Best Books of 2017

When it comes to the spy/military/political/action thriller genre, everyone praises the mega-selling big name/brand name authors like Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and Ben Coes. 

And perhaps Mark Greaney and Brad Taylor, both of whom are the current Thriller Gods, as far as I'm concerned.

But there are also plenty of lesser-known authors writing quality stuff who don't always get the attention they deserve, and the following are the best books of this year, at least according to my reading tastes, in chronological order.

Gun Metal Gray. There's numerous series about a lone wolf, superhero badass operator who gets into impossible situations and kicks everyone's ass and usually answers directly to POTUS. These books can occasionally be fun, but most of the time they don't hold my interest. Greaney's Gray Man is not only the exception, but also the best action series in print. What separates the Gray Man from the Mitch Rapp/John Clark clones is the morale ambiguity of the series and the lead character, with Court Gentry often caught in ethical predicaments and questioning what he should do; he thinks before he takes action. And then there's the over top, cinematic action scenes that Greaney somehow makes believable. And the complex, multi-layered plots; Greaney's books go way beyond just chasing and torturing Arab terrorists to stop a bomb from going off. Then throw in the accurate, up-to-date details on weapons, tactics, and espionage tradecraft, and the cool titles Greaney has found a winning a formula in this series, and Gun Metal Gray does not disappoint.

Dark Asset.  The fourth book in Adrian Magson's great series about a freelance security contractor who does jobs for the Agency. Sound familiar? Well, Magson does it far better than I can, and all books in this series are worth reading, as are the books in his other series about a British MI5 operator. 

Target Omega. Although this book felt somewhat generic at times, especially in the first half, what separates Peter Kirsanow's debut novel apart from the pack is the above average writing. Kirsanow is a far more intelligent and engaging wordsmith than, say, Thor or Coes. The premise of his book is interesting, and the nature of the threat, an EMP attack, is both original and plausible. His research is also solid. No generals commanding navy ships or characters jumping out of three-story windows while firing a pistol in each hand, or Iranians and Pakistanis with Arab names (I'm looking at you, Mr. Coes). Most importantly, Kirsanow also introduces an interesting lead character and a menacing antagonist whom I'm looking forward to reading more about in next year's Second Strike.

Price of Duty. This is a direct sequel to Dale Brown's previous book, Iron Wolf, so it would be helpful, but necessary, to have read that one first. This book basically shows what an all-out campaign of cyber warfare from Russia would look like; switching off Eastern Europe's power grid, shutting down a nuclear reactor in Romania, disrupting Poland's financial systems, and taking control of a passenger jet to crash it into a target. Responding to the threat is an American private military company working for the Polish government. 

Deep Black. This is the second book in Sean McFate's new mercenary series, and I cannot praise it enough. Do yourself a favor and read it, but only after you read the first one. I also suggest that any aspiring military/spy authors check out McFate's books to see how it's done; the dialogue, the action scenes, the details, everything is perfect and flows well.

Execute Authority. Apparently, this is the last book in Dalton Fury's Delta Force series, and it's the best of the five. Unfortunately, the author died shortly after completing the book, and it doesn't look like the publishers plan to continue the series with a different author. The book ends with a hint at the direction in which he perhaps intended to take his lead character, Kolt Raynor, from there.  Naturally, the one time I'd actually want the publisher to continue a dead author's series, they don't.

The Last Man in Tehran. This book hasn't come out yet, but I have no doubt that it'll be excellent, as have all of Mark Henshaw's other books, especially The Fall of Moscow Station. Henshaw, a former CIA analyst, has become one of my favorite authors. Uniquely for the genre, his main character is a woman. Rarer still, Kyra Stryker is a competent, capable, and well-developed character who comes across as a real person and is not a beautiful, tough as nails, supermodel Black Widow rip-off cookie cutter cliche who can outshoot, outsmart, and kick the ass of any guy.  This CIA-centered series is a basically a realistic alternative to Mitch Rapp or Scott Harvath.

So, go read any of these books if you haven't already. 

Overtaken by Current Events

This is exactly why I have so far avoided writing about the Middle East. The geopolitical situation of the region can abruptly shift direction.

Almost a quarter through Book #4 (still no title yet), and current events are already out dating my story. I've just finished the first act, which details Avery's mission into ISIS-held Syria, and then the news came that ISIS has lost the last of its territory in Syria. Then there's the news that tensions are heating up between Saudi Arabia and Iran after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh. The Saudi-Iranian proxy conflict in Yemen is the focus of the middle act of this book.

Something similar nearly happened when I was writing VIPER, when FARC suddenly announced a ceasefire, but I was able to work those events into the story.

Instead of rushing the book into publication or re-working the story entirely, which is potentially a waste of time as new developments in the region can swiftly make obsolete any revised plot anyway, I think the best recourse is to keep my story set within a very specific time period. This means once I've completed the novel and it's published next year, you'll be reading a story set one year in the past. 

Sean Mcfate has done with this with both of his books, SHADOW WAR and DEEP BLACK, perhaps for this very reason.

This is admittedly a First World Problem. The collapse of the Islamic State's physical caliphate is certainly welcome news, especially for a very troubled country and the unfortunate people living there, though its debatable if these people will be any better off under Assad's governance.