Book Review: “Cold Zero” By Brad Thor and Ward Larsen

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 

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

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

By Jon Brooks 

“Talk about blowback. Every single move we make, whether successful or not, seems to come back to bite us in the ass twice as hard.” 

Five years ago, I reviewed Brad Thor’s novel “State of the Union” (read my review). 

At the end of that review, I said that I had started the “first few chapters” of the next sequential novel in his venerable Scot Harvath series — “Blowback” — and to stay tuned for my review. 

It dawned on me a few weeks ago that I hadn’t ever read beyond those first few chapters. As such, I had never written the review. 

Do you ever have that happen — you start a book, things come up, you set it aside, and before you know it, five years have passed?  

It is especially difficult as it regards “series fiction.” As a reader, it can be daunting to dive into a new series you haven’t read before. 

You sometimes find yourself looking at a massive bibliography of 20 or more books wondering how you will ever get caught up. 

But I figured “one foot before the next,” and decided to “restart” Thor’s fourth novel “Blowback,” knowing full well that five additional novels have been released since I had initially started that book five years ago. 

Talk about feeling like a hamster running on a wheel…  

“Blowback” follows counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath as he trots across the globe hunting down the origins of a mysterious virus that has deadly consequences — namely for those individuals not of the Muslim faith. 

(It dawns on me now that I originally started “Blowback” in February of 2020. Considering how things were going at the time, it’s entirely possible I wasn’t in the mood to read a book about a life-disrupting virus. Go figure… ) 

Anyhow, that “hook” is what propels the narrative forward in “Blowback.” 

It certainly is an intriguing question: “How can people of a certain religious persuasion be immune to a particular virus, while it is ‘one hundred percent lethal’ to everyone else?” 

It kind of sounds like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, or one of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels. 

While authorities are pondering this new contagion, Harvath’s career is in turmoil due to the fact that he is caught on camera beating up an “innocent” Baghdad fruit stall vendor he believed to be terrorist Khalid Sheik Alomari. 

Harvath — formerly a Navy SEAL and Secret Service Agent — works for the president’s Office of International Investigative Assistance (OIIA). While he can’t be easily identified in the footage, forces soon start aligning against the administration. 

His future with the Apex Project (the name for all the off-the-books operations he participates in with the Department of Homeland Security) is in jeopardy. 

A feisty senator named Helen Remington Carmichael (who has her eyes on the Oval Office) sees the controversy as a wedge issue she can use to discredit President Rutledge. 

The Arab world also expresses concern about Harvath’s tactics. 

To add to the intrigue, it is soon posited that Alomari might be connected to the virus in some way, shape, or form. 

“The sooner we get this moving, the better off we’re all going to be.”

Before we know it, Harvath is on the case, jetting overseas, hunting for Alomari, and seeking clues to the puzzling virus. 

With the help of a London-based chemistry teacher named Jillian Alcott, Harvath starts to peel back the layers of a centuries-old mystery that holds the fate of humanity in its grip (with plot points that feel like they could have been found between the pages of a Dan Brown novel). 

Can Harvath figure things out before it is too late? Will humanity survive?

Thor knows how to weave together a topical espionage thriller set in a number of exotic locales. 

Prior to his writing career, Thor created and hosted the PBS series “Traveling Lite.”

Much of the action in “Blowback” takes place in Europe, and Thor’s details and anecdotes help define the reader’s sense of place. 

“Blowback” was published in 2005. The world has certainly changed in the past 20 years. 

Thor has discussed the evolution of his work in a number of media interviews and podcasts over the years. As reader habits change, Thor has tweaked his style to increase the page-turning pace of his novels. 

“Blowback” (like his first three novels) is full of rich details, intrigue, and action. 

You have to give Thor credit for taking a number of disparate threads and weaving them together in entertaining fashion. 

It was neat to see the author’s childhood fascination with Carthaginian general Hannibal on display in “Blowback.” Those details helped the novel rise above the typical thriller fare and gave the story historical heft. 

As is the case with all of Thor’s novels, the gear and weaponry add to the story’s authenticity. Whether he is describing mountaineering gear like a KIVA technical backpack, or discussing the finer points of the Aerotechnik Super Vivat Icarus motorglider, Thor’s details are top-notch. 

Overall, I really enjoyed “Blowback.” It is an intricate and fast-paced entry in his Scot Harvath series. 

Thor is one of the best plotters working in the genre today. “Blowback” illustrates his ability to craft clever stories.  

The last time I reviewed a Brad Thor novel I made a “grand proclamation” about wanting to finally get caught up on his novels during that particular year. 

That goal obviously didn’t go down the way I had planned. 

All I am going to say this time around is that I am looking forward to reading more of Thor’s novels. 

So stay tuned… 

If you would like to learn more about the world of author Brad Thor, visit his website at www.bradthor.com 

>> If you enjoyed my review of “Blowback” by Brad Thor, be sure to follow me on X/Twitter: @TheJonCrunch 

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

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

“What if the Cold War didn’t end? What if we thought it had ended, 

but the Soviets were just playing possum?” 

