of military history, behavioral science, servant leadership, critical thinking, innovation, and economics. Successful entrepreneur and intrapreneur, corporate executive, and university professor. Every career path has led to interactions with fascinating characters whose traits could be woven into this story. They are like the ingredients that make an amazing recipe.
See you on the other side.
A Portion of Malice
Two-time Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Emery Merrick is about to end his life when he gets the offer to write the biography of well-known billionaire Thaddeus Drake in exchange for a mouth-watering payday. Merrick accepts what appears to be a lifetime opportunity and soon discovers a staggering truth: Drake is Cain from the Bible, the first murderer who God caused to roam the earth forever. Merrick’s gradual absorption into Drake’s life reveals the secret society of immortals, the billionaire heads, and his plan to fulfill a biblical prophecy concerning the end time. What is Drake’s plan for humanity, and what darkness lies at the other end of it?
A Portion of Malice by Lloyd Jeffries is a thriller that weaves a fascinating and somewhat controversial tale involving events and characters from the Bible and history. One of its biggest selling points is how different it is. It’s thought-provoking, and some might even call it startling. The book’s pace is riveting, and the alternation between present-day and historical events creates multiple layers of engagement.
Jeffries delivers his writing with a beautiful cadence that lets you slip into the story easily and follow every action or scene being described. His descriptions are vivid, giving life to the story. His detailed approach to articulating his characters’ experiences is immersive. It makes his writing robust, provocative, and soulful, like a good poem. I always admire a writer’s ability to encapsulate an entire body of art in an apparent mood without being too obvious about it. It’s the subtlety that thrills. And with Jeffries’ book, you can always sense an ominous shadow lurking at the edges of the story the entire time. All in all, I’d call this a great read. It’s fresh, bold, and entertaining.
A Portion of Malice is a captivating political and paranormal suspense thriller that will have readers on edge as the nefarious plot unravels to cause the end of humanity. The journey of a man into the apocalypse and a confrontation with God himself will leave readers stunned and waiting for book two of the series.
Pages: 379 | ASIN : B0BG8ZPY7D
My Own Experiences In The US Intelligence Community
The Billionaire’s Conspiracy follows a White House operative who is trying to figure out who is targeting secret agents and kidnapped his wife; he must figure out the answer to both before it is too late. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The series is about a private intelligence organization named Unit 81. This entity exists to defend America against enemies both foreign and domestic. The agents of Unit 81, including the protagonist Janusz Soltani, are mostly former members of the US intelligence community.
Unit 81 was stood up because the former government officials were tired of how political correctness shackled the ability of federal agencies to fight the war on terror. Because Americans don’t want to offend anyone, there is a reluctance to discuss certain aspects of Middle Eastern culture, including the Islamic religion, truthfully. This was among the main reason that enabled the attacks against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon 21 years ago.
Furthermore, wars are a savage business that should not be fought in the first place. However, if a society decides to engage in war, it should not be sqeamish about using whatever tactics necessary (i.e. water borading or enhanced interrogations) to achieve its goals. That is no longer the case with the United States government, and thus the need for an organization such as Unit 81 that does what is necessary to win.
The idea for these stories comes from my own experiences in the US intelligence community and the politically correct induced paralysis I witnessed during the so called “war on terror.”
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
There is an interrogation scene in Chapter 39 of the book involving the creative use of ants and honey to force an enemy agent to cooperate. That scene involved lots of thought and imagination, but it is by far the funniest part of the book in my opinion.
What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?
As mentioned earlier, my time in the US intelligence community has colored my view of the world in many ways. One of those is that the mainstream American media paints a far too benign picture of America’s opponents abroad and a far too simplistic picture of the reasons behind their animosity. Unfortunately, American media does not paint an accurate picture of the world. They choose instead to give little snippets with no historical context in order to paint adversaries in a way that will make it easier to push whatever narrative they choose for the American public.
What is the next story that you’re writing and when will it be published?
At the moment I have taken a break from writing to focus on advertising and getting the word out about my books. As a self-published author, I don’t have the resources of a traditional publishing house to introduce my novels to the public.
Having spent the better part of the past 8 years researching and writing the Janusz Soltani trilogy, I am learning about marketing and publicity, which is a huge and complex profession in and of itself. I am hoping to get back to writing once I’ve learned more about marketing and how my books are received by potential readers.
Author Links: Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
“Author MJ Javani has created a compelling conspiracy thriller that becomes more engrossing with each chapter.” – BestThrillers.com
The time is the present. A group of anarchists is planning to attack the White House. They are supported by a rapacious billionaire with a secret agenda. Across the Potomac River, someone is systematically killing members of a private intelligence company. Known as Unit 81, this group is not subject to the debilitating political correctness that shackles the federal bureaucracy.
A trusted liaison points the finger at the Russians. But all is not as it seems. When the Unit’s top operative, Janusz Soltani, discovers the truth about their enemies, his wife is mysteriously kidnapped. Time is running out to rescue her from a horrible end.
Fans of Robert Ludlum, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor will enjoy this action packed series
THE BILLIONAIRE’S CONSPIRACY
Octavio Souza is a wealthy man on a mission to make his adopted country a better place. This includes attacking the White House, and not just politically. While building up to the crescendo, Souza’s men kill, steal, and recruit Americans to their extremist causes. All the while, Janusz Soltani is working to figure out who is bumping off Unit 81 agents. As most paranoid American government agencies believe, it is always the Russians.
In the third installment of his book series, MJ Javani puts a twist on modern-day American society in The Billionaire’s Conspiracy. The book’s concept is fascinating. Everyone loves a good, old fashion conspiracy theory like the Watergate scandal or the John F. Kennedy assassination. This book definitely preys on Americans’ obsession with government secrets. A secret society that looks to mold America into its ideal image is interesting. The author immediately immerses the reader into the conspiracy and continues flipping between multiple narratives, making this an intense read. I would recommend reading books 1 and 2 prior to reading this book because the author doesn’t provide a recap which I didn’t mind because I wanted to pick up where the story left off.
The author creates an intriguing mystery as we get key pieces of information to put the puzzle together. I found it a little frustrating to wait for the characters to catch up with what we already know. There are some controversial political topics as the characters preach inclusivity and equality, including the harm of white supremacy and racism within society.
The Billionaire’s Conspiracy is a thrilling read with a captivating plot. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a thrilling conspiracy theory. Filled with espionage and assassination plans, the suspense will keep readers on edge as they follow this part of the story to the exhilarating conclusion.
Pages: 307 | ASIN : B09WQJD8K8
NAILS
Nails is a haunting piece of political fiction based on what would happen if viewpoints of certain political factions were to be driven to the extreme. We follow three different protagonists, who all consider themselves to be the hammers that strike down the nails; the weak people, and guide them toward the way they need to be going or bend them and discard them for being useless to the cause. They represent the three levels of involvement and control they have within the organizations they serve: the foot soldier, the propagandist, and the boss.
This is not a dystopian book in itself, I think it’s more of an introduction into a dystopia. This book does a fantastic job of increasing your anxiety concerning politics or potential dystopias with how well it utilizes contemporary worries to ground the story and create an authentic atmosphere. The ending to this riveting novel is fantastically distressing with how probable it could be… or maybe the author just does a great job of making it all feel possible?
I enjoyed the well-conceived narrative driving this story forward. The plot is fast paced and intriguing. There are time skips that keep the reader guessing, but instead of feeling like a fault, they feel like a feature, as they happen more often when the characters start dissociating from the work they were once so interested in. The characters are compelling and unique. I felt like the characters come off as undecided about whether they are against the big plan or for it, and that adds a layer of intrigue to the story. I would have enjoyed a bit more worldbuilding to the story, because what is given is so fascinating and I wanted to know more about the overall world.
Nails is a a thrilling read that is immensely entertaining. This captivating psychological thriller is for anyone interested in how political regimes may develop and how they ensnare different people into believing what they want them to believe. If you’re a reader looking for a political thriller with a unique cast then this is a novel that you’ll certainly enjoy.
Pages: 279 | ASIN: B0BDXRTCPB
LITERARY TITAN 