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PRIMAL #4
PRIMAL Fury
Beautiful young women are being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by a ruthless crime syndicate that the law can’t—or won’t—touch. But after years of terror and abuse, one victim manages to strike back…with the help of PRIMAL. Now, the covert vigilante team lays siege to a medieval-era castle where the barbarism of bygone ages is alive and well. Once PRIMAL’s deadly operatives bring high-tech weapons and razor-sharp combat drills into play, they teach the flesh-trade slavers a lesson in preserving human rights…and punishing inhuman wrongs. But when one of the team trades valor for vengeance, it could jeopardize every member on the mission—leaving them, and the prisoners they’re fighting for, at the mercy of the criminal world’s most ruthless: the Yakuza.
470 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2014
167 people are currently reading
597 people want to read
About the author
Jack Silkstone
24 books162 followersI won’t lie, I’m just like every other guy on the planet. I love action movies, first person shooters, fast cars, technology, guns, cool kit and of course beautiful women. I grew up with Dirk Pitt, Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne, Doom, Wolfenstein, Commando Comics, James Bond, Rambo, The Predator and more. As a young man I have embraced Counter Strike, Half-life, The Bourne Series, Top Gear, Call of Duty the list goes on and on. Coupled with my military experience this seething mass of adrenalin-fueled testosterone has evolved into PRIMAL.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 21, 2019
The comic is actually fabulous.
March 18, 2014
I do not doubt all the 5 and 4 star reviews for this book (on Amazon). If you like the Strikeback series on Cinemax, or the Mission Impossible movies, you will like the PRIMAL series of books. I would have also included the CHESS team books, like Pulse by Jeremy Robinson, but the PRIMAL stories are not so far over the top (not to knock the Chess team series, I love those books as well).
The PRIMAL characters are real, they get hurt, and sometimes they die (no A-Team action here). This one packed a very emotional ending.......I finished it off on the same day as The Walking Dead episode on Sunday (Mar 16) with Carol & Karla. Sudden death indeed.
Tons of action, but characters you come to like. Each PRIMAL book features realistic hi-tech gadgets and weapons and Fury is no exception. While this series has been very good from the start with PRIMAL Origin, Jack has upped his game with Fury. Overall a well written story that just happens to be an action thriller.
The PRIMAL characters are real, they get hurt, and sometimes they die (no A-Team action here). This one packed a very emotional ending.......I finished it off on the same day as The Walking Dead episode on Sunday (Mar 16) with Carol & Karla. Sudden death indeed.
Tons of action, but characters you come to like. Each PRIMAL book features realistic hi-tech gadgets and weapons and Fury is no exception. While this series has been very good from the start with PRIMAL Origin, Jack has upped his game with Fury. Overall a well written story that just happens to be an action thriller.
March 13, 2014
I won this book in a first reads giveaway. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the writing and the level of detail presented throughout the story.
The story focuses on PRIMAL, a small, international force that wages covert ops style warfare on criminal organizations around the world. In Primal Fury the enemy is a worldwide gang of human traffickers that kidnaps teenage girls and sells them into sexual slavery.
The non-stop action is a bit over the top, but that's probably deserved given the subject matter. Throughout the book I found it easy to ignore the entirely unrealistic feats of the PRIMAL agents because I wanted to see them wipe out the scumbags in grand fashion.
Lots of violence and language in this book, but the writing is solid and the story is extremely exciting for those who like to see good guys thump on bad guys for 450 pages. Primal Fury is far more entertaining than it is memorable. Anyone looking for a shallow, action-packed story that's difficult to put down should give this one a shot.
The story focuses on PRIMAL, a small, international force that wages covert ops style warfare on criminal organizations around the world. In Primal Fury the enemy is a worldwide gang of human traffickers that kidnaps teenage girls and sells them into sexual slavery.
The non-stop action is a bit over the top, but that's probably deserved given the subject matter. Throughout the book I found it easy to ignore the entirely unrealistic feats of the PRIMAL agents because I wanted to see them wipe out the scumbags in grand fashion.
Lots of violence and language in this book, but the writing is solid and the story is extremely exciting for those who like to see good guys thump on bad guys for 450 pages. Primal Fury is far more entertaining than it is memorable. Anyone looking for a shallow, action-packed story that's difficult to put down should give this one a shot.
March 17, 2014
Stunningly well written with a excellent action and plot. The expansion of the Primal Team is very nice.
Great theme and well researched.
Look forward for the next books.
Great theme and well researched.
Look forward for the next books.
November 16, 2021
Been a minute since I stepped into the world of PRIMAL, and I was looking for something entertaining to read and relax to. The fourth entry in the PRIMAL series, PRIMAL Fury, was just the ticket.
The team gets a lead on a group of sex traffickers operating in Europe with global connections. The situation rapidly explodes and the team travels to several different countries in pursuit of the slavers. The plot is pretty straightforward. One might argue it's been done before.
To me, that's irrelevant. I'm of the belief there is no such thing as an original plot, just original arrangements of plot devices and tropes.
Folks have compared author Jack Silkstone to Tom Clancy. The more I read Silkstone, the more inclined I am to compare him to Don Pendleton, the late father of the action-adventure genre. That's the vibe I get reading PRIMAL: they're a spiritual successor to the Phoenix Force/Able Team/Stony Man novels. Lots of guns, lots of bad things happening to bad people, and the occasional dash of sex.
