Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: mission

  • BRIMSTONE

    BRIMSTONE

    A Mantra 6 Thriller

    James Bond was a series that saw Ian Fleming gain wide notoriety for his imaginative, fast paced spy thrillers. Russel Hutchings with Brimstone has just moved the genre of clandestine spy thrillers into the modern world, with a very realistic agent in John Devereaux, plucked from the ranks of the SAS to be sent on a clandestine mission into the dark heart of Cambodia.

    There is nothing to it, he is told by spymaster Magnus Webb, just parachute in and assassinate two of the high profile drugs lords and then leave! He will be operating on his own, and should things go wrong, he simply does not exist.

    From this fast paced beginning the mission broadens out to become a complex operation with the Cambodian aspect already set to over throw the old leaders and make room for the young’ Turks ‘to broaden the reach of their syndicate.  Devereaux simply did their job for them!

    As the capacity for the spread of this new syndicate become apparent Deveraux is asked to continue his new role, which eventually leads him into the shadowed world of drug distribution and a dark, powerful, deadly syndicate that will stop at nothing to build an ever growing empire.

    As Hutching was a long serving member of SAS he has drawn on his vast knowledge of the world of covert operations, where you have to be ready to move at a moment’s notice, venturing into dark and unforgiving terrain in pursuit of the ‘bad guys’ of this world.

    This ring of truth takes an almost standard story formulation into the reams of reality, presenting a side of the Australian Security forces seldom seen. As a character, Devereaux is fleshed out with the very real issues that face many men in his former profession; that of the beloved family having enough of the dangerous nature of their work, but this simply adds to the reality of the story. Devereaux is a real man, facing real evil.

    Hutching has also drawn on his first-hand knowledge of Cambodia, Sydney, France and Russia to the extent that, should you have ever graced the streets of these locations, they will be very real and if you have not, the descriptive phrasing will bring them to life.

    Fast paced and just long enough, Brimstone is the first in a six-part series, Mantra-6, following John Devereaux as he moves up into the secret organization known as MANTRA-6.

  • The Chicken’s Curse

    The Chicken’s Curse

    Historic fiction for children is a genre that is slowly becoming popular and when it comes wrapped up as a romp across the Roman Empire on a rescue mission, what could be a better way to introduce a slice of history that is not often considered as interesting, unless children are fans of the wonderful Franco-Belgian warrior Asterix and his band of Gaulish warriors!

    But back to The Chickens Curse, which seems to be a rather unlikely title for a rescue mission in Rome, but as it is to be discovered Felix and Livia are on a mission to rescue Livia’s brother before the Ides of April, when he is to be sent into the arena to do battle with a lion; a sport all Romans though was huge fun.

    As rescue missions go, a whole lot of unexpected things and people, and in this case animals, are to be acquired for the cause which include a very selfish, sacred chicken who actually turns out to be a cursed sacred chicken, not at all adverse to using his curse as blackmail to get his way, just adds more hilarious fun to the adventure.

    Add a grumpy camel, a rather difficult magic carpet, which were still to be found back in the days of the Roman Empire, but only if you knew where to look, and you have madness, mayhem, a rollicking good sea voyage and of course a blackmailing chicken, set against the truly historic backdrop of Rome during the reign of Julius Caesar and there you have it, a great way to introduce a new slant on history, Chicken style to young readers.

    As a finale to this romp through history, hmm, perhaps there is more to it than imagined, even by Frances Watts who wrote the book, there is, at the end, an epic poem from Titus Magius titled The Chicken’s Curse which may go to show that perhaps Titus and Felix did actually get to Iberia and write a poem!

    One of the off-shoots to historic fiction is that hopefully the story captures the imagination and raises curiosity as to the true events that did happen during this time in History, which then leads on to discovering so much more about the people and the civilizations that went before.

  • Grandmas from Mars

    Grandmas from Mars

    A Children’s Picture Book that tells of a Science Fiction adventure is quite unusual. Refreshingly we find Martians and children have been mixed together in a puzzling, but solvable problem. Grandmas are in charge in most of the houses in the street, as parents have gone to meetings, so Grandmas become important characters in the story as well. Mostly they are guiding or organizing their grandchildren…” Give Grandma a kiss.”

    The adventure arises when we discover Martians who have been observing earth. They believe that Grandmas are respected and listened to. Gradually a plan evolves. If they want to take over earth they could do it in the guise of a Grandma, then everyone would do as they were told. First the Grandmas have to be removed, so they are beamed up to the space ship. (Much to Grannies surprise!)  Next, the Martians are beamed down to replace the Grannies. The children notice differences almost straight away. The new Grans have no rules, which are a bit scary, and some have three eyes.

    Now things get out of control as the Grannies chase the children down the street. How will they escape? Who will think of a cunning plan to get rid of the Martian/Granny’s? To this fun story we have the added interest of brightly coloured illustrations, which show subtle differences in the replaced elders. It is fun to see the third eyeball peeking out, or the tail protruding under the dress.

    The story is written in rhyme, which is catchy and predictable. “Meanwhile on Mars, there’s an awful plan brewing…Look at those ladies! They know what they’re doing.”  Scanning each page for the interesting pictures and the fast paced action will keep everyone on their toes and demanding a read; such a change from, “Homework, a bath, and bed before eight.”