Tarantula

by Dax Xenos, Banning K. Lary (Screenplay)

SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION Contains the novel and screenplay On a routine mission deep in the jungles of Colombia, D. E. A. Special Agent William Powers falls into a trap of intrigue and black magic. Branded with a mysterious tattoo bestowed with deadly supernatural force, Powers must seek ablution before he can confront billionaire drug lord Ernesto “Tarantula” Cortobes and bring down his secret empire that threatens to destroy truth, justice and the American way. “Be prepared to suspend disbelief and take a wild romp through the underworld.” — E. A. W. Smith, author of BENEDICT’S WARS “A first-rate supernatural thriller.” — Richard Guimond, author of KOBO “An amazing amalgam of Carlos Castenada, Dean Koontz and John D. MacDonald .” — Milos Fortunato, author of BIG MONEY

308 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2013

About the author

Dax Xenos is the pen name of author who has made a career creating criminal justice-related educational documentaries seen by millions of people around the world in colleges, universities, institutions and government, including: American Law: How It Works; Civil Court Process and Procedure; Cognitive Psychology; Criminal Court Process and Procedure; Culture Identity Behavior; Employee Theft; History of American Criminal Justice; History of Psychology; History of World Criminal Justice; How to Tell if Someone Is Lying; Identifying the Violet At-Risk Student; Interpreting Nonverbal Communication; Loan Fraud; Money Laundering; Psychology of Criminal Behavior; Psychology, Criminality & Incarceration in America; Psychometrics I: Personality & Forensic Assessment; Psychometrics II: Intelligence & Ability Assessment; Religion Politics and Law; Robbery: The Aftermath; Teen Violence; Terrorism: Weapon of Fear; The Belli Tapes: Winning At Trial; The Extortion Set; The History of Sociology. He holds a PhD in psychology was a licensed general contractor in Florida. He learned about incarceration first-hand in a Texas prison where, as an inmate, he worked in the new construction office before becoming editor of the prison newspaper. His many publications and awards include a PEN fiction award for his short story, “Death of a Duke.”

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this as a First Reads giveaway which I entered because I liked the plot description given. A very fast read; no thinking caps required here. You're plunged right into the story on the first page with no set up, which is a good thing in thrillers. Plenty of action and a unique twist on the cartel theme with Brujas and black magic prominent. No spoilers but I liked the ending; not what I expected but it fit the story well.

I would have gone 4 stars on this if the writing style was more to my taste. I'm sure there are plenty of action fans out there who will love this, but for me it seemed geared to attract teenage boys. I almost expected to see captions during some of the fight scenes (you know, like from the old Batman series -- "BAM" "POW" "CRASH"! I'm not a prude and I do read books with adult themes (you would hope so), but the sex scenes made me uncomfortable. Definitely not geared to a woman's perspective, with all the female characters, other than Powell's angelic wife, being complete whores who will do anything with anyone for money. Kind of James Bond, but sleazier.

Short and sweet: If you want a fast-paced action thriller and you're not picky about the prose, go for it.

[Casey May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, actually I felt like it was more of a teen book than an adult thriller. It was a decent read but I like reading a bit more advanced novels than this.