Tag: Sean Ellis

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Featured New Release Of The Week: Destination Sofia by David Wood and Sean Ellis

This week we’re looking at the latest entry in a long running and expansive universe. This week we’re looking at Destination Sofia by David Wood and Sean Ellis.

This was yet another excellent example of Wood and Ellis’ abilities to take seemingly somewhat random real world mysteries and impressive sceneries and combine them into an action tale with just the right combination of adventure, intrigue, and guns blazing action. The intrigue here centers on the real life Tsarichina Hole, and Wood and Ellis truly do an excellent job explaining the real world mystery in the context of the tale, then spinning their own tale around that real world mystery.

Filled with the action and humor long time fans have come to expect from this universe, this is also a good enough entry point for people new to the series – at somewhat shortish (under 200 pages), it is a fairly quick yet highly entertaining read, perfect for trying to squeeze in another book or two at the end of the year to hit some numerical reading target. Very much recommended.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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#BookReview: Bloodstorm by David Wood and Sean Ellis

The End of the Beginning. This was an excellent tale of Dane Maddock and Uriah ‘Bones’ Bonebreak’s final mission as US Navy SEALs. As with the Star Wars prequel series, everything we have known that was specific to this era and would not continue into the next is resolved, while the things that do continue into the next era are set up nicely and alluded to hilariously. Truly an excellent tale that does all that it needs to do yet never feels burdened by the load at all, doing it all organically within the story itself.

This review of Bloodstorm by David Wood and Sean Ellis was originally published on April 12, 2019.

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#BookReview: Empire by Jeremy Robinson

The Chess Team is back in their latest adventure, picking up shortly after the events of CANNIBAL. The Team is dealing with the repercussions and fallout from that story when they get dragged into yet another mission to save the world. While ENDGAME and the Chess Team story from SNAFU help explain some setup/ references, this book can be read directly after CANNIBAL with no real gaps – and is one of the best Chess Team books yet.

This review of Empire by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis was originally published on April 26, 2016.

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#BookReview: Herculean by Jeremy Robinson

In this spinoff from the Chess Team/ Jack Sigler series, we see George Pierce – best friend of Jack Sigler aka King – begin working outright with the Herculean Society, taking over from where the Chess Team left that group. In this first adventure, Pierce and his allies – several characters introduced in the Chess Team series, even if it has been a few missions since they were mentioned – begin encountering strange chimeras. As they investigate, they encounter the Cerberus Group as both organizations race for the birthplace of all monsters. Cerberus to unleash untold destruction, Herculean Society to stop them.

Yet another fast paced, surprising entry from the true master of the genre, you won’t be able to put this one down – yet you don’t have to read anything that came before it to understand and enjoy all that is happening here.

This review of Herculean by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis was originally published on August 26, 2015.

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#BookReview: Cannibal by Jeremy Robinson

CANNIBAL picks up shortly after the events of SAVAGE, with the Team facing some doubts for the first time in a long time. Meanwhile, they don’t know it yet but they are about to face one of their greatest, and gravest, challenges yet. Along the way, the Team will be rocked to its very core unlike ever before… So sit down, strap in, and get ready for one of the wildest rides yet from the master of the wild ride.

Oh, and unfortunately you will never look at BBQ the same again – a true shame, if you are a Southerner like me who eats it regularly… 😀

This review of Cannibal by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis was originally published on February 10, 2015.

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#BookReview: Descendant by Sean Ellis

I read Ascendant when it first came out a couple of years ago, and I’ve been begging Sean Ellis to write the next books ever since. He finally has, and WOW.

Some people might get tired of the Atlantis story being rehashed over and over, but I guarantee you one thing: You have NEVER seen an Atlantis-based story quite like this!

Mira Raiden, our heroine from Ascendant, returns as the Trinity comes back to life… and instead of a final monster fight in a remote cave in the Himalayas, this time we get one in the National Mall in Washington DC!

Hold on to the seat of your pants – you are in for one wild ride with this story!

