WEB OF DOOM, Len Levinson’s first all-new novel since 1997, has just been published by Rough Edges Press, it was announced today by Scarlett Johansson, president of the Len Levinson Fan Club, on the veranda of her Beverly Hills palace.
In attendance were eminent literary critics, celebrity journalists representing major and minor outlets, distinguished porn stars, and delegates from the National Book Awards and Nobel Prize for Literature.
According to a press release distributed by members of the Len Levinson Fan Club, WEB OF DOOM is a hard-boiled crime melodrama set in New York City during the 1990s, about a tough ex-NYPD cop accused of the brutal murder of a beautiful socialite in a Times Square hotel. He’d never even met the victim but circumstantial evidence points directly to him, and he must solve the crime or do the time (lethal injection is not out of the question). Needless to say, he is highly motivated to identify the perp, and not averse to busting a few heads of those impeding his investigation.
During Ms. Johansson’s exciting announcement, protestors gathered on the street outside her palace and chanted anti-Len Levinson slogans. Many represented the anti-gun lobby who expressed dismay about gun violence depicted in the novel. They were joined by numerous anti-sex activists enraged by several steamy romantic scenes which the activists considered far beneath standards established by decent snobs everywhere. Also protesting was a small but extremely noisy contingent of pacifists opposed to the novel’s random brawling and one stabbing described in lurid detail.
Len now is author of 84 published novels. He has been acclaimed a “Trash Genius” by THE PAPERBACK FANATIC magazine, was subject of an extensive interview in PAPERBACK PARADE magazine, has been described as “the gold standard” and “the king” of pulp fiction on various Facebook posts, and was introduced as “a legend” at a panel during the 2017 Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention.
WEB OF DOOM is available as an ebook for only $2.99 and trade paperback for only $12.99 on Amazon.
“This is a major international literary event,” declared Ms. Johansson. “Len Levinson obviously is the future of quality literature on this planet and possibly even our solar system in general. I urge everyone everywhere to purchase his novel, so that Len can afford the mansion next door and be close to me always, for he is my mentor, my inspiration, and yes, my very reason for living.”
It is rumored but not yet confirmed that a film version of WEB OF DOOM starring Len and Scarlett is in development at MGM.
In Issue #1, Chuck Dixon introduced us to the city of Avalon, via two of the heroes working to keep it safe: Fazer and King Ace.
The moral dillema introduced in the first issue was not spread out…as I first suspected it would be…a la Iron Man’s battle with alcoholism back in the day. It was wrapped up pretty quick.
I think I might know where this is going: Fazer is going to become a supervillain with a grudge against King Ace. He knows King Ace’s identity, as well as his weaknesses…could prove to be a formidable adversary.
I can’t completely blame Fazer for holding a grudge, either. Having him thrown in the can for not donating the ill-gotten drug money to some random charity was excessively Boy Scout IMO. In any event, Chuck Dixon has effortlessly sucked me into the Avalon he is building. And there’s a good chance he may prove my theory wrong, too.
I didn’t like a lot of the art–not ready for Prime Time. But the story makes up for it, and there’s a general trend of improvement across the Arkhaven titles, so I’m sure the art will improve with it.
Meanwhile, Arkhaven is working on their first of a five-part series based on the Q phenomenon. Fun times…in some respects.
We interrupt the regularly scheduled political screed for some spontaneous horn-tooting.
For some reason, my debut novel remains the most popular book I’ve written. At least it’s accumulated the most “social proof” of all my books. Here’s the latest review of Hell and Gone:
I hadn’t planned on writing a review but the end of Hell & Gone had a comment by the author, Henry Brown, that struck me. Military fiction is a genre that’s has been dearly underserved by mainstream publishing. While there may be a financial justification for this, and it is a niche genre, the real reason is that publishers simply don’t like it. It’s difficult to market, requires a knowledge base few editors possess and, yes, it’s considered “icky” by an industry that leans so far to the left that some publishers have trouble getting through doorways. It also happens to be MY industry, and I know all this from experience.
