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Spectre #1
Spectre Rising
Alternate cover edition
After a combat incident in Iraq, Cal “Spectre” Martin was grounded and told he would never fly an F-16 again. Years later, he started a new civilian life with his F-16 pilot fiancée while being haunted by the nightmares of his last deployment.
But when she goes missing on a routine training mission off the South Florida coast, Spectre unwillingly finds himself thrust back onto the frontlines of the war on terror - this time, not in the skies over Iraq, but on the streets of Miami.
While searching for answers, Spectre uncovers a deadly international conspiracy that shakes his beliefs to the core and threatens national security. The stakes have never been higher as Spectre rises to overcome his inner demons, challenge his friendships, and take to the skies once again in a daring final mission.
After a combat incident in Iraq, Cal “Spectre” Martin was grounded and told he would never fly an F-16 again. Years later, he started a new civilian life with his F-16 pilot fiancée while being haunted by the nightmares of his last deployment.
But when she goes missing on a routine training mission off the South Florida coast, Spectre unwillingly finds himself thrust back onto the frontlines of the war on terror - this time, not in the skies over Iraq, but on the streets of Miami.
While searching for answers, Spectre uncovers a deadly international conspiracy that shakes his beliefs to the core and threatens national security. The stakes have never been higher as Spectre rises to overcome his inner demons, challenge his friendships, and take to the skies once again in a daring final mission.
345 pages
First published August 25, 2013
224 people are currently reading
709 people want to read
About the author
C.W. Lemoine
17 books140 followersC.W. Lemoine is the author of the military/espionage thriller novels SPECTRE RISING, AVOID. NEGOTIATE. KILL., ARCHANGEL FALLEN, EXECUTIVE REACTION, BRICK BY BRICK, and STAND AGAINST EVIL.
A Louisiana native, Lemoine is a graduate of the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in New Orleans. After graduating college, Lemoine joined the Air Force Reserve where he flew the F-16 and accumulated one thousand hours including a combat tour in Iraq.
Lemoine later transferred to the Navy Reserve where he flew F/A-18A+ Hornets.
In 2011, Lemoine received his Instructor Certification in Survival Krav Maga and his Brown Belt in 2012. He is also a Louisiana P.O.S.T. - 1 certified Law Enforcement Officer and former National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians certified EMT-Basic.
Lemoine lives in New Orleans with his two rescue dogs Sniper and Kaiser Von Ruff. When he's not flying or writing, he enjoys volunteering with local law enforcement, working out, and running with his two dogs.
Website
http://www.cwlemoine.com
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/cwlemoine/
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/CWLemoine/
A Louisiana native, Lemoine is a graduate of the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in New Orleans. After graduating college, Lemoine joined the Air Force Reserve where he flew the F-16 and accumulated one thousand hours including a combat tour in Iraq.
Lemoine later transferred to the Navy Reserve where he flew F/A-18A+ Hornets.
In 2011, Lemoine received his Instructor Certification in Survival Krav Maga and his Brown Belt in 2012. He is also a Louisiana P.O.S.T. - 1 certified Law Enforcement Officer and former National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians certified EMT-Basic.
Lemoine lives in New Orleans with his two rescue dogs Sniper and Kaiser Von Ruff. When he's not flying or writing, he enjoys volunteering with local law enforcement, working out, and running with his two dogs.
Website
http://www.cwlemoine.com
http://www.facebook.com/cwlemoine/
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/CWLemoine/
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
March 20, 2016
Started off like this was going to be something special in the way of military-technical thrillers. About a third or so into the book it all went off the rails. It was almost like the author decided he had better finish the story. The quality of the storyline went to hell and the quality of writing was not far behind it. Turned into a formalistic mess, very predictable.
November 15, 2013
All I can is WOW!!!! Spectre Rising was and AWESOME read!!! The main character hasn't been given a fair shake in life, sometimes his fault and others not his fault. The book started out fast and kept the pace till the end. From my point of view, the story had an underlying theme, with the character of Chloe, in that people seek out the fast lane in life and can't settle for the ordinary. It ended up costing Chloe, like it does so many in the real world.
I'm now waiting to hear when the second book is coming to press. It was that good... I read for the pure enjoyment of being entertained by the story the writer creates. There were enough twist and truns to keep me turning the pages until the end. The ending was perfect, now I wait for the next book.
AWESOME JOB Mr. Lemoine!!!
I won the book through the GoodReads giveaway. My review isn't inflated because it was free. I have received one other free book from GoodReads and it didn't receive a favorable review.
I'm now waiting to hear when the second book is coming to press. It was that good... I read for the pure enjoyment of being entertained by the story the writer creates. There were enough twist and truns to keep me turning the pages until the end. The ending was perfect, now I wait for the next book.
