Redux (Black Flagged, #2) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

Jun 24, 2013 Samuel rated it it was amazing

MAKING FRIENDS AND SCREWING OVER ENEMIES.

4.7 stars rounded up to 5

First off, a thousand apologies to the author, Steve Knonkoly. I had brought the bundle containing the three books which cover a story arc in the hope that it would somehow make me finish faster. It didn't. This review is the first of three steps in clearing that backlog.
Biological warfare. Compared to nuclear weapons, it has not been used as much by spy/military thriller authors for an epic threat. Which is a bit of a shame. Ch MAKING FRIENDS AND SCREWING OVER ENEMIES.

4.7 stars rounded up to 5

First off, a thousand apologies to the author, Steve Knonkoly. I had brought the bundle containing the three books which cover a story arc in the hope that it would somehow make me finish faster. It didn't. This review is the first of three steps in clearing that backlog.
Biological warfare. Compared to nuclear weapons, it has not been used as much by spy/military thriller authors for an epic threat. Which is a bit of a shame. Cheaper than nukes, it's a whole lot more flexible for any antagonist to utilize and deploy. In "Black Flagged Redux", the author uses biological weapons as the threat of the novel, but instead of it being your usual counter-terrorist thriller, he spins a story of a duel between titans and how an aggrieved man wants to burn down his country with one of the most rare and horrific biological weapons ever devised. Now to the review. What happens when to save yourself, you need to make a deal with the devil you know?

The story starts a year after the first book. The main character, Daniel Petrovich is taking out the trash for an "investor" of the Black Flagged organization he's a member of. The trash being some Chechen gangsters who are attempting to muscle in on an Argentinian port run by the investor. Using a sniper rifle, he completes the task in an efficient fashion. We then cut to three men on a private jet. One of them is a Russian scientist on the run, the other two are Al Quaeda terrorists in the market for a biological weapon. The scientist suddenly kills them and vanishes into thin air. In America, the FBI, who were utterly screwed over in the first book, gain leads to the location of the party responsible and begin clamoring for a rendition operation to be set up. And in a Northern Russian city, a whole town goes insane forcing the Russian military to conduct a mop-up operation of horrific proportions. All these threads come together in a deliciously murky cocktail of morally ambiguous decisions, gunfire and biological warfare, perfectly setting up a three book story arc.

In terms of plot, Black Flagged Redux tops its predecessor like any second book should. It's grander in scope with a bit of Vince Flynn coming into the original mix of Ludlum and Forsyth. The settings are more varied and fun. From a violent road trip into Central Asia, a tense infiltration of a Russian city full of the truly walking dead and with a race across Stockholm to acquire one of the most dangerous men in the world, it's a major step up from the original book which was set in the American Eastern Seaboard. The action has also been ramped up from the previous book. Two standouts are the violent Central Asian road trip where Petrovich and his colleagues resort to a UAV in order to get themselves out of a jam and the Stockholm climax, which is perhaps one of the best gunfights in post 9/11 spy fiction. The research is also fantastic. I commend the author for not falling for the usual mistake of using the FSB for Russian foreign intelligence. That falls under the SVR who, while not the antagonists, have their own agendas to pursue, and to do that, they have the SPETSNAZ unit no one knows about. Forget Spetsnaz GRU and FSB ALPHA. Meet ZASLON. They're basically the Russian federation's version of the CIA's Special Activities Division and while they do all they can to prevent information leaking out, Konkoly gives them a pretty plausible portrayal.

In terms of characters, Konkoly maintains the Forsyth-like moral ambiguity of the previous book. There are only the quick and the dead in the world of Black Flagged. This is best exemplified by Daniel Petrovich and his wife Jessica, both who rival Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill for post 9/11 spy fiction's deadliest couple. Mr Petrovich continues to fascinate. Is is a sociopath or merely "pathologically pragmatic"? The one thing that can be certain is that 3/4 of his moral compass has been ripped out, with the most important 1/4 remaining. He's well intentioned but some of the things he does might turn you off. His wife is also no slouch. When she's caught in a literal bind, she doesn't beg or cry. Instead, she works through all the options she has and once she's free, doesn't mess around with killing the ghosts from her past.

Next, there's General Terence Sanderson, one of my two favorite characters in the series. "Affably Evil" doesn't even begin to describe him. While a patriot who wants what's best for his country, he's the "devil you know", a good but amoral man. A innovator who was thrown into purgatory by more mediocre enemies who clashed with his vision for what the next generation intelligence operatives Sanderson outplays his enemies and those who, while desiring those who get results, hate and complain about how the results were gained. He's also incredibly funny to boot and pulls off a prank on some Navy SEALS, with...baking.

The third standout in this book is FBI director Shelby. He exemplifies that clash between traditional law enforcement and intelligence gatherers who work in the shadows. His morality is traditional black and white. And in a book where the main protagonists are in a profession that is a dark shade of gray, it leads to problems, with him being a whole block behind General Sanderson and company. Konkoly does well in portraying how his desire to bring down Sanderson evolves into a full blown obsession due to the colossal failure that ensures.

Overall, Black Flagged Redux is a fantastic start in what is known as the "core bundle". The plotting is top notch. The action is downright brutal and visceral. Konkoly has raised the stakes for his characters who apart from saving their own hides, have to contend with a very horrific threat to the west. And it is one of the few spy thrillers out there that focus on the SVR and ZASLON, a group who the author manages to make worthy foes for the formidable Black Flagged operators. There are two more books to review. In the meantime, read this one. It's as good as a Vince Flynn novel, but goes into far darker places.

VERY RECOMMENDED. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2012 Murray McDonald rated it it was amazing

Black flagged Redux builds brilliantly from book one in the series. The action is almost non stop as our characters fight back against an Al Qaeda plot that will threaten millions across the western world despite the fact the US government are trying everything within their power to eliminate them. A complex and intriguing plot that will guarantee to thrill the most discerning thriller readers. Just make sure to read Black flagged first and I'm sure you'll be hoping, like me, Mr Konkoly has the ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 05, 2020 Brian Rueger rated it liked it

Shelves: thriller, spec-ops

Why does the author have to describe every piece of equipment in detail? Just a ploy to make the book longer. I doubt that I'll continue the series. ...more

Like · see review

Mar 31, 2014 Jim Morton rated it it was amazing

well done and compelling story....

Like · see review

Mar 31, 2019 Layne rated it really liked it

Great writing, great characters. I really enjoyed the book.
The down side was that the book basically stopped in the middle of the story. You have to buy the next book to find out how it ends (or keeps going) .

Like · see review