Callsign: Knight (Shin Dae-jung)

Chesspocalypse #6

by Jeremy Robinson, Ethan Cross

When a team of Delta operators goes missing in Shenhuang, one of China’s newly constructed ghost cities, Shin Dae-jung— Knight, is called in to assist. But the Osprey transporting him to the scene falls prey to an EMP attack and is forced to crash land atop a parking garage. With a wounded pilot in tow, Knight explores the empty city for signs of life and finds two terrified children, who warn him that something monstrous is stalking the city. When the pilot disappears, leaving a pool of blood and spent bullet casings behind, Knight doesn’t doubt their story. As bullets fly and bodies drop, Knight must protect the children, uncover the fate of the missing Delta team and defend against an unstoppable killer, whose ability to regenerate and whose horrible appearance reminds him of something he’s faced before—the mythological Hydra. But he’s not alone in the surreal abandoned city. A team of SAS soldiers, along with Anna Beck, a former member of Manifold Genetics’ private security force, join the fray. Together, they fight—and die—against a nightmare that follows its objective to the kill them all. Knight was the sixth in a series of Chess Team novellas released in 2011. Each of the eight books in the series—deemed the ‘Chesspocalypse’—follows a single member of the team and is co-authored by Jeremy Robinson and one of six other fantastic authors. The stories take place after the events of Threshold, the third Jack Sigler thriller, and before the events of Ragnarok, the fourth full-length novel in the series. The Chesspocalypse novellas are designed to introduce readers to the series. If you haven’t read the novels, no worries. Enjoy the ride! Praise for Robinson “Rocket-boosted action, brilliant speculation, and the recreation of a horror out of the mythologic past, all seamlessly blend into a rollercoaster ride of suspense and adventure.” —James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Eye of God “With Threshold Jeremy Robinson goes pedal to the metal into very dark territory. Fast-paced, action-packed and wonderfully creepy! Highly recommended!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin “Jeremy Robinson is the next James Rollins” —Chris Kuzneski, New York Times bestselling author of The Einstein Pursuit “If you like thrillers original, unpredictable and chock-full of action, you are going to love Jeremy Robinson...” —Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of Pirate Alley “How do you find an original story idea in the crowded action-thriller genre? Two Jeremy Robinson.” —Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Pandemic “There’s nothing timid about Robinson as he drops his readers off the cliff without a parachute and somehow manages to catch us an inch or two from doom.” —Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of The Descent Praise for Cross “A fast paced, all too real thriller with a villain right out of James Patterson and Criminal Minds.” —Andrew Gross, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reckless and Don’t Look Twice “The Shepherd is a superbly crafted thriller skillfully delving into the twisted mind of a psychopath and the tormented soul of the man destined to bring him down. Ethan Cross weaves a tale so chilling, I was afraid to turn out the lights. Highly recommended!” —D.B.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Action, Science Fiction, Adventure, Military Fiction, Novella

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2011

About the author

Jeremy Robinson is the New York Times bestselling author of seventy novels and novellas, including Apocalypse Machine, Island 731, and SecondWorld, as well as the Jack Sigler thriller series and Project Nemesis, the highest selling, original (non-licensed) kaiju novel of all time. He’s known for mixing elements of science, history and mythology, which has earned him the #1 spot in Science Fiction and Action-Adventure, and secured him as the top creature feature author. Many of his novels have been adapted into comic books, optioned for film and TV, and translated into thirteen languages. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children. Visit him at www.bewareofmonsters.com.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty Good!

I love the Callsign series! They are very good and full of suspense and thrills!

I’m going on a great adventure with these books.

Three stars. 💫

[Dale Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shin-Dae Jung... Callsign: Knight... is called into one of the abandoned super cities of new China. But, before he and his team can arrive an event occurs that pulls them out of the sky and sends them crashing into the deserted urban wilderness. Surviving the disaster… and finding new allies... Knight WILL complete his mission even while being stalked by an inhumane terror that may not be able to be stopped.

Jeremy Robinson and Ethan Cross have created another exciting and thrilling adventure in the CHESSPOCALYPSE group of novellas that are spin off of the fantastic JACK SIGLER and the CHESS TEAM series. With a strong voice writing military black ops... and coupled with a great turn at horror... these stories continue to entertain at multiple levels and for lovers of many genres.

This is the 5th book in the novella series but it can be read independently with most references and flashbacks to other entries being self explanatory.

[Julie Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am enjoying these Callsign books, and like the extra info about the characters. This one for Knight, however, was a bit too short for me. I felt it could have been fleshed out some more. But it was still enjoyable!

[Jan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeremy Robinson and Ethan Cross have written a great novella with the book Callsign: Knight, Book 1. I have just started this series and love the action and vivid descriptions. With the narration of Jeffrey Kafer, I can envision so many details. The characters are well developed in this book, and many are intriguing. I will definitely listen to more books in this series.

[Guillermo Mata · Rating 5 out of 5]

excelente historia

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I love the Callsign series! They are excellent and full of suspense and mystery! I’m going on a great adventure with these books.