You'll find all of the above in PRIMAL Fury. If you're more looking for the slow, measured out-and-out techno-thriller a la Clancy, this novel may not be for you, and that's fine.
On the other hand, if you're like me and enjoy reading turbo murder against the dregs of humanity, then PRIMAL Fury is right up your alley.
Looking forward to diving into the next one!
The team gets a lead on a group of sex traffickers operating in Europe with global connections. The situation rapidly explodes and the team travels to several different countries in pursuit of the slavers. The plot is pretty straightforward. One might argue it's been done before.
To me, that's irrelevant. I'm of the belief there is no such thing as an original plot, just original arrangements of plot devices and tropes.
Folks have compared author Jack Silkstone to Tom Clancy. The more I read Silkstone, the more inclined I am to compare him to Don Pendleton, the late father of the action-adventure genre. That's the vibe I get reading PRIMAL: they're a spiritual successor to the Phoenix Force/Able Team/Stony Man novels. Lots of guns, lots of bad things happening to bad people, and the occasional dash of sex.
You'll find all of the above in PRIMAL Fury. If you're more looking for the slow, measured out-and-out techno-thriller a la Clancy, this novel may not be for you, and that's fine.
On the other hand, if you're like me and enjoy reading turbo murder against the dregs of humanity, then PRIMAL Fury is right up your alley.
Looking forward to diving into the next one!
December 17, 2017
A REAL A - TEAM.
"They burned us again, Hannibal. We trusted the system, and it turned on us". - Murdoch.
" I would never tell him this, but they are the best clandestine unit in the four branches, and they specialize in the ridiculous." - Sosa.
Life is not fair. One of the great appeals of fiction, and make believe is the escapist factor. Evil runs free when good departs. And in this day and age, there are so many enablers of evil in the world that there are times where one wonders whether it’s possible to bother trying to do good idealistic deeds in a world that leaves them like squished, flat pancakes. I suspect this explains the appeal of vigilante organizations in fiction. A bunch of do – gooders using “special sets of skills” to make the world a better place. On the dark, realistic end of the scale is Frank Castle. On the lighter more upbeat end is the A – Team. The book I’m about to review today is about an organization which sits on the happy median middle. Jack Slikstone is an indie thriller novelist. He grew up on all the best spy/action/thriller films, novels and tv shows. He also may have served in Australian Military intelligence or even the Australian SAS, and kicked a few doors down in his time. Currently he lives in the land of Hobbits and Long White clouds, New Zealand. There, he writes a thriller series known as PRIMAL.
PRIMAL is basically the closest thing one could get to a “realistic” sort of A – Team in the Post 9/11 world. Unlike Smith’s boys, the PRIMAL operatives shoot to kill and are not afraid of bringing their substantial combat training and firepower to bear on the bad men of the world. In short, they’re basically the sort of organization would need to build if they desired to make a team of real world super heroes in a world without super powers, in order to have even slim odds of surviving and not ending up in jail. Founded by a partnership of two cynical CIA officers and a Dubai businessman who hated his Islamist loving father, after slotting the latter’s dad, the trio built an organization that could make a difference in contrast to heartless nations and impotent charities. In PRIMAL Fury, they demonstrate this by going after Asia’s most powerful criminals. Now to the review. Can a few good men and women make a difference?
The novel begins on an evil night in Osaka Japan. In a “high-class” brothel, a sex slave is violently raped and murdered by the customer. Two Yakuza enter the room, coolly berate the customer for destroying the merchandise and blackmail him into owing them future favours. We then cut to a few days later on the other side of the world in Hungary, two sisters, Karla and Kalista, along with other poor, gorgeous Slavic beauties are being taken by bus to a castle. They’re under the impression that they’ve won a prize and are going to be models. The illusion is soon shattered violently when these scared, clueless innocents find that they’re now in the hands of ruthless sex slave traffickers. All seems lost, but in fact, the mistress of one of the traffickers is an asset for their only hope. PRIMAL. Across the border in Ukraine, the world’s top vigilante organization prepares a surprise raid. Two of their agents are sent to the Castle where the sex slave traffickers operate out of. At the same time, the most dangerous criminal lord in Asia arrives in Hungary looking to make a buy. He finds one whose beauty attracts him. This decision sets off an epic war, one which before it ends, will turn the underworld of Japan upside down and inside out. From Dubai, to the Ukraine and the great industrial cities of Tokyo, Kobe and Osaka, PRIMAL sets out to slay the guilty of the world, but may not be able to preserve the innocent in time.
In terms of plot, PRIMAL is wickedly cool escapist fun. Guns, gadgets and globe trotting to exotic locations, the PRIMAL team are way cooler than the A – Team, richer and having way more toys. As a result, they have way bigger challenges than Hannibal Smith ever did, in a twisting, surprisingly brutal action-packed plot that mixes, jokey devil may care testosterone poisoning with a hard slap from reality. The world of the PRIMAL team is one where good has the freedom to do something about evil, but evil really is no laughing matter and truly deserve all the pain and suffering that PRIMAL dish out. And even at the end of the day, when the plan comes together, sometimes that just isn’t enough to provide satisfaction when some people don’t come home. Essentially, PRIMAL is what the A – Team would have to become if they were to cut it in the cruel world of Post 9/11 evils, an organization that doesn’t just have the pluck and true grit to outwit the enemy, but the willingness to put mad dogs down wherever they may be.
