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The Cards in the Deck #1
Devil's Due
Now former NSA agent turned rogue operative Scott Madison Evers is back in an all new action thriller. Still a man on the outside looking in, Scott Evers is working security onboard the Sea Shepherd, an Island class vessel performing fishery protection patrols in the Mediterranean Sea. No, Scott Evers hasn't become an environmentalist. He's about as far from the pie-in-the-sky happy people he has sworn to protect as any person could ever be. But he's got a job to do. Namely, to keep the yuppies from doing stupid things that will get them killed. With tensions heating up in the Mediterranean Sea and with terrorists afoot, Scott's an instant away from everything going as terribly wrong as he fears. When the dust clears, his world will never be the same again.
- GenresThriller
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 28, 2013
42 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Robert Stanek
311 books48 followersAlso writes as William R. Stanek and William Robert Stanek.
Robert Stanek has been a writer for over 30 years and is the author of over 50 books. The most popular series by Robert Stanek include the Ruin Mist books, the Magic Lands books, the Bugville books, the Bugville Jr. books, and the Bugville Learning books which area all available via Amazon, Audible, Playaway, OverDrive, and more than two dozen other retail and library partners. Join Robert Stanek and 200,000 fans on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RobertStanekA....
Robert Stanek has been a writer for over 30 years and is the author of over 50 books. The most popular series by Robert Stanek include the Ruin Mist books, the Magic Lands books, the Bugville books, the Bugville Jr. books, and the Bugville Learning books which area all available via Amazon, Audible, Playaway, OverDrive, and more than two dozen other retail and library partners. Join Robert Stanek and 200,000 fans on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RobertStanekA....
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 2, 2015
Typo City
This book is full of typos and whole blocks of duplicate passages. Pages end with a complete sentence, the next page starting in the middle of a different paragraph. The proofreading crew missed most of this book.
In addition, the book ended in 20 minutes, apparently this is just a teaser. I felt insulted and cheated, that the seller didn't warn me this is just a sampler without a conclusion.
The character development was very sparse. Not enough to invite me to see if the sequel is even written yet.
I will just delete it from the cloud and move on to one of the hundred or so books in my wish list.
This book is full of typos and whole blocks of duplicate passages. Pages end with a complete sentence, the next page starting in the middle of a different paragraph. The proofreading crew missed most of this book.
In addition, the book ended in 20 minutes, apparently this is just a teaser. I felt insulted and cheated, that the seller didn't warn me this is just a sampler without a conclusion.
The character development was very sparse. Not enough to invite me to see if the sequel is even written yet.
I will just delete it from the cloud and move on to one of the hundred or so books in my wish list.
September 18, 2015
Books like this will make you a fan of this fantastic author
Thanks to fabulous books like this one, I'm hooked and quickly working my way through everything the author has written. It's like a Thanksgiving feast followed by Christmas and a my birthday. If you like this get the omnibus for sure. That's what I'm going to seven though I already picked up the second one.
Thanks to fabulous books like this one, I'm hooked and quickly working my way through everything the author has written. It's like a Thanksgiving feast followed by Christmas and a my birthday. If you like this get the omnibus for sure. That's what I'm going to seven though I already picked up the second one.
December 14, 2013
This is a fast paced easy read and one I am sure you will love as well!
A bit weird the premise is still fun and adds rather than distract.
WaAr
A bit weird the premise is still fun and adds rather than distract.
WaAr
January 9, 2025
lots of questions, but...
the answers must have been edited out for the time being, time being in an awfully big hurry to wind up what never really got unwound. whoever the bad guys are, they make sure a lot happens, but damage everywhere is all the good guys get to defend themselves with. kinda like a stacked deck and you're left with a pair of twos. short, swift, bloody, and over before you can say sitrep. the phrase, "opening salvo" comes to mind. but, how come, amazon, do I search for Book ones and get nothing but chapter ones?
the answers must have been edited out for the time being, time being in an awfully big hurry to wind up what never really got unwound. whoever the bad guys are, they make sure a lot happens, but damage everywhere is all the good guys get to defend themselves with. kinda like a stacked deck and you're left with a pair of twos. short, swift, bloody, and over before you can say sitrep. the phrase, "opening salvo" comes to mind. but, how come, amazon, do I search for Book ones and get nothing but chapter ones?
