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Eric Ritter Spy Thriller #2
Into Darkness
A deadly ambush leaves two Soldiers in terrorist hands, and their only chance at rescue is the connection between Captain Eric Ritter and the Al Qaeda mastermind behind the attack.
To find the lost Soldiers, Ritter must ally with the Caliban Program, a covert arm of the CIA that gives him remit to use any means necessary in his search; means forbidden by his oaths as an officer.
Written in the brutally honest voice of an Iraq War veteran; Fox's experiences bring an edge of pathos and undeniable authenticity to the book.
To find the lost Soldiers, Ritter must ally with the Caliban Program, a covert arm of the CIA that gives him remit to use any means necessary in his search; means forbidden by his oaths as an officer.
Written in the brutally honest voice of an Iraq War veteran; Fox's experiences bring an edge of pathos and undeniable authenticity to the book.
- GenresMilitary Fiction
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2014
27 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Richard Fox
131 books614 followersRichard Fox is a Nebula Award nominated author, and winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, author of The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series, and other novels in the military history, thriller and space opera genres.
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.
The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning
Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde
Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns
The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor
The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.
The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning
Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde
Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns
The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor
The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 25, 2014
You can definitely tell that this novel was written by a veteran. There are so many small details of a soldiers life in Iraq that the author got right, down to the energy drinks that they used to hand out over there. There were so many moments of déjà vu while I read this book. It might be things that other readers don’t pick up on and so can’t appreciate, but the detail lends to the world building. The novel is about an insurgent strike against US troops on patrol in Iraq and the subsequent search to find their missing bodies. Eric Ritter is part of a secret CIA program working in Iraq when he is assigned the mission to find the missing soldiers. The novel switches back and forth between the insurgents and the US soldiers almost seamlessly and delivers both views with the same quality as a modern war movie. This is definitely a book that hardcore military fiction fans would want to pick up.
January 28, 2014
Best war thriller I've read in a while.
Spy thriller, war story, mystery adventure- all those labels fit this tale, but still don’t do it justice. Perhaps, as a vet myself, I’m somewhat biased and overly impressed by the author’s attention to detail and willingness to tackle tough subjects. Into Darkness pulls no punches and sharply contrasts “Big Army politics” with the field realities of fighting a 21st century insurgency.
This is no jingoistic, “America rocks” story. Due to the complicated nature of each character, I’m still not sure who really was the bad guy. The Al Qaeda warlord or the supposed