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Faithful Warrior
God forgives when we ask sincerely.Men, not so much.Self, even less.And the Dead....neverPastor Mike loves his family, and loves his flock. Life is good, but to get there he had to traverse a trail of blood. The faces that haunt his nightmares are no longer just specters, and a long thought dead enemy is about to unleash a very real hell."Basil knows how to write action." James Scott Bell, Best Selling Author and Lecturer"Sands is fearless in his storytelling, and tireless in his quest to connect directly with his audience. Big Publishing? Watch out for this guy." - Scott Sigler, NYT Bestselling Author of Infected, Contagious and Ancestor"Basil Sands has a knack for blending action and intrigue in an all-too realistic setting. I just hope there are heroes like Basil's heroes fighting on our side." - Evo Terra, Founder of Podiobooks.com“Basil Sands is one awesome writer, penning stories pumped with enough adrenaline that you’ll suffer from insomnia until you read the last word. This is one writer not to be missed.” – Jeremy Robinson, author of PULSE and INSTINCT
- GenresThriller
386 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2010
8 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 21, 2011
This is my personal favourite thus far of my the books I have written. I am originally from Alaska, but grew up in the Ohio environs described in this book. Specifically Picktown in the book is based upon Pickerington where I went to school from 4th grade to 12th.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did in the creation of it.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did in the creation of it.
June 19, 2009
Excellent work! Mr. Sands takes two occupations most people would consider contradictory—pastor and government assassin—and demonstrates that they actually fit together very well. (One recalls that John the Baptist did not tell the Roman soldiers to forswear violence, but rather not to abuse their authority. And the Sixth Command does not address execution of the convicted; indeed, Romans 13 shows it to be a governmental responsibility.)
Like any good novelist, Sands does not make this a blind assertion, but puts it to the acid test, showing us what happens when both activities are thrust together. Here, Marine Major/Pastor Michael Farris finds a terrorist plot threatening himself and his church. They've killed his family, and they're not stopping at that. How will this shepherd protect his sheep, and what will he have to do in the process?
One gets the impression that Mr. Sands has been often asked, "How can you call yourself a Christian and write violent thrillers?" and that this is part of his answer. A shepherd among wolves must be prepared to take appropriate action if he is to protect his charge. And sometimes waging war is the only way for a warrior to remain truly faithful.
Like any good novelist, Sands does not make this a blind assertion, but puts it to the acid test, showing us what happens when both activities are thrust together. Here, Marine Major/Pastor Michael Farris finds a terrorist plot threatening himself and his church. They've killed his family, and they're not stopping at that. How will this shepherd protect his sheep, and what will he have to do in the process?
One gets the impression that Mr. Sands has been often asked, "How can you call yourself a Christian and write violent thrillers?" and that this is part of his answer. A shepherd among wolves must be prepared to take appropriate action if he is to protect his charge. And sometimes waging war is the only way for a warrior to remain truly faithful.
November 16, 2016
My original Faithful Warrior audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Faithful Warrior is a gut wrenching, exciting and moving tale about Pastor Mike, his family and his faith. His family includes his brothers in the military and his congregation as well as his wife and son. A third or fourth generation military man and a man of faith, encounters terrorists that threaten his life, his family and the world he has fought so hard to protect and prayed for its safety.
Forced to take the terrorist war to the terrorists on his home territory, Pastor Mike and his colleagues and brothers in arms race against the clock; tracking down an old nemesis and new ones as well. Corruption, gangs and a mysterious Mr. White add to the obstacles Pastor Mike and Paul Hogan have to maneuver to protect the center of the Midwest – Ohio.
Faithful Warrior is a carefully constructed terrorist/military tinged with faith thriller. The flashbacks add meat to the story but does not take away from the flow as so often happens – rather the flashbacks are appropriate and demonstrates the driving force behind each character.
Basil Sands expertly builds the plot, adding in twists and turns in places one does not expect. Bringing in gang members and a corrupt Mr. White is genius! Building relationships between the home-grown non-terrorist and mixing them with the Islamic terrorist was a move not expected. How better to destroy America?
Basil Sands not only wrote this novel but also narrated it. I found his performance to be exciting, riveting and skilled. His ability to change voices immediately was fascinating. He brought the characters to life in a way only the writer could do – his passion of his work, his knowledge of the characters – his connection to the book made it even more gripping!
This is one of those rare books where the listener cannot help but get caught up in the story. Sands gives us the connection to the everyday family and Midwest life and then throws in the one thing we are all terrified of – terrorists!
This is a must read! You won’t look at things the same way again.
Audio production of this book was excellent, there were no issues or concerns.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author.
