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Double Dare
This outdoor-themed thriller pits leg amputee Cutter against an assassin and a Colorado wildfire to save his "adventure ranch."
224 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2013
About the author
Michael Madigan
4 books2 followersMichael Madigan is the author of two books of non-fiction. Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters / 150 Years of Front-Page Stories from the Rocky Mountain News, won the 2010 Colorado Author’s League award for non-fiction. His Christmas short story The GyPSy Line was selected for the anthology Gem Street, published in Ireland, and the story was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His award-winning writing appeared in SKI, Inside Sports and US magazines and the Rocky Mountain News over a 36-year journalism career.
He grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, the son of a lifelong seaman and marine engineer, and the grandson of an old-school hunter and outdoorsman. He was drawn to Colorado in the ‘70s by a green-eyed girl and the best powder skiing in the world. Once Denver earned a Major League Baseball team, he decided to stay. He has skied, hiked, biked, hunted, snowshoed, snowmobiled, kayaked and rafted across the West. He lives in Arvada, Colo.
Double Dare is his first novel.
He grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, the son of a lifelong seaman and marine engineer, and the grandson of an old-school hunter and outdoorsman. He was drawn to Colorado in the ‘70s by a green-eyed girl and the best powder skiing in the world. Once Denver earned a Major League Baseball team, he decided to stay. He has skied, hiked, biked, hunted, snowshoed, snowmobiled, kayaked and rafted across the West. He lives in Arvada, Colo.
Double Dare is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 4, 2013
You have to love a book that opens in a wave train and ends in a wildfire. Fitting beautifully in the adventure genre, Double Dare begins dramatically, tension builds, characters clash and grow, and the frightening, powerful climactic challenge is a real page-turner. Madigan knows the territory - the rugged mountains of southwest Colorado - like the proverbial back of his hand, and uses the setting to full advantage. His allusions to real-life people in the Denver area (Rockies baseball, anyone?) made this Colorado native smile, and the accurate depiction of the people who risk their lives and livings to protect themselves and their neighbors from catastrophic wildfire is spot on.
Madigan can be forgiven a quartet of somewhat predictable characters, in particular two female protagonists who are long-legged, beautiful, strong women who take no guff (aren't there any ugly strong women out there?) and are attracted to the heroic, handsome owner of the Double Dare Ranch; and the nasty villain Radic Vuko, aka Darko Magyar, who you just know will go down in flames in the end. They're balanced by locals Grateful Bobby (the best name EVER), Manny, Ramworthy, Patricia, Carlos, Mouse, loyal Maggie and the "EFFrs" about whom you genuinely care as the plot develops.
The last 100 pages showcase Madigan's mastery of tension as everyone comes face-to-face with the West's most dangerous force of nature and all are forced to dig deep to survive the ultimate Double Dare challenge. It's a rush to the finish that will leave you breathless.
Madigan can be forgiven a quartet of somewhat predictable characters, in particular two female protagonists who are long-legged, beautiful, strong women who take no guff (aren't there any ugly strong women out there?) and are attracted to the heroic, handsome owner of the Double Dare Ranch; and the nasty villain Radic Vuko, aka Darko Magyar, who you just know will go down in flames in the end. They're balanced by locals Grateful Bobby (the best name EVER), Manny, Ramworthy, Patricia, Carlos, Mouse, loyal Maggie and the "EFFrs" about whom you genuinely care as the plot develops.
The last 100 pages showcase Madigan's mastery of tension as everyone comes face-to-face with the West's most dangerous force of nature and all are forced to dig deep to survive the ultimate Double Dare challenge. It's a rush to the finish that will leave you breathless.
April 20, 2014
If you want a rip roaring ride through the beautiful San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado, pickup Madigan's Double Dare. And if you want one of those can't-put-it-down thrillers that take you into uber dramatic terrain (a wild chase involving several characters as the forest around them burns), pickup this book.
At first I was a little put off by the antagonist; an evil Serbian with a bad accent. Then there appeared two stunningly beautiful women who seemed to step out of a cross between an REI catalog and Vogue. Never mind; these characterisations are short lived and after a couple of chapters the bad guy and the women begin to round out and enter into their own. That's when you can settle in for the ride.
