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Alec Fincham #8
Grand Prix Variation
Mark Chambers, a wealthy industrialist and owner of the Tiger Tech Formula 1 Grand Prix Team, has become the target of a terrorist group based in the Hindu Kush. Chambers must withdraw new technologies he is supplying to the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan, or face the consequences. M.I.6. call on the services of Alec Fincham to neutralise the threat. Can he stop the terrorist cell from striking? Can he protect the race team as they prepare for the final race of the season? Follow Fincham as he places his life on the line, once more, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Approximately 75500 words
Approximately 75500 words
231 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 9, 2011
2 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Roger Cave
18 books11 followersRoger Cave was born in Bolton, England. For thirty years he's worked in the financial industry and began to write for friends and family until his first novel, The Barcza Gambit was published in 2007.
The books written by this author are military thrillers, which feature the lead character, Commander Alec Fincham of the Special Boat Service.
All the books relate to chess plays or pieces, the story often following the plays.
There are a number of books in the Alec Fincham series with more in the pipeline. They can be read as stand alone stories, but are better read in order.
Why don't you take a look at the Alec Fincham Facebook page and leave me a message:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roger-C...
"The Barcza Gambit! A Great start!" - The Barcza Gambit
"A compelling read. Good storyline and a great ending" - The Barcza Gambit
"This book is the first of a series of novels featuring Alec Fincham, a SBS operative. As an introduction it was a very good story." - The Barcza Gambit
"This is a delightful reading experience for military fans." - The Barcza Gambit
"Terrorists, Mafia & Alec Fincham - could you ask for more?!!" - Sicilian Defence
"An action packed thriller!" - The Barcza Gambit
"Those types of thrills does a heart good. Alec is a wonderful character." - The Barcza Gambit
"Well Written, Edited, Formatted, Qualified and/or Credible, Organized and Developed." - White King
"Thrilling and captivating from page ONE" - Octopus Knight
"Octopus Knight is a thoroughly enjoyable read for fans of mystery and crime. Cave successfully creates a twisted plot of crime with realistic characters that will leave the reader winded and wanting more." - Octopus Knight
"Great!" - Medusa Defence
"This is a delightful reading experience for military fans." - The Barcza Gambit
"Another cracking story that gripped me." - Sicilian Defence
"Roger Cave is an author who deserves a big name contract because his Alec Fincham series is a cross between Bond and a Tom Clancy novel." - The Barcza Gambit
"A must-read, with high speed twists, turns, and standout cast." - Red Queen.
"Well, Fincham is expecting something else--trouble!" - Medusa Defence.
The books written by this author are military thrillers, which feature the lead character, Commander Alec Fincham of the Special Boat Service.
All the books relate to chess plays or pieces, the story often following the plays.
There are a number of books in the Alec Fincham series with more in the pipeline. They can be read as stand alone stories, but are better read in order.
Why don't you take a look at the Alec Fincham Facebook page and leave me a message:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roger-C...
"The Barcza Gambit! A Great start!" - The Barcza Gambit
"A compelling read. Good storyline and a great ending" - The Barcza Gambit
"This book is the first of a series of novels featuring Alec Fincham, a SBS operative. As an introduction it was a very good story." - The Barcza Gambit
"This is a delightful reading experience for military fans." - The Barcza Gambit
"Terrorists, Mafia & Alec Fincham - could you ask for more?!!" - Sicilian Defence
"An action packed thriller!" - The Barcza Gambit
"Those types of thrills does a heart good. Alec is a wonderful character." - The Barcza Gambit
"Well Written, Edited, Formatted, Qualified and/or Credible, Organized and Developed." - White King
"Thrilling and captivating from page ONE" - Octopus Knight
"Octopus Knight is a thoroughly enjoyable read for fans of mystery and crime. Cave successfully creates a twisted plot of crime with realistic characters that will leave the reader winded and wanting more." - Octopus Knight
"Great!" - Medusa Defence
"This is a delightful reading experience for military fans." - The Barcza Gambit
"Another cracking story that gripped me." - Sicilian Defence
"Roger Cave is an author who deserves a big name contract because his Alec Fincham series is a cross between Bond and a Tom Clancy novel." - The Barcza Gambit
"A must-read, with high speed twists, turns, and standout cast." - Red Queen.
"Well, Fincham is expecting something else--trouble!" - Medusa Defence.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 1, 2022
He ranked in the top 3 percent of his Royal Marines induction class and is Commander of his Special Boat Services team. A "skilled tactician [and] combat proven", he's armed with a Walther P99. It's...Fincham, Alec Fincham.
Expecting someone else?