Action and setting? Superb. Silkstone’s childhood love of film, TV, video games and action packed fictional awesomeness has translated to this book. And boy does he know how to make ridiculously fast paced, large scale action that never lets up. From a modern day storming the castle in Hungary, to a claustrophobic ambush on a bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, a vehicular ambush in a Kobe parking lot and a final attack on one of the most legendary buildings in Himeji, Slikstone’s books would make awesome work for a big budget international TV series or a film. He also brings to life setting surprisingly better than most military men turned writers do. Capturing the depressing grey wretchedness of Hungary and the Ukraine, and also bring to life the exotic atmosphere of Osaka and Himeji. And having been to the latter two places, let me just say the author gets the details right, especially with the exterior of the location where the climax is set. Slikstone also has the rare gift of making believable fictional environments for his world, the highlight being the interior of Himeji castle.
Research? Superb. Despite being part of the escapist school of thriller fiction, PRIMAL Fury is researched to a serious degree. Whether it be the ins and outs of sex slave trafficking including the ghastly “human resources management” methods used by the traffickers to keep their victims in line, the real-world locations that have been repurposed for use in the story and a very accurate look at the ins and outs of Japanese law enforcement procedures, the story then goes further. From an insider’s look at how the modern Yakuza operate and how the contemporary Japanese criminal underworld is run, in a surprisingly professional fashion, the main highlight of the story by far is the kit Slikstone has equipped PRIMAL with. High tech drones, sophisticated portable cyberwarfare computers, and even prototype body Armor just to name a few, the PRIMAL team has the sort of kit that would make Marvel’s SHIELD surprised and impressed, albeit with said kit being grounded and already existing.
Characters? Okay, let me be blunt, PRIMAL is not a character driven work. The author gives it the old college try, but alas, the cast of PRIMAL doesn’t spring off the page like his counterparts. However, there are some standouts. I’ll focus on three, Bishop, Saneh and Kenta. First, Bishop. Bishop is a former Australian SAS trooper and the primary agent of the PRIMAL organization, due to being one of the original point – men who were first recruited by PRIMAL’s founders. A good, down to earth bloke who wants to do good in the world after his parents were shot out of the sky in an act of terror, Bishop now utilizes the special set of skills he learned when serving his country to truly serve the helpless and defenceless of the world. However, despite doing a job he loves, Bishop in this story is forced to come to terms with the limits of the profession. Sometimes you can’t save everyone, even when you vanquish the enemy. And near the end of the novel, Bishop is forced to come to terms with this in a surprising way.
Next, we have Saneh. Saneh is a former MOIS officer who after a series of hilariously violent inter – service clashes between VEVAK and the IRGC, fled her country for masters who would never betray her. Smart and combat trained, Saneh is the brains in her partnership with Bishop, and tries with varying degrees of success to keep Bishop from blundering off into some half-cocked rampage. While due to her size and weight, she does get knocked around a lot in unarmed combat, Saneh is ice cold under pressure being a highly experienced former spy, and master actor who can manipulate most men into making some very silly mistakes that lead to their doom.
Finally, we have Kenta, who steals the show. Kenta is the local contact PRIMAL uses as their guide around Japan. While looking like the stereotypical Japanese thug and ordinary decent crim, Kenta is actually more than he appears on the surface. While not military trained, Kenta is very intelligent, and quickly adapts to the strange, military trained foreigners who come into his life like a fish to water. Very funny and sardonic but formidable in combat, Kenta is the proverbial diamond in the rough whom in the run up to the climactic scenes, the men and woman of Primal decide to cut and polish. If Slikstone ever sets another book in the Asia pacific, I would certainly hope that Kenta returns.
Constructive criticism? Not much, save for some grammar errors and a repeated bit of backstory that seemed to be unnecessarily be beaten over our heads several times over. Such a thing should have been edited and it severely disrupted the flow of the story.
Overall, PRIMAL Fury is a fun, fast paced beach read to end all beach reads. Playing escapist thriller tropes with a straight, balls to the wall bravado, Jack Slikstone creates a one of a kind experience that you don’t get with any other author. A fun plot that channels with wish fulfilment that never gets answered, appealing heroes and wretched, depraved bad guys and cool guns, gadgets and enough gizmos to fill Q – Branch, the PRIMAL series is a literary comfort food of the highest order, delectable and divine.
"They burned us again, Hannibal. We trusted the system, and it turned on us". - Murdoch.
" I would never tell him this, but they are the best clandestine unit in the four branches, and they specialize in the ridiculous." - Sosa.
Life is not fair. One of the great appeals of fiction, and make believe is the escapist factor. Evil runs free when good departs. And in this day and age, there are so many enablers of evil in the world that there are times where one wonders whether it’s possible to bother trying to do good idealistic deeds in a world that leaves them like squished, flat pancakes. I suspect this explains the appeal of vigilante organizations in fiction. A bunch of do – gooders using “special sets of skills” to make the world a better place. On the dark, realistic end of the scale is Frank Castle. On the lighter more upbeat end is the A – Team. The book I’m about to review today is about an organization which sits on the happy median middle. Jack Slikstone is an indie thriller novelist. He grew up on all the best spy/action/thriller films, novels and tv shows. He also may have served in Australian Military intelligence or even the Australian SAS, and kicked a few doors down in his time. Currently he lives in the land of Hobbits and Long White clouds, New Zealand. There, he writes a thriller series known as PRIMAL.