Faithful Warrior is a gut wrenching, exciting and moving tale about Pastor Mike, his family and his faith. His family includes his brothers in the military and his congregation as well as his wife and son. A third or fourth generation military man and a man of faith, encounters terrorists that threaten his life, his family and the world he has fought so hard to protect and prayed for its safety.
Forced to take the terrorist war to the terrorists on his home territory, Pastor Mike and his colleagues and brothers in arms race against the clock; tracking down an old nemesis and new ones as well. Corruption, gangs and a mysterious Mr. White add to the obstacles Pastor Mike and Paul Hogan have to maneuver to protect the center of the Midwest – Ohio.
Faithful Warrior is a carefully constructed terrorist/military tinged with faith thriller. The flashbacks add meat to the story but does not take away from the flow as so often happens – rather the flashbacks are appropriate and demonstrates the driving force behind each character.
Basil Sands expertly builds the plot, adding in twists and turns in places one does not expect. Bringing in gang members and a corrupt Mr. White is genius! Building relationships between the home-grown non-terrorist and mixing them with the Islamic terrorist was a move not expected. How better to destroy America?
Basil Sands not only wrote this novel but also narrated it. I found his performance to be exciting, riveting and skilled. His ability to change voices immediately was fascinating. He brought the characters to life in a way only the writer could do – his passion of his work, his knowledge of the characters – his connection to the book made it even more gripping!
This is one of those rare books where the listener cannot help but get caught up in the story. Sands gives us the connection to the everyday family and Midwest life and then throws in the one thing we are all terrified of – terrorists!
This is a must read! You won’t look at things the same way again.
Audio production of this book was excellent, there were no issues or concerns.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author.
September 22, 2011
I finished this book late at night so I had to wait to post my review. First, I won copy of this book from the Goodreads Giveaway, but, that doenst influence how I felt about the book. Second, I am not a professional book reviewer and this review will prove that out.
I really enjoyed this book!! I barely sat down to start reading and the action took off right away. Captain Mike Ferris gets captured in Somalia trying to evacuate medical workers, endures being tortured, and eventually rescued. He then becomes a priest where his family is murdered by someone in his past, which leads to his pursuit for justice or quite possibly revenge, but national security will asl have to be upheld.
As I was reading I was wondering if there were more books to follow about Father Mike and could definately see that happening. I enjoyed the other charaters that were crucial to this story. I liked this story so much that after about 100 pages I decided to purchase 65 Below by the author and it appears that will allow me to get to further know a character from this book. I would recommend Faithful Warrior to anyone that likes a good thriller with a military and political twist.
I really enjoyed this book!! I barely sat down to start reading and the action took off right away. Captain Mike Ferris gets captured in Somalia trying to evacuate medical workers, endures being tortured, and eventually rescued. He then becomes a priest where his family is murdered by someone in his past, which leads to his pursuit for justice or quite possibly revenge, but national security will asl have to be upheld.
As I was reading I was wondering if there were more books to follow about Father Mike and could definately see that happening. I enjoyed the other charaters that were crucial to this story. I liked this story so much that after about 100 pages I decided to purchase 65 Below by the author and it appears that will allow me to get to further know a character from this book. I would recommend Faithful Warrior to anyone that likes a good thriller with a military and political twist.
February 16, 2020
A horrible situation only gets worse. After surviving unspeakable torture while on active duty Mike finished his seminary training and has been pastor of a suburban parish, married and had a small son when the unthinkable happened. But it wasn't a simple drive by, it was an assassination attempt aimed at him by an enemy from the past. Enter some old buddies from back in the day now active FBI with the backstory interwoven with tracking down and neutralizing the terrorist before he can do great harm to the citizens of Columbus. Unfortunately the clarity of the graphic descriptions met my visual imagination enhanced by my time working emergency. But that certainly didn't deter me from being glued to the story for the entire book!
The author narrates the audiobook and that always is a four star recommendation.
The author narrates the audiobook and that always is a four star recommendation.
March 7, 2026
Excellent characters and story
Interesting use of current ‘story’ and past events. Well developed characters and well paced with just enough violent details. Worth the read
Interesting use of current ‘story’ and past events. Well developed characters and well paced with just enough violent details. Worth the read
January 3, 2016
Sadly, this book just really didn't work for me. A real shame, since I loved 65 Below and really enjoyed Karl's Last Flight by Basil Sands. This story was just all over the place, trying to be too many things at once - a thug druglord crime story, an action thriller, an FBI spy story, a Serbia military mission, etc. It just felt like a bunch of short stories jammed together to try to form a novel. Just a big disappointment given how enjoyable his other two books were for me.