July 20, 2017
Fooled again.
Didn't know it was part one of a multi part story. Shame really, I was getting into it, but I'm not buying all the rest to finish it. Adverts should state very clearly that the book is only part of a story if it is.
Didn't know it was part one of a multi part story. Shame really, I was getting into it, but I'm not buying all the rest to finish it. Adverts should state very clearly that the book is only part of a story if it is.
November 8, 2018
A good thing interrupted
I don't like the idea of being cut off in mid-thought, only to learn that I have to purchase a second book that would carry-on the thought. I'm glad this book is over as I have others to consider.
I don't like the idea of being cut off in mid-thought, only to learn that I have to purchase a second book that would carry-on the thought. I'm glad this book is over as I have others to consider.
March 18, 2014
Is It A Book? A Short? Heaven Knows It’s Fast, That’s For Sure!
The boomtown that is so much of electronic publishing continues to churn out one new adventure after another in every genre conceivable. Despite there being a glut of good, bad, and ugly fiction and non-fiction out there available on Amazon and beyond, I’m all for it: I think authors in this day and age have a terrific opportunity to reach out and touch someone – that someone being a new reader. So long as these budding novelists turn out respectable but high-quality yarns, then the more the merrier!
DEVIL’S DUE: THE CARDS IN THE DECK is precisely the kind of short fiction one would expect to find a foothold in today’s consumer-friendly market. It’s a quick read – a perilous adventure set on the high seas – where action remains front-and-center, and it’s easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad. The premise is that former NSA operative Scott Evers captains the Sea Shepherd, and, while carrying out the mission to disrupt Mediterranean fishermen, the boat comes under heavy assault from ‘unfriendlies’ …
… and, basically, that’s it.
???
While this statement is not meant as any insult, DEVIL’S DUE is hardly anything approaching a novel. To be accurate, it’s a short story – one whose intent is clearly to entertain – and, solely on that level, it kept my interest. Granted, it isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally pick up – I’m all for tales of crisp action and lethal derring-do, but I tend to prefer something with a greater personal investment. There’s little characterization here – in fact, I suspect some of that may be due to the fact that its author (Robert Stanek) has a series of works exploring Scott Evers’ life in print – and I always find it hard to sink my teeth (and brain) into something that’s driving intent is to serve up one action sequence after another.
Who knows? If this is only one piece of a greater work, then that’s all well and good. I suspect that Evers has miles to go before he sleeps (as goes the old saying), and the way he conducts himself here certainly is the stuff similar to many military-style thrillers I’ve read throughout my years. Evers could prove himself a force to be reckoned with, but, in this short slice, it’s hard to see from what mettle he’s been truly fashioned.
But as the kind of thing one could purchase and read, say, on a short plane ride from one city to the next? Why, I’d imagine you could do far worse than DEVIL’S DUE.
One thing’s for sure, and that’s that author Stanek ratchets the excitement up as high as he can in DEVIL’S DUE. As a selling point, it certainly works.
RECOMMENDED.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the author reached out to me via email, asking that I obtain a free copy of DEVIL’S DUE via Amazon solely for the purposes of completing this review. His request has influenced my review in no way, shape, or form.
The boomtown that is so much of electronic publishing continues to churn out one new adventure after another in every genre conceivable. Despite there being a glut of good, bad, and ugly fiction and non-fiction out there available on Amazon and beyond, I’m all for it: I think authors in this day and age have a terrific opportunity to reach out and touch someone – that someone being a new reader. So long as these budding novelists turn out respectable but high-quality yarns, then the more the merrier!
