I’ve been a big fan of Kyle Mills‘s novels since I stumbled across his Mark Beamon series in, I think, 2002 (I’ve decided to re-read these over the summer, too). At the time, I lived in the UK and his books were strangely difficult to find in stores — I still preferred buying from stores, rather than online, and because I was splitting my time between Cambridge and Durham, I had so very many bookshops to choose from, all within a 10-30 minute walks. I think the events of 9/11 briefly increased British readers’ interest in US political thrillers and, as a result, Mills’s and some others’ books became a little more widely available (e.g., Vince Flynn, Brad Thor). The Beamon novels were gripping, so whenever I popped over the Atlantic to the US, I’d pick up any new novel(s) he’d written.
In 2005, this included the excellent Fade, which introduced readers to Salam al-Fayed (a.k.a. “Fade”), a former Navy SEAL and intelligence asset. It was, I believe, planned as a stand-alone, but in a couple of weeks (July 29th), the author will publish a long-awaited sequel: Fade In. I, for one, can’t wait to read it. Here’s the synopsis:
When ex-navy SEAL Salam al-Fayed–Fade to his friends–steps in front of a sniper’s bullet, he assumes all his problems are solved. Having already been declared clinically dead twice in his career, he’s hoping the third time will be the charm.
Instead, he wakes in a hospital having gone from being one of the deadliest operatives in US history to a man incapable of even standing without assistance. Alone and wanted by authorities, he’s destined to spend the rest of his life lying in a prison infirmary.
So, when a shadowy organization offers him a new identity and next-generation medical care, he has no choice but to agree. Nothing’s free, though. After a gruelling rehabilitation, he’s drafted into an elite paramilitary unit. But who’s in charge?
When a dire threat explodes out of China, his question is quickly A select group of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people has decided that governments are no longer capable of controlling the chaos erupting around the globe. It’s a power vacuum that poses a mortal danger to all humanity and one they intend to fill.
With panic rising, the leaders of both democracies and dictatorships prove equally willing to destroy anything and anyone to save themselves. Forced into action before he’s fully ready, Fade finds himself at the sharp end of a mission to stop a menace unlike any faced before. If he fails, the consequences will be unimaginable. But what if he succeeds?
No one elected the people he’s working for. And God sure as hell didn’t ordain them. Has he signed on to save the human race or to help quietly enslave it?
Kyle Mills’s Fade In is due to be published by Authors Equity in North America and in the UK, on July 29th.
Also on CR: Reviews of Darkness Falls, The Survivor, Order to Kill, Enemy of the State, and Lethal Agent
Civilian Reader 