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Deckard #1
Reflexive Fire
As a freelance assassin, Deckard is no stranger to the shadow world of covert operations, but when he is summoned to Bohemian Grove and hired to train and lead a battalion of Kazakh mercenaries, he soon discovers his employer’s real a doomsday plot decades in the making. Now, free humanity’s only chance for survival rests with Deckard’s renegade Private Military Company. From Afghanistan, to Burma, and beyond, the clock is ticking down to global extinction.
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2011
85 people are currently reading
329 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 5, 2011
I wrote it so I'm a little biased!
September 18, 2014
Awesome
Fast paced, brutal, great characters, would make a mean movie bro
......felt like I was in the fight of my life.
Fast paced, brutal, great characters, would make a mean movie bro
......felt like I was in the fight of my life.
July 6, 2021
In the military action thriller genre, it's common to talk the talk. It's the bare minimum, after all--in today's information-rich society, it is ridiculously easy to pick out an author who didn't do the research. But even among those who can talk the talk, there is an exalted category, those who have walked the walk. Those who have literally put their lives on the line outside the wire and bring their experiences with them to the written word.
Jack Murphy is one of the few who can talk the talk and that has walked the walk. As an eight years veteran of United States Special Operations Forces, Murphy has been the shooter on the front lines, and he delivers authenticity in spades in his debut print novel, Reflexive Fire. From weapons to small unit tactics, from leadership principle to an operations order, Murphy brings a nigh-unparalleled level of realism to his prose, outperforming established mainstream authors such as Vince Flynn and Brad Thor.
But Reflexive Fire is far from a military instruction manual. It tells the tale of a sinister plot by innocuous-sounding organizations to claim stake to the reins of humanity and forever change the human race. It is in this space that Murphy is an excellent storyteller, creating a scenario that gives the reader pause as to what is going on behind the scenes of global politics, and question whether or not there are certifiable people with power and capital at their fingertips. Once the full scope of the enemy that Deckard, the protagonist, was revealed, I could not put the book down.
I read Murphy's work long before he walked the walk, and even back then, it was clear that he had talent in regards to writing in the action genre. It gives me great pleasure to say that with his experience, Jack Murphy has only gotten better, and I anxiously look forward to additional entries in the Deckard series.
Jack Murphy is one of the few who can talk the talk and that has walked the walk. As an eight years veteran of United States Special Operations Forces, Murphy has been the shooter on the front lines, and he delivers authenticity in spades in his debut print novel, Reflexive Fire. From weapons to small unit tactics, from leadership principle to an operations order, Murphy brings a nigh-unparalleled level of realism to his prose, outperforming established mainstream authors such as Vince Flynn and Brad Thor.
But Reflexive Fire is far from a military instruction manual. It tells the tale of a sinister plot by innocuous-sounding organizations to claim stake to the reins of humanity and forever change the human race. It is in this space that Murphy is an excellent storyteller, creating a scenario that gives the reader pause as to what is going on behind the scenes of global politics, and question whether or not there are certifiable people with power and capital at their fingertips. Once the full scope of the enemy that Deckard, the protagonist, was revealed, I could not put the book down.
I read Murphy's work long before he walked the walk, and even back then, it was clear that he had talent in regards to writing in the action genre. It gives me great pleasure to say that with his experience, Jack Murphy has only gotten better, and I anxiously look forward to additional entries in the Deckard series.
February 21, 2012
The book was easy to read, but the violence was at times overwhelming. Jack knows how to tell a story and keep it interesting. Military fiction is not my usual genre, but I've enjoyed Jack's books - I've read his PROMIS books as well. Sort of a learning experience for me I guess, into the mindset of a "professional" soldier. The PROMIS books are a tad unsettling, since PROMIS program is real; and I suspect the action in the books was very realistic if not factual.
November 14, 2016
Alright as far as military thrillers go. Felt like a combination of other works in the genre, most notably Clancy's "Rainbow Six." The author's background as an operator comes through in the pages.
September 15, 2018
If your idea of a good read includes lots of action, combat fire fights, followed by more action and shooting then this is the book for you. This thrillers other strength is it's relating the ways of special forces and specific weapons, which the author appears experienced with. The plot is interesting as our hero Deckard goes deep under cover to train a small mercenary army, which through his personal charisma and strategic placing of his former teammates in key positions, becomes his own. After several trials he and his army are slated by the villains to help destroy the world. I found the last hundred pages to be excellent which is not as common as you'd think for action thrillers.
However, this read had it's share of problems, first there was not enough character development for the reader to to get to know anyone, with the possible exception of Deckard. The rest of the main characters in the novel are not developed enough for us to care about, even when they get killed. Richie, Frank, Kurt, Adam, Korgan, Nikita and the rest just don't have much depth. Maybe that's a sacrifice for so much action. The next glitch is that it seems like through many of the battle scenes, the heroes of this story are turning a corner or opening a door and there is the enemy who they kill because they are faster and have are better prepared. These scenes happen a lot in this book. Maybe that's where the title comes from. Lastly, it seems a bit odd to me that mercenaries fight so often to the death. I expect paid thugs like Deckard's first two foes in the warm-up battles to run or retreat when the tide turns.
Overall this is an enjoyable military thriller not quite to the level of Matthew Reilly, but to be close is praise enough. I wrestled whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. The last fourth was close to 5 stars but the first 250 pages barely was 3 stars. I guess the litmus test was that when I wasn't reading it, I was never really dying to get back to the story.
However, this read had it's share of problems, first there was not enough character development for the reader to to get to know anyone, with the possible exception of Deckard. The rest of the main characters in the novel are not developed enough for us to care about, even when they get killed. Richie, Frank, Kurt, Adam, Korgan, Nikita and the rest just don't have much depth. Maybe that's a sacrifice for so much action. The next glitch is that it seems like through many of the battle scenes, the heroes of this story are turning a corner or opening a door and there is the enemy who they kill because they are faster and have are better prepared. These scenes happen a lot in this book. Maybe that's where the title comes from. Lastly, it seems a bit odd to me that mercenaries fight so often to the death. I expect paid thugs like Deckard's first two foes in the warm-up battles to run or retreat when the tide turns.
Overall this is an enjoyable military thriller not quite to the level of Matthew Reilly, but to be close is praise enough. I wrestled whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. The last fourth was close to 5 stars but the first 250 pages barely was 3 stars. I guess the litmus test was that when I wasn't reading it, I was never really dying to get back to the story.
June 7, 2018
Great story that is way more involved than you'd at first guess. Loved every bit of it and can't wait to continue the series.
November 29, 2025
A real banger of a book...Jack Murphy's been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. A lot of action, too much; never! A must read for any military thriller fan...on to book 2.
March 20, 2017
Big fun.
August 14, 2019
The book is very excellent.
May 12, 2013
(Minor spoilers)
Reflexive Fire is a stunning debut by former US Army Special Operations veteran Jack Murphy. It tells the tale of Deckard, a professional mercenary. Deckard is inserted into a conspiracy, which hires him to train a private army in Kazakhstan. As his unit gains experience in the field, Deckard discovers the nature of the conspiracy and must go off the reservation to save the world.
Murphy has walked the walked, and can clearly talk the talk. He goes in-depth into the mindset, training and skillsets of professional soldiers. The action sequences are complex and intense, yet understanding and authentic. The combat is clearly the draw of the novel, and in this area Murphy excels.
Yet this story could also have been better. A lot of the characters feel one-dimensional. For instance, we don't see much about Deckard beyond him being a soldier for hire and highly skilled in the art of war. The antagonists are clear-cut villains, with no real moral depth. Here, the pace and the nature of the novel works against the story, by reducing time for character development.
There are a couple of points that sort of irked me. The first is that the bulk of the conspiracy is discovered mainly via an antagonist's internal monologue, as he reasons out the full extent of the conspiracy. Deckard only uncovers the aspect that requires a global apocalypse, and his unit's role in it. From a craft perspective, uncovering bits and pieces of the conspiracy over time would make the story more interesting by keeping the reader in suspense, instead of delivering the bulk of it in a single chapter -- and especially since it comes as an infodump, much of which is ultimately just flavour text.