[Aritra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the better ones in this series of novellas. The action set pieces were entertaining. The story was OK.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Callsign: Knight was a hell of a lot better than Rook and marginally better than Queen, at the end of the day, I was left with the dreaded conclusion of "who cares?"

Though it's easy reading, fast paced, and relatively short, the thing is that Knight just doesn't seem to do anything in the grand scheme of Robinson's chesspocalypse canon. Knight was never one of the big characters (literally and figuratively) and held no real distinction other than being short and good with a sniper rifle (which, if you think about it, aren't all the players in this series supposed to be kick ass with guns and stuff?). I was hoping that this novella would give more backstory, or more insight into his character. Instead, this particular story was pretty much a paint-by-numbers in plot, setting and action. There's the obligatory evil corporation full of evil people doing evil things. There's the typical race against time, the penultimate de nue mas and, just as there's been in basically every other Robinson story, novel, idea, etc, the big baddie...usually a creature of scientific origins, hellbent on killing the main character and everyone else involved. And look, I get it, it's Robinson's shtick, his forte if you will, and I would be lying if I said I didn't, for the most part, enjoy what he comes up with. It would just be nice, once in a while, to write a straight up thriller. Something that doesn't involve genetically altered creatures or rejuvenated 40 foot tall former soldiers.

[Jamey Goodyear · Rating 5 out of 5]

A knight, in shining…armor?

Knight, Shin Dae-jung, is a small man of Asian descent. He’s agile, smart, and rich. lol. He was on vacation when called to duty by Deep Blue. Two military camps were destroyed by, no one knows what. One camp was American and the other was British. The origin of the attacks were tracked back to an abandoned city in China.

Knight is being flown into the city in a specially outfitted airplane when the plane is hit by an EMP. The pilot is able to crash land it on top of a parking garage. Knight heads out to investigate the near surrounds. Seeing movement in a building, he runs in chasing down whoever it is. Turns out to be a couple of orphaned children who were unable to make it out of the city. Good thing too because they know a great hiding place from the monster that starts to chase all three of them through the building.

Knight enlists the kids help in watching for the monster while he heads out again. He is to meet with a military detachment to find out what his mission is. What he finds it that the detachment has been decimated. However, he does run into an old associate. A refuge from Manifold. Together the two discover that one mad scientist from Manifold had escaped and has been experimenting with a formula that changes people into monsters. Monsters that are incredibly hard to kill.

There is a lot of action in this story. I really like Knight. He’s a great guy. Mad science, monsters, an abandoned city, and a bit of flirting make this story a great read. Jeremy even managed to use the word twitterpated. I was so tickled. I love this story.

[FictionFreak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call Sign: Knight is exactly the kind of story you would expect from someone named Knight. Damsels and children to "rescue", a monster to fight, and a bad guy to stop. I liked this Chess Team novella a lot. It follows Prime, Pulse, Instinct, Threshold, and Call Sign books King book 1, Queen, Rook, and Bishop. Awesome awesome series. Check it out! Now onto Call Sign: King book 2 Underworld!

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot get enough of this stuff...


If you like Military/supernatural stuff get all of the Chess team books.....

I am not bored yet and I have read soo many of these back to back.... Unusual for me to stick with one subject for so long - just goes to show you what a cracking author Jeremy is...

[Dee Haddrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knight didn't really hit my radar every much in the other books, but it was nice to see him get a story of his own. We also get to see Anna Beck again (from Pulse). A nice addition to the series and another nail in Manifold's coffin.

[Justin Dugas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me alot of the newer resident evil games. A whole lot of fetching and creatures that will not freakin' die. Other than that it was a faced paced adventure and a good way to kill a few hours.

[Rian Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chess Team books are a blast to read and I loved each of the Callsign books. Get to know each character a little better with a great story. You can't go wrong with Jeremy Robinson's books, check them out!

[Crys Nieto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never disappoints

Jeremy Robinson has to be the best scifi writer I have ever read. I'm not even into nazi stories and am considering reading the second world series just because he writes it.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, action start to finish.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the others, fast paced, too short.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Callsign series, it gives you an extended look at each of the characters in the Chess Team. I highly recommend reading them

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. From page 1 to the last couple of paragraphs was true non-stop action within a very interesting city in China. A must for Chess Team fans.
Recommended? Absolutely.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic survival horror as much reminiscent of Resident Evil as the Chess Team stuff. Loved it.

[Liam Klenk · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome!

[Karsyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story in the Chess Team world. Just two more novellas til the team is finally back together! :)

[Elisabeth Haun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty excellent. Same-ish kind of story as the previous books but enjoyable. Hint of romance, awesome.

[Miguel Panão · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started today. Finished today. What more to say? Wonderful, gripping, fast-paced novella. The pieces are moving ...

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

New insight into the Night character

[Kim Fraenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun fast read just like all the call sign books. Knight is a cool guy with a great sense of humor.