A tense alliance between General Sanderson and the CIA narrowly averts an apocalyptic attack by Islamic fundamentalists in Europe, but ultimately fails to recover the virus canisters. With the biological weapons still missing, the specter of an attack against the United States looms dangerously closer. Desperate to stop Al Qaeda, Daniel Petrovich’s “black ops” team is sent to investigate the last lead provided by Anatoly Reznikov, the twisted scientist responsible for designing the virus. What they uncover will shake U.S. authorities to the core.
Every canister of the Zulu Virus has been shipped to the United States…
Back in Washington D.C., this startling revelation is intensified by a grim discovery. Suspected Al Qaeda cells under FBI surveillance have been simultaneously massacred, targets of a shadowy domestic terror organization with ties to a rising political movement. When Special Agent in Charge Ryan Sharpe discovers that Al Qaeda lost possession of every virus canisters in the coordinated attack, he deploys Task Force Scorpion to hunt down a new breed of terrorist and recover the virus.
As Sharpe’s task force unravels the curious fabric of True America’s plot, they start to assemble the chilling details of an impending domestic bioweapons attack--on an unimaginable scale. With time expiring, and his task force running out of options, Sharpe embraces the illicit help of a sworn enemy, whose questionable tactics may be their only chance of stopping an insidious plan to destabilize the United States.
Black Flagged Apex propels the gritty, often unapologetic Black Flagged Series into new territory, where hidden agendas, startling betrayals and brutal action define the daily landscape navigated by the puppet masters and frontline operators in the war on terror.
Steven graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1993, receiving a bachelor of science in English literature. He served the next eight years on active duty, traveling the world as a naval officer assigned to various Navy and Marine Corps units. His extensive journey spanned the globe, including a two-year tour of duty in Japan and travel to more than twenty countries throughout Asia and the Middle East.
From enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq as a maritime boarding officer in the Arabian Gulf, to directing aircraft bombing runs and naval gunfire strikes as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) assigned to a specialized Marine Corps unit, Steven's "in-house" experience with a wide range of regular and elite military units brings a unique authenticity to his thrillers.
He still wakes up at "zero dark thirty" to write for most of the day. When "off duty," he spends as much time as possible outdoors or travelling with his family--and dog.
Steven is the bestselling author of ten novels and several novellas, including a commissioned trilogy of novellas based on the popular Wayward Pines series. His canon of work includes the popular Black Flagged Series, a gritty, no-holds barred covert operations and espionage saga; The Perseid Collapse series, a post-apocalyptic thriller epic chronicling the events surrounding an inconceivable attack on the United States; and The Fractured State series, a near future, dystopian thriller trilogy set in the drought ravaged southwest
You can contact Steven directly by email (stevekonkoly@striblingmedia.com) or through his blog (www.stevenkonkoly.com).
This is the third book in the Black Flagged series by Steven Konkoly, and if you enjoyed the first two books you should enjoy this one as well.
The violence level in this one does seem to have been racheted up a notch, which almost made me knock this down to a three-star rating as I prefer action with a good story over lots of violence and killing. But the plot and story did keep me engrossed and interested.
The book, while fiction, also did make me think about the current state of our country, and how vulnerable our infrastructure is to attack by terrorists, both foreign and domestic. There is also a political group in this story called "True America" which I have a feeling is a modeling of The Tea Party movement.
Books 2 and 3 should be read one after the other. Really, it's one long story. I particularly like how the author will write parts of the same scene from the perspective of several characters. The interrogation techniques are brutally entertaining.
APEX: A Black Flagged Thriller (The Black Flagged Series Book 3)
Steven Konkoly's style of writing is very unique. It's so real you can see it. It's just detailed enough to provide a good imagery without being so detailed you're skimming for the point. It's also obvious that the man knows his stuff, and not because he did great research but because he's talking about a walk he's walked.
The third Black Flag book takes place mainly in the US, because the virus arrives (inert, in captive form) and falls into the hands of a band of "patriots".
The action and plot is a fast-paced and intricate as you'd expect. However -- to be honest -- I found this book quite disturbing. I guess it's because it pits Sanderson and the alphabet agencies against US citizens, and both sides of the conflict will stop at nothing to complete their missions. For "True America", that means an abhorrent tendency to treat its own members as expendable. For the Black Flag team, it means working behind the scenes carrying out kidnapping and assassination.
I don't like the idea that a team like Black Flag is needed to "do what is necessary" when others won't or can't. But the scenarios sketched out in the book seem all too plausible in today's America. Is it likely? I really don't know. But to me, it is plausible. And I find that deeply disturbing.