The second is the use of modern-day conspiracy theories and the antagonists' references to supposed super-advanced technology and occult sciences. The bulk of the story is strictly hardcore military fiction. Including these aspects is a little jarring, suggesting a switch to a somewhat different genre -- and yet, when the hardcore military fiction remains the dominant theme of the story, the background information becomes little more than flavour text. A lot of it. Murphy could have done better by either finding a way to punctuate the more fantastical/science fictional aspects of the story throughout the text, or paring down on them altogether. As for the conspiracy proper, I would be much more interested in how so many power brokers (not necessarily the main antagonists) kept their mouths shut.
There's also a couple of other, minor, points. The end of the novel takes place on a floating cruise liner, in which the conspiracy intends to ride out the coming apocalypse in luxury. The mercenaries only engage the security element and the passengers, the latter being the members of the conspiracy. No mention is made of the crew and the workers who keep the cruise ship going, and it is highly unlikely every single one of these peons are part of the ultra-elite that make up the conspiracy. Further, the cruise liner takes fire from a hostile ship -- and no mention is made of the ship after that. These details make the climax a little less satisfying for me than it would have been.
There is just one last thing - not criticism per se, but it makes me curious. It appears that none of the mercenaries wear body armour, until near the climax when they recover armour from dead enemies. In the first third of the novel, Deckard and his gang pick up all kinds of gear to outfit their army, ranging from rifles to trucks to grenade launchers to vests. But no armour. With Deckard's cadre coming from Western militaries - and therefore acquainted with body armour in combat operations - it seems interesting that nobody discusses why the boss didn't purchase body armour. Murphy explains this in a roundabout way on his website (armour is heavy, and you need mobility to engage in maneouvre the way the Kazakhs do), but I had hoped for a more explicit explanation or discussion in the novel.
Reflexive Fire stars authentic, top-notch action scenes and gives a look into the mindsets, training methodology and skills of modern professional warriors. It does have a few minor flaws, but nothing that detracts sharply from the quality of the story. It's a fine debut, and I look forward to reading more of Murphy's fiction in the future.
Reflexive Fire is a stunning debut by former US Army Special Operations veteran Jack Murphy. It tells the tale of Deckard, a professional mercenary. Deckard is inserted into a conspiracy, which hires him to train a private army in Kazakhstan. As his unit gains experience in the field, Deckard discovers the nature of the conspiracy and must go off the reservation to save the world.
Murphy has walked the walked, and can clearly talk the talk. He goes in-depth into the mindset, training and skillsets of professional soldiers. The action sequences are complex and intense, yet understanding and authentic. The combat is clearly the draw of the novel, and in this area Murphy excels.
Yet this story could also have been better. A lot of the characters feel one-dimensional. For instance, we don't see much about Deckard beyond him being a soldier for hire and highly skilled in the art of war. The antagonists are clear-cut villains, with no real moral depth. Here, the pace and the nature of the novel works against the story, by reducing time for character development.
There are a couple of points that sort of irked me. The first is that the bulk of the conspiracy is discovered mainly via an antagonist's internal monologue, as he reasons out the full extent of the conspiracy. Deckard only uncovers the aspect that requires a global apocalypse, and his unit's role in it. From a craft perspective, uncovering bits and pieces of the conspiracy over time would make the story more interesting by keeping the reader in suspense, instead of delivering the bulk of it in a single chapter -- and especially since it comes as an infodump, much of which is ultimately just flavour text.
The second is the use of modern-day conspiracy theories and the antagonists' references to supposed super-advanced technology and occult sciences. The bulk of the story is strictly hardcore military fiction. Including these aspects is a little jarring, suggesting a switch to a somewhat different genre -- and yet, when the hardcore military fiction remains the dominant theme of the story, the background information becomes little more than flavour text. A lot of it. Murphy could have done better by either finding a way to punctuate the more fantastical/science fictional aspects of the story throughout the text, or paring down on them altogether. As for the conspiracy proper, I would be much more interested in how so many power brokers (not necessarily the main antagonists) kept their mouths shut.
