Element 42

Element 42

Sabel Security Book 1

Seeley James

Machined Media, Apr 2015

350 pages, kindle, paperback

Thriller, action

✭✭✭✭✭

Purchased

The cover is totally appropriate to the story and yet I really didn’t like it. It seemed sort of like a bunch of disjointed elements placed on there that weren’t related. Oh well, not all cover pictures can be gorgeous, especially when they’re supposed to be showing drug using killers in the jungle about to be taken out by a beautiful crusader. It’s a hard concept to show.

The story was complex, interesting, totally current in world events and concerns. It was multinational with Americans, Chinese, and Khazaks in a plan to lower the world population in an effort to counteract the drought problems facing the world. That does leave me with one question, though. If you kill off certain age groups and disease-prone groups to leave healthier portions of the population living wouldn’t the healthier population eventually grow to the point of overwhelming the resources? Ya think?

The characters are outrageous individuals such as Jacob Stearne, a former master sergeant who hears a Roman God (Mercury) in his head to help him avoid danger. Jacob might still be in love with Tania. There’s Pia Sabel, former Olympic soccer star, now head of her own security business, Sabel Security, and crusader for good. Tania works for Pia was in a relationship with Jacob, and might still love him, but she had a fling with Miguel, who also works for Pia. And Emily, a Post reporter who had a fling with Jacob. Carmen, one of the fighters on their team.

The pace is constant and fast with lots going on from one pitched battle to the next or the lull between preparing for the next. You get all the information you need in the briefings for the strikes. With the pace and events, you worry about the characters and I became involved early on. I honestly watched out for them to make sure nothing happened to any of them. I felt pulled into the battles and worried about coming out alive, no more so than in the fight when the Khazaks grabbed Carmen and murdered her in front of the whole team. Not only did they do it in a brutal way, but it was abrupt and unexpected, a total shock.

This is considered a man’s adventure story according to classifications on Amazon, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I can’t say I’d like a constant diet of this type of lit, but I certainly would be open to reading more in this series.

Highly recommended to adventure readers.