PRIMAL is basically the closest thing one could get to a “realistic” sort of A – Team in the Post 9/11 world. Unlike Smith’s boys, the PRIMAL operatives shoot to kill and are not afraid of bringing their substantial combat training and firepower to bear on the bad men of the world. In short, they’re basically the sort of organization would need to build if they desired to make a team of real world super heroes in a world without super powers, in order to have even slim odds of surviving and not ending up in jail. Founded by a partnership of two cynical CIA officers and a Dubai businessman who hated his Islamist loving father, after slotting the latter’s dad, the trio built an organization that could make a difference in contrast to heartless nations and impotent charities. In PRIMAL Fury, they demonstrate this by going after Asia’s most powerful criminals. Now to the review. Can a few good men and women make a difference?
The novel begins on an evil night in Osaka Japan. In a “high-class” brothel, a sex slave is violently raped and murdered by the customer. Two Yakuza enter the room, coolly berate the customer for destroying the merchandise and blackmail him into owing them future favours. We then cut to a few days later on the other side of the world in Hungary, two sisters, Karla and Kalista, along with other poor, gorgeous Slavic beauties are being taken by bus to a castle. They’re under the impression that they’ve won a prize and are going to be models. The illusion is soon shattered violently when these scared, clueless innocents find that they’re now in the hands of ruthless sex slave traffickers. All seems lost, but in fact, the mistress of one of the traffickers is an asset for their only hope. PRIMAL. Across the border in Ukraine, the world’s top vigilante organization prepares a surprise raid. Two of their agents are sent to the Castle where the sex slave traffickers operate out of. At the same time, the most dangerous criminal lord in Asia arrives in Hungary looking to make a buy. He finds one whose beauty attracts him. This decision sets off an epic war, one which before it ends, will turn the underworld of Japan upside down and inside out. From Dubai, to the Ukraine and the great industrial cities of Tokyo, Kobe and Osaka, PRIMAL sets out to slay the guilty of the world, but may not be able to preserve the innocent in time.
In terms of plot, PRIMAL is wickedly cool escapist fun. Guns, gadgets and globe trotting to exotic locations, the PRIMAL team are way cooler than the A – Team, richer and having way more toys. As a result, they have way bigger challenges than Hannibal Smith ever did, in a twisting, surprisingly brutal action-packed plot that mixes, jokey devil may care testosterone poisoning with a hard slap from reality. The world of the PRIMAL team is one where good has the freedom to do something about evil, but evil really is no laughing matter and truly deserve all the pain and suffering that PRIMAL dish out. And even at the end of the day, when the plan comes together, sometimes that just isn’t enough to provide satisfaction when some people don’t come home. Essentially, PRIMAL is what the A – Team would have to become if they were to cut it in the cruel world of Post 9/11 evils, an organization that doesn’t just have the pluck and true grit to outwit the enemy, but the willingness to put mad dogs down wherever they may be.
Action and setting? Superb. Silkstone’s childhood love of film, TV, video games and action packed fictional awesomeness has translated to this book. And boy does he know how to make ridiculously fast paced, large scale action that never lets up. From a modern day storming the castle in Hungary, to a claustrophobic ambush on a bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, a vehicular ambush in a Kobe parking lot and a final attack on one of the most legendary buildings in Himeji, Slikstone’s books would make awesome work for a big budget international TV series or a film. He also brings to life setting surprisingly better than most military men turned writers do. Capturing the depressing grey wretchedness of Hungary and the Ukraine, and also bring to life the exotic atmosphere of Osaka and Himeji. And having been to the latter two places, let me just say the author gets the details right, especially with the exterior of the location where the climax is set. Slikstone also has the rare gift of making believable fictional environments for his world, the highlight being the interior of Himeji castle.
Research? Superb. Despite being part of the escapist school of thriller fiction, PRIMAL Fury is researched to a serious degree. Whether it be the ins and outs of sex slave trafficking including the ghastly “human resources management” methods used by the traffickers to keep their victims in line, the real-world locations that have been repurposed for use in the story and a very accurate look at the ins and outs of Japanese law enforcement procedures, the story then goes further. From an insider’s look at how the modern Yakuza operate and how the contemporary Japanese criminal underworld is run, in a surprisingly professional fashion, the main highlight of the story by far is the kit Slikstone has equipped PRIMAL with. High tech drones, sophisticated portable cyberwarfare computers, and even prototype body Armor just to name a few, the PRIMAL team has the sort of kit that would make Marvel’s SHIELD surprised and impressed, albeit with said kit being grounded and already existing.
Characters? Okay, let me be blunt, PRIMAL is not a character driven work. The author gives it the old college try, but alas, the cast of PRIMAL doesn’t spring off the page like his counterparts. However, there are some standouts. I’ll focus on three, Bishop, Saneh and Kenta. First, Bishop. Bishop is a former Australian SAS trooper and the primary agent of the PRIMAL organization, due to being one of the original point – men who were first recruited by PRIMAL’s founders. A good, down to earth bloke who wants to do good in the world after his parents were shot out of the sky in an act of terror, Bishop now utilizes the special set of skills he learned when serving his country to truly serve the helpless and defenceless of the world. However, despite doing a job he loves, Bishop in this story is forced to come to terms with the limits of the profession. Sometimes you can’t save everyone, even when you vanquish the enemy. And near the end of the novel, Bishop is forced to come to terms with this in a surprising way.