There's also a couple of other, minor, points. The end of the novel takes place on a floating cruise liner, in which the conspiracy intends to ride out the coming apocalypse in luxury. The mercenaries only engage the security element and the passengers, the latter being the members of the conspiracy. No mention is made of the crew and the workers who keep the cruise ship going, and it is highly unlikely every single one of these peons are part of the ultra-elite that make up the conspiracy. Further, the cruise liner takes fire from a hostile ship -- and no mention is made of the ship after that. These details make the climax a little less satisfying for me than it would have been.
There is just one last thing - not criticism per se, but it makes me curious. It appears that none of the mercenaries wear body armour, until near the climax when they recover armour from dead enemies. In the first third of the novel, Deckard and his gang pick up all kinds of gear to outfit their army, ranging from rifles to trucks to grenade launchers to vests. But no armour. With Deckard's cadre coming from Western militaries - and therefore acquainted with body armour in combat operations - it seems interesting that nobody discusses why the boss didn't purchase body armour. Murphy explains this in a roundabout way on his website (armour is heavy, and you need mobility to engage in maneouvre the way the Kazakhs do), but I had hoped for a more explicit explanation or discussion in the novel.
Reflexive Fire stars authentic, top-notch action scenes and gives a look into the mindsets, training methodology and skills of modern professional warriors. It does have a few minor flaws, but nothing that detracts sharply from the quality of the story. It's a fine debut, and I look forward to reading more of Murphy's fiction in the future.
December 3, 2014
Since the early 1990s, men's fiction has dwindled to almost nothing. Critics of the genre will point to the abysmal writing in some of the titles during its heyday. I have reason to hope for a resurgence in men's fiction that the critics of the genre won't be able to dismiss easily. I say that because of well-written, hard-hitting novels like Reflexive Fire.
The hero is everything you could hope for in an action-adventure--intelligent, charismatic, honorable, a combat veteran from an elite unit, and just slopping over with badassity. We meet Deckard during a guns-blazing rescue of some POWs from a covert operation gone SNAFU. From there, a mysterious rogue on the ragged fringes of the intelligence community hands him a deep cover assignment as a mercenary commander for Soros and Kissinger-esque insiders from the shadow government. Pretty impressive that these Princes of Darkness can be duped, with the resources at their disposal. Still, Deckard's cover could be blown at any moment.
Deckard organizes and trains a private army on the steppes of Kazakhistan, and leads them on direct-action missions at the direction of his sinister bosses, while tapping into his own substantial resources to find out what these puppetmasters are really up to.
There is no shortage of action in Reflexive Fire. The main characters are warriors, and fighting is what they do. Having winced, groaned, rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth at many authors' attempts to depict military (or paramilitary) operations, it was really satisfying to read a military thriller written with this level of technical accuracy. Afterwards it made me want to have a cigarette and raid the fridge. And I don’t even smoke.
I've learned to avoid political thrillers, and ordinarily wince, groan, roll my eyes and grit my teeth when the author of any novel starts to portray their naive concept of how back room politics play out. This was another pleasant surprise for me. The author bypasses the two-party good-cop-bad-cop charade to tickle the truth hidden behind it. A few years ago, to even mention the workings of the shadow government was to invite ridicule and worse. Maybe this has changed as certain evidence becomes more difficult to hide. Still, I admire the author's courage to reject the blue pill publicly.
I don't know if this should be considered authoral courage too, but Jack Murphy isn't afraid to let important characters get snuffed in all the spray of shrapnel and deluge of full-auto fire. The body count is high, but not gratuitous. The progression of the plot is both plausible and logical. It is hard to imagine, though, how the stakes could be raised much higher in a sequel.
It's not very common to discover an action-adventure author who is also a SpecOps veteran. When you do, unfortunately, the quality of the fiction usually leaves something to be desired. Richard Marcinko was a competent SEAL team commander, but his Rogue Warrior series is “un-sat” IMHO. Barry Saddler was respected in SF, had a decent singing voice, and I'll even admit his Casca series was a neat idea, but after struggling to plod all the way through a couple of those books, I found myself asking what the point was.
Jack Murphy has not only done some of the same types of things he writes about, but he has consolidated them into an intelligent, entertaining novel. And Deckard is a character with plenty of juice for more shootouts to come. I highly recommend this book.
The hero is everything you could hope for in an action-adventure--intelligent, charismatic, honorable, a combat veteran from an elite unit, and just slopping over with badassity. We meet Deckard during a guns-blazing rescue of some POWs from a covert operation gone SNAFU. From there, a mysterious rogue on the ragged fringes of the intelligence community hands him a deep cover assignment as a mercenary commander for Soros and Kissinger-esque insiders from the shadow government. Pretty impressive that these Princes of Darkness can be duped, with the resources at their disposal. Still, Deckard's cover could be blown at any moment.
Deckard organizes and trains a private army on the steppes of Kazakhistan, and leads them on direct-action missions at the direction of his sinister bosses, while tapping into his own substantial resources to find out what these puppetmasters are really up to.
There is no shortage of action in Reflexive Fire. The main characters are warriors, and fighting is what they do. Having winced, groaned, rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth at many authors' attempts to depict military (or paramilitary) operations, it was really satisfying to read a military thriller written with this level of technical accuracy. Afterwards it made me want to have a cigarette and raid the fridge. And I don’t even smoke.
I've learned to avoid political thrillers, and ordinarily wince, groan, roll my eyes and grit my teeth when the author of any novel starts to portray their naive concept of how back room politics play out. This was another pleasant surprise for me. The author bypasses the two-party good-cop-bad-cop charade to tickle the truth hidden behind it. A few years ago, to even mention the workings of the shadow government was to invite ridicule and worse. Maybe this has changed as certain evidence becomes more difficult to hide. Still, I admire the author's courage to reject the blue pill publicly.
I don't know if this should be considered authoral courage too, but Jack Murphy isn't afraid to let important characters get snuffed in all the spray of shrapnel and deluge of full-auto fire. The body count is high, but not gratuitous. The progression of the plot is both plausible and logical. It is hard to imagine, though, how the stakes could be raised much higher in a sequel.
It's not very common to discover an action-adventure author who is also a SpecOps veteran. When you do, unfortunately, the quality of the fiction usually leaves something to be desired. Richard Marcinko was a competent SEAL team commander, but his Rogue Warrior series is “un-sat” IMHO. Barry Saddler was respected in SF, had a decent singing voice, and I'll even admit his Casca series was a neat idea, but after struggling to plod all the way through a couple of those books, I found myself asking what the point was.
Jack Murphy has not only done some of the same types of things he writes about, but he has consolidated them into an intelligent, entertaining novel. And Deckard is a character with plenty of juice for more shootouts to come. I highly recommend this book.
February 21, 2014
I almost gave this story a 2 or 3 star rating, but the ending was so great, with tons of action, that I bumped it up to a 4-star rating. Overall the book is a great action thriller, with plenty of shoot'em up action.
The only thing that slowed down the story and made me roll my eyes (like I can't believe how dorky/hokey this is) is when the author introduced the main villains in the story and set them up as an end of the world type cult. Early on the evil powers that be were holding some kind of cult-like ceremony and chanting to the great owl or something. All I could envision in my mind was the scene in the movie Dragnet (1987) (a comedy) where Christopher Plummer (who played a corrupt televangelist & secretly the leader of the Pagans) was preparing to sacrifice the "virgin" Connie Swail. Of course all the "Pagan" followers were chanting. For a long time after I read that part I could not take the book seriously. Other then that aspect of the book, the rest was pure action, 5 stars. The weak hokey villains made me drop a star.
The only thing that slowed down the story and made me roll my eyes (like I can't believe how dorky/hokey this is) is when the author introduced the main villains in the story and set them up as an end of the world type cult. Early on the evil powers that be were holding some kind of cult-like ceremony and chanting to the great owl or something. All I could envision in my mind was the scene in the movie Dragnet (1987) (a comedy) where Christopher Plummer (who played a corrupt televangelist & secretly the leader of the Pagans) was preparing to sacrifice the "virgin" Connie Swail. Of course all the "Pagan" followers were chanting. For a long time after I read that part I could not take the book seriously. Other then that aspect of the book, the rest was pure action, 5 stars. The weak hokey villains made me drop a star.
