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A review by topdragon
The Kill Switch by James Rollins
5.0
I've really been on a role lately with my reading choices.
Tucker Wayne is a former Army Ranger who has been working as free-lance high-stakes protection when he is recruited by Sigma Force for an extremely important mission. Readers of James Rollins’ Sigma Force series will understand the nature of that business but it is not necessary to have read those books before beginning this series at all.
The plot is a roller coaster ride of adventure. Tucker must extract a Russian scientist/pharmaceutical magnate from Siberia. A biological breakthrough has been discovered deep in Africa and it’s a race to see who can recover the find first. If the wrong people get there first, the find can be weaponized with devastating results. This is a fairly linear adventure story with the main team of good guys rocketing from one dangerous near-death encounter to the next. From traitors to shootouts to femme fatales to discovering ancient life origins, this is definitely a page-turner.
Of course what makes this novel different than so many other similar novels is Kane, a military working dog (MWD) of extraordinary training and intelligence. I’ve had the opportunity to work with MWD teams and it is an amazing thing to see. Kane has an understanding of over 1000 words and commands and his loyalty to Tucker is truly inspiring. It’s what really makes this novel. And don’t think that this fictional team is inflated beyond what real world WMD teams can do. While the vast majority of the novel is seen through the eyes of Tucker, we occasionally get to experience it through Kane’s eyes. Pretty cool.
In the past I have been reluctant to try a spin-off series, especially one that has two authors. I worry that it’s simply an attempt to cash in on the name of the well-known author while being written almost entirely by the other one. Even if that is the case here, I am so very glad I gave this a try. It was a blast to read and I am hopeful that there will be many more Tucker and Kane books to follow.
Tucker Wayne is a former Army Ranger who has been working as free-lance high-stakes protection when he is recruited by Sigma Force for an extremely important mission. Readers of James Rollins’ Sigma Force series will understand the nature of that business but it is not necessary to have read those books before beginning this series at all.
The plot is a roller coaster ride of adventure. Tucker must extract a Russian scientist/pharmaceutical magnate from Siberia. A biological breakthrough has been discovered deep in Africa and it’s a race to see who can recover the find first. If the wrong people get there first, the find can be weaponized with devastating results. This is a fairly linear adventure story with the main team of good guys rocketing from one dangerous near-death encounter to the next. From traitors to shootouts to femme fatales to discovering ancient life origins, this is definitely a page-turner.
Of course what makes this novel different than so many other similar novels is Kane, a military working dog (MWD) of extraordinary training and intelligence. I’ve had the opportunity to work with MWD teams and it is an amazing thing to see. Kane has an understanding of over 1000 words and commands and his loyalty to Tucker is truly inspiring. It’s what really makes this novel. And don’t think that this fictional team is inflated beyond what real world WMD teams can do. While the vast majority of the novel is seen through the eyes of Tucker, we occasionally get to experience it through Kane’s eyes. Pretty cool.
In the past I have been reluctant to try a spin-off series, especially one that has two authors. I worry that it’s simply an attempt to cash in on the name of the well-known author while being written almost entirely by the other one. Even if that is the case here, I am so very glad I gave this a try. It was a blast to read and I am hopeful that there will be many more Tucker and Kane books to follow.