Next, we have Saneh. Saneh is a former MOIS officer who after a series of hilariously violent inter – service clashes between VEVAK and the IRGC, fled her country for masters who would never betray her. Smart and combat trained, Saneh is the brains in her partnership with Bishop, and tries with varying degrees of success to keep Bishop from blundering off into some half-cocked rampage. While due to her size and weight, she does get knocked around a lot in unarmed combat, Saneh is ice cold under pressure being a highly experienced former spy, and master actor who can manipulate most men into making some very silly mistakes that lead to their doom.
Finally, we have Kenta, who steals the show. Kenta is the local contact PRIMAL uses as their guide around Japan. While looking like the stereotypical Japanese thug and ordinary decent crim, Kenta is actually more than he appears on the surface. While not military trained, Kenta is very intelligent, and quickly adapts to the strange, military trained foreigners who come into his life like a fish to water. Very funny and sardonic but formidable in combat, Kenta is the proverbial diamond in the rough whom in the run up to the climactic scenes, the men and woman of Primal decide to cut and polish. If Slikstone ever sets another book in the Asia pacific, I would certainly hope that Kenta returns.
Constructive criticism? Not much, save for some grammar errors and a repeated bit of backstory that seemed to be unnecessarily be beaten over our heads several times over. Such a thing should have been edited and it severely disrupted the flow of the story.
Overall, PRIMAL Fury is a fun, fast paced beach read to end all beach reads. Playing escapist thriller tropes with a straight, balls to the wall bravado, Jack Slikstone creates a one of a kind experience that you don’t get with any other author. A fun plot that channels with wish fulfilment that never gets answered, appealing heroes and wretched, depraved bad guys and cool guns, gadgets and enough gizmos to fill Q – Branch, the PRIMAL series is a literary comfort food of the highest order, delectable and divine.
April 18, 2015
Beautiful young women, believing that they are going to modeling opportunities are kidnapped and sold into slavery.
PRIMAL is an organization that his "...hell-bent on bringing justice to those who have evaded it." They are funded by a benefactor who is the CEO of a billion dollar logistics empire.
PRIMAL has a small group of operatives and uses the latest in technology and weaponry to bring down their opponents. Think of a team with four James Bond's.
The edge of seat action in "PRIMAL Fury" is thrilling as this small group of operatives is pitted against the Mori-Kai. The Mori-Kai is one of Japan's most ruthless and deadly families. They are behind the smuggling ring abducting the girls.
We follow the action of two of the abducted girls who are from Croatia. It seems cruel to see a young person's dreams bashed as these two women, like the others, thought they were going to a life as models with lots of glamour.
Karla, the younger sister is just seventeen. She seems particularly vulnerable. William Kurtz, a PRIMAL operative is stymied numerous times as he attempts to rescue her. When he first met Karla, Kurtz became emotionally connected to her and his over enthusiastic attempts at rescue almost spoil a number of situations.
The PRIMAL mission is to search for the smugglers' headquarters, rescue the young women and destroy the organization.
The action sizzles as it moves along. The odds seem against the forces of PRIMAL but with their bravery and superior technology, they overcome.
Recommended.
(I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review)
PRIMAL is an organization that his "...hell-bent on bringing justice to those who have evaded it." They are funded by a benefactor who is the CEO of a billion dollar logistics empire.
PRIMAL has a small group of operatives and uses the latest in technology and weaponry to bring down their opponents. Think of a team with four James Bond's.
The edge of seat action in "PRIMAL Fury" is thrilling as this small group of operatives is pitted against the Mori-Kai. The Mori-Kai is one of Japan's most ruthless and deadly families. They are behind the smuggling ring abducting the girls.
We follow the action of two of the abducted girls who are from Croatia. It seems cruel to see a young person's dreams bashed as these two women, like the others, thought they were going to a life as models with lots of glamour.
Karla, the younger sister is just seventeen. She seems particularly vulnerable. William Kurtz, a PRIMAL operative is stymied numerous times as he attempts to rescue her. When he first met Karla, Kurtz became emotionally connected to her and his over enthusiastic attempts at rescue almost spoil a number of situations.
The PRIMAL mission is to search for the smugglers' headquarters, rescue the young women and destroy the organization.
The action sizzles as it moves along. The odds seem against the forces of PRIMAL but with their bravery and superior technology, they overcome.
Recommended.
(I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review)
April 1, 2014
What happened to me as I was nearing the end of this book at bedtime substantiates the intense suspense level of the content. With about 40 pages left to read, the power in the neighborhood went out & stayed out. I simply grabbed my bedside handheld fluorescent lighting device & held it next to the book as I turned the pages. When the batteries in that began to fade, I switched to a regular flashlight.
Although the book is about sexual slavery, it keys in on the violence related to same between two rival Japanese gangs - the Yamaguchi & the Mori-Kai (the evil of the two). The Yamaguchi are the weaker faction & a vigilante team named iPRIMAL takes side with them in their attempt to overthrow the Mori-Kai.
iPRIMAL is part of a covert vigilante team which steps in & the applecart begins to upset. A kidnapped teenage girl named Karla ends up in the middle of the ruthless violence. She fulfills more than sufficient requirements for the Mori-Kai leader's personal harem -young, blonde, blue-eyed, beautiful, & a bombshell figure. Heavily-armed thugs protect the gang's leader (called the oyabun) from the vigilante team's high tech weapons.
There is action on every page of this thriller & you'll be up into the wee hours if you use it for bedtime reading.
Although the book is about sexual slavery, it keys in on the violence related to same between two rival Japanese gangs - the Yamaguchi & the Mori-Kai (the evil of the two). The Yamaguchi are the weaker faction & a vigilante team named iPRIMAL takes side with them in their attempt to overthrow the Mori-Kai.
iPRIMAL is part of a covert vigilante team which steps in & the applecart begins to upset. A kidnapped teenage girl named Karla ends up in the middle of the ruthless violence. She fulfills more than sufficient requirements for the Mori-Kai leader's personal harem -young, blonde, blue-eyed, beautiful, & a bombshell figure. Heavily-armed thugs protect the gang's leader (called the oyabun) from the vigilante team's high tech weapons.
There is action on every page of this thriller & you'll be up into the wee hours if you use it for bedtime reading.
March 31, 2014
This was another great action packed episode in the Primal series.
What I love about this series other than the great action through out and the tech thrown in is that there is generally very little filler in the stories. It is all about the current mission and the means to end it. I don't really feel the need to give a lot of hoopla to get you to buy it. If you are a fan of action books then buy it. It is a guaranteed enjoyable experience.
What I did not love about this story and why it gets four stars and not five is that actions of the character Bishop and the authors writing of Vance and some of the others that seem to say s*&t happens. Deal with it. I felt that was a let down and out of character for the whole team and weakened my expectations of the characters in the future.
What I love about this series other than the great action through out and the tech thrown in is that there is generally very little filler in the stories. It is all about the current mission and the means to end it. I don't really feel the need to give a lot of hoopla to get you to buy it. If you are a fan of action books then buy it. It is a guaranteed enjoyable experience.
What I did not love about this story and why it gets four stars and not five is that actions of the character Bishop and the authors writing of Vance and some of the others that seem to say s*&t happens. Deal with it. I felt that was a let down and out of character for the whole team and weakened my expectations of the characters in the future.
May 17, 2017
I haven’t dedicated myself to reading an all-out tech thriller for some time and decided to check out Jack Silkstone’s “Primal Fury” to see if all the bugs have been worked out. I’m happy to report that this book has vivid action, the technology is credible, the plot is non-stop, and the story has some human interest to it. There is great improvement over earlier works in this genre.
PRIMAL, a covert vigilante enterprise that outfits its agents with top of the line weapons and high-tech equipment, is taking on the vicious purveyors of white sexual slaves for an unnamed sponsor who wants the practice shut down. The providers of the insidious service being targeted have years of vicious flesh trading behind them and maintain the forces to keep them intractable as they continue to reap big money from their enterprises. They won’t fall easily.
The author has conjured up a rather familiar story of highly skilled operatives facing a mad dog crew of incorrigibles, both sides adept at killing and launching savage attacks. His skill raises its interest level.
I confess to reading the book at one sitting, engrossed with the unlikely descriptions and images of brain matter and globs of blood inundating the scenery. Good heroes and despicable bad guys play their roles well and the good guys win. The weapons technology is immaculate. The nobility of the good guys is finely tuned to near saintliness. The abhorrent mindset is appropriately depicted as well. In all, the author does a fine job at getting it all together with his engrossing prose and technical expertise.
I liked the book and was impressed at its authenticity. If I look for another book of this type, I’ll be checking out other stories from Jack Silkstone.
October 11, 2025
A definite must read book and series
With lots of action, suspense, mystery, and intriguing twists, this series will hook you from beginning to end. Even though this entire group is battle hardened, they're still human, and living with the emotional turmoil from all they encounter is an extremely heavy burden that would crush most people. Hopefully they'll lean on each other, or find a healthy way to process the suffering that they continually are exposed to.
I would definitely recommend this book, series, and outstanding author.
With lots of action, suspense, mystery, and intriguing twists, this series will hook you from beginning to end. Even though this entire group is battle hardened, they're still human, and living with the emotional turmoil from all they encounter is an extremely heavy burden that would crush most people. Hopefully they'll lean on each other, or find a healthy way to process the suffering that they continually are exposed to.
I would definitely recommend this book, series, and outstanding author.
November 22, 2018
If you love fast-paced, action-filled thrillers, this series is for you.
Jack Silkstone writes some of the most awesome cinematic thrillers I've ever had the pleasure to read. The characters in this series are well-constructed and believable, and his plot lines (and subplots) spin an adventure I find hard to put down. What I also enjoy is he's completely willing to make characters expendable, thereby making their characters all the more credible for staying true to their core beliefs.
Jack Silkstone writes some of the most awesome cinematic thrillers I've ever had the pleasure to read. The characters in this series are well-constructed and believable, and his plot lines (and subplots) spin an adventure I find hard to put down. What I also enjoy is he's completely willing to make characters expendable, thereby making their characters all the more credible for staying true to their core beliefs.
October 9, 2019
It started off and got interesting right away then we went into a lull and moved on to Japan. Now I am in the middle of the book and it is not a page turner. All this Japanese crap adds little to the story line, dead in the middle. Traipsing around Japan chasing these sex trafficking weirdos we get back into action and it gets back to how Primal is interesting. Overall Silkstone could have done better, the best I can give it is a 4.