That being said, the genre suffers from another problem: A lot of the material written for it just isn’t that good. Creating a story is hard work, and doubly so when it’s easy to slide into stereotypes and cliches instead of crafting realistic characters with original and interesting motivations. Combat action, while essential to a story, can cease to be what moves a story along and instead threaten to overwhelm the plot. And lastly, God save us all from the author that simply doesn’t bother to do research and spits out jarring technical mistakes.
This book has none of those problems. The characters are interesting and as a reader you are motivated to care about them. The action is fast-paced, with colorful description, and it serves the purpose of the story instead of the other way around.
In short, this is a damn fine book. Read it and enjoy a real treat.
It’s available in Audible, too.
Of course, now I’m wondering what I said that inspired this person to post a review. Whatever it is, I need to duplicate it in my other work. In a business where some books are getting thousands of reviews on Amazon, this book just barely reached 84…and it’s been a bestseller in a few different categories.
Anyway, the reviewer claims to work in the industry. Perhaps that’s why he’s keeping his identity anonymous–probably a wise move in today’s climate. In any case, I’m very grateful he posted.
In the reality we inhabit, it’s difficult to imagine a world where Darwinism hasn’t been pushed by academia until it undergirds nearly every creative work, dominates every alleged discussion of science, and permeates the thinking of so many people (even those considered religious). But in the ancient world, it’s unlikely anyone promoted an idea that life originated, then evolved, by random accident–either according to the Big Bang process as conceptualized by atheists (“first there was nothing, then it exploded”); or via pan-spermia (“life originated in some far-away solar system according to Darwin’s model–therefore you can’t examine any evidence–then Earth was seeded by the resulting advanced life forms as an experiment”).
Whether or not humanity was entirely composed of superstitious simpletons, what evidence has survived suggests that supernatural creation was a mainstream concept and supernatural intervention was often expected.
Supernatural intervention is commonplace in the many surviving variations of the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths. Other mythologies are more difficult to research, but share most of the same themes. And, though it was rare for the Israelites to witness a physical manifestation of their God, they frequently begged His intervention, and often got it.
Initially (when Gods & Proxies was the first draft of a screenplay), I had characters with a 20th/21st Century attitude (agnostic, leaning toward atheist). It was an easy mistake to make, because you can’t go anywhere in the present day without encountering Darwinist worldviews, and assumptions based on the work of his zealous disciples. It’s only natural for a writer wanting to include life-like characters to craft them so that they wouldn’t seem out-of-place in the real world.
Which takes me back to my point: the real world now is perceived much differently than the real world was thousands of years ago.
It’s a major blunder to transpose modern values and attitudes into a period piece with no consideration for credibility. We see it in movies, TV shows, and books all the time. It’s a lazy and rather arrogant blunder. That’s why, when adapting the story into prose form, that anachronistic worldview had to go.
That said, human nature hasn’t changed, at all. Certainly the sophistication of deception has advanced considerably from ancient times, but not what deception is perpetrated to accomplish (abandonment of the Creator God, a hate for the truth and what is right, debauchery, and a love affair with lies).
There is no political correlation between what happens in our time and what happens in Gods & Proxies. Any flavor of social conflict you may find in the book is not inspired by current controversy, but by the clues from the ancient historical records, influenced by what the author understands about human nature.
Razorfist gives us the skinny on this early pulp hero, as few others could.
I admit, aside from a few boxing pulps, Conan is pretty much the only Robert E. Howard property I’ve read much of. I credit this to early exposure to the Marvel Comics adaptations, more than the aborted film franchise from the 1980s. I wish I had time to correct that.
Or perhaps “Religion Vs. Truth” would be a better title for this scene:
Some priests, and others from the L’vim sat with the visitors all that day. The offer was made early that the visitors were welcome to come outside the outer court of the Temple and worship Hashem.
“Thank-you, but no,” the ambassador said, with a nervous laugh. “That won’t be necessary.”
“I beg your pardon?” a priest asked, brows knitting. “You traveled all this way to make peace with us because you’ve heard that nothing and no one can stand against our god…yet you don’t want to know him?”
The visitors all glanced around their own countrymen, but eventually their collective gaze focused on the ambassador. He wiped sweat from his forehead and said, “True. We don’t want him to destroy us, but we’d prefer to serve our own gods.”
“You mean your own gods who can’t protect you from him?” a priest suggested.
“Well, um…yes,” the ambassador said.
The priest pointed at the stone idol resting on a wooden pedestal at the center of the visitors’ encampment. “That is the god you prefer to serve?” he asked.
“It is a representation of our god,” the ambassador said, uncomfortably. “It is sacred, because it bears his likeness. He dwells within it sometimes. It can receive our worship in his stead, when he chooses not to show us his image directly.”
“Let me make sure I understand this,” a priest said. “You have an opportunity to know the ultimate god, who created the world; and the wood, the stone, the metals that your so-called “gods” are made out of. And he created man, who formed your ‘gods’ out of wood, stone, or metals. But you would rather worship lifeless objects?”
“We wouldn’t expect you to understand,” the ambassador said.
“I think we do understand,” an angry-faced priest said. “You want Hashem’s mercy; you want his blessings; but you don’t want to give him anything in return.”
“It’s not just a stone idol,” one of the ambassador’s men stated, hotly. “It has power it is foolish to disrespect.”
Now Pinchas rose to his feet. “Let me give you a practical demonstration of religion,” he said, strolling toward the idol.
The visitors watched him apprehensively, some twitching as if about to stand.
Pinchas poked the statue with his staff. It toppled off the pedestal and thumped on the ground.
The visitors gasped. Some of the escorts shot to their feet, hands on weapons.
“Why would you disrespect our god this way, Yacovite?” demanded one of the escorts.
Pinchas turned to face the guests, shrugging. “When he puts himself back up on this pedestal, I’ll apologize.”
Gods & Proxies has gone wide. You can get it for most e-readers, including the Kindle.
Ben Wheeler’s debut novel is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Superversive has really gone retro-cool with this concept:
Haroun Rashid has found his true love, Zira Al-Zuwar and she has been taken from him by the powers that rule Mars on their wedding night. Gathering allies from the most unlikely places, he storms the palace of the Sheik of Mars, searching for Zira. No one can stand against him, but the price he will pay in suffering and death may be too much even for his resolve. The greatest beauties hide the worst snakes as A Princess of Mars blends with the Arabian Nights to create a tale like no other.
Actually, just quoting some Amazon reviewers who tooted for me.
“Author Hank Brown has created quite the enduring cast of characters here. …Heckuva Ride!”
“Pulp Fiction is back with a vengeance! It is truly a must read in the genre, or in any genre.”
E-Book
“This was a fantastic read with plenty of action. The characters are well defined and carry over from the first book. If you loved the first book you will want to read the second one too. …I can’t say enough about this author Henry Brown. I will probably read every book that he has put out. Happy reading!”
“I read the author’s first work, Hell and Gone, and was amazed by the author’s strong, engaging prose and pacing. …Tier Zero capitalizes on the author’s keen sense of pacing of Hell and Gone and the result is a story that naturally progresses in a meaningful way. …Tier Zero is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of the action-adventure/thriller paramilitary genre.”
#1 in The Retreads Series.
“Damn, better than first book! …Not just action (lots of good stuff) but now international intrigue. Great character development, good storyline, great action. What more can you ask for? …Oh yeah: liberal wusses need not bother, not your type.”
“…Brown clearly has ‘been and done.’ He gets the terms and the tactics right, which not all authors [not to mention movie plots] do. I place a high value on this because I read to learn as well as be entertained. Action stories with nothing but a high round-count bore me.”
