The Cyclops Initiative audiobook

From The Book:To save an innocent friend, soldier and spy Jim Chapel will risk his own life and reputation to stop a deadly conspiracy from threatening the country. Jim Chapel pledged his life to protect his country from its enemies. But now, the one-armed Special Forces soldier turned spy is on the wrong side of the law. The person he trusts most in the world, the brilliant hacker known only as Angel, is suspected of terrorism. When his boss calls for Angel’s arrest, Chapel—certain it’s a frame job—has only one option: to go rogue. To protect Angel—a woman he’s never actually met—Chapel must clear her name. But first he has to find her, before a deadly Marine sniper, a drone aircraft gone feral, and the entire intelligence community closes in. With the aid of old friends and his ex-lover Julia, the search to find who framed Angel leads Chapel deep into the dark and lethal underbelly of the covert intelligence world . . . to a conspiracy with deep roots that shocks even this hardened veteran—and a plan that will destroy the United States as we know it if it succeeds. My Thoughts:The Cyclops Imitative has many sub plots going at the same time and characters that constantly overlap between good and bad. Introduced into this story is the character of Brent Wilkes ...a Marine sniper that works on the theory of "find, fix, finish", and will kill on command without a second thought. Jim Chapel is a one-armed Army vet working for the same people as Brent Wilkes but his philosophy is to use his wits and his sniper training and kill as a last resort. It becomes obvious that the two are going to have to combine their skills if they are going to survive, save their comrades and protect the nation they would both die for. Also combined into the story is an interesting contract between present and past generations and how America honored her returning soldiers. Author, David Wellington summed it up well in his quote about the book...“I wanted to write about how those veterans who lost limbs still have a meaningful life. I hoped I showed how they cope differently, that their life will never be easy, and now it is much more complicated. For me, the struggle they are going through is just as heroic as anything they did on the battlefield. We as Americans should understand that war is so complicated, dangerous, and serious. It is not as depicted in the video games that turn it into a cartoon.”

The Chapel missions are great fun! The characters have flaws and move the story arc in many ways.A fast read - A guilty pleasure for the eyes...

This is the third and probably final novel about Jim Chapel, US army Captain working for clandestine military intelligence agency. In this book he finally goes rogue and faces not some Russians or Chinese but own US army and police.Just like the previous books, it is good written page-turner. At the same time an attempt to knit up all previously loose ends sometimes leads to unnatural to the point of ridiculousness drama. It is, in my opinion made worse by attempts to make it more cinematic with worn-out clichés like stopping a bomb at the very last second. It is astonishing how the author is able to mix such blinders and some quite serious massages like the problems of army veterans with PTSD and the like. Overall a nice grande finale for the trilogy, albeit a bit US-centric.

Non-stop action! Enjoyable conspiracy novel! I wonder if hijacking drones is possible......not that I would have a hope of that kind of technical knowledge, just wondering in general. Hope no government agency looks at my book reviews.

Good developing thriller plot.Good developing thriller plot. Hard to put the story down. So finished in three night readings. Terrorists, treason, IT, being hunted, a little romance, and blood, and saves the day.

One of those authors I knew nothing about but was given the book. Turned out to be the type I really enjoy. A techno-thriller that keeps you guessing, has twists and is fast-paced. So I pretty much raced through it since I enjoyed it so much.

I loved the book; cleanly brings a close to a series. Well done

** spoiler alert ** I won this book in a giveaway. I really enjoyed the characters of the story and the unique plot of hijacking drones to change the government.

Great book

Fun read. Likable characters. Enjoyed this series.

Really engaging, fast-paced spy novel.

Excellent page turner! Loved the format. Surprises clear to the end.