June 24, 2025
WoW! So much Action!
This story had so many twists and turns. The enemy were versed in weaponry and attack strategies making you concerned for the good guys with every turn of the page. A great read.
This story had so many twists and turns. The enemy were versed in weaponry and attack strategies making you concerned for the good guys with every turn of the page. A great read.
June 12, 2017
Super fun action series.
June 17, 2017
Kurtz and Aleks of PRIMAL takes on the Yakuza. B
April 11, 2018
Love this series. it is James Bond meets Mission Impossible. The idea that there could be an independent organization protecting the world from evil is a fantasy that everyone can root for
February 22, 2020
LOVE THIS SERIES AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES TOO!!!
February 22, 2021
Primal Fury
Hard hitting story that has plenty of action. It follows the team through hard times and success. Another winner that deserves reading!
Hard hitting story that has plenty of action. It follows the team through hard times and success. Another winner that deserves reading!
April 15, 2014
The naked 18 year-old had a belt looped around her neck and was being viciously raped while hidden cameras were sending the digital feed to racks of hard drives.
It isn’t often that a victim of crime can strike back - but Karla gets a chance.
It is sad to say there are subhuman beings that kidnap teenage girls to sell them into sexual slavery. I don’t know this from personal experience (Thank God), but I have acquaintances that still have missing daughters and have no idea what has happened to them.
This novel is fiction and is about two Japanese adversary gangs and a vigilante team who use high tech weapons and other methods to fight their enemies. If you like action packed novels, then this one will fit the bill.
Jeannie Walker (Award-Winning Author)
It isn’t often that a victim of crime can strike back - but Karla gets a chance.
It is sad to say there are subhuman beings that kidnap teenage girls to sell them into sexual slavery. I don’t know this from personal experience (Thank God), but I have acquaintances that still have missing daughters and have no idea what has happened to them.
This novel is fiction and is about two Japanese adversary gangs and a vigilante team who use high tech weapons and other methods to fight their enemies. If you like action packed novels, then this one will fit the bill.
Jeannie Walker (Award-Winning Author)
May 10, 2014
Given all the glowing reviews this book has received, I expected to love it. I didn't. In fact, I'm struggling to find some positive points to talk about.
First, there is absolutely no character development. None. After nearly 500 pages, I don't know the characters any better than I did on page one. We have a whole lot of Primal operatives, each one a carbon copy of the others. Okay, yes, there are slight differences. One is Russian, another is English. They have different color hair. That's about all I could find separating one from the other. Nothing at all makes any of them unique or even the slightest bit memorable. This is also true of all the bad guys and all the girls being enslaved.
Along with the lack of development, we also have a complete lack of emotion. This book has a ton of action, but only occasionally offers a brief line or two stating what a character is feeling. The information is given as an aside, like a cliff note. The subject of sex slaves should have conjured all sorts of emotions for me, from outrage to horror to intense sadness. I should have felt the anguish of these girls. Instead, that aspect of the plot came off as secondary, more like a convenient reason for all these Primal operatives to run around killing people. The story here should have been emotionally powerful, but I felt absolutely nothing.
As for the action, it continually stretched credibility. They move from one shootout to another, dodging bullets and jumping from buildings. All the operatives are apparently also medically trained and able to stitch one another up on the spot. They are more like comic book superheroes than believable characters.
At the start, I wanted to love this book. In the end, I just wanted it over.
First, there is absolutely no character development. None. After nearly 500 pages, I don't know the characters any better than I did on page one. We have a whole lot of Primal operatives, each one a carbon copy of the others. Okay, yes, there are slight differences. One is Russian, another is English. They have different color hair. That's about all I could find separating one from the other. Nothing at all makes any of them unique or even the slightest bit memorable. This is also true of all the bad guys and all the girls being enslaved.
Along with the lack of development, we also have a complete lack of emotion. This book has a ton of action, but only occasionally offers a brief line or two stating what a character is feeling. The information is given as an aside, like a cliff note. The subject of sex slaves should have conjured all sorts of emotions for me, from outrage to horror to intense sadness. I should have felt the anguish of these girls. Instead, that aspect of the plot came off as secondary, more like a convenient reason for all these Primal operatives to run around killing people. The story here should have been emotionally powerful, but I felt absolutely nothing.
As for the action, it continually stretched credibility. They move from one shootout to another, dodging bullets and jumping from buildings. All the operatives are apparently also medically trained and able to stitch one another up on the spot. They are more like comic book superheroes than believable characters.
At the start, I wanted to love this book. In the end, I just wanted it over.
May 18, 2014
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Let me begin by stating I was quite impressed with the overall quality of the writing, the depth of the research, and the level of detail presented throughout the story. This is a well-written, enjoyable action thriller. Primal follows a highly-trained, globe-trotting group of vigilantes, derived from various elite military units and special forces units, laden with the latest weapons and technology, who take on the bad guys that legitimate government agencies unable or unwilling to deal with. While there might be moments where the non-stop action is a little over the top, the action and plot are excellently executed.
The one flaw I noticed was that there was very little, and sometimes absolutely no, character development. Most of the Primal group lacked any real substantial and were not truly memorable, other than their hair color and origin of country. As an all-out action book, this didn’t retract too much. The story was involving, but for me it also had just one other small issue. The chapters are extremely short and switch every few pages. Again, not a huge distraction, just a small one.