“Henry Brown has written some of the best military fiction out there and I personally enjoyed this one the most. …The characters are very believable and complex and the action is non stop. If you like old school weapons, escape and evasion and a good shoot-em-up thriller this is one of the best.”
“If you like military kick ass take names kind of books you will love this series.”
The Audible audiobook.
“The author’s experience and insight helps deliver a story that is action packed, yet not so far fetched that it detracts from the story.”
“I loved Hank’s sequel to Hell and Gone and that it focused in on one of my favorite characters from the first book, Tommy Scarred Wolf. Tier Zero (a great play on words) harkens back to the classic bygone era of Men’s Adventure when you could find Mack Bolan books in all the book shops. Today the genre is enjoying a bit of a comeback and Hank is one of the author’s driving that.”
“Tier Zero comes loaded with a kickass protagonist–unique, flawed, thoughtful, and capable of extreme violence–hitting southeast Asia in a rescue mission alongside a team of mercenary ex-soldiers (all equally unique and memorable) that bring so much ass-kick to the game it makes me want to write every action-film director and tell them to stay home–their work bores me. Now, I know Brown likes to call his work an homage to the bygone mens’ pulp-fiction genre, but it surpasses that. Sure, he hits on the essentials–the attractive women, the brave, rugged fighting men, and the unmistakably evil bad guys–but he’s a master storyteller, too.”
“Although I have no doubt legions of Men’s Adventure fans have tried to imitate the writings of their favorite authors over the years, in Henry’s case, the student has definitely become the master.”
Paperback
“I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, HELL AND GONE. As good as it was, TIER ZERO is better in every way. The characterizations are deeper, the plot has more twists, and hard as it may be to believe, it has even more of the gritty, well-written action scenes at which Brown excels. I thought I knew where the story was going, but it takes a nice hard turn about halfway through that powers it on to the end of the book.”
“As much as I enjoyed Hell & Gone, this book is better. Hank has polished some of the character interactions. There are still conflicts between even characters on the same side, much like there were in Hell & Gone (both books are about ad hoc units put together for a particular mission). He even has a bit of a romantic subplot going on, but it certainly doesn’t detract from the action. There are multiple threads running through the plot, and several betrayals ratchet up the tension between the good guys, over and above the tension of being on their own in a foreign land, surrounded by enemies. Questions are raised about who to trust, both within and without the group. ”
#3 in The Retreads Series.
“In this tough, gritty paramilitary thriller (sequel to the popular HELL AND GONE) author Brown harkens back to the ‘men’s adventure’ novels that were so popular in the 80s and early 90s. He does an exemplary job of carrying on that tradition and even adds some depth and background to his characterizations that increases their humanity, makes them seem more real — all without ever getting in the way of the balls-out, full throttle action. The plot is tight, with plenty of twists and surprises, and the ‘good guys’ are characters you really care about. So much so, that you will be rooting for a continuation of this intriguing, exciting series.”
“I listened to the Audible version, and it kept me entertained from start to finish.”
As a young paratrooper back in the day, there were many times when I wanted to escape from everything that reminded me of my job. But there were other times when I couldn’t get enough.
A limited sample from my personal library. Some of these are in bad shape from being stuffed in a rucksack or buttpack during Happy Camping excursions.
Literarily (is that a word?) speaking, I was probably spoiled. All around Fort Bragg, it was easy to find stuff to read that appealed–namely: anything that offered more excitement than what I was getting out of real life. During my escapist periods, I gravitated toward sci-fi, sword & sorcery, and pulpy adventures (I was a big Indiana Jones fan, to give you an idea). When I was gung-ho, I read Vietnam novels, WW2 novels, military sci-fi, and tons of paramilitary fiction. The 100-mile radius around Bragg probably has the worst male-to-female ratio in the world, so options were limited for off-time–especially when on DRF-1 (a ready-stand-by status for the Rapid Deployment Force; when troopers were on a short leash and had to be close and sober awaiting deployment).