DEVIL’S DUE: THE CARDS IN THE DECK is precisely the kind of short fiction one would expect to find a foothold in today’s consumer-friendly market. It’s a quick read – a perilous adventure set on the high seas – where action remains front-and-center, and it’s easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad. The premise is that former NSA operative Scott Evers captains the Sea Shepherd, and, while carrying out the mission to disrupt Mediterranean fishermen, the boat comes under heavy assault from ‘unfriendlies’ …
… and, basically, that’s it.
???
While this statement is not meant as any insult, DEVIL’S DUE is hardly anything approaching a novel. To be accurate, it’s a short story – one whose intent is clearly to entertain – and, solely on that level, it kept my interest. Granted, it isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally pick up – I’m all for tales of crisp action and lethal derring-do, but I tend to prefer something with a greater personal investment. There’s little characterization here – in fact, I suspect some of that may be due to the fact that its author (Robert Stanek) has a series of works exploring Scott Evers’ life in print – and I always find it hard to sink my teeth (and brain) into something that’s driving intent is to serve up one action sequence after another.
Who knows? If this is only one piece of a greater work, then that’s all well and good. I suspect that Evers has miles to go before he sleeps (as goes the old saying), and the way he conducts himself here certainly is the stuff similar to many military-style thrillers I’ve read throughout my years. Evers could prove himself a force to be reckoned with, but, in this short slice, it’s hard to see from what mettle he’s been truly fashioned.
But as the kind of thing one could purchase and read, say, on a short plane ride from one city to the next? Why, I’d imagine you could do far worse than DEVIL’S DUE.
One thing’s for sure, and that’s that author Stanek ratchets the excitement up as high as he can in DEVIL’S DUE. As a selling point, it certainly works.
RECOMMENDED.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the author reached out to me via email, asking that I obtain a free copy of DEVIL’S DUE via Amazon solely for the purposes of completing this review. His request has influenced my review in no way, shape, or form.
Read
December 31, 2016The blaring alarm awoke Scott Evers in his bunk on the Sea Shepherd, a 201 feet ship with a crew of 45 operated by an organization similar to Greenpeace. Its mission was to disrupt illegal Tuna fishing in the Mediterranean Sea.
On his way to the topside Evers, who’s job is security, discovered Libyans had sank a sister ship, the Bardot III. When he reached the top deck he saw the ship was circling one of five Tunisian fishing boats and their crews were hurling links of chain at the Sea Shepherd, who’s crew was responding with fire hoses and stink bombs, a repeat of previous battles. Divers in the water, Edie said to Evers. The divers were cutting nets to free the tuna. Then thinks went south.
David Gilbert, a NASA senior data mining and analysis specialists at a super secret National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center (DC), Camp Williams, Utah was a troubled man. Gilbert was early because he wanted to review the latest D-Wave test results from the latest generation of super computers employing quantum computing. Gilbert’ super computer was one of three with super-cooled niobium chips. After studying the results he realized something was amiss in the Med. Now Gilbert had two things to worry about: What was not being reported in the Med, and his long time concern about super computers exceeding human intelligence and enslaving the human race.
The “director” enters the story and the Evers and his gal pal Edie have rollicking, fantastical adventures as they chase the bad guys across the Mediterranean to Malta with the help of the CIA, NSA, SEALs and the Sixth Fleet.
On his way to the topside Evers, who’s job is security, discovered Libyans had sank a sister ship, the Bardot III. When he reached the top deck he saw the ship was circling one of five Tunisian fishing boats and their crews were hurling links of chain at the Sea Shepherd, who’s crew was responding with fire hoses and stink bombs, a repeat of previous battles. Divers in the water, Edie said to Evers. The divers were cutting nets to free the tuna. Then thinks went south.
David Gilbert, a NASA senior data mining and analysis specialists at a super secret National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center (DC), Camp Williams, Utah was a troubled man. Gilbert was early because he wanted to review the latest D-Wave test results from the latest generation of super computers employing quantum computing. Gilbert’ super computer was one of three with super-cooled niobium chips. After studying the results he realized something was amiss in the Med. Now Gilbert had two things to worry about: What was not being reported in the Med, and his long time concern about super computers exceeding human intelligence and enslaving the human race.