“Grand Prix Variation” is the 8th in the long-running Special Boat Services series. In this go-round, Fincham is whisked away from some ho-hum weapons R & D by the sea in Southern England to bustling London, where his MI6 liaison Sir Charles Cunningham assigns him to protect Mark Chambers: An adventurous industrialist and owner of the Tiger Tech Formula 1 Grand Prix Team. It appears Chambers won’t stay in his lane, as a sportsman, and is also providing military know-how to the British war effort in Afghanistan. This draws the ire of a terrorist cell that will stop at nothing to end Chambers’ adrenaline-laced life in the fast lanes of cars and combat.
As usual, author Cave arouses a deep sense of place, from the high-tech trappings of Sir Charles’s MI6 nerve center to, as one of Fincham’s teammates puts it, one “cold barren place to a hot barren place,” when the commandos race from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi to stop the threat. It’s refreshing to see the Boat Team fail to stop the bad guys early-on, as it leads Fincham to bemoan being “the Government’s executioner” (a break from the unbreakable bravado of some action heroes). And in another surprise bit of character development, Cave introduces Fincham’s father, James. At first, it seems like padding the pages, but actually ups the ante and thrill element when it begins to wane a bit in the middle.
The weakest link or perhaps the fifth wheel, pun intended, in “Grand Prix” is the terrorist leader: Khan. He is another quiet, calculating caricature; one, for example, whose “heartbeat didn’t become elevated during [a] murder…[keeping] a steady seventy beats a minute.” His life doesn’t matter … only killing Chambers –and, of course, anyone who gets in his way—does. Thus, there isn’t the chess match between Fincham and Khan that the Special Boat Series titles always allude to here. “The Grand Prix Variation” is a forceful first-strike chess move that signifies an urge to win quickly. While Fincham has only a few days to stop Khan, it’s Khan who seems to get behind the curve a bit too quickly and is trying to throw Fincham’s “laser blue- eyed” powers of perception and precision off. The result is anti-climactic.
While it takes a while for the main plot of foiling an attack on a racing tycoon’s toys of war and play to get going and stay on track, “Grand Prix Variation” crosses the finish line with four stars for impeccable editing and delivering a palpable sense of place, strong protagonist character development that leads to suspenseful elements and pacing.
It still boggles the mind that this series hasn’t been picked up for traditional publication nor been in the cross-hairs of cinematic adaptation. Yet, author Roger Cave endures, drawing from recognizable action-adventure tropes (like those found in James Bond or Jack Reacher reads) only to cleverly veer off the beaten track to create riveting and original tales of his own.
Expecting someone else?
“Grand Prix Variation” is the 8th in the long-running Special Boat Services series. In this go-round, Fincham is whisked away from some ho-hum weapons R & D by the sea in Southern England to bustling London, where his MI6 liaison Sir Charles Cunningham assigns him to protect Mark Chambers: An adventurous industrialist and owner of the Tiger Tech Formula 1 Grand Prix Team. It appears Chambers won’t stay in his lane, as a sportsman, and is also providing military know-how to the British war effort in Afghanistan. This draws the ire of a terrorist cell that will stop at nothing to end Chambers’ adrenaline-laced life in the fast lanes of cars and combat.
As usual, author Cave arouses a deep sense of place, from the high-tech trappings of Sir Charles’s MI6 nerve center to, as one of Fincham’s teammates puts it, one “cold barren place to a hot barren place,” when the commandos race from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi to stop the threat. It’s refreshing to see the Boat Team fail to stop the bad guys early-on, as it leads Fincham to bemoan being “the Government’s executioner” (a break from the unbreakable bravado of some action heroes). And in another surprise bit of character development, Cave introduces Fincham’s father, James. At first, it seems like padding the pages, but actually ups the ante and thrill element when it begins to wane a bit in the middle.
The weakest link or perhaps the fifth wheel, pun intended, in “Grand Prix” is the terrorist leader: Khan. He is another quiet, calculating caricature; one, for example, whose “heartbeat didn’t become elevated during [a] murder…[keeping] a steady seventy beats a minute.” His life doesn’t matter … only killing Chambers –and, of course, anyone who gets in his way—does. Thus, there isn’t the chess match between Fincham and Khan that the Special Boat Series titles always allude to here. “The Grand Prix Variation” is a forceful first-strike chess move that signifies an urge to win quickly. While Fincham has only a few days to stop Khan, it’s Khan who seems to get behind the curve a bit too quickly and is trying to throw Fincham’s “laser blue- eyed” powers of perception and precision off. The result is anti-climactic.
While it takes a while for the main plot of foiling an attack on a racing tycoon’s toys of war and play to get going and stay on track, “Grand Prix Variation” crosses the finish line with four stars for impeccable editing and delivering a palpable sense of place, strong protagonist character development that leads to suspenseful elements and pacing.
It still boggles the mind that this series hasn’t been picked up for traditional publication nor been in the cross-hairs of cinematic adaptation. Yet, author Roger Cave endures, drawing from recognizable action-adventure tropes (like those found in James Bond or Jack Reacher reads) only to cleverly veer off the beaten track to create riveting and original tales of his own.
Displaying 1 of 1 review