Ragnarok

Chess Team Adventure #4

by Jeremy Robinson, Kane Gilmour

It starts with a thunderous crack and a flash of light. Screams come next. Then the hunters. With a staccato flicker, light disappears and everything within a hundred-yard radius goes with it. All that remains is a massive crater where a chunk of the world has gone missing. As the deadly phenomenon repeats and expands amidst the world's most densely populated cities, Jack Sigler, Callsign: King, and his black ops team take action. But the team is broken, spread across the globe, and vulnerable. Scrambling to make sense of the violent disappearances and fighting to reunite, the team comes face to face with an otherworldly enemy. Taking the battle to the ends of the Earth—and beyond—the team combats a savage enemy whose centuries-old plan for mankind has nearly reached fruition. If they fail, the planet will become little more than a fully stocked food cache, and the human race will walk willingly to their doom with smiles on their faces.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction, Action, Military Fiction, Audiobook

329 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2012

About the author

Jeremy Robinson is the New York Times bestselling author of seventy novels and novellas, including Apocalypse Machine, Island 731, and SecondWorld, as well as the Jack Sigler thriller series and Project Nemesis, the highest selling, original (non-licensed) kaiju novel of all time. He’s known for mixing elements of science, history and mythology, which has earned him the #1 spot in Science Fiction and Action-Adventure, and secured him as the top creature feature author. Many of his novels have been adapted into comic books, optioned for film and TV, and translated into thirteen languages. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children. Visit him at www.bewareofmonsters.com.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had plenty of action. It had well described fight scenes; but Ragnarok focused too much on battles and too little on the characters and plots. I found the battles repetitious and ended up skipping through a lot of the battle scenes. It simply ran on too long. The authors failed to develop the characters who were one-dimensional. I'd strongly recommend skipping this one. Save your money.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Chess Team thrillers go, this was my least favorite in the series. Robinson wrote a series of novellas over the year since the previous Chess Team novel. Not having read each of the novellas, I found that some of the action moved forward and I was a bit lost. Ragnarok focused too much on battles and too little on the characters and plots that made me a fan of this series in the first place.

[Patrick Gibson]

Ragnarok is the weakest of all the books in the series. In the first book, a madman uses DNA from the mythical hydra to experiment with regeneration abilities. In the second book, we have Neanderthals alive and well hidden in a mountain with powerful crystals. In the third book (and best) we discover the original "mother tongue" the language God used to speak things into existence and the team must fight against inanimate objects that have been brought to life with this ancient language.

Now, in Ragnarok, we have milky white werewolves from another dimension running around terrorizing people. In fairness, the book is not awful. The banter between the chess team characters and the revelation about the identity of Asya at the end was welcome. And don’t forget the setup for the next book. I’m reading them out of order so this was interesting.

Overall, the book is fine and fans of the series will like it. I just think, as far as the plot is concerned, it's weaker than the other books.

[Jonathan Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Best in the series so far.

[Leasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A definite step in the wrong direction. It took me way longer than it should have to finish this book because most of it consists of video game fight sequence after video game fight sequence- with an emphasis on the gore and a conspicuous lack of plot, problem solving, and conversation.

[Julie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to the Chess Team series! The story was intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. As always, the narration was first-rate and kept the story moving. There were some interesting creatures/beings in the story, which I always find fascinating.

[Dee Haddrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome adventure with the Chess Team!!! It has everything you've come to expect with one of three books and I am very glad I read all the novellas between the last full novel and this one. If you haven't, you really should. Excellent book!! (Originally read 31/10/2012)

Listened to via Audible and possibly loved it even more. Jeffrey Kafer has a fantastic way of bringing the book to life. I love his interpretations of the characters, especially Rook, who continuously cracks me up.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got be the most frenetic, breakneck paced book in the series so far. If you don't strap in at the beginning, forget it, you're gone. This book takes off at the very beginning and then there's no stopping it. Add to that all of the staples of a Jack Sigler (Chess Team) thriller, great characters, nasty monsters, creepy locations, witty dialog, and at least two dashes of sci-fi for flavor. A five star read, no doubt in my mind. Loved it.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeremy Robinson and Kane Gilmour are a Dream Team of writers! Together they weave a fabulous, fast paced adventure that hits the ground running from the beginning and never stops! I thought Second World was fantastic, but this TOPS it! Definitely needs to be put on you "must-read" list!!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best book in the Chess Team stories so far. The team is back together, fighting other worldly creatures to save the world.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ragnarok by Jeremy Robinson and Kane Gilmour was an action packed, leave you at the edge of your seat thrill ride. Well written, you will find yourself rooting on and worrying about the entire team as they face some of the most hideous creatures out there.

Seeing as I went between the Kindle version and audio book, I also have to tell you that the Narrator Jeffrey Kafer was well spoken and his use of fluctuation and audio elements gave the story a real life feel and made for an easy listen.

I highly recommend you give this one a go, you will not be disappointed. Cannot wait to see where the team goes next!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Jeremy and Kane delivered! I love the Chess Team books; they are fun and imaginative and this one was just amazing. I love that the story flows so well, you can't tell that 2 authors wrote this together!! Overall it had that odd flavor that the Team goes against and this one was Wow... weird, and marshallow puff is not the same for me anymore... we'll leave it at that!! :)

Looking forward to more in the series and the collaborative efforts of Kane and the other authors that worked on the Novellas!! Well worth the read, and I recommend this series highly!! along with all of Jeremy's other books!!!