I'm not American by the way, so it's quite possible my views of current American society are not accurate. (I'm talking about the often very vocal proponents of Trumpism here, and the persistence - even growth - of extreme right-wing groups).
ANYWAY - if you leave all that aside, it's a thrilling, inventive, action-packed and deadly ride. It's certainly well written.
Before you read this book, you need to read the first book in the series, Black Flagged, followed by book 2, Black Flagged Redux.
Steven Konkoly continues his heavy action and energy series with this third installment, and overall he is a pretty darn good mystery / thriller; I will say the main terroristic plot in this installment should scare the hell out of you (it did for me) as I found myself thinking about at all of the vulnerabilities of today's infrastructure as I look around my environment. We are extremely lucky to be living where we are and with all of the safeguards in place to protect us, but Konkoly can kick any notion you have we are "safe" right into the gutter for you.
Similar to his other novels, the author does a great job of getting you into the character's heads and what they are thinking, and the action is pretty much non-stop. I'm looking forward to starting the next book in the series.
Another book continuing from Redux. I guess I’m not smart enough to be reading this, I keep getting lost as to what’s happening, I need a map trying to follow all this action—- one site to the next, not my favorite type of book and it appears Konkloy is into this. Now I am 40% into it and although there’s been some action I ‘m not captured. I am plodding along, too many characters to care. Then comes the stupid, terrorists going to drill into a pipeline?? Come on—- the average person has to know the pressure in those lines is going to keep them from pouring anything in. They would need a huge pump contraption to be able to possibly have any success as well as being qualified to connect without everything blowing up I in their face.Talk to a plumber, boss. Oh well, it’s a novel and I m supposed to believe it. There is so much fluff in this story to make it a book it is sorry. I did not enjoy reading this. 3
Apex is the third book in the Black Flagged series. You can read this as a standalone. But each book builds on the previous storylines so I suggest you read them in order. There is a lot of violence.
The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all of that info here. This is a fast paced action packed book. There are clues in the storyline that keep you guessing what will be revealed next. As usual, not everyone and everything is as it seems. I'm looking forward to reading more of these books.
A home grown terrorist group, connected financially and with political influence. Middle East terrorists used as pawns. Can all of the presidents inner circle be trusted? Conventional means to fight this problem are ineffective. An ultra clandestine group, but I own to key leaders and POTUS is tasked with this mission. Non stop action! Intrigue, betrayal, sacrifice. A magnificent read!!
With a threat to the nations water supply, a radical group of American terrorists called “true america” are causing mayhem across the country.
It was a good story but for me I had trouble keeping track of all the characters. I did see at the end of the book a list of who is who. That would have been better in the beginning. It got confusing as to who everyone was.
Other than the multitude of characters it’s a good read and certainly a believable story.
I just finished reading this book and it continues the saga of Daniel & Jessica. The action is on going and the twists and turns are there. Some of the characters are like able and some I would like to try to reason with but that is all part of the stories. I am starting the next book and know I will enjoy it !
Despite the unorthodox stoppage of the last and the beginning of this one, it truly was the place to break. You a Konkoly fan you will like these books. You need to read them in order. Save some of your brains recall for there are dozens of key players in this series.
Reading this series in order is a must! The third book is replete with nonstop action and back and forward in time style That adds to the suspense. This book was my go to “ time out”, Something I looked forward to picking up at any low point my day. Read all three books, you won’t be disappointed.
These were great books to read! Easy flowing, exciting and some humor. I've recommended the series to my friends. This last book remind me of trumps and some of his people, so the book came out at perfect time.
Inventive plot to destabilize the US government and let a 3rd party take over. The government fields multiple teams to stop these domestic terrorists. It becomes a little confusing as to who knows what’s going on among them.
There is just an incredible non stop action in these books that keep the pages turning. For a reader like me, there was too much technical information given by the author about weapons and ammunition but it did not detract from the story.
I did enjoy certain sections of the book, but for me there are way too many similar characters that are not easily distinguished from each other, and maybe it's because I'm stupid but I had a hard time following all of this. I would say you need to read books one and two first.
This read is gunna take you awile, not because of its length but because their are a ba-gillion characters. Pretty good plots through out the book. It ends well if ya like mini guns.
The story line could be from today's headlines. Consistent characters make the reading enjoyable. Highly b recommended series to capture your imagination.
This entire series is fantastic. Lots of action and some twists and turns. The characters really grow on you as well. This also has a nice ending fie a book in a series which is also a bonus. Highly recommend!
Water utilities. They are one of the most important pieces of critical infrastructure, but one which we all inevitably take for granted. Back in the 1970's during the Chicago American Democrat party convention, a rumor spread which suggested some hippies would be paying a visit to a nearby reservoir with the intention of spiking it with LSD. This led to one of the biggest police responses up until 9/11 and the Occupy movement. In the third entry of the black flagged series, author Steve Konkoly has dreamed up a truly well thought out, plausible worst case scenario. It might not be able to happen in real life but in "Black Flagged Apex", the factors, resources and logistics terrorists would need to sabotage a developed nation's water supply are explored in detail. With a gradual growth of Clancy style influences seeping into the series, the stakes have dramatically risen from the first and second entries, with all the gunfire, backstabbing, techno wizardry and morally ambiguous decisions dialed up to maximum. Now the the review. What happens when enemies foreign....get screwed over by enemies domestic?
The story begins early in the morning in New Jersey. Two FBI agents, bored out of their minds are on stakeout, conducting surveillance on suspected Islamic extremists. Suddenly, the Islamic Extremists are bush-whacked by unknown gunmen who break into their apartment. Meanwhile, in Washington DC at the White House situation room, we get reintroduced to the biological weapon which is the main subject of the core story arc. In a nutshell, it drives its victims into a homicidal rage after some very painful headaches. And having already seen the results back in the previous book from a Russian city, the American government will do anything in its power to recover samples of the biological weapon which were smuggled into the country. Meanwhile at Black Flagged, General Terrence Sanderson is busy with cementing the new relationship he has with some recently acquired friendly enemies in Washington and sends a representative to work with American Law Enforcement on the biological weapon problem. Meanwhile, main protagonist Daniel Petrovich is conducting a snatch and grab op in Berlin which starts with a false alarm but ends with a lead on a new conspiracy which has horrific implications for American politics. All these threads come together in a brutal race against time where the angels are forced to make deals with the devils they know to preserve, protect and defend their country from a greater evil.
In terms of plot, Black Flagged Apex continues to impress. These books are a bit more complex than Brad Thor and Vince Flynn. They're set in a world where everyone has an agenda, where the line between good and evil is truly difficult to discern and where you can be a terrorist one day and a hero the next. The settings and action are also very fun. From a violent gunfight through the corridors of a Atlanta hotel, a colossal attack on a remote terrorist training camp which rivals any good war film for sheer destruction, and ending with a brutal, bloody climax in a Pennsylvania Mansion, the author put the men and women of Black Flagged through a Sausage grinder in this entry and lets them show us readers what they're made of. The research done in this book is also a particular highlight. From the assortment of exotic weapons, sniping/infiltration/combat tactics and exploring the very complex logistics any terrorist group would need if they really decided to target a developed nation's water supply, Konkoly has established himself as an American Frederick Forsyth.
Now, characters. There's slightly less focus on Mr and Mrs Petrovich this time around but that doesn't mean they've gone soft. We get a lot more character development for Jessica, and explore how damaged and broken she still is. She and her husband also get to show their stuff when a large number of shooters interrupt them during an interrogation and their team is taking casualties. Next we have the FBI men such as Agent Sharpe and Director Shelby. Both of them start as holier than thou by the book cops who moan about the Black Flagged program. Sharpe however despite his desire to hold the moral high ground with a death grip eventually comes to an understanding with the Black Flagged program while Shelby's arc in this book is a little more surprising. Then we have Aleem Fayed and the Middle Eastern operators of the Black Flagged group. For the first parts of the book, they're doing the fieldwork and perform spectacularly. They also managed to steal the show, from General Sanderson in my opinion.
Overall, Black Flagged apex is an excellent act two in the "core story arc". Competent, well rounded anti-heroes and villains, enough firepower to make a fan of Brad Thor novels salivate and a well plotted walk through the darker, brutal parts of counter-terrorism. It's all there and a whole lot more. The Black Flagged books are some of the most brutal Post 9/11 spy thrillers that I've read, and they should not be missed by any fan of the genre.
Could not put this down...a thriller with many twists and turns. You will not be disappointed. Steven Konkoly puts it all together for an aggressive satisfying read!
Book 3 of the Black Flagged series. Lots of action, great characters, good locations. I will follow the series until the end, as I am enjoying the action and actors in the stories.
Wow. Many stories interweaved. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The characters are great and I’m thinking five more words. Two more and now I can get to book 4
Very convoluted throughout the telling but in the end it all came together as an excellent tale with exciting events throughout. Interested in continuation of the series.