About a year ago, while waiting for my wife to buy a box of 10,000 Q-Tips at our local Sam's Club, I decided to kill some time and check out the paperbacks. I saw they had a couple of Mark Greaney's Gray Man novels, a series I had just started to get into, and a book called Terminal List by Jack Carr an author I had never heard of. When I read the back of the book, it sounded a like a generic special forces novel of which the genre is a bit flooded with, but when I saw author was a first time author who happened to have been a former Navy SEAL with 20 years of experience in the teams, I decided Terminal List might actually be different, fresh, and realistic so I picked up the paperback. I ended up enjoying Terminal List so much that I excitedly gave my copy to a co-worker who enjoyed the book so much that he passed it on to a family member.
James Reece, the main character of the three books, like the author was a Navy SEAL. This character is unique in this genre because of the level of realism Jack Carr brings to it. Carr's James Reece, and Mark Greaney's Court Gentry (The Gray Man) are two of the most exciting new characters in thrillers today. This book and the potential of where the series is heading should put the character of James Reece on the level of other iconic characters of this genre such as Mack Bolan, the Rogue Warrior, Jack Ryan, Mitch Rapp, John Rain, Scott Horvath, and John Wells. Savage Son should give Jack Carr the level of recognition as writers like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor and Alex Berenson.
Savage Son picks up where True Believer left off. James Reece is recovering from brain surgery in Montana with friend and fellow former SEAL Raife Hastings. The novel also brings back reporter Katie Buranek who played a major part in The Terminal List but was largely absent from book two. The book moves forward James Reece's attempt to find and eliminate a traitorous CIA officer who set in motion many of the tragic events from True Believer and was also involved in the death of Reece's father. Much of the story takes place in either Montana or in Russia. Some of the parts of the novel take place in Siberia where it is clear the author did a lot of research.
Like in the first two novels, Jack Carr's experience as a Navy SEAL adds a level of realism that many novels in this genre lack. The character is so realistic, that the government has censored parts of all three books. Carr led special operations teams and his expertise in tactics, weapons, communication, and intelligence are clearly reflected in the story and in the character of James Reece. Carr's experience as a officer who led assault and sniper teams in Iraq and Afghanistan translates to very exciting and well written action sequences.
One of the main parts of the story in Savage Son is influenced by the famous short story "The Most Dangerous" game by Richard Connell about a big game hunter who hunts another big game hunter on an island. This was a very memorable short story I read as a 9th grader and the whole hunter and hunted works very well with James Reece and the Russian bad guy of the story. Jack Carr is a big fan of 1980's and 1990's action films and it is clear that films like 1993's "Hard Target" with Jean Claude Van Damme and 1994's Ice-T film "Surviving the Game" may have also had an influence on the books' hunter and hunted prologue and ending. I also thought part of the story reminded me a bit of 1983's "Uncommon Valor" with Gene Hackman and putting a team together for a rescue mission.
There is a cinematic element to Carr's writing that is evident from the prologue which seemed out of a James Bond movie where a different 00 agent meets a tragic fate in the opening scene to the big Steven Seagal like martial arts fight near the end complete with knives and hatchets. Savage Son reads like action films of Norris, Van Damme, and Seagal. But, Carr's experience adds a level of realism and authenticity to what could have easily just have been over the top action scenes. Carr confidently writes about the weapons, the gear, and the technology like no other current author.
Carr's story also clearly shows the influence of David Morrell and his novel First Blood and the first two Stallone movies based on his Rambo character. In fact, one of the reason's I think I enjoy this series so much and Jack Carr's writing is that not only do we enjoy the same 1980's and 1990's action films, but we also enjoyed many of the same writers of that time. Early in his lengthy acknowledgments, Carr discusses the influence of David Morrell, Tom Clancy, and Nelson DeMille. These were the same three author's I read the most of in the late 1980's to the mid-1990s. I first read Hunt for Red October as a 9th grader, I used to devour Morrell's books, and I used to attend all of DeMille's book signings at the Barnes and Noble in Carle Place, Long Island. In fact, in a couple of places in Savage Son, Carr subtlety pays tribute to Nelson's DeMille's early classic The Charm School.
I recently re-read Call of the Wild and saw the film with my son. While a lot of the attention on Savage Son will focus on the influence of "The Most Dangerous Game," and the hunter and the hunted part of the story. I think Jack London and what happens to Buck the dog at the end of that story have a big influence on the direction Jack Carr takes James Reece at the very end of the story. This is part of the story is very important in the continued development of the character of James Reece and I liked how Carr used some of the same themes from Call of the Wild. As this series continues to grow, the character of James Reece must grow too.
My only real criticism of Savage Son is the same criticism I had of Terminal List. I felt the story was too predictable. I felt the whole time I read both books I knew where the story was heading and I was correct. Perhaps this is a side effect of being a fan of the same movies, books, and authors as Jack Carr. I was constantly excited at Carr's story telling, just never surprised.
I really enjoyed Savage Son. The book was difficult to put down. It was like a 1980's action movie, but authentic. It had all the action of the old Chuck Norris, Michael Dudikoff, Steve James Golan Globus Cannon Films of the 80's but at the same time a realism that genre was not known for. True Believer and Savage Son have added new characters like Raife Hastings, Raife's family, and the Warrior Guardians to the series. Between these new characters, the re-introduction of previous characters like Katie Buranek, and the events of the epilogue this series has so many interesting directions it can go and such exciting possibilities. I highly recommend Savage Son and the James Reece books.
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| The Shogunstein and Jack Carr at the Poison Pen in Scottsdale, AZ |
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| The Shogunstein and Jack Carr meet again at the Poison Pen in Scottsdale, AZ |
Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of the book for the purpose of writing a review.
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