Everything I just said about the antagonist cannot be said about the book's hero; Cutter. Cutter was one of those guys who's been through some excruiciatingly difficult times but always knew the right path out of the wilderness. He's tough and smart and has an excellent heart; muscle and emotional. And the ranch he's created in the San Juan's could definitely be a magnet for the outdoor adventure enthusiast. Sign me up.
So I hope you pickup this book and enjoy it. If you do, you won't be disappointed. The last quarter of this book takes on a life of its own, with a multi-tiered chase scene through a raging forest fire that I found authentic and simply difficult to put down. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.
At first I was a little put off by the antagonist; an evil Serbian with a bad accent. Then there appeared two stunningly beautiful women who seemed to step out of a cross between an REI catalog and Vogue. Never mind; these characterisations are short lived and after a couple of chapters the bad guy and the women begin to round out and enter into their own. That's when you can settle in for the ride.
Everything I just said about the antagonist cannot be said about the book's hero; Cutter. Cutter was one of those guys who's been through some excruiciatingly difficult times but always knew the right path out of the wilderness. He's tough and smart and has an excellent heart; muscle and emotional. And the ranch he's created in the San Juan's could definitely be a magnet for the outdoor adventure enthusiast. Sign me up.
So I hope you pickup this book and enjoy it. If you do, you won't be disappointed. The last quarter of this book takes on a life of its own, with a multi-tiered chase scene through a raging forest fire that I found authentic and simply difficult to put down. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.
September 27, 2013
Much like the Dolores River that is central to the plot, Michael Madigan's Double Dare takes us on a wild and memorable ride in his first novel.
After carefully setting the scene in the first couple of chapters, the story begins racing like the Dolores during spring runoff.
Blake Cutter's dream-turned-reality is Double Dare ranch in Southwest Colorado, a 160-acre, adult fun park for adrenaline junkies who employ Cutter to challenge them through extreme mountain biking, repelling sheer cliffs and steering kayaks through world-class, roaring rapids. Double Dare's challenges eventually take a back seat to those presented by an old enemy, Radic Vuko, a former Croatian military general-turned-mercenary trainer, who uses every possible method -- both legal and illegal -- in his attempt to wrest the ranch from Cutter.
Madigan artfully weaves a colorful cast of characters into the back country of Colorado and the extreme sports that serve as a draw for tens of thousands every year. His attention to detail reflects his personal experience, as well as his penchant for a well-researched story.
Double Dare is a crisply written thriller that effectively uses the beauty--and danger--of Colorado's rugged mountains to the utmost in creating this must-read from Madigan.
After carefully setting the scene in the first couple of chapters, the story begins racing like the Dolores during spring runoff.
Blake Cutter's dream-turned-reality is Double Dare ranch in Southwest Colorado, a 160-acre, adult fun park for adrenaline junkies who employ Cutter to challenge them through extreme mountain biking, repelling sheer cliffs and steering kayaks through world-class, roaring rapids. Double Dare's challenges eventually take a back seat to those presented by an old enemy, Radic Vuko, a former Croatian military general-turned-mercenary trainer, who uses every possible method -- both legal and illegal -- in his attempt to wrest the ranch from Cutter.
Madigan artfully weaves a colorful cast of characters into the back country of Colorado and the extreme sports that serve as a draw for tens of thousands every year. His attention to detail reflects his personal experience, as well as his penchant for a well-researched story.
Double Dare is a crisply written thriller that effectively uses the beauty--and danger--of Colorado's rugged mountains to the utmost in creating this must-read from Madigan.
October 14, 2013
Double Dare Ranch in Southwest Colorado sets on 160 acres. Owner, Cutter and close friends sets up challenges. Adults who like challenges are invited to try. All challenges are tried out by Cutter, with a physical handicap of a prosthetic leg, which doesn't slow him down. He challenges himself. Anything goes with safety factors checked out before hand. Adventure thriller to extreme, with disasters and forest fires included. Two beautiful woman are involved, holding his interest. A man shows up and things happen. This man has plans to destroy and take this land away from Cutter because of a grudge from a time they trained together in the past. A great read from start to finish. A book you will want to read in one sitting. I recommend this book. Buy and enjoy.
August 14, 2013
An exciting thriller in the American Southwest.
January 17, 2014
The only reason why I give this book a for is because I didn't like the ending. I don't know if there is a sequel to this book, but if not, the ending was very abrupt.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews