Former Force Reconnaissance Marine Logan West is back — filled to the gills with testosterone and loaded for bear with a Kimber .45.
In “Oath of Honor” — Matthew Betley’s second novel featuring his deadly protagonist — West & Co. must stop a weapon known as ONERING from wreaking havoc in the hands of nefarious foreign players.
West and Force Recon buddy John Quick joined the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force at the end of “Overwatch” — doing their bit to aid FBI Special Agent Mike Benson.
The early stages of “Oath of Honor” find West and Quick knee deep in “blood and glory” as they root around Unalaska, Alaska, attempting to track down the missing ONERING device.
In case you’re wondering, the ONERING device’s moniker is a reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy “The Lord of the Rings.”
At one point in the novel — as the team works to thwart the villains — Logan says of the ONERING device, “It’s brought nothing but death and misery to us and our country today. Tolkien would be furious. ‘One ring to rule them all,’ my ass...”
Macho dialogue that feels like it stepped off the set of a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie is something you’ll be treated to in a Betley novel.
The narrative in "Oath of Honor" primarily takes place in Alaska, Spain, Sudan, and Las Vegas. Betley gives more "page time" to supporting characters like John Quick and Mike Benson this time out, and the extra development is nice.
In addition, Betley introduces some new characters, including a mysterious LEGION operator named Amira Cerone, and CIA operative Cole Matthews.
As was the case with “Overwatch,” Betley is good about peppering the story with various tools of the trade — Type 05 machine guns, two Heckler & Koch MP5 models, and M79 grenade launchers find their way onto the page.
Helicopters are also featured prominently in “Oath of Honor.”
In particular, a Russian Hind Mi-24 helicopter — unofficially nicknamed the “crocodile” by Soviet pilots — antagonizes West and Quick in Sudan during the latter stages of the novel.
I wondered if this was the same chopper Sylvester Stallone battled in “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and “Rambo III,” but recalled reading something suggesting the “Hind” featured in those movies was a modified helicopter of different origin (which would make sense since it was the waning days of the Cold War).
(Same for the helicopter seen in Dolph Lundgren’s 1988 action movie “Red Scorpion”... which might actually be the same modified craft from the “Rambo” films...)
Anyhow, the Hind Mi-24 isn’t the only “crocodile” that Logan West has to do battle with in “Oath of Honor.”
Let’s be real... it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about “flying tanks” or ravenous reptiles, Logan West is up to snuff.
Betley admits in the “Acknowledgments” section of “Oath of Honor” that this story is a “different kind of runaway train” compared to “Overwatch.”
That is indeed true.
“Oath of Honor” moves away from the first novel’s “origin story” focus, and instead sets things up for Betley’s next few novels. There were moments in “Oath of Honor” that had a vibe similar in feel to a Vince Flynn thriller (the ending, for example).
Betley’s novels tend to epitomize the look and feel of post-9/11 espionage thrillers. That means readers get tough stories, about tough men, doing tough things.
If you are like me and enjoy the rugged novels of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor, give Matthew Betley a try.
You can learn more about Matthew Betley on his website at www.matthewbetley.com.
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