August 9, 2011
Jack Murphy’s book Reflexive Fire caught my attention immediately. Author with a SOF background, check. Rogue operatives with a solid set of morals, check. He even has the same first name as me, legend. I had to give it a read and I sure as shit wasn’t disappointed.
It was no surprise that the action is intense and authentic. Those with a military background will really appreciate some of the finer details, although SEALs and the French may disagree with their lot…. Even if the extent of your military experience is Modern Warfare games on the Playstation Network, you’ll get a kick out of the off-the-charts actions scenes. I’m talking about short notice battalion-level assaults on complex cave systems, cruise-liners and secret government ‘black sites’.
Sounds like something out of Modern Warfare 3? My thoughts exactly. So if you haven’t read it yet, and fast-paced military fiction is your thing, you should check out Reflexive Fire.
Til next time I blog,
Jack
It was no surprise that the action is intense and authentic. Those with a military background will really appreciate some of the finer details, although SEALs and the French may disagree with their lot…. Even if the extent of your military experience is Modern Warfare games on the Playstation Network, you’ll get a kick out of the off-the-charts actions scenes. I’m talking about short notice battalion-level assaults on complex cave systems, cruise-liners and secret government ‘black sites’.
Sounds like something out of Modern Warfare 3? My thoughts exactly. So if you haven’t read it yet, and fast-paced military fiction is your thing, you should check out Reflexive Fire.
Til next time I blog,
Jack
January 24, 2017
Jack Murphy has quickly become a "must read" for me. He combines a very fast-moving story with very action-packed combat scenes. Sean Deckard is the "real deal" - a complex, driven, and dark hero. Agree with other readers who have compared to Vince Flynn and Brad Thor - to which I would add Tim Tigner. The author is very accurate and very specific in his descriptions of weapons and tactics. The plot seems that it could end up as tomorrow's headlines. And the villians are truly evil. The author's own military experience in Special Operations seem to have been put to good use in creating very believable dialogue and action scenes. This is the second book of Jack Murphy for me. I look forward to the next, and hope that the author can keep up pumping out great stories. Strong work, Jack Murphy.
September 15, 2023
Wow, what a ride.. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this. It seemed like another typical one-man army story, tasked with taking on the Taliban. Instead, it was a story of a group of mercenaries, hired to do the bidding of mysterious masters, who decide that they should investigate said masters, and uncover a plot to kill most of the world's population by bio-weapon.
They've trained an army, so they then use that army to thwart the plotters, assaulting a cruise ship filled with private security, armed to the teeth.
As far as I can tell, only two characters manage to survive, the main character, Deckard, and one of the snipers.
I'm looking to reading the next book in the series, and the prequel series that involves Deckard's father, Sean..
They've trained an army, so they then use that army to thwart the plotters, assaulting a cruise ship filled with private security, armed to the teeth.
As far as I can tell, only two characters manage to survive, the main character, Deckard, and one of the snipers.
I'm looking to reading the next book in the series, and the prequel series that involves Deckard's father, Sean..
September 9, 2012
one of the advantages of getting my Kindle Fire is all the books available from amazon.com at little or no cost ... amazing how some are good, some great and some unreadable! This military fiction is very well written and moves at warp speed all the way thru. Looking at the list, there are more Jack Deckard books coming ... all I can say is that I'll be looking for them!
November 7, 2016
Don't know what the fuss was over this book. All I was looking for was an action/thriller book. I could care less about in-depth weapons nomenclature. The books by Brad Thor, Vince Flynn and Ted Bell are much, much better.
September 4, 2011
Loved it. Recommended it to all my friends!
May 8, 2015
It was an entertaining story, but I couldn't get over the author's problems with getting the guns right. Remington does not make a "270" shotgun.
February 4, 2016
Intense, exciting and informative
The three key words in the title describes everything this book was for me. Phenomenal author I'm so happy to have discovered.
The three key words in the title describes everything this book was for me. Phenomenal author I'm so happy to have discovered.
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December 7, 2013False
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