Secrets were the currency of the intelligence community, and once you revealed them, their value diminished precipitously.
Dale Brown
Arctic Storm Rising
Format:
Audiobook
Publisher’s Synopsis:
After a CIA covert mission goes badly awry, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Nicholas Flynn is exiled to guard a remote radar post along Alaska’s Arctic frontier. This dead-end assignment is designed to put his career permanently on ice, but Flynn’s not the type to fade quietly into obscurity…
As winter storms pound Alaska and northern Canada, Russian aircraft begin penetrating deep into friendly airspace. Are these rehearsals for a possible first strike, using Russia’s new long-range stealth cruise missiles? Or is some other motive driving the Kremlin to take ever-increasing risks along the hostile Arctic frontier separating two of the world’s great powers?
When an American F-22 collides with one of the Russian interlopers, things go south fast—in seconds, missiles are fired. There are no survivors. Despite horrific weather, Flynn and his security team are ordered to parachute into the area in a desperate bid to reach the crash sites ahead of the Russians. It’s now obvious that the Pentagon and CIA are withholding vital information, but Flynn and his men have no choice but to make the dangerous jump.
Soon they’re caught in a deadly game of hide-and-seek with Spetsnaz commandos operating covertly on American soil. It seems that the F-22s and their Russian counterparts aren’t the first aircraft to have gone missing in these desolate mountains. The Kremlin is hunting for the first prototype of its new stealth bomber—which vanished on what was supposed to be a test flight…while loaded with nuclear-armed stealth cruise missiles.
As Russia and the U.S. square off on the brink of all-out-war, it’s up to Nick to find the missing bomber…and prevent a potential nuclear holocaust.
Point of view:
3rd person. Various characters perspectives
Rellim’s Thoughts:
I haven’t read/listened to Dale Brown before, but I’ll definitely be checking out more of his work after this. Arctic Storm Rising kicks off his Nick Flynn series and does it really well.
While Flynn is the main protagonist – the story is told from the perspective of many people: government, military, & intelligence from the US and Russia. In some respects this is as much a political thriller as it is a military one. I really liked not being able to guess who was about to double cross who and why. Petrov, despite being an obvious antagonist was an intriguing character whose loyalties stayed vague through much of the story.
Brown weaves together smaller (and sometimes seemingly insignificant) missions and incidents to culminate in a final few hours that were difficult to push pause on. Betrayals on all sides are brutal and it causes Flynn and his team to have to act quickly.
While this doesn’t end on a cliffhanger – Brown teases what may come of Flynn’s career and a new threat. I’m looking forward to Countdown to Midnight and hope some of my favorite secondary characters will be along for the ride.
Narration:
This was a narrator motivated pick because I really enjoy Rob Shapiro and I was looking for a thriller. As always, Shapiro’s performance drew me into the story and kept me listening for 2 days straight. There are a LOT of characters in this book and the consistent narration of each helped me keep track of all the players. Well done and truly enjoyable.
About the author:
You can connect with Dale Brown here:
About the narrator:
Rob Shapiro is a voice actor, narrator, songwriter and performer living in Los Angeles, but he’s really everywhere.
You can connect with Rob Shapiro here:
My Favorite Quotes
This was no time for illness. Not when he was so close to making sure that he would be the one everyone remembered in the future. – Arctic Storm Rising by @AuthorDaleBrown #Audiobook #NarratorMotivated by @RobuLuxe #NickFlynn #Thriller #Suspense #AirForce
Tweet
Great, Flynn thought with a mental grin. Now he got an impromptu sleigh ride across the frozen ground. – Arctic Storm Rising by @AuthorDaleBrown #Audiobook #NarratorMotivated by @RobuLuxe #NickFlynn #Thriller #Suspense #AirForce
Tweet
Secrets were the currency of the intelligence community, and once you revealed them, their value diminished precipitously. – Arctic Storm Rising by @AuthorDaleBrown #Audiobook #NarratorMotivated by @RobuLuxe #NickFlynn #Thriller #Suspense #AirForce
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Whatever else happened, he was fully committed now. There was no going back. – Arctic Storm Rising by @AuthorDaleBrown #Audiobook #NarratorMotivated by @RobuLuxe #NickFlynn #Thriller #Suspense #AirForce
Tweet
You can’t fight in here. This is the War Room. – Arctic Storm Rising by @AuthorDaleBrown #Audiobook #NarratorMotivated by @RobuLuxe #NickFlynn #Thriller #Suspense #AirForce
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Rellim Reads 