AWESOME JOB Mr. Lemoine!!!
I won the book through the GoodReads giveaway. My review isn't inflated because it was free. I have received one other free book from GoodReads and it didn't receive a favorable review.
May 16, 2020
Generally entertaining read. Author's experience flying F-16s shows: I could visualize the layout of the switches and buttons as the characters press them, but be aware that most of the fighter-jet action is in flashbacks experienced by the main character and not directly relevant to the main plot.
Unfortunately, writing quality has some major blind spots. The target audience for this book seems to be divorced white men who vote Republican and fantasize about stopping a home invasion with their gun-range skills. Every single character who speaks another language is a bad guy, including Mr. Generic "Allahu akbar" Terrorist, and result in a dream team of America's greatest enemies: Islamic terrorists, commies, and China. Most of the cast are flat as cardboard and the main character, while having some depth, felt narrowly formulaic.
Unlike many military novels, Spectre Rising has constrained the technical action to the realm of reality while the human side is laughably shallow. I would have given the book 4 stars otherwise because I did enjoy the Viper bits.
Unfortunately, writing quality has some major blind spots. The target audience for this book seems to be divorced white men who vote Republican and fantasize about stopping a home invasion with their gun-range skills. Every single character who speaks another language is a bad guy, including Mr. Generic "Allahu akbar" Terrorist, and result in a dream team of America's greatest enemies: Islamic terrorists, commies, and China. Most of the cast are flat as cardboard and the main character, while having some depth, felt narrowly formulaic.
Unlike many military novels, Spectre Rising has constrained the technical action to the realm of reality while the human side is laughably shallow. I would have given the book 4 stars otherwise because I did enjoy the Viper bits.
November 25, 2013
Overall, a solid start to what I hope will become a regular series. It is not going to win any literary awards as the writing itself is not flowery or overly descriptive, but if you want a good, solid, entertaining read with a well thought out story and interesting characters you will want to add this to your "Want to Read" list.
This book will give you a good insight into Cal's motivations and will be a must read for anyone who becomes a fan of what will hopefully be a long and successfull series. I can't wait to see where Cal and gang goes from here.
Thanks to the author for providing me the opportunity to read and review this book as I have received this book as part of Goodreads "First Reads" program.
This book will give you a good insight into Cal's motivations and will be a must read for anyone who becomes a fan of what will hopefully be a long and successfull series. I can't wait to see where Cal and gang goes from here.
Thanks to the author for providing me the opportunity to read and review this book as I have received this book as part of Goodreads "First Reads" program.
November 19, 2020
For me, not believable!
As a career USAF fighter pilot/F-16 pilot/combat pilot I just did not find this plot about a young USAF officer to be credible. I also can’t believe the author used the term “fighter jets.” No self respecting fighter pilot would use that term. All modern fighters are jets, so we fighter jocks just call them “fighters,”
As a career USAF fighter pilot/F-16 pilot/combat pilot I just did not find this plot about a young USAF officer to be credible. I also can’t believe the author used the term “fighter jets.” No self respecting fighter pilot would use that term. All modern fighters are jets, so we fighter jocks just call them “fighters,”
March 24, 2018
Loved the book with an very strange ending. Can’t wait to read the next one.
February 24, 2024
This book was a million times better than what I thought it would be, can’t wait to read the sequel.
March 6, 2021
I'll admit I didn't finish this book. I really enjoyed the fighter jet scenes and I am
For the most part I was enjoying it. Yes, it suffered from a lack of editorial supervision, but the reason I didn't finish it was Chloe. Without spoiling the book I'll just say that she was a character who had SO much potential but her motivations didn't make any sense.
I bought the box set and since there were aspects I enjoyed I will come back and read the next book when I've gotten through more of my to-read pile.
For the most part I was enjoying it. Yes, it suffered from a lack of editorial supervision, but the reason I didn't finish it was Chloe. Without spoiling the book I'll just say that she was a character who had SO much potential but her motivations didn't make any sense.
I bought the box set and since there were aspects I enjoyed I will come back and read the next book when I've gotten through more of my to-read pile.
September 13, 2014
Great book with a twist on who is the bad guy. Cal Martin runs afoul of Air Force politics and is kicked out of the a Air Force. His fiancé dumps him because "he's Not the same man he was when he was flying." Cuban Intell agents & Chinese agents trying to steal American fighter technology. read it, you'll like it.
Couple scenes reminded me of 'Clear and Present Danger' by Tom Clancy ..
Rich Johns
Army SF and security contractor (Iraq).
Couple scenes reminded me of 'Clear and Present Danger' by Tom Clancy ..
Rich Johns
Army SF and security contractor (Iraq).
Want to read
November 2, 2013Cant wait to read! I will edit my review as soon as I finish this book. (:
March 20, 2016
This author knows technical phrases that makes me know he's really been there.