****SPOILERS BELOW****
I also found it awkward to have Janelle and the baby killed off, and almost immediately Mike has goo-goo eyes for Hilde. The druglord story was just out of place and ridiculous, especially at the end when Mr. White was explained and captured - his motivation to kill Mike's family was just super thin and weak. Then, the bad cop being a communist socialist who wanted to use the dirty bomb to spread socialism was also just absurd. The flashbacks to Bosnia seemed like story filler, though that B story line ended up being more interesting than the A story line. And an undercover cop has a suitcase nuke and he's just going to keep driving around Columbus with it - huh?! It was also so bizarre that there's this big build up to disarming the nuke, just to have neither Mike or Hogan really involved in the conclusion. It's probably more realistic, but why spend an entire novel with two characters just to have them out of most of the action for the climax? Sadly, this was just a mess overall.
****SPOILERS BELOW****
I also found it awkward to have Janelle and the baby killed off, and almost immediately Mike has goo-goo eyes for Hilde. The druglord story was just out of place and ridiculous, especially at the end when Mr. White was explained and captured - his motivation to kill Mike's family was just super thin and weak. Then, the bad cop being a communist socialist who wanted to use the dirty bomb to spread socialism was also just absurd. The flashbacks to Bosnia seemed like story filler, though that B story line ended up being more interesting than the A story line. And an undercover cop has a suitcase nuke and he's just going to keep driving around Columbus with it - huh?! It was also so bizarre that there's this big build up to disarming the nuke, just to have neither Mike or Hogan really involved in the conclusion. It's probably more realistic, but why spend an entire novel with two characters just to have them out of most of the action for the climax? Sadly, this was just a mess overall.
March 16, 2015
I loved this book, Faithful Warrior is an action packed adrenaline rush right from the beginning. I found it intriguing that he devised a way to combine two very different careers into one man, a pastor and a marine assassin, all while making it totally life like and believable. Pastor Mike was faced with a terrifying enemy from his past as he is about to engage the men who brutally killed his wife and son in cold blood. Mike teams up with past fellow military men/friends to try and takedown the man who nearly took his life years ago by skinning him alive.
I became addicted to this book until I was finished, and then I still found myself thinking about it for weeks after. This would make for an excellent movie that my husband or any man would surely love, fighting, guns battles, and lots of explosive adrenaline action.
The narration was, as always, what I expect from Sands. He is a master at transporting you right into the action. He inevitably gets your heart pounding and head racing with his expert narration and wonderfully written books! More, more, more, I will definitely be looking forward to more of Basil Sands work.
I became addicted to this book until I was finished, and then I still found myself thinking about it for weeks after. This would make for an excellent movie that my husband or any man would surely love, fighting, guns battles, and lots of explosive adrenaline action.
The narration was, as always, what I expect from Sands. He is a master at transporting you right into the action. He inevitably gets your heart pounding and head racing with his expert narration and wonderfully written books! More, more, more, I will definitely be looking forward to more of Basil Sands work.
December 10, 2010
I am not really into espionage fiction but I must say I did enjoy this book. While the premise may sound a bit old - Upstanding man's family is tragically gunned down by street thugs then exacts revenge, there are many twists on the theme that propel this story into new territories for me.
The action was exciting and I was pleased to see that the "good guys" were not "god guys" and they took as much beating as the antagonists. The flash back chapters did a great job flushing out the characters of the story and building their relationships. There were points I was concerned characters would be acting out of character but later on learned reasons for decisions made. This was especially true with the twist at the story's end.
There is a romance that goes on in the novel that I felt was out of place but it was ultimately very well handled allaying my concerns there.
Again, this is probably my first foray into Espionage fiction and I had a good time and I enjoyed Sands' work, that I did. I am starting another of his books - 65 Below.
The action was exciting and I was pleased to see that the "good guys" were not "god guys" and they took as much beating as the antagonists. The flash back chapters did a great job flushing out the characters of the story and building their relationships. There were points I was concerned characters would be acting out of character but later on learned reasons for decisions made. This was especially true with the twist at the story's end.
There is a romance that goes on in the novel that I felt was out of place but it was ultimately very well handled allaying my concerns there.
Again, this is probably my first foray into Espionage fiction and I had a good time and I enjoyed Sands' work, that I did. I am starting another of his books - 65 Below.
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April 29, 2019MWSA Review
In Faithful Warrior, author Basil Sands has given us a modern-day thriller that finds our protagonist and a team of federal agents trying desperately to prevent another major terrorist attack in the United States heartland. Middle Eastern terrorists with the support of a Russian sleeper agent are planning to set off a nuclear bomb in Ohio. Casualties could be in the millions, and the good guys have little to go on. Suspense builds as the time to detonation decreases with each turn of a page. Sands has mastered the art of writing a thriller and using interesting characters. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an exciting read.
