Hunting in the Shadows (American Praetorians, #2) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

Jan 26, 2014 Samuel rated it it was amazing

LIVE FOR NOTHING. DIE FOR SOMETHING.

"Will guarantee you a medal, a body bag, or both."- US Army Colonel Charles Beckwith.

Balance. One of the things humanity strives for in life. Life is better when everything is fair and things are peaceful at home and abroad. But in a world that's ablaze? Balance is a limiting thing, even for those who are supposed to maintain and preserve it. Hunting In The Shadows by Peter Nealen illustrates this, in a country which in fiction and in real life, is unbalance LIVE FOR NOTHING. DIE FOR SOMETHING.

"Will guarantee you a medal, a body bag, or both."- US Army Colonel Charles Beckwith.

Balance. One of the things humanity strives for in life. Life is better when everything is fair and things are peaceful at home and abroad. But in a world that's ablaze? Balance is a limiting thing, even for those who are supposed to maintain and preserve it. Hunting In The Shadows by Peter Nealen illustrates this, in a country which in fiction and in real life, is unbalanced. Iraq. A battleground for the most violent religious conflict the world has ever seen, between extremist Sunni and Shia militants. A nation state plagued by terrorists, corrupt criminals and those that will do anything to survive. Into this hell-hole, Nealen inserts the PMC he introduced in the last book, Praetorian Security, and the team run by Jeff Stone. What starts as complex close protection work goes pear-shaped with corrupt Iranian law enforcement, Sunni Militants and mysterious visits by a blustering pencil-pusher from "foggy bottom", taking their shots at men who have been through the fires of hell. Now to the review. In a world that's hit rock bottom, what happens when the powers that be make one too many deals with the devil?

We start in sunny Kurdistan, famously one of the significantly better run parts of Iraq. But even there, things aren't going well for Mr Stone and his team. They're doing close protection/security work for an oil company which has been brave/foolish enough to work there during a particularly troubling time. Iraq's Shia dominated government has decided to make life miserable for the Kurds and ramps up a campaign of harassment involving their "special forces" soldiers who take hostage several of the clients. Mr Stone and his comrades, retaliate and resuce the hostages in response. This causes them to get a visit from one of the US State Department's "world renowned" beuracrats, who then ramps up the pressure after the Iraqi's make a failed attempt at acquiring retribution. The Beuracrat succedes, managing to make the client panic and fall into a trap. Having lost that contract, Stone's superiors send his team down to the province of Basra, in order to investigate Iranian IRGC activities in the area. What starts as a simple surveillance operation morphs into a complex gambit where the Praetorian contractors must risk it all to acquire what could be, in a country breaking apart, the ultimate prize,

In terms of plot, Hunting In The Shadows does what any second book should and surpass its predecessor. Death continues to be one bullet away and the atmosphere is bursting with paranoia that easily surpasses the work of Robert Ludlum. What starts out as just another day in a dangerous part of the world morphs into a gigantic game of chess between the main characters, the Iranians and an unseen force which has its eyes on using the Sunni extremists for a truly neafearious purpose. The action is once again fantastic and since the author happened to have served in Iraq, he successfully brings to life, the tension, brutality and unique characteristics of that warzone. From infiltrating an Iraqi Army airbase through a fetid canal to some epic depictions of urban warfare through the claustraphobic alleys and rubble strewn avenues of Basra, the author does not sugarcoat modern warfare. Then, we have the research which is up to the standard as the previous entry in the series and does not bog down the narrative. Apart from the usual tactics and shooting tips, Mr Nealen brings to life Iraq's legendary sectrarian conflict in all its blood soaked, twisted horror. Enough to drive a idealist to drink, compairing this book to events in the news is damn sobering. And this was released way before Daesh made a fiery, entrance into the public conciousness. All this is combined with the brilliant setting established in the previous novel. A contemporary dystopia, beautifully constructed and further established in this book, we continue to see how bad things have gotten with the main characters uncovering a foreign policy action with shocking reprecussion for them and their own countrymen.

Now for characters. This second book allowed Nealen the opportunity to develop his characters. He did not waste it. We get to see Jeff Stone and his men still trying to deal with the problems they experienced in the last book, and how their relationships have evolved. For all the stigma of being a "mercenary", these men are your classic band of brothers. In the world they're stuck in, they have only each other to rely on, and they know it. We also get a brief insight into Jeff Stone's motivations, what makes him tick and drive him on in a world without hope and honor. Apart from the Praetornians, there were two other standouts. First, there's Mr Haas. He's a former CIA officer who joins the company to help with intelligence gathering, but unlike the usual military thriller where the company officers are incompetent buffoons, Mr Haas knows how to take care himself and help the main characters in the right direction. Then there's Hussein Ali. An asset of Mr Haas, he acquits himself well in the parts of the book which he features in. Unlike the militia he controls, Ali is no nonsense, competent and doesn't screw around, which allows him to work in sync with the mysterious contractors who turn up in his neighbourhood.

So, overall, like its predecessor, I recommend Hunting In The Shadows. It takes all the things which were good about Task Force Desperate and refines them into a beautiful, complex symphony of destruction. The contemporary dystopia still continues to shine and get fleshed out, the action and research will more than satisfy military thriller fans everywhere and with some character development thrown into the mix, Mr Nealen achieves metaphorical "full spectrum dominance" with this book.

TOTALLY RECOMMENDED. ...more

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