The “director” enters the story and the Evers and his gal pal Edie have rollicking, fantastical adventures as they chase the bad guys across the Mediterranean to Malta with the help of the CIA, NSA, SEALs and the Sixth Fleet.
July 30, 2015
Very good, don't hesitate to buy.
If the whole series is like this one, I'm going to have a new favorite, must read. I raced through this, gobbling it up and not wanting to stop. I already bought the next three. Such a great surprise and so different from his others on computers. Can't wait to see what other fiction he's written.
If the whole series is like this one, I'm going to have a new favorite, must read. I raced through this, gobbling it up and not wanting to stop. I already bought the next three. Such a great surprise and so different from his others on computers. Can't wait to see what other fiction he's written.
September 8, 2015
A page turner
It's rare to come across a tight well-written military novel especially one with navy SEALs, NSA and CIA agents. The story revolves around Scott Evers, a former agent, and others as a terrorist plot unfolds. The tension and drama of them dilemma makes this very hard to put down.
It's rare to come across a tight well-written military novel especially one with navy SEALs, NSA and CIA agents. The story revolves around Scott Evers, a former agent, and others as a terrorist plot unfolds. The tension and drama of them dilemma makes this very hard to put down.
March 26, 2014
Devil's Due is quite a good military thriller. Kind of sad ending to this first book though. I would like to see what happens to Scott later on in the other books. This one isn't a long read, part of it is because it's so well written.
January 3, 2015
fast moving and action packed
First in the series, short cliff hanger style well written military thriller that builds action and interest with every turn of the page. If there were any indie grammar issues, I roared right past them following the storyline.
First in the series, short cliff hanger style well written military thriller that builds action and interest with every turn of the page. If there were any indie grammar issues, I roared right past them following the storyline.
April 6, 2015
Five Stars
Great book! Great premise. Well written vans thought provoking. Definitely read the whole series. It's short part one of four parts, leaves you wanting more and totally worthwhile.
Great book! Great premise. Well written vans thought provoking. Definitely read the whole series. It's short part one of four parts, leaves you wanting more and totally worthwhile.
June 25, 2015
Good Read
Well written and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it hard to out down and couldn't stop turning pages!
Just discovered this author and so glad I did. I couldn't wait to start reading the second one. It's an edge of the seat book.
Well written and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it hard to out down and couldn't stop turning pages!
Just discovered this author and so glad I did. I couldn't wait to start reading the second one. It's an edge of the seat book.
June 27, 2015
Fast paced
This book had me interested from the start. Suspenseful, fast paced, lots of surprises. Surprised me with how well it was written and how action packed it was. Really love the characters. Lots of details.
This book had me interested from the start. Suspenseful, fast paced, lots of surprises. Surprised me with how well it was written and how action packed it was. Really love the characters. Lots of details.
June 27, 2015
Well done and interesting
I will be purchasing many more of his books. This page-turner pulls you in and never lets go. Great job creating memorable characters that I care about and are relatable.
I will be purchasing many more of his books. This page-turner pulls you in and never lets go. Great job creating memorable characters that I care about and are relatable.
July 30, 2015
Soooo glad I started this series!
A very good, well-written book. I enjoyed it immensely. Devil's Due welcomes you from the start with memorable characters in suspenseful and intriguing circumstances. The rapid progression of events makes it impossible to put down.
A very good, well-written book. I enjoyed it immensely. Devil's Due welcomes you from the start with memorable characters in suspenseful and intriguing circumstances. The rapid progression of events makes it impossible to put down.
July 28, 2015
Great read
I was gripped by this book from the start. I liked the main character, Scott Evers, He's a likeable guy caught in extraordinary circumstances. Tightly plotted and fast moving.
I was gripped by this book from the start. I liked the main character, Scott Evers, He's a likeable guy caught in extraordinary circumstances. Tightly plotted and fast moving.
August 5, 2015
Seriously Great Read
I just discovered Robert Stanek and his books, didn't even realize until today when a friend told me it's the same as writes the computer books that line my desk. If you like good writing and good stories don't hesitate to buy this book and any of his others.
I just discovered Robert Stanek and his books, didn't even realize until today when a friend told me it's the same as writes the computer books that line my desk. If you like good writing and good stories don't hesitate to buy this book and any of his others.
August 21, 2015
2nd read as good as first!
I read the whole series and found myself reading the whole thing again recently. Amazing how many clues I missed the first time. Possibly the best thriller series going, hope it never ends!
I read the whole series and found myself reading the whole thing again recently. Amazing how many clues I missed the first time. Possibly the best thriller series going, hope it never ends!
September 1, 2015
Fantastic writing, fascinating story
This mystery moves fast from the start and keep you on your toes. Scott is a character just about anyone can identify with. The sexual tensions between him and Edie made it even better.
This mystery moves fast from the start and keep you on your toes. Scott is a character just about anyone can identify with. The sexual tensions between him and Edie made it even better.
September 13, 2015
Great read with addictive action
All 4 episodes are great and if you like this you might as well get the omnibus, that way you can get the whole read and keep reading until your eyes bleed.
All 4 episodes are great and if you like this you might as well get the omnibus, that way you can get the whole read and keep reading until your eyes bleed.
September 13, 2015
Exciting, well-crafted thrill ride
The author Robert Stanek has crafted one of the most exciting thrillers I've come across. Start here and keep going till you get off the ride of your life.
The author Robert Stanek has crafted one of the most exciting thrillers I've come across. Start here and keep going till you get off the ride of your life.
September 8, 2015
Download and enjoy
I filled my kindle with books, and this is the best one of them all. Scott Evers is an agent on the run with a pregnant wife. Hi wife's connections to high places only bring more problems and no answers. The first in a series and good.
I filled my kindle with books, and this is the best one of them all. Scott Evers is an agent on the run with a pregnant wife. Hi wife's connections to high places only bring more problems and no answers. The first in a series and good.
September 11, 2015
It's really good
This is the first book I have read by Robert Stanek. This first in the series was being offered by Amazon for free, so I figured I'd give it a try. No worries there, it was fantastic.
This is the first book I have read by Robert Stanek. This first in the series was being offered by Amazon for free, so I figured I'd give it a try. No worries there, it was fantastic.
September 13, 2015
Warning: This series will hook you
Franciscan excellent book, well written and attention grabbing. The lead characters evoke your empathy and you can't help hoping they will unravel everything that's going on and won't meet a sudden end.
Franciscan excellent book, well written and attention grabbing. The lead characters evoke your empathy and you can't help hoping they will unravel everything that's going on and won't meet a sudden end.
September 13, 2015
Five Stars
Left me wanting more!!! It is so smart and thrilling. The character development and story arc left me breathless. As soon as I finished I bought the omnibus edition and kept reading.
Left me wanting more!!! It is so smart and thrilling. The character development and story arc left me breathless. As soon as I finished I bought the omnibus edition and kept reading.
October 1, 2015
Excellent
Fast moving thrill ride right from the first page. I had barely finished when I decided to get the omnibus. Definitely got a new favorite author, and a new favorite thriller series.
Fast moving thrill ride right from the first page. I had barely finished when I decided to get the omnibus. Definitely got a new favorite author, and a new favorite thriller series.
April 19, 2014
If you like you're reading hard and fast with lots of action, you're going to love Devil's Due. I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. This book is a real page-turner!
March 27, 2015
Fast-paced thrill ride
I really liked this story. It's so intense and made me think. Excited to read the next book in the series. Excellent, descriptive writing.
I really liked this story. It's so intense and made me think. Excited to read the next book in the series. Excellent, descriptive writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews