Jon Crunch: 2026

By Jon Brooks

Aviation-centered thrillers have certainly grabbed the public’s imagination recently.

Whether we are talking about T.J. Newman’s thriller “Falling” (read my review) or the Netflix movie “Carry-On” (which ranks as one of the streamer’s most-watched movies), we’ve seen some terrific stories built around airplanes, airports, and the world of aviation.

Brad Thor and fellow novelist Ward Larsen have entered the fray with “Cold Zero.”

Both writers have had fruitful careers in the thriller genre — Thor with his venerable Scot Harvath series and Larsen with his David Slaton thrillers. (Larsen has also published a number of standalone novels.)

I have read and reviewed books by both authors on this blog and was thrilled to receive an advance reader copy of “Cold Zero” from the publisher.

The narrative in “Cold Zero” centers around Hemisphere Airlines Flight 777, an ultra first-class carrier geared toward high-end clients.

In the opening pages of the novel, the CIA manages to extract Dr. Chen Li (a computer scientist) from China and puts him on the Hemisphere flight— a flight that is bound for New York City.

Along for the ride is a technology he invented called Sky Fire — a suite of software that has the ability to give geopolitical superiority to those who control it.

Dr. Li is under the watch of a CIA officer named Kasey Sheridan.

When the airliner crashes in the Arctic Circle under mysterious circumstances, Li and Sheridan find themselves in a fight to survive and a fight to keep Sky Fire from falling into the wrong hands.

Forces from the United States, Russia, and China are soon in the game as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

“Cold Zero” is a survival story with touches of Tom Clancy’s “The Hunt for Red October” and Alistair MacLean’s “Ice Station Zebra.”

Despite the novel’s frigid setting, “Cold Zero” is a cool “beach read.” The chapters are short and snappy and the overall story chugs along at top speed.

Larsen’s experience as a pilot is on display in the novel. He flew more than 20 missions while serving in the U.S. Air Force during Operation Desert Storm. He has also been an airline pilot and is a trained aircraft accident investigator.

Aviation-related sequences have been solid in his previous novels and they are strong again in “Cold Zero.”

Thor recently announced on NBC’s “Today” that “Cold Zero” is set to be made into a movie by Netflix.

According to Deadline, “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto will adapt the screenplay and Peter Berg (who directed “Lone Survivor” and the underrated thriller “The Kingdom”) is set to produce under his Film 44 banner (which has a first-look deal with Netflix).

Overall, the Thor/Larsen “team up” for “Cold Zero” has resulted in an action-packed novel that serves as a terrific introduction to two of today’s best thriller writers.

Highly recommended.

Click here to order your copy of “Cold Zero”

To learn more about Brad Thor, visit bradthor.com.

To learn more about Ward Larsen, visit wardlarsen.com.

>> If you enjoyed my review of “Cold Zero,” please follow me on Twitter/X - @TheJonCrunch

Related posts on Brad Thor and Ward Larsen:

> Book Review: Brad Thor’s “Blowback” is Full of Contagious International Intrigue

> Book Review: “State of the Union” By Brad Thor

> Book Review: Larsen’s “Deep Fake” is a Gripping Thriller That Will Keep You Guessing

> Book Review: “Assassin’s Edge” By Ward Larsen

> Book Review: “Assassin’s Strike” By Ward Larsen

> Book Review: “Assassin’s Revenge” By Ward Larsen

Previous post: Book Review: “Cry Havoc” By Jack Carr

By Jon Brooks

If there’s one thing Jack Carr understands, it is the pop cultural zeitgeist that defined a generation of boys born in the late 1960s and early 70s.

When I was in my preteen years, movies like Sylvester Stallone’s “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” Chuck Norris’ “Missing In Action,” and the Gene Hackman vehicle “Uncommon Valor” epitomized the type of macho, blood-and-guts cinema that stirred imaginations.

As I was reading the pages of Jack Carr’s latest novel “Cry Havoc,” I couldn’t help but see those influences at play.

Carr has become something of a phenomenon in the world of thriller novels. He has crafted eight bestselling novels (seven featuring his venerable protagonist James Reece).

But what sets Carr apart is the fact that his stories pay homage to the literary and cinematic heroes so many of us enjoyed in the 1970s and 80s.

Carr has made it no secret during his writing career that the TV show “Magnum, P.I.” is deeply influential to him.

I grew up watching “Magnum, P.I.” with my parents on Thursday nights. I own the series on DVD. And I purchased the digital version of the series in HD as I was reading Carr’s latest novel.

“Cry Havoc” takes place in 1968. Our protagonist is Gunner’s Mate First Class Tom Reece, a Navy SEAL who is working with the highly-classified MACV-SOG in Vietnam.

Tom Reece is the father of James Reece (the protagonist Carr introduced in his 2018 novel “The Terminal List” — read my review).

His full-name is Thomas Sullivan Reece (an obvious nod to Thomas Sullivan Magnum in “Magnum, P.I.”).

The MACV-SOG (which stands for “Military Assistance Command, Vietnam — Studies and Observations Group) conducted a number of “audacious operations” (as Carr puts it) during the Vietnam War (every MACV-SOG operator was wounded in 1968, and close to 50 percent were killed that year).

Reece’s work with this group provides the narrative’s focal point in “Cry Havoc.” In addition to our hero’s journey, there are a number of interesting subplots and characters that add global intrigue to the novel.

“Cry Havoc” is structured as a frame story, introducing our protagonist during a particularly thorny mission in Laos. We are left uncertain about the fate of Reece as the prologue concludes.

The narrative then shifts back in time to four months earlier. The real-life capture of the spy ship USS Pueblo by Communist forces off the coast of North Korea informs the core of the story, setting off a cloak-and-dagger game between Cold War powers.

Carr interweaves various plot threads to build tension and suspense as he lays out the events that put our hero in the Laotian “predicament” presented at the beginning of the novel — threads that lend depth to the Cold War-era intrigue that “Cry Havoc” is built on.

Overall, the structure works.

Tom Reece finds himself at the center of things, trying to stay alive as he navigates various interests jockeying for control and influence as the war between North and South Vietnam rages.

There are a number of interesting supporting characters introduced along the way.

One in particular character I want to highlight is Ella DuBois, the daughter of a wealthy rubber plantation owner named Gaston DuBois. The CIA tasks Reece with figuring out where the loyalties of father/daughter lie as it regards Vietnam — past, present, and future.

I wondered if Ella was partly inspired by the character Michelle Hue on “Magnum, P.I.” — Magnum’s former wife (and mother of his daughter Lily) who he wed during the Vietnam War. Michelle was played by actress Marta DuBois in various episodes during the show’s eight season run. If nothing else, I thought the name “Ella DuBois” might be a nod to the actress who played the character.

Regardless, Ella serves as a love interest for our protagonist. She is also a vessel representing the mixed loyalties in Indochina during the war. It is a relationship that seems right at first, but causes Reece to question the ethical boundaries of his personal and professional life.

Readers will find themselves treated to all sorts of little details that take you back to that era (and pop culture influences of the time).

For example, Carr describes a Fulton Recovery System during the course of events (a person with a harness is connected to a miniature blimp that is then grabbed by an airplane passing overhead for extraction).

It immediately took me back to the 1965 film “Thunderball” (the fourth entry in EON Productions James Bond series). The final scene in “Thunderball” employed a Fulton Recovery System. I know Carr is a connoisseur of the 007 movies, and I wonder if that might have been why the Fulton Recovery System got a nod in “Cry Havoc.”

Carr has discussed the extensive research he did for “Cry Havoc,” which delayed the book’s release date to the fall of 2025. He wanted to try and write a novel that felt authentic for the time — not a revisionist tale crafted with the benefit of hindsight. His efforts are fully on display as you turn the pages, giving readers what might be Carr’s most detailed thriller to date.

I’ve always had a soft spot for espionage novels centered around the Vietnam War. Tom Clancy’s 1993 novel “Without Remorse” is a personal favorite (I might need to revisit that novel again). I also loved Nelson DeMille’s 2002 novel “Up Country” (a novel that I have recommended to numerous readers over the years).

Likewise, “Cry Havoc” will hold a special place in this reader’s heart. I had been looking forward to its release, and pre-ordered one of Carr’s special “Shot Through” Edition autographed versions (for this one, he used a Colt clone of a Vietnam-era CAR-15 rifle — like the one Tom Reece carries in the novel).

Carr’s fascination with the Vietnam War and the cultural underpinnings of 1960s-era society is evident in “Cry Havoc.” His enthusiasm for the material helps set this novel apart from his previous thrillers.

I hope this isn’t the last time we see Tom Reece at the center of a Carr-penned novel. I’d love to see him in action again.

Highly recommended.