Here’s the new E-Book cover.
Anyhoo, as a civilian later on, I noticed my reading options dwindling quickly. The New York Publishing Cartel just wasn’t producing anything I enjoyed reading anymore. I’ve blogged about this before, so to make a long story short: when I first discovered the opportunities presented by publish-on-demand (POD) and e-publishing, I assigned myself the quixotic task of reviving the “men’s fiction” I had once so enjoyed.
Surprisingly, I ran into other fledgling authors with similar goals.
The revival did happen–albeit on a small scale (because men have by-and-large given up on reading). Some of us carved out a niche for ourselves. My most focused effort to date is Tier Zero.
Here’s the original, pulpy retro-paramilitary adventure cover (which I still like best).
The e-book is currently on sale for 99 cents at the online stores. But for those of you who don’t have time to sit down and actually read, there’s an audio version you can listen to while driving or performing mundane tasks, narrated by Johnnie C. Hayes.
By the time everyone was buckled in, the chopper was rocking and bouncing in place like a hyper child on a trampoline. With the clock ticking toward the call to prayer, it seemed to take years for it to finally lift off. The wind from the rotors kicked up a dust storm all around the helipad as the Chinook got airborne.
The pilot, Wade Haugen, had once flown Harriers for the US Marine Corps. Since transitioning to a paramilitary career, he had mastered a variety of fixed-wing aircraft and added choppers to his repertoire. After being hired by SSI, he converted the old Chinook into a combination troop carrier and gunship. There were rocket pylons on both sides, topped by miniguns. He had flares and chaff, too—not that he should need them on this sortie.
The fuel tanks were full. Every weapon system was go. Haugen was primed to deliver these ground-pounders and get waist-deep in some close air support.
Underneath the reaction force, the land gradually transformed from the fertile ground of the Euphrates Valley to dry, harsh desert.
The Chinook (an ugly beast resembling an old telephone receiver upside-down) was a fairly fast bird, stable and tough, mostly due to its absence of a tail rotor. It got the QR force to its debark point quickly. The ramp dropped as it settled onto the ground just long enough for the light platoon to pour out, then the chopper tilted nose-down and accelerated to max speed at low altitude.
Leon, his spotter, Warner and his gun crew remained on the bird.
Up in the cockpit, the target compound came into view. As the chopper neared, Figures came into view—several men, bowing toward the east in an open area between buildings. But several rose from their penitent positions and scattered.
“Guess they hear us coming, eh?” Ryan Flees, the British copilot groused. “And that looks like a lot more than ten hostiles.”
Haugen shrugged. “Intel is sketchy—based mostly on what the Iraqi cops can see from their location.”
“Which apparently wasn’t too bloody much.”
“Patch my mike through to the loudspeaker,” Haugen said.
Flees did so and said, “You’re live.”
They were close enough now to make out faces on the men running, pointing, and leveling weapons at the helicopter. Haugen popped his bubblegum and keyed the mike. “What’re you all looking at me for? You’re supposed to be facing Mecca!”
The miniguns opened up and Haugen raked fire across the compound as he came over, banking left to catch a concentration of fleeing hostiles…and to avoid the building where the women were supposed to be. A few hostiles were shredded by the streams of 7.62mm rounds.
E-Book link (Amazon)
Down below, the first squad was moving into position to take their first building, trusting the bedlam caused by the gun run to divert attention from them. By the time the Chinook cut loose the miniguns on its second pass, they were ready. During the BRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAPPP!!! of Haugen’s burst, the lead man used a shotgun to breach the door and First Squad burst in to sweep and clear, room by room.
They encountered no hostiles in the building, and declared it secure. Now watching key avenues of approach from in and around the building, First Squad held their position while Second Squad took the adjacent building.
Only one hostile was found inside—an armed adult male trying to escape the big, ugly gunship. He lost a quick draw contest with Chris Reecio and the second building was soon secured. One fireteam from each squad was left to hold the two buildings and the rest of the force linked up, preparing to move to the next position.
On the ground, with eyes on the small building where the cops were trapped, Mac keyed his radio mike. “Double Dragon, this is Hudson Hawk. We’re ready for Santa Clause…Mechanic, over?”
“Roger, Hudson Hawk,” Haugen replied. ”Santa Clause One coming in.”
The Chinook came around again, this time settling into a hover low over the roof of the first building. Leon and his spotter dropped down onto the roof. Flees told Haugen they were off, and the chopper slid over to drop the machinegun crew on the second roof.
Small arms fire was incoming now, but poorly aimed and sporadic. Haugen swung wide out to the northwest and charged back into the thick of it. His amplified drawl echoed throughout the compound over the noise of the rotors, “Out on the streets, they call it MUUURRRDEEERRR!”
Flees put hands to both sides of his helmet as if covering his ears. “Oh, bloody hell, Wade! I’m sure that must be against the Geneva Convention. Open fire already, and put them out of their misery.”
So instead of singing it again, or worse: trying to rap the lyrics; Haugen opened up with the miniguns.
Leon and Anwar, his spotter, dropped to the prone at the edge of the roof. They were down less than a second when a man popped out of a doorway, shouldering an RPG and pivoting to track the Chinook.
“RPG!” Anwar cried.
“Got ‘im,” Leon said, taking up trigger slack. “Welcome to Jam-Rock, baby.” The Monolith SWAT spoke, and the man with the RPG nearly folded in half backwards as he fell.
Three men, who had been hiding behind a wall, ran for the building where the women were, once the chopper had passed by. The assistant gunner yelled and pointed. Warner traversed the Vektor SS77 on its tripod and put the trio in the dirt with a couple of eight-round bursts.
On the ground below, Mac led the bulk of the QR force out and around the back of the compound. They came at the third building from the flat desert, bounding forward by fireteam.
A figure appeared behind the scratched, dusty glass of a window. The mercs caught the movement and dropped in their tracks. Fire crashed through the glass to the familiar tune of an AK47 on full auto.
A gunner in Second Squad ripped a burst through the window, and the man. Mac shot to his feet and closed the rest of the distance to the building’s wall. The other shooters did the same, as the SS77 laid covering fire. One merc cooked off a frag grenade and dunked it through the shattered window. When it detonated, the covering gun crew rushed to join their comrades.
Ideally, a mouse hole should be blown in this back wall. But the wall was the only cover they had, so they couldn’t go somewhere else when the charge went off. Around the corner seemed the best plan, since not that much enemy fire was concentrating there.
Mac peeked around the corner nearest the second building and yelled to get the rooftop crew’s attention. “Warner! Yo! Warner!”
Warner’s ammo bearer heard him, looked down and to the right until he spotted Mac. “Yo!”
Mac pointed in the general direction of the rest of the compound and yelled, “Cover!”
The ammo bearer nodded, turned to Warner and the assistant gunner and said something inaudible from where Mac was. Warner poured it on, raking fire back and forth across his sector.
Mac turned back to his men, holding out one hand, palm-up. “Demo!”
Barry Teor, the new demo guy, slapped a crude shaped charge into his hand and Mac rounded the corner. He slammed the charge against the wall facing the second building and got back around the corner with no new bullet holes in him.
“Fire in the hole!”
The charge blew. He allowed time for the dust to settle, then peeked around the corner again. The outside wall now sported a four-foot-diameter mouse hole. He turned back to his men. “Breach!”
The lead fireteam plucked grenades from their vests. There would be no flash-bangs on this sweep. They knew there was opfor (opposing force) in the building and they could afford to take no prisoners until they broke through to the besieged police. Hopefully there were no women or children inside.
Paperback Link (Amazon)
The lead team stacked on the corner while other shooters got out of their way. With a strangled grunt the team leader rounded the corner, lurched sideways and tumbled through the mouse hole. The second man went through almost on top of him. A short burst from an AA12 sounded inside, then one of the mercs called back through the mouse hole, “We’re in a hallway! We’re going left; next pair go right!”
The next two men jumped through the breach. The next fireteam stacked on the corner, waiting for their turn to go in.
Inside, the shooters cleared each room methodically: kick in the door, toss in a grenade. After the blast, the first man entered the room and buttonhooked left; the second man entered, buttonhooking right. Anyone still moving or breathing got a double tap. In fact, they got a double tap even if they weren’t still breathing. Mark the room secure and move on to the next door.
It was the kind of overkill professional soldiers hadn’t employed probably since Stalingrad or Kassino. Fragmentation grenades in every room; universal double taps…
But SSI’s quick reaction force believed in overkill. Big Jake McCallum swore by overkill.
The building was secured quickly with no friendly casualties and six opfor dead. By now it was obvious, even to the mercs at ground level, that enemy strength had been underestimated.
With a team pulling security outside to the rear, the remainder of the force gathered inside the freshly-cleared building. Now four of them, including Mac, positioned themselves at doors and windows facing the inside of the compound. The windows were smashed out with rifle butts. They yanked pins and hurled smoke grenades into the gap between their building and where the police were holed up.
“Litter teams up!” Mac barked.
Six men moved toward the front door and readied their litters—still collapsed so far. Mac glanced outside several times to assess how the smoke was spreading. Second Squad’s gun crew set up their SS77 on an old desk, poking out the front-facing window. The litter teams assumed the ready-scat position.
Mac switched his radio to the Iraqi Police frequency. In Arabic, he said, “This is Hudson Hawk. We are coming to get you in one minute. I say again: 60 seconds. We have litter teams for your casualties. We’ll be coming from the building west-southwest of you. Do not fire at us! I say again: do not fire on us. Do you copy, over?”
“We copy, Hudson Hawk,” a quavering voice replied. “We are ready.”
Mac switched back to the QRF frequency. “Double Dragon, this is Hudson Hawk. Are you ready to bring smoke, over?” He could hear the Chinook hovering outside and knew it was in position, but had to be sure its weapon systems were still functioning.
“Hudson Hawk, this is Double Dragon,” Haugen drawled. “We are guns-up and awaiting your verbal, over.”
“All shooters…all shooters,” Mac broadcast. “Covering fire initiates on Double Dragon’s gun run.” He glanced once more at the smoke, now probably at its maximum spread. “Double Dragon: execute!”
The turbines throttled up and the pounding of the rotors grew louder. Mac turned his back to the door, making eye contact with the litter teams.
BRRRRRRRRRRAAAPPP!!!
The QR force opened up with everything they had, and the noise was terrific.
“GO! GO! GO!” Mac bellowed, running to get out of the litter teams’ way as they charged through the door and across the open ground. Tracers streaked over their heads in such volume that nothing downrange of them could possibly survive.
Atop the roof of Building One, Anwar screamed to be heard above the din. “Target two o’clock, 90 meters, window!”
Leon’s peripheral vision had already caught the jihadi popping up in the window. His cross hairs centered on the head—a chip shot from this range—and he tickled the trigger. The man disappeared from view, leaving a splatter of blood and brain on the wall behind him as a memorial to his curiosity.
Below, the litter teams reached the small building. The door opened. Verbal conversation impossible at that location in the circumstances, the litter bearers pointed, gesticulated, then finally yanked and shoved the cops into motion. Three cops dashed for the secured building across from them as the litter teams entered the building.
When they reemerged, the litters were deployed, bearing three human figures. The litter teams sprinted back across the open ground. When they reached cover, the firing slowed to a trickle.
At the same two-o’clock building from Leon’s position, a jihadi appeared on the rooftop with an RPG.
“See that?” Anwar asked.