Overall, the book was very good and I enjoyed it. I intend to seek out Jack Silkstone’s other novels, PRIMAL Origin, PRIMAL Unleashed, and PRIMAL Vengeance. I wish Mr. Silkstone much success on this and future novels.
Let me begin by stating I was quite impressed with the overall quality of the writing, the depth of the research, and the level of detail presented throughout the story. This is a well-written, enjoyable action thriller. Primal follows a highly-trained, globe-trotting group of vigilantes, derived from various elite military units and special forces units, laden with the latest weapons and technology, who take on the bad guys that legitimate government agencies unable or unwilling to deal with. While there might be moments where the non-stop action is a little over the top, the action and plot are excellently executed.
The one flaw I noticed was that there was very little, and sometimes absolutely no, character development. Most of the Primal group lacked any real substantial and were not truly memorable, other than their hair color and origin of country. As an all-out action book, this didn’t retract too much. The story was involving, but for me it also had just one other small issue. The chapters are extremely short and switch every few pages. Again, not a huge distraction, just a small one.
Overall, the book was very good and I enjoyed it. I intend to seek out Jack Silkstone’s other novels, PRIMAL Origin, PRIMAL Unleashed, and PRIMAL Vengeance. I wish Mr. Silkstone much success on this and future novels.
April 26, 2014
Primal is a group of highly trained vigilantes (the cream of special forces and elite military units from around the world) who make it their business to take on the bad guys that legitimate government agencies can’t or won’t. They have all of the latest weapons and technology and know how to use them. Primal’s target in this book is a group that kidnaps young women from Eastern Europe and forces them into sexual slavery. As the agents follow leads up the criminal chain of command, they find themselves confronting a powerful Yakuza clan in Japan, whose weapons and training are almost as good as their own.
The author notes Tom Clancy and Commando comics as two of his influences and I can definitely see signs of both in this story. There is very little character development here. What you do get is a plot driven tale with almost non-stop, pedal to the metal action. If you are a techno thriller fan then PRIMAL FURY is for you, if not, you should probably pass it by.
The author notes Tom Clancy and Commando comics as two of his influences and I can definitely see signs of both in this story. There is very little character development here. What you do get is a plot driven tale with almost non-stop, pedal to the metal action. If you are a techno thriller fan then PRIMAL FURY is for you, if not, you should probably pass it by.
Read
May 13, 2014Loved it!
I have been following this series from the beginning and have been a huge fan. This newest installment did not disappoint. the book reads like the new Captain America movie, explosive big screen action with the newest gadgets and a bit over the top. A very easy read a solid 4.5 stars....take it for what it is and enjoy the guilty pleasure of this Marvel type action adventure. This series has some great characters and many side plots to explore, I do believe this series will having stating power for.many books to come.
I have been following this series from the beginning and have been a huge fan. This newest installment did not disappoint. the book reads like the new Captain America movie, explosive big screen action with the newest gadgets and a bit over the top. A very easy read a solid 4.5 stars....take it for what it is and enjoy the guilty pleasure of this Marvel type action adventure. This series has some great characters and many side plots to explore, I do believe this series will having stating power for.many books to come.
April 8, 2014
A Good Read
The best of the series so far . . . PRIMAL Fury is well worth reading if you're a fan of the late Vince Flynn or the Clive Cussler Oregon Series. Lots of action with a few good guys with the latest high tech toys fighting greedy bad guys with an army of ruthless killers. It'll be interesting to see how the series builds and how Silkstone develops as a potential best selling author.
The best of the series so far . . . PRIMAL Fury is well worth reading if you're a fan of the late Vince Flynn or the Clive Cussler Oregon Series. Lots of action with a few good guys with the latest high tech toys fighting greedy bad guys with an army of ruthless killers. It'll be interesting to see how the series builds and how Silkstone develops as a potential best selling author.
August 5, 2016
The book overall was good. The story was involving, but for me it has one small issue. The chapters are extremely short and switch every few pages.
The bad people are truly bad and the good people are truly good. It has the makings of a series of books introducing various characters rather well thought out.
The first few pages are a little rough to read (little violent) but past that is just fine.
Give it a shot, you'll like it.
The bad people are truly bad and the good people are truly good. It has the makings of a series of books introducing various characters rather well thought out.
The first few pages are a little rough to read (little violent) but past that is just fine.
Give it a shot, you'll like it.
September 7, 2015
Twists and Turns
Just when I think the Primal action is at a peak, Jack ramps it up again. This is the best of the Primal series and was hard to put down. I read it in two sittings, so what's next Jack?
Just when I think the Primal action is at a peak, Jack ramps it up again. This is the best of the Primal series and was hard to put down. I read it in two sittings, so what's next Jack?
February 19, 2016
Another great fast-paced thriller in the series.
I have to admit that this series has me hooked! Great concept for a plot line. Found a few typos in the Kindle version, but nothing that took away from the story.
I have to admit that this series has me hooked! Great concept for a plot line. Found a few typos in the Kindle version, but nothing that took away from the story.
Read
May 16, 2014It's great
January 6, 2015
Excellent book by Silkstone
Loaded with action, I did not want to stop reading this book. Excellent detail and plots that will keep you waiting to know more.
Loaded with action, I did not want to stop reading this book. Excellent detail and plots that will keep you waiting to know more.
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