I am pleasantly hooked,just bought the next book in this "SPECTRE"series.
Good military read.
I am pleasantly hooked,just bought the next book in this "SPECTRE"series.
Good military read.
Read
August 22, 2018The writing is engaging, but the story leaves something to be desired.
January 5, 2020
The music with this audiobook is distracting and unnecessary. Otherwise would have given 3 stars
July 30, 2020
The aviation parts were entertaining, but they were relatively sparse.
April 1, 2020
7/10
While Spectre Rising won't be winning any writing awards - and it clearly doesn't strive for it - it has been an interesting story and an extremely fun read.
Knowing that its author is a former fighter pilot with plenty of experience in the Viper (the aircraft which the protagonist, Spectre, "flies") and the Hornet, I expected nothing short of plenty of technical details both on what was going on inside the cockpit and on the inter/intraflight communications - not being totally disappointed by what I got, significantly raising the rating of the book in my review.
For those expecting the same in this book, avoiding possible spoilers, it must be known that the story does NOT revolves directly around an active duty F-16 pilot. So while there are chapters in which the focus will be a sortie with great - perhaps overwhelming technical - details being given on the situation, it must be noted that these are few and far in between (unlike in a book like Viper Pilot by Hampton for example).
It must also be noted that while the author tries to portray the flying scenes as realistic as possible (as realistic as I can tell with military flight simulators experience although no real military experience) the story is totally fictional - unlike the previously mentioned book.
For people without much knowledge about aviation - specifically military aviation, military communication/brevities and the F-16 - it must be noted that the author does try to explain some of the terms, although I'm unable to say precisely how much of it will make sense. While these technical details are NOT essential for the understanding of the story, they do add an extremely nice flavour to it - this being, again, the main reason for which I decided to read this book.
As for the story itself, while I absolutely enjoyed it from beginning to end, it clearly seems to downgrade as it goes, especially 2/3s into the book. It is fictional, but starts out quite realistically and believable.
Onwards and closer to the ending, though, it becomes much more convenient and unrealistic. It felt as if the author wanted to finish the story as fast as possible, forcing conveniences to happen so it could be concluded sooner.
Not bad but far from perfect; is a great read for military and aviation aficionados looking for a technically detailed and action packed fictional story without a too fancy writing.
While Spectre Rising won't be winning any writing awards - and it clearly doesn't strive for it - it has been an interesting story and an extremely fun read.
Knowing that its author is a former fighter pilot with plenty of experience in the Viper (the aircraft which the protagonist, Spectre, "flies") and the Hornet, I expected nothing short of plenty of technical details both on what was going on inside the cockpit and on the inter/intraflight communications - not being totally disappointed by what I got, significantly raising the rating of the book in my review.
For those expecting the same in this book, avoiding possible spoilers, it must be known that the story does NOT revolves directly around an active duty F-16 pilot. So while there are chapters in which the focus will be a sortie with great - perhaps overwhelming technical - details being given on the situation, it must be noted that these are few and far in between (unlike in a book like Viper Pilot by Hampton for example).
It must also be noted that while the author tries to portray the flying scenes as realistic as possible (as realistic as I can tell with military flight simulators experience although no real military experience) the story is totally fictional - unlike the previously mentioned book.
For people without much knowledge about aviation - specifically military aviation, military communication/brevities and the F-16 - it must be noted that the author does try to explain some of the terms, although I'm unable to say precisely how much of it will make sense. While these technical details are NOT essential for the understanding of the story, they do add an extremely nice flavour to it - this being, again, the main reason for which I decided to read this book.
As for the story itself, while I absolutely enjoyed it from beginning to end, it clearly seems to downgrade as it goes, especially 2/3s into the book. It is fictional, but starts out quite realistically and believable.
Onwards and closer to the ending, though, it becomes much more convenient and unrealistic. It felt as if the author wanted to finish the story as fast as possible, forcing conveniences to happen so it could be concluded sooner.
Not bad but far from perfect; is a great read for military and aviation aficionados looking for a technically detailed and action packed fictional story without a too fancy writing.
April 30, 2022
F-16 pilot Cal “Spectre” Martin was ousted out of the Air Force after a friendly fire incident in Iraq. He now works in southern Florida at a gun shop. His fiancé, also a fighter pilot, has just broken up with him when she disappears during a training mission. Specter determines to find the truth, which turns out to involve more than one foreign intelligence agency.
The story, while occasionally somewhat contrived, is engaging, especially if you are into aviation. The flying parts in particular are well written, obviously accurate but still accessible as the author, a former fighter pilot himself, does not delve too deeply into the arcana of the profession. The characters are rather two dimensional but serviceable.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2022/04/...
The story, while occasionally somewhat contrived, is engaging, especially if you are into aviation. The flying parts in particular are well written, obviously accurate but still accessible as the author, a former fighter pilot himself, does not delve too deeply into the arcana of the profession. The characters are rather two dimensional but serviceable.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2022/04/...
April 18, 2020
I bought the box set for books 1-4. This is book one.
One thing I like is that the plot moved fast but was a bit choppy and no frills. You move straight from Spectre calling the liberal CYA SECDEF a waste of time to launching the raid on Cuba in a matter of hours. The action scenes are fast because they are. You find the tango on the ground and "bandit" in the air. You shoot, game over in 4 - 5 minutes. And yes, it's the paperwork and the interviews that take a long time because the police and the prosecutors have to cross their Ts and dot their i's.
The Cuban/ Chinese subplot: also moves fast.
I finished the book in 2-3 days.
One thing I like is that the plot moved fast but was a bit choppy and no frills. You move straight from Spectre calling the liberal CYA SECDEF a waste of time to launching the raid on Cuba in a matter of hours. The action scenes are fast because they are. You find the tango on the ground and "bandit" in the air. You shoot, game over in 4 - 5 minutes. And yes, it's the paperwork and the interviews that take a long time because the police and the prosecutors have to cross their Ts and dot their i's.
The Cuban/ Chinese subplot: also moves fast.
I finished the book in 2-3 days.
November 20, 2022
A fun read.
The book started out a little slow but about a quarter of the way in, the story really picked up and it went very quickly. Loved the Ghost Buster reference!
I think there is military terminology that may confuse some readers. I come from a military family and even I had to look up a few things. But, you learn something new every day, right?!
I wish there was more character details. I like to “see” who I’m reading about.
Overall, the book is well written and a fun read.
The book started out a little slow but about a quarter of the way in, the story really picked up and it went very quickly. Loved the Ghost Buster reference!
I think there is military terminology that may confuse some readers. I come from a military family and even I had to look up a few things. But, you learn something new every day, right?!
I wish there was more character details. I like to “see” who I’m reading about.
Overall, the book is well written and a fun read.
May 18, 2020
The story was interesting and exciting, though sometimes a little far-fetched and predictable. The main character has a tendency to always be in the right place at the right time to pull off something heroic. There's just enough technical detail to be interesting and believable without getting so bogged down in minutia that your eyes glaze over. A very fun book that reads like an action movie. I couldn't put it down!
September 20, 2020
I thought that this was a great thriller. The beginning is a little hard to read through; but the pace picks up, and the book becomes hard to put down. Much better than I would have expected from a self-published book. I found out about C.W. Lemoine from his YouTube channel. The author, a former F-16 and F-18 pilot, is well versed on fighter planes and firearms. The characters in the book were all very likable. Give this a read of you like thrillers.
May 20, 2022
The story jumps around in the timeline and for a bit I felt the book was disjointed and incomplete but then the author pulls it all together with some nice writing. Not a perfect book (the way he writes all the "bad" guys is almost comical) but overall well worth it. This book does tend to be very technical with the military hardware, so depending if this excites you or if you find this boring it may sway your rating.
September 13, 2022
Overall pretty solid first book in series. I found this book is more enjoyable compared with Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series (But it suffer similar problems: main character is a little bit too generic).
Overall, not a bad book (I bought the book set and it is totally worth it).
Overall, not a bad book (I bought the book set and it is totally worth it).
June 14, 2023
I’ve wanted to ready this book ever since finding lemoine’s YouTube channel. This book did not disappoint. It keeps your attention and continues to throw hooks and surprises that will make you want to keep reading. I highly recommend and I will be buying the rest of the series.
August 30, 2023
Gripping action packed thriller
C.W. Lemoine brings it in his first book! This introduction to Spectre doesn't disappoint.
Action, crazy plot twists, and fast paced thriller you won't want to put down.
C.W. Lemoine brings it in his first book! This introduction to Spectre doesn't disappoint.
Action, crazy plot twists, and fast paced thriller you won't want to put down.
January 19, 2024
Very good first outing for the novice author. Nice action. Great characters. C.W. LemoIne as an ex fighter pilot grabs you and puts you in the action. It is a bit predictable at times. I love military thrillers and this has it all.
January 17, 2019
Nice technical content but the rest is pretty meh.
June 11, 2019
Sounded like it would be a great read but turned about to be way to technical and filled with acronym after acronym. Found it difficult to get through and could have used a good editors help.
September 6, 2019
An exceptional book and well worth the read. CW Lemoine puts his expertise into play to make a great read with amazing believability! On to book 2...
February 7, 2020
Great book to read on the flight.
July 28, 2020
It's self-published and could use some editing. Not a bad thriller if a little predictable. A little too much techno jargon if you know nothing about military planes and hardware.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews