Pandora's Succession [Kindle Edition]

Super stuff--think Bond, James Bond. Russians, chemical warfare, egos the size of a large country, psychotic maniacs, and a CIA agent who gives as good as he gets (and then some) are just part of what makes this a great thriller.

Ridley Fox is the CIA agent--raw and vengeful after the murder of his fiancée by an outfit which has managed to get hold of a powerful and devastating microbe--who finds himself in a race to get hold of it before it gets into the hands of crazed and delusional madmen/women. No one is who they appear to be, and those most obsessed to gain possession of the deadly microbe are intent to either gain financially or powerfully--or both. The chase takes Ridley from Russia to Tokyo, where he finally meets up with a former female colleague, Nita Parris. Despite her rancour at being stood up by him a few years previously (with very disturbing consequences), together they do their best to prevent power-crazed individuals from wiping out the human race.

Brooks is a good storyteller. This is the second book I've read by him--I enjoyed Chill Run very much. He sets it well, he tells it well--his action scenes translate into brilliant imagery. In fact the whole book played as a movie in my mind. It focussed on action and the thrill in `thriller', and I was glad it didn't concentrate too much on the obviously electric attraction between Ridley and Parris. What wasn't said spoke volumes.

I'm certainly a fan and look forward to this author's next novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

When the author first got in touch with me about checking out his work, the first sentence I read was: "Where would you hide if you learned the CDC and a major pharmaceutical company unleashed a hyperdeadly microbe on the human race?" My first thought was, "I have no idea! OMG OMG OMG." Of course, that was enough reason to want to read it.

We watch and like movies like 28 Days Later in which something goes wrong and a deadly virus starts turning people into zombies, etc. and creating some sort of a massacre somehow. Whenever I'm done watching (and enjoying; I'm not gonna lie) movies like this, I think, "What if this turned out to be real? What the f*** would we do?" This is what Pandora's Succession made me feel.

In the book, it's CDC and a pharmaceutical company that unleash the virus. Ridley Fox, who works at the CIA, is captured while he's going after those who murdered his fiance. He finds out about the virus situation; it's a virus that melts human flesh very quickly. Afterward, it's action after action, taking place in many a place from Russia to Japan, as Fox tries to stop the virus from being spread.

The action starts from the very first page and continues throughout the book, and it's very, very due to Brooks' masterful storytelling. Brooks has studied biology at Indiana University, and, even though I'm clueless when it comes to it, you can tell he knows what he's talking about. If you're looking for something that's going to make you think and is filled with action, then this is the book for you.

CIA operative, Ridley Fox, is one of the best agents they have, though since the loss of his fiancée, his obsession has been to track down those responsible. He knows who they are, a weapons consortium known as the Arms of Ares but needs to get close to those at the top.

He is captured but with the help of an informant manages to escape with knowledge that the Arms of Ares have developed a biological weapon, known as Pandora that can wipe out civilisation as we know it. Against the clock he must locate the weapon but who can he trust. There is a new threat that has its spies deep within agencies worldwide. He turns to a woman from his past, a woman who has no love for the man who left her to a terrible fate.

Russell Brooks jumps straight into the action from the very first page and we immediately know what kind of man Ridley Fox is. A typical strong but flawed character which is well developed. The story is believable, though a little messy. At first we read about the deadly bio-weapon and terrorists and then lead down the path of evil scientist and global annihilation. There is a lot of information to take in, with agents and double agents galore, as well as very detailed descriptions of the weapons that each person carries, which was a little much for me. At times I felt it was more of a list than a story, though it had great pace and the odd surprise and I did want to know how he would survive the insurmountable odds stacked against him.

Copy supplied for review