A. J. Tata

With the pressure on and the tension extreme, the problem was that the story kept flipping. No sooner had it gained traction than everything was upended and turned on its side and spun around. So who and what to believe? Who is wearing the white hat? Who is trying to save the greater population and who is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. At times I was completely confused, actually most of the time. I kept a tight hold on the thought “The only way out of the ambush, as they say, is through it.” The strategic thinking and planning was extraordinary . The minute details that determine whether a mission will succeed or fail were breathtaking. Writing such as this requires either previous skin in the game or the most outrageous imagination or a combination of both. Could any of this be based in fact, and if so, horrifying is a modest assessment.

Wow, wow and wow - What is coming next? “Until Valhalla” Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy.… (mehr)

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the advanced ARC for my honest review.

Did like it although, there were some parts during my read that I found it unbelievable or plausible at times the writing, escaping into the pages, the fast pace, mix in the tension, the suspense, the overload of action, good versus evil, builds to a great conclusion and glad that I read this one.

With 'Chasing the Lion', you get a multi-layered storyline, the author A.J. Tata kept them all straight but check reality at the door Right away you will notice how Tata has brought vast knowledge and personal experience he has into this book. As a retired General he knows better than most the inside workings of combat and military strategy and that brings this story a level of realism in the details that will keep readers engrossed from the start.
To give you a bit of background on the main character. Lieutenant General Garrett Sinclair is the United States Army’s top special forces commander. He is unique in that he participates in operations with his personal Joint Special Operations Command team, a team that he put together with the best of the best. Iran remains high on his list of enemies to the United States, whose leadership remain a constant threat. This is beyond well written and very detailed I just had a hard time connecting with it so I can’t give it more than three stars. The pacing is spot on.
… (mehr)

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

General Garrett Sinclair, imprisoned for unstated reasons in the Disciplinary Barracks of Fort Leavenworth, is surprised when Jake Mahegan blasts his way into Sinclair’s cell and leads the general out of the prison. They meet up with the rest of the Dagger Team. They make their way to the Wyoming mountains where Sinclair meets the man behind his breakout/rescue.

Technology mogul Mitch Drewson needs the Dagger Team to protect Project Optimus, a project designed to allow citizens to protect their personal data and financial information. Drewson’s competitor, Aurelius Blanc, runs Phalanx Corporation; their data collection applications create a worldwide security threat by allowing the monitoring of all activities on any web-connected device.

Now a Phalanx assassination team has attacked Blair Campbell, one of Drewson’s coders . . . and the president's daughter.

Can Sinclair and the Dagger Team rescue Blair and save Drewson’s Project Optimus? Will the Optimus team find a way to decipher the Phalanx Code and save the coders on its hit list?

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Readers who have not read the previous books in the series [“Chasing the Lion” and “Total Empire”] may find it beneficial to read the earlier stories, but there is sufficient backstory here for the book, the third in the series, to work as a standalone.

Picking up where “Total Empire” left off, the narrative is compelling, fast-paced, and full of unexpected twists. With all the expected characters in place, this tale of big-tech machinations is both believable and terrifying.

With a strong sense of place and well-developed characters, readers who enjoy military intrigue and action-packed tales will find much to appreciate here.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#ThePhalanxCode #NetGalley… (mehr)

Oh wow, this story included one scary notion that never gave me a moment’s mental peace. The basis for the story is a rescue that is a fly-by the seat of your pants, no support fiasco that is beset by betrayal and yet beautifully choreographed. The members of the Dagger Task Force are the most intimate of families, a completely cohesive unit, which will suffer because any loss is devastating beyond comprehension. And you just know that there will be losses. But back to the political intrigue - the “benefits of an ascendant China” those masters of opportunity and “the evolving definitions of nationalism, freedom and self-determination” - really scary stuff and framing a patriotic, solid, self sacrificing career military soldier is just more stuff thrown into the mash-up. Not sure how to interpret France being thrown under the bus hand in hand with China but if Tata wrote it I am believing it.

The imminent threat of a nuclear strike lingers from page to page and watching and listening to the adjacent rhetoric is just too “of the moment”. Action, theory which encompasses present events, likable protagonists and hateful antagonists make for one great story. I will continue to be on the lookout for anything Tata writes.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy.… (mehr)