This review of Descendant by Sean Ellis was originally published on November 27, 2014.

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#BookReview: Flood Rising by Jeremy Robinson

Robinson and Ellis attempt to out-Bourne Robert Ludlum, and in the process not only do that (and much more enjoyably!) but also out-Scarecrow Matthew Reilly. If you’re looking for an action packed thrill ride full of mystery and suspense, look no further! The explosion on the cover is basically the first scene of the book… and the book never really stops from there. From the Florida Keys to Arecibo to Arizona, we jump over quite a bit of the US as Jenna Flood begins to realize nothing is as it seems. And I do mean *nothing*. Pick this book up – you won’t be disappointed, and you’ll most likely be hooked on Robinson and Ellis!

This review of Flood Rising by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis was originally published on October 7, 2014.

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#BookReview: Savage by Jeremy Robinson

This is the first Chess Team book to occur post-Ridley Saga, and is designed to be much more stand alone. As such, it makes a good entry point into the series for new fans – and they will be fans by the end of the book, mark my words on that one.

The back story here starts with Henry Morton Stanley trying to find the money to get back to Africa. It seems that Dr. Livingstone had told him a fantastical tale that he just had to go see for himself…

Flash forward nearly a century, and a man running from the constant wars of mid 20th century Africa finds a mysterious cave that two of his friends quickly die in.

And then we come to the modern era, where we are quickly introduced to a bunch of tourists in Egypt. One is Chinese, two appears to be a German couple, and two more appear to be tourists from some other Arab country. Of course they are none other than Shin Dae-jung, call sign KNIGHT, Stan Tremblay, call sign ROOK, Zelda Baker, call sign QUEEN, Erik Sommers, call sign BISHOP, and the man who has now lived through millenia, Jack Sigler – call sign KING. Yes, all of these tourists are our Chess Team, and they are on yet another mission to set up yet another book.

The tale this time mostly centers in Africa, but with a couple of side trips – QUEEN and ROOK only – to Europe to save a President and kill some bad guys, CHESS TEAM style. Along the way, we get a spin on the Team that is becoming somewhat the norm in these later books with the story splitting the team up in different objectives before bringing them all back together for the final battle. Along the way, we encounter at least a couple of people who are holdovers from the Ridley Saga, we get some great action, some funny humor… and a gut punch about mid way through.

But that midpoint gut punch is NOTHING like the haymaker that lands in the final 12% of the book. To the tune that I actually sent Jeremy this message via Facebook:

NO. I’m 89% in. If you do what it looks like you’re about to do, there *will* be cursing involved. A lot of it.

Hence the title of this review. But I have to admit, it is *because* of this haymaker that this story stands head and shoulders above any CHESS TEAM book before it. Because of this haymaker, I recommend reading at least a few of the previous books first, just to get the full weight of what is happening, though it isn’t strictly necessary. (But seriously, who starts reading a series with Book 6?? Seriously – you’ll have a LOT more fun if you start off with PRIME or PULSE, then skip ahead and read this one if you must. Hell, go ahead and buy all three!

This haymaker will change the course of the team forever… Or will it? As with Marvel’s Avenger Series movies, make sure you stay through the end credits. Or in this case, the “Coda” after the Epilogue…

This review of Savage by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis was originally published on July 24, 2014.

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#BookReview: Ascendant by Sean Ellis

Let’s face it, if you read adventure stories for very long, you’ve stumbled across an Atlantis tale or two… or two dozen.

But this is unlike any other Atlantis tale you’ve ever read, I can almost guarantee you that. I’ve read Atlantis tales from Clive Cussler, David Wood, Jeremy Robinson, and many MANY others, and other than Robinson’s Antarktos Rising/ Last Hunter tale, this is hands down the best of the bunch. Sean is an excellent author, and this is easily my favorite story from him. So go ahead and buy it – you won’t be disappointed, and we may yet get to see how this adventure ends!

This review of Ascendant by Sean Ellis was originally published on July 13, 2014.