President Jack Rutledge in “State of the Union” 

I own a lot of books. Some would say I own too many. 

But really, can you ever have too many books?

Over the years, I’ve collected book series with plans to one day finish them. Like many of you, I’ll discover a talented writer, read a book in his/her series, like it, and quickly gather the rest. I have shelves and totes holding full series that are waiting patiently to be read. 

At some point, you have to bite the bullet, set a deadline, and read all the books. 

A lot of the people I follow on Twitter are big fans of Brad Thor’s novels. They tweet glowing reviews, plan vacations around the release of his novels, and have an unabashed enthusiasm for the 19 thrillers he has written (as of this writing). 

I own all of his books, but really wanted to go back and “fill in the gaps” in order, from the beginning. 

A few years ago, I read his first novel “The Lions of Lucerne” in hopes of accomplishing this task — before I had this blog. Sadly, I didn't stick with the plan, and have fallen further behind. 

Thor’s next novel is titled “Near Dark” and will be released June 23, 2020. He unveiled the cover and title in January: 

I decided it was time to read — and review — the 14 novels I had yet to read before “Near Dark” is released. It gives me a firm deadline (which is helpful when “binge reading” books). 

First up on the docket is Thor’s third novel “State of the Union.” 

This time out, dependable operative Scot Harvath is investigating the disappearance of colleague, family friend, and mentor Gary Lawlor. 

Lawlor heads up an international branch of the Department of Homeland Security dubbed the Office of International Investigative Assistance (OIIA). Harvath works for the organization, and Lawlor’s sudden disappearance is cause for concern in President Jack Rutledge’s administration. 

For the uninitiated, Harvath is a former U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member who studied at USC (the university Thor attended), became a U.S. Navy SEAL (serving on two SEAL teams — including the “Polar SEALS”), and was later recruited by the Secret Service to improve White House operations and security. 

Readers discover in the opening pages of “State of the Union” that nefarious forces inside modern-day Russia are hatching a plan to bring the United States to its knees. 

Lawlor’s disappearance is tied to that plan — a deadly plot with origins in the Cold War. (We learn about a dormant program he was involved in called “Dark Knight” that appears to be related to his disappearance.)

The scheme is put into motion days before Rutledge’s State of the Union address. As a result, the president’s head is being held over a proverbial barrel, and demands are made regarding the content of his address to the nation. 

Harvath must race against the clock — traveling to Germany and points beyond — to learn the fate of Lawlor and thwart Russia’s plan. 

Despite the fact that “State of the Union” was published in 2004, there is something eerily topical about the storyline for today’s readers. 

Thor is adept at plotting and pacing. He sprinkles in various anecdotes and facts to add credibility to his narrative. 

For example, during sequences in Berlin, Thor includes something called “ghost stations” found in Berlin’s U-bahn metro rail system.

Those metro stations were split off during the Cold War (when the Soviet Union built the wall dividing Berlin).

“Because of a quirk in geography,” writes Thor, “two of the West Berlin lines needed to pass briefly through East Berlin before circling back around to the West. It was very strange. You could ride through East Berlin and see stations like this completely abandoned except for the stern-faced soldiers standing on the platforms with machine guns.” 

When I read that passage in the novel, I had to pull out my iPad Pro to do a bit of research. Sure enough, I found some interesting information about the “ghost stations.” 

It was neat to be able to learn about a piece of history I was unfamiliar with before reading the novel. 

Like a number of his contemporaries, Thor manages to throw in various “tools of the trade” to enhance the verisimilitude in his novels. 

Whether it is a mention of Harvath’s .40-caliber SIG Sauer P229 — or a description of a Mi-17-1V assault helicopter — Thor does a good job with the technical aspects of his stories. 

As it regards the Mi-17-1V, I looked it up online (I like to be able to picture the aircraft mentioned) and found out that the helicopter is based on an airframe built in the 1970s for the Mil Mi-8 “Hip.” 

It is one of two interesting helicopters featured in “State of the Union.”

When I was a kid, I enjoyed building model airplanes and developed a fascination for military aircraft. My parents bought me a copy of “Jane’s World Aircraft Recognition Manual” in 1982. So I pulled my well-worn copy off the shelf to see if I could find the Mi-8 helicopter. Sure enough, I did: 

“State of the Union” epitomizes what made the “early era” Brad Thor novels great. The first three entries in the Harvath series remind me a lot of Robert Ludlum during his prime. 

I should also point out that “State of the Union’s” geographic descriptions are top notch. That might have to do with Thor’s extensive knowledge of Europe developed during his time hosting the PBS series “Traveling Lite” (a show he created and produced).  

Next on the agenda is “Blowback.” I’ve read the first few chapters and I’m already intrigued. Stay tuned for my review!

If you’d like to learn more about the world of author Brad Thor, visit his website: www.bradthor.com. 

More blog content on Brad Thor: 

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

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