Military thrillers aren't usually my kind of thriller. But, I was curious about this book and I'm glad that I agreed to read Tier One. My biggest concern was that it would be too much military lingo and that I would have a hard time keeping up with the plot. Sure there were a lot of acronyms, but it never made the story hard to get.

The best thing was that the story felt very much up-to-date, with all the terrorist acts in recent years. It didn't take me a long time to get into the story. I loved how well-developed the characters are in the book. John Dempsey was easy to like and I could really feel his rage and sorrow when the world he knew was destroyed. It was interesting to follow his journey from soldier to spy. Not easy when you have spent most of your life as SEAL.

The storyline was really good. Sure, there were perhaps not many great twists. But, it was enjoyable and engrossing to read and I came to like the characters very much. Especially Jarvis and Smith that Dempsey came to work with after his world imploded.

So, despite my concern that it would be hard to get into the book, or it would be too much "war" did I come to enjoy Tier One very much and I'm looking forward to one day reading the next book in the series.

I want to thank Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley! ( )

I wanted to like this, as I like thrillers but I didn't. This has some great reviews and I tried a few times to read this, but I couldn't finish. I think it's the way it's written and I didn't like the dialogue, especially the acronyms. ( )

A 4.0 rating for concept and potential. The story is as you would expect, heavy on the Operator side (team, talk, toys) and light on plot, character development, and nuance. Still, very enjoyable. I've read lots of Baldacci, Child, Clancy and others of their ilk. This is a different sort. Reacher and Robi are possibly the closest kin to this crew but they have the benefit of time whereas this is the first. If Andrews can learn the writing craft and put meat on these bones then this will be a good start. Potential, lots of potential. Realize what it is and you will not be disappointed.

This was an Audible.com listen. The narrator has the right bearing to set the right tone - most of the time. I found some of the voices out of synch with the character; Smith who should have been Kemper's equal sounded soft and feminine. More bass, please. :) There were a few phrasings that seemed oddly drawn out, but on the whole a good job by Ray Porter. ( )

The first chapter of "Tier One" is filled with action and immediately caught my attention. I learned about the different characters and felt close to these Tier One Navy Seals, and cheered them on during a mission to eliminate a group of global terrorist leaders who were meeting in the Middle East for an emergency meeting. The mission looked like it was going to be a success, when suddenly, the seal team is massacred in a single explosion and their ToC group - in another country - were also murdered at the same time. My jaw dropped...the story was over? There was a sole survivor, but suffered burns over much of his body. After completing his many surgeries and therapy, he is asked by his former boss to join a new clandestine group to find those responsible for the killings. Here, the story loses its momentum and gets bogged down while a new team is formed and training commences.

During this time, readers learn about Seal practices, planning, and the organization, but not too much about these new characters that flesh out the rest of the story. There were excessive acronyms and technical descriptions of weaponry, seemingly, every time a character chose a weapon. I did, however, find it interesting how the authors presented the perspective and plans of the terrorist leadership, and how they brainwash followers.

I also found it interesting on how this group managed to collect intel about their adversaries and how they continued to piece a puzzle together from scratch. The team was then able to ID a mole within the US that fed the terrorist leader confidential info which allowed for the Seal massacre, and also exposed the next planned terrorist activity in the US. This book could be a stand alone, but the ending leaves it open for another installment as the Special Group's mission was not completed as planned.

The story was interesting but I feel it was too long. There are two more books available in the series, but I'll pass on continuing this read. Other potential readers may find this book intense and chose to follow up on the teams' mission to kill every terrorist responsible for the Seal murders. ( )

This was a really good book, a cross between military fiction and espionage. Nice hot action, nonstop. Sometimes it crosses the lines of believability, which is why I marked it down from a five to a four star book, but it's borderline, say 4.5. Frankly, though -- and this is sad -- I read it so long ago, it's hard for me to remember any details to write a detailed review, and for that I apologize. I used to write hundreds of very detailed reviews, but a year and a half ago or more, started developing more very serious health problems that have left me with the ability to read about 5% of what I once did, and I haven't been able to write book reviews in many, many months, not since last November, I think. Thus, I have about 120-140 finished books, both hard copy and digital, lying around waiting to be reviewed, stacks of them in my office, where they've been sitting and collecting, growing in higher and higher stacks for the past year and a half, and I feel guilty for letting those who read my reviews down, but reality is what it is, and if I can't do it, I can't do it. I'm sorry. I harbor fantasies of some time getting to quite a few of those books, whether just a short paragraph, or a full 2500 word review. But I've got a lot of stuff to deal with, so I'm trying not to pressure myself. I've got enough of that in "real life." I don't want to pile it on myself for writing unpaid book reviews that very few people read or care about.

In any event, I enjoyed this book a lot. Not my usual genre, but I like dropping into this one a couple of times a year, and this was a pleasant surprise. Like I said, spies, US/Russia military, revenge, power hungry madmen. Hell yeah! If you like this type, I'd definitely give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed. 4.5 stars. Certainly recommended. ( )