Review by Bob Doerr (April 2019)
MWSA's evaluation of this book found a number of technical problems—including some combination of misspellings, grammar, punctuation, or capitalization errors—which indicate that further editing would lead to a much-improved final product.
In Faithful Warrior, author Basil Sands has given us a modern-day thriller that finds our protagonist and a team of federal agents trying desperately to prevent another major terrorist attack in the United States heartland. Middle Eastern terrorists with the support of a Russian sleeper agent are planning to set off a nuclear bomb in Ohio. Casualties could be in the millions, and the good guys have little to go on. Suspense builds as the time to detonation decreases with each turn of a page. Sands has mastered the art of writing a thriller and using interesting characters. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an exciting read.
Review by Bob Doerr (April 2019)
MWSA's evaluation of this book found a number of technical problems—including some combination of misspellings, grammar, punctuation, or capitalization errors—which indicate that further editing would lead to a much-improved final product.
June 11, 2010
I found this book here http://www.podiobooks.com/title/faith... and downloaded it to my MP3 player, and so far I like it. It has had a few twists and turns that keep my attention and I am only into the first 4 chapters.
Update: I finished the audiobook podcast yesterday on the way back from my PT. I lowered my rating from a 4 to a 3 because I really had to try hard to keep my attention through the middle of the book. The end was good, but the middle dragged out a bit. Plus the middle of the book has a lot of flashbacks sequences and I had a hard time keeping track if they were flashbacks or current. Plus there were a lot of characters and it was hard for me to keep them all straight in my mind too. I downloaded another Basil Sands book and I will see how that goes.
The reader is the author, and he is a great reader, so that was good.
Update: I finished the audiobook podcast yesterday on the way back from my PT. I lowered my rating from a 4 to a 3 because I really had to try hard to keep my attention through the middle of the book. The end was good, but the middle dragged out a bit. Plus the middle of the book has a lot of flashbacks sequences and I had a hard time keeping track if they were flashbacks or current. Plus there were a lot of characters and it was hard for me to keep them all straight in my mind too. I downloaded another Basil Sands book and I will see how that goes.
The reader is the author, and he is a great reader, so that was good.
August 2, 2016
Faithful Warrior was an excellent book. I have read it about once every 6 months since Basil Sands wrote this book. It is great to see his characters from other books overlapping in this book. I have enjoyed all Basil Sands books but Faithful Warrior is likely the best one. I love reading Basil Sands books.
September 16, 2012
I liked this. I had some issues with grammar, but they were not bad enough to make me stop reading the book. I found I had to finish it, which surprised me since this isn't my favorite kind of book.
I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads, which made me read it. If you are a fan of this kind of book, read it. If I couldn't put it down, you are sure to enjoy it!
I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads, which made me read it. If you are a fan of this kind of book, read it. If I couldn't put it down, you are sure to enjoy it!
May 1, 2015
Basil Sands did it again. This novel was well worth a listen. The character development is bar-none. The story captures the struggle of good and evil, man vs. demon in a fantastic story-line that will keep you hooked to the end. I would recommend this book and any other work by this narrator who happens to also be the author.
December 20, 2011
Currently listening to the book. Like any Basil Sands novel, there is alot of action and suspense. The story is set in and around Columbus, Ohio. Some of the geographical references are fine, but others are just plain wrong and I find that to be annoying.
August 21, 2016
This book had many egregious errors, hence two stars. I liked the characters in another Basil Sands' book "65 Below" which were included in this book, so I was compelled to finish it. Overall a good story line with surprises.
February 15, 2012
I first heard this as a podcast read by the author. Awesome story and is currently free. http://thedigitalinkspot.blogspot.com...
May 6, 2012
Man of god taking up arms against terrorists, I spotted a few of the twists before I should have, but still very good.
July 2, 2012
Very good story... too good to have been free! Kept me interested from the first page. Gripping!
August 1, 2016
Basil is a great storyteller, combining a nice mix of excitement and suspense. He writes with such good pace that you won't want to stop reading.
April 16, 2013
Language a little strong
February 6, 2015
Very good book. The characters were well-developed and believable, good story line. I'll definitely read other books by Sands. I rate this one 4.8 stars.
November 17, 2018
Great Read!
This was a great read and not what I expected at all. The author built great characters that you care about and a well developed plot that keeps you wanting more.
This was a great read and not what I expected at all. The author built great characters that you care about and a well developed plot that keeps you wanting more.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews