Man of War audiobook

Okay, I really liked this book. I know I’ve said that about too many of the last books I’ve read but this one is different. The last two that I loved, Savage Country and One Foot in Eden, are both worlds apart from Man of War. Country and Eden are like savory entrees from an expensive restaurant, flavor that stays with you for days. Man of War is more like chocolate and popcorn, tasty and light. Man of War is an action adventure with a little romance for spice. This genre is overcrowded to say the least but the author pulls it off. This one stands head and shoulders above the others. I am a big Gray Man and Jack Reacher fan (was a Reacher fan) but this one blows both of them out of the water (Reacher hasn’t been good for a while, the last five books by my estimation. Reacher isn’t flawed. When a car cuts him off on a lonely highway and six thugs step out there isn’t any question of the outcome there is just five long drawn out pages in how he is going to do it). Man of War has a tired and worn out premise, a nuke has gone missing and our hero has to find it to avert a world war. However, the author writes from a boots on the ground history that gives the read a real sense of authenticity. The prose does not carry it by any means but it’s not supposed to when you’re talking about chocolate and popcorn. I have to say I really loved this book and highly recommend it. Great book. I’m excited to see the author’s next one. The sophomore effort in a new series is always a tough pull, so we’ll see.David Putnam the author of The Bruno Johnson series.

See this review and more at www.TheRealBookSpy.com Decorated combat veteran and New York Times bestselling author of Outlaw Platoon Sean Parnell makes his highly-anticipated fiction debut. After several tours fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, Eric Steele now serves as part of an elite, top-secret unit known simply as the Program.Originally, after carrying his commander to safety following an attack on his Special Forces team, Steele was nominated for the prestigious Medal of Honor. But instead of a high-profile ceremony and photo-op, the request was halted and Steele was given something else instead. . . The chance to kill bad guys without the abundance of government oversight and bureaucratic red tape that slowed him down in the Army.Spoken about only in whispers, the Alpha Program is comprised of nine of the most hardened and seasoned badasses the United States military has to offer. Each Alpha answers directly to the president, and each operator is responsible for covering a specifically assigned geographical territory, thus giving the commander-in-chief a third option when diplomacy won’t work and starting a lengthy war is out of the question. When all else fails, it’s up to the Program’s operators to get the job done, and Eric Steele, codenamed Stalker 7, is the unit’s most lethal member — the alpha of the Alphas. The story starts 100 miles outside of Tunis, where a man named Nate West leads an assault on an armed convoy — kicking off a chilling sequence that puts readers firmly behind the scope of West’s Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle.It turns out that the convoy had been carrying a small nuclear weapon to a secret location, and the weapon is now in the possession of West — who plans to use it to attack America, the country he feels betrayed him four years prior. Complicating matters even more is the revelation that the convoy was actually part of a CIA operation, suggesting that West and his men had intimate details of the spy agency’s whereabouts. It also raises questions about Director Robin Styles, who is all too quick to try and erase any record of the agency’s presence in Tunisia.At the center of everything is Eric Steele, who in another life was once close to West. Steele was there when Nate was thought to have been killed, and he grieved the loss of his friend. Now, he’s faced with the shocking and devastating reality that his former teammate has gone rogue and is knee-deep in a plan to strike a blow to America. From brothers-in-arms to warriors on opposite sides of a raging conflict, Steele is tasked with his most personal mission yet. . . stopping Nate West at all costs in order to save millions of innocent lives. As Steele blazes a trail from Washington D.C. across the Middle East, Europe, and Africa in search of West, Parnell does a solid job developing other characters (Demo, Steele’s buddy and fellow operator, is sure to be a fan-favorite) as the story unfolds. One of the book’s more memorable scenes involves Steele performing a HALO jump using an MK11 Advance Jumper’s Helmet that was developed by DARPA, which is fitted with a holographic display that functions like something right out of the Marvel universe. Obviously, Parnell knows his stuff when it comes to the military and how special forces operators walk, talk, and handle themselves on and off the battlefield. At twenty-four years old, he was named the commander of a forty-man infantry platoon tasked with rooting out Pakistan-based insurgents from a mountain valley along Afghanistan’s eastern frontier. Later, they became known as the Outlaws, and Parnell’s captivating nonfiction story (Outlaw Platoon) touches on everything from brotherhood to what war is really like, all told through his riveting first-hand account.Here, with Man of War, Parnell brings that same raw honesty to his story. Steele and the other characters speak and move with the kind of realism that only someone who’s been there and done that can re-create on the page. Some readers may struggle, at least initially, with all the military terminology and acronyms, but veteran readers of the genre will be just fine. It’s also worth noting that this isn’t a straight-up military thriller, as Parnell mixes in political elements as well, expanding his target audience in the process. While some aspects aren’t altogether new (readers are used to seeing top-secret programs designed to circumvent laws and regulations in order to dispatch threats as they pop up) Parnell does offer a fresh take on things that allow his characters to stand out in a crowded genre.Basically, if you like action, conspiracies, and bold, larger-than-life characters. . . this book is for you. Falling somewhere between Brad Thor’s Scot Harvath and Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan, Eric Steel is a formidable new protagonist whom readers will love following around and watching as he leaves a trail of dead bad guys in his wake. Man of War hits fast, hard, and never lets up for a second. . . Sean Parnell really knows his stuff, and this thriller is not to be missed. Book Details Author: Sean ParnellSeries: Eric Steele #1Pages: 368 (Hardcover)ISBN: 0062668781Publisher: William MorrowRelease Date: September 11, 2018Book Spy Rating: 8.5/10Order Now: https://amzn.to/2HmmkCAPraised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.

Eric Steele stood at six foot two, was to get Medal of Honor but they then erased all records that Steele had ever been born as he began his Alpha training as youngest Alpha trainee in history at The Program’s facility in Fort Bragg North Carolina, in a place they called the Salt Pit.Fully loaded with all the necessary ingredients, the great cast of characters men and women of war, delivered potent and solid rapid fire successions, with an author’s great craft in evoking a vivid sense of place and scene, along with the technical know-how of battle, it all unravelling, encompassing the reader, and pulling the reader along, hostage to the page with a sense of clear and present danger in saving the masses amongst conspiratorial maneuverings.“In combat there is no prizes for second place,” the author writes in this narrative, but in the fiction world there is, and he may take first place for great thriller.Great anticipation left for next episode in Eric Steele’s myriad of movements. https://more2read.com/review/man-of-war-by-sean-parnell/

Man of War is a spectacular action thriller that grips the reader with an iron fist and does not let go till the last page. The narrative is an interesting one, with delightful twists and turns and characters that come right out of the pages. The main protagonist, Eric Steele is a hardened warrior with a dangerous set of skills which he employs efficiently throughout the fast paced thriller. The author, Mr Parnell, does an excellent job at capturing the emotions of the characters and using them to fuel the motivations of said characters. While it is a contemporary thriller, there is a classic vibe to it, such as the good old battle between a mentor gone rogue and his mentee who has to face the harsh choice of going against the man who taught him all he knows. I was thoroughly entertained with the technical accuracy of the battles infused with hard hitting emotions experienced by the warriors. It is definitely a must read.

This was a super fun thrill ride! The action was awesome, the locales were vividly described that I felt like I was there, and that climax was intense!! Looking forward to reading All Out War!

Crazy debut!My gosh! I am absolutely intrigued by Eric Steele, and I want to know more and see more about him! Steele is an absolute badass, and he is put to the test when a mentor from his past pops up and wrecks havoc. I like Steele’s absolute dedication to help and protect others. He can often times get himself into trouble, and I can’t wait to see more of that side of him! Also, I love Meg Harding! I really hope she sticks around with Steele in his future escapades!

I've been reading and been a serious fan of military action thrillers for years. I've read every book in the Mitch Rapp series, and I own and have read all of Brad Thor's Scot Harvath thrillers. I've enjoyed others as well, but those are the two big boys on the block if the genre. I'm always looking for new authors and new series to enjoy. Some are great (Jack Carr's The Terminal List), but most are good to servicable at best. After reading Sean Parnell's non-fiction account of his war time service in Afghanistan called Outlaw Platoon I knew I had to get my hands on his first work of fiction. It did not disappoint I would put Man of War among my favorite in the genre. It has something that not many of these thrillers have, worldbuilding. The way Parnell cleverly makes the secret Alpha program have a long history is going to give him amazing latitude to tell all kinds of stories in his universe going forward. Also the technology of the Alphas is unique and set the story apart. Add to that great action and enjoyable charcters gets you 5 stars.

Very entertaining and fast paced. Looking forward to book 2.

It took me about 100 pages to really figure out what was going on in the book. I wasn't sure who were the good folks and who were the bad. But once I figured it out I couldn't stop reading. Lots of action.

A very good book for a debut novel by Mr Parnell.

Really liked, Man of War a lot, will make me eventually re-read the 3rd book One True Patriot. Since realized that starting with the 3rd, it's not a standalone and needs to be read in order.Definitely my style of book, it's action packed, liked the fast pace, full of twists and turns, overloaded with tension, has a story line that's ripped right out of the headlines, it's gripping, builds to a epic conclusion, good and nasty characters and like the good verse evil theme. The LBGT tie-in with the Director of the CIA Robin Styles and the President's nurse didn't bother me, easy to realize that would be her downfall, how they'd realize she was dirty and needed to be removed.The only tweak I would make is to have Meg's team be able to recover the portable nuclear bomb, beat Nate to it, he gets a glimpse of them, once he discovers the bombs gone, realize that they probably took it and then have Steele with Demo trailing behind Nate's group. Also Meg know's something is off with Styles, so her teams goes into defensive mode, staying ahead of both Nate and Steele and easily could have add into the storyline a team of trusted associates from Styles trying to find them and bring it to her. Since no way when would Nate, with all the killing he does to get the bomb, he'd never let Meg live or not kill Steele. Kinda the lame point was that Nate knew Steele would save Meg, enabling him to get away and knew in the end the two would meet again for a final battle.

A Scintillating, High Octane ThrillerI haven't read a book that moved with a sense of urgency like this one does in a long time. I got sucked in on the very first page and couldn't put it down until my heart slowed and I reached the conclusion. I'm not much of a gun person but after this I think I've heard of every type used in the military. This story is so well written that you're right there in the middle of the action and watching it play out in front of you. I love when I can get lost in the book and not think about actually reading it. It's obvious that the author has first hand knowledge of the subject matter and I thank him for his service. I've read plenty of military themed books and this one just felt different and fresh. Though very detail oriented you never get bogged down with them as again they put you right there in the middle. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and can't wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend this story to those of you who like your thrillers very fast paced, action packed and believable.

A great new action character from an author who knows combat from first hand knowledge. The character Eric Steele is a resourceful soldier working in an off the books program for the President. Also the support characters are well fleshed out without slowing down the action. Throw in a great villain who has a shared pass with our lead and a small nuke to put this into the realm of great thrillers. This is a first in a series looking forward to more from this character and this author.

Authenticity oozes through the print from an author who is an American hero. Eric Steele is another version of an American hero, somehow surviving some amazing battles without being sidelined. I will continue to follow Eric Steele for sure. At the end of the day though, I still seek Jack Jr., Dingo and the rest as the #1 team that I have followed thanks to Mr. Clancy.