I just finished up David Wellington’s latest chapter in the Jim Chapel series and I must say I liked it. Once again I must reiterate that I’m a big David Wellington fan so I was very excited to read this latest installment in a series that is a departure from David Wellington’s typical supernatural monster/thriller genre.As with most of Wellington’s books The Cyclops Initiative for me was a rather quick read. Once I get into anything of Wellington’s I have a hard time putting it down. I read through the majority of the book in one sitting in one day. I think it really goes to show how well Wellington does at capturing your attention and holding onto it.One thing that was disappointing about this entry to the Jim Chapel series, as well as the one before it, was the moving away of the series from the science fiction/monster element. When I think David Wellington I think science fiction and monsters. That element is what really drew me to Chimera. I read The Hydra Protocol hoping that would remain. While it was there it wasn’t nearly as key to the plot as in Chimera. Now that we’re at The Cyclops Initiative the science fiction/monster element is completely gone. I commend Wellington for looking to expand into other genres, I mean there are only so many ways to spin vampires, werewolves, and zombies, and I’ll continue to read everything his publishes, but to start this series with such a strong science fiction element and to slowly remove it entirely is a letdown. If you’re hoping to read this novel and experience science fiction woven into a spy thriller I think you may be disappointed.On the other hand as a spy thriller and action novel, The Cyclops Initiative is solid at providing plenty of espionage while keeping you guessing at who is really pulling the strings of the US intelligence networks. The book is fast paced and while providing a constant pace of action. The plot twists and turns will keep you guessing throughout, one thing that Wellington has been very good at throughout the entire Jim Chapel series. The existing characters continue to be solid as well as the new ones. Overall the plot is intriguing while keeping you guessing until the end. *****Possible spoilers below*****(view spoiler)[Once I finished reading I get the impression that this may be the last in the Jim Chapel series. While written with the definitive possibility of another book for the series, I have a hard time seeing that happen. Jim Chapel’s director has been promoted to head a larger agency while wanting to leave Chapel in charge of Wilkes and Angel. Jim’s in a hospital room recovering from an infection brought on by Wilkes’ gunshot obviously wanting to propose to his former ex-girlfriend from book one Julia. I’m not sure I see where exactly Wellington would go to continue on with this series unless he chose to fork it away from Chapel entirely and focus on Wilkes’ or another new agent. Guess I’ll have to wait and see what Wellington comes up with next. Regardless of what it is I’ll certainly be reading it. (hide spoiler)]

Disclaimer: I won this hard cover on a Goodreads giveaway. Reviews are encouraged, but not a must.It had been many years since I had read a thriller so I didn't know exactly what to expect. First, let me say that while this one isn't a first in a series, it reads well and at no time was I lost because I hadn’t read the previous two.In this book, we follow Chapel as he tries to unravel a conspiracy that could very well destroy the US. Angel, an agent (or is it a computer?) proficient in hacking, has disappeared from the map and has been accused of being behind the forces that are attacking the country with drones. I won't say more. To be honest, I've seen a lot of movies/tv shows about hackers, and my hubby works for a server group so the jargon is not totally baffling to me; however, I'm guessing it could be overwhelming to some. Now, I can't say if all that was said is reliable, but it was plausible enough not to have me question the story. I had fun reading it, and we're not left with a cliffhanger. All's well wrapped up.For people looking for action, conspiracy, and technology that blends all together well, this book is for you.

The United States infrastructure is under attack by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). It's up to the Directorate for Defense Counter Intelligence agent, Jim Chapel to investigate and find out who is responsible. Further complicating his mission is the suspicion swirling around the Directorate that has led to the house arrest of Chapel's boss, the inactivation of Chapel's credit cards and the impending arrest of his handler, Angel. This is a fast paced read which should open the eyes of the reader to the dangers inherent in the US's current war operations employing UAVs and the security of their control. Add in a dose of electronic surveillance and you've got a recipe for disaster unless agent Chapel can discover and overcome the plotters. Another great goodreads giveaway award of a free book for this lucky reader!

A great finishI enjoyed this series very much. Like many of David Wellingtons novel series, I am sad that they are over with, but glad to have had the experience of reading them. This was the best book of the series. The characters grew to their fullest in this novel. I hope there will be more stories like these in the future.

I won this hard cover on a Goodreads giveaway. This is a thriller that I enjoyed.I have not read #1 or # 2 in this Jim Chapel series but I don't think it was needed to understand the characters.So don't be afraid.