[Jes · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the interlude of reading all the novellas this felt like “the band is back together”, and also appreciated the even more upped sci-fi situation from some of the previous books in this series.

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great entry in the Chess Team series of books by Jeremy Robinson. If I have any complaint at all it's that there is so much action and such elaborate and extreme situations it can be hard to fully visualize it all, but that's a minor complaint and I love the fast paced action and the character development over the course of the series. It will be interesting to see if the cliff hanger at the end results in more novellas or another full length novel. Either way, I look forward to it!

[Jen Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Chess team book. While the book was heavy on the action part after the last book I was really hoping for more story line regarding Jack and his new family life. There was very little of the new girlfriend Sara or daughter Fiona and virtually nothing with respect to his parents. With how the last Chess team novel ended I was very interested in how that story line would be developed. Regardless still a good action thriller.

[Dan Barbier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, it reminded me of THE AVENGERS. The dire wolf were like the aliens in Avengers and the action was non-stop. The only reason it's not 5 stars is because of the repetitive explanation of Endgame and the relationship between Queen and Rook being often reminded, ok they like each other, we know.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeremy has another winner with Ragnarok. It has the Uber monster in it and it is intent on destroying the world. This book is so full of action that it will keep even the most adventuresome reader flipping pages furiously in his quest to find the answer to the world's prayers for help. This is an incredible read and you will not be disappointed my friends. Go get this book NOW!!!!!!!

[FictionFreak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ragnarok, the first Chess Team novel after the Call Sign novellas, is simply fantastic. The team is back together, mostly, and as everything comes to a head, you will ask yourself how you missed all of these books until now. I carved through this one in a weekend, and it was very cool. Strongly recommended! Now onto Omega!

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. I really enjoyed this book and it took me a day to read through it. I would highly recommend if you are a fan of the Chess team. My one caveat is that you should read all of the chess team novellas to get a feeling for what is going on and to get the references.

[Adam Cassar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to read the novellas to fill in the missing gaps in the timeline.

[Gio C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not one of h the better novels. I liked the story line but it just wasn't delivered very well. I felt like there really wasn't any real mysterious story attached to this one. It was action packed from start to finish. I just feel like the writing just wasn't there. They explain how the protagonists look way too many times. The characters usually get away from fights but they might as well have been super hero's the way they fought. I admit that I didn't read the mini book about the events that happened before this one I would probably feel better if I did because they just jump right in like I am supposed to know what was going on. I will continue to read more of the series to see where the story goes from here.

[juana hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary Wolves?!

The Chess Team is not together when the story opens. They are all scattered around the globe and are called together again to fight a deadly and hungry foe. There are some mythical creatures that need to remain so. The animals and the people that the Nazi scientists have managed to control is astounding but the fact that they have been fooled is just sad. The Chess team wins the fight but with a great loss of people. The world has been saved but the earth has been ravaged. King has discovered his sister and with her, he will go looking for his parents. I don't know if I want the to be the bad guys but it's looking that way.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book is a high energy,high action type of adventure. It reminded me of those television shows that start off with a bang and keeps one on the edge of your set. The team is caught up in a world destroying event,and whether as a team or individually,they raise to the challenge. There are several plot twists,narrow escapes, moments of humor, and you have got to be kidding me moments, but this is a very good book to read

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another slam bam action Chess Team novel. The last book left us wondering how the team would ever get back together but reunite they do to again save the world from utter annihilation. Almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger which kept me reading a lot longer than I should have several times. The action was non-stop and more than once I found myself wondering how the team was going to get out of the current predicament. Super story that required me to suspend belief a lot more than once but who cares. I loved the action and adventure. I've already added the next book to my reading list!

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's never a lack of action in a Jeremy Robinson Novel. This one might have had too much, if that's possible. There was hardly time to catch your breath and after a while it was a bit tiring. Maybe a little more story and background and I could have given it 5 stars. This could have been in the form of a history about the invaders. Also, it had been a while since I had read book #3 in the series so a a quick review, like a page or two, about those events would have been helpful. Still...I do love action, and this was a loveable book.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty par for the course in the series. If you're fans of the other books you'll like this one. This seemed a bit more action focused and a little less character driven than the other ones so far, which is saying something because none of them are exactly seriously character driven novels.

“Several studies I found, published and unpublished, suggest that a seventeen-hertz infrasound, with enough punch, can induce strong feelings of fear.”

[Yanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pure serendipity that I came across this book straight after I finished the novella on Callsign: Rook. This book had all the usual action sequences I enjoy but missing the scientific explanations to go along with the story. What little we did get is not enough to sink my teeth into and hence left me more than a little unsatisfied.

[Warren Thoms · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not as thrilled with this installment into the Chess Team series. I have liked the others in the series but this one did not grab me. It felt like it was going on forever. I'm not sure why as it had lots of action and craziness that you come to think about when reading this series. I will try the next one and see if it gets any better.

[Patt Lisenbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ragnarok by Jeremy Robinson

Book so excellent that the #10 on the normal scale is not big enough! Rousing adventure, horrific enemies, end of the world promises and a team used to these circumstances all blend into a story that you can't put down until the last word!
- Taborri Walker, author of the Earth Maid series on Amazon

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chess team is back and part of a bigger group called Endgame. Viking mythology, Nazi installation, inter-dimensional travel, dire wolves, a bone tower are just a touch of what you will be reading. Good read.