Leon could barely hear him over the ringing in his ears, but nodded and said, “I see him.”
“How did he get up there?”
“Your guess good as mine,” Leon drawled. “But I got a hunch how he gonna get back down.”
The Les Baer rifle fired. The man spun half-around and tumbled over the edge of the roof, the RPG flipping up in the air like a baton during a majorette’s juggling trick.
Audio Book link (Amazon)
As the litter teams burst back in the doorway of Building Two, Mac examined their cargo. Thankfully, the wounded cops were still alive. He turned to the three still on their feet. “What can you tell me?” He asked, in Arabic.
One of the men in plainclothes pointed back the way he had come. “As you were laying down fire, most of them gathered in that building.”
“What building?” Mac demanded, unslinging his fag-bag. He extracted the aerial photo and held it out.
“That building!” The cop said, pointing to Building Seven.
Mac stared at the photo for a minute, thinking. He turned to his men. “Weapons check, reload and head count! Get ready to move!” Hey keyed his radio. “Santa Clause One and Two: exfil in two mikes. Over.”
“Wilco, Hudson Hawk. Santa Clause One out,” Leon replied, and Warner replied right after. “Roger: exfil in two. Santa Clause Two out.”
Mac pulled out his cell phone and texted Haugen about the concentration of opfor in Building Seven. His following text said, “Whatever u do, don’t violate R.O.E.”
After a few seconds, he heard Haugen’s voice on the radio. “Hudson Hawk, this is Double Dragon. I’m afraid we must have taken some hits. We seem to be experiencing a weapons malfunction.”
And then the rockets fired—three in rapid succession. Through the window, Mac and his men watched Building Seven obliterated in a strobing flash, quickly replaced by a tremendous cloud of dust and smoke.
Two of the Brits grinned at each other. “Weapons malfunctions are such a nuisance,” one of them said.
“I just hate it when the Rules Of Engagement are blown to hell and gone,” one of the Americans added.
The squad leaders reported to Mac with head counts and ammo inventory. None of the mercs had been lost or even wounded. He would celebrate later, but for now he didn’t want to wear out his welcome with Lady Luck.
“Alright, move out!” Mac bellowed. “Rally Point Echo!” Then, supervising the exfiltration by squads, Mac muttered, half under his breath, “They can stick the Rules Of Engagement where the sun don’t shine.”
I think I might know where this is going: Fazer is going to become a supervillain with a grudge against King Ace. He knows King Ace’s identity, as well as his weaknesses…could prove to be a formidable adversary.
Of course, now I’m wondering what I said that inspired this person to post a review. Whatever it is, I need to duplicate it in my other work. In a business where some books are getting thousands of reviews on Amazon, this book just barely reached 84…and it’s been a bestseller in a few different categories.
“This was a fantastic read with plenty of action. The characters are well defined and carry over from the first book. If you loved the first book you will want to read the second one too. …I can’t say enough about this author Henry Brown. I will probably read every book that he has put out. Happy reading!”
“The author’s experience and insight helps deliver a story that is action packed, yet not so far fetched that it detracts from the story.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, HELL AND GONE. As good as it was, TIER ZERO is better in every way. The characterizations are deeper, the plot has more twists, and hard as it may be to believe, it has even more of the gritty, well-written action scenes at which Brown excels. I thought I knew where the story was going, but it takes a nice hard turn about halfway through that powers it on to the end of the book.”
“In this tough, gritty paramilitary thriller (sequel to the popular HELL AND GONE) author Brown harkens back to the ‘men’s adventure’ novels that were so popular in the 80s and early 90s. He does an exemplary job of carrying on that tradition and even adds some depth and background to his characterizations that increases their humanity, makes them seem more real — all without ever getting in the way of the balls-out, full throttle action. The plot is tight, with plenty of twists and surprises, and the ‘good guys’ are characters you really care about. So much so, that you will be rooting for a continuation of this intriguing, exciting series.”
