Book description:
When Marine Lieutenant Michael Neill is ordered to the former Soviet Union, his assignment is to verify nuclear disarmament. But before his mission begins, an American reconnaissance plane is attacked by a Russian fighter, and a Navy pilot is killed. After the incident, Neill’s mission changes.
Willis Avery, the President’s National Security Advisor, wants Lieutenant Neill to investigate Russian stealth technology, in addition to his original assignment. Photographic evidence—and the lack of radar images of the attacking aircraft—lead the American intelligence community to conclude that something new has been developed in the skies over Russia. Avery believes that Neill’s friendship with a high-ranking officer in the Ukrainian Air Force is the key to establishing Red Sky at Morning—the existence of new aviation technology that could upset the balance of power between East and West.
However, ultra-nationalist forces are at work. After arriving in Eastern Europe, Neill quickly uncovers a conspiracy of terrorism secretly instigated by the Kremlin. Government leaders in Moscow will stop at nothing to rebuild the Soviet Union as they try to force the breakaway republics back into the fold.
Neill discovers that the terrorism has extended to the weapons facility he is charged with inspecting. Communist agents have gone far beyond their original orders, and it’s a race against time as the Marine—with the help of a beautiful Ukrainian journalist—tries to stop them—and come up with a plan to bring down the corrupt government officials in Moscow.
My review:
After I did my blog post listing as many male Christian fiction authors that I could come up with, this author contacted me and offered to send me the first book in this series. I of course took him up on it. Though he said nothing about a review, I am doing one anyway of my own volition.
I'll be honest: I had a hard time getting into the book at first. I read a few chapters, put it aside, and read a few other books before going back to it three days later. And I got into it more.
I really like the main character, who is the main character in the whole four-book series. He is a lieutenant in the Marines, and is a Christian, which comes out a lot throughout his adventures in the book. But I wouldn't call it preachy - not sure why that bothers Christian readers in a Christian book, but it does bother some.
The book does start out slow, but then a lot happens the further you get in the book. This book has a lot of political intrigue, and a lot of discussion about interactions between the Ukraine, Russia, and the USA.
All in all, I found it to be a fascinating look at what can happen - and probably does happen - behind the scenes that we may never know about. And I definitely liked the book well enough that I will be checking out the rest of the series.
About the author:
Steve Wilson is a prior service Marine, and recently retired from the Air Force Reserve as a senior NCO. He is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, he was named the Air Force Reserve Air Transportation NCO of the Year, and has been awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. His ties to the military have taken him all over the world, and he has visited the former Soviet Union on multiple occasions.
The Michael Neill Adventures have been nominated for thechristianmanifesto.com's Lime Award for Excellence in Fiction for three years running. They have also won the Shelf Unbound Notable Book Award in the Page Turner category, received the Five Star Award from readersfavorite.com, won Silver and Gold in Literary Classics' 2016 Book Awards, and have appeared on the Military Writers Society of America's recommended reading list.
“I have always been a big reader. I think that’s what inspired me to try my hand at writing. Writing is cathartic to me. Returning from Afghanistan in 2011, I wanted to work on something fulfilling. A few years earlier, I had written a draft of my first novel, ‘Red Sky at Morning’. It was intended to be youth fiction, but no one would read it. Coming home, I dusted it off and re-purposed it with an eye toward the post-Cold War, post-9/11 world.
Finally, I got the attention of a publicist, who told me the book didn’t have a ‘teen voice’. I expanded the story, doubled its length, and revised it for an older audience. With a lot of diligence, I eventually found a publisher.
I try to keep the books character-driven. My goal is to tell a compelling story without throwing around a lot of acronyms or technical jargon. There’s some of that, but only to ground the action in a realistic frame of reference. The novels have been compared to the works of Tom Clancy or Vince Flynn. That’s very flattering, but you won’t find any profanity or compromising situations in my novels. The books are family-friendly with a faith based message of honor, courage, service and sacrifice. Written for adults but suitable for the mature teen.
The series explores the dynamics of faith in uniform, which are often absent from books of the same kind. They have a broad appeal; there’s action, military hardware, strong core values, and even a little romance. A lot of my best reviews have come from readers with no military background at all. Neill’s adventures will hold the interest of young and old, and will encourage readers to value patriotism and embrace honor and integrity.”
Check out his website.
Check out the rest of the Michael Neill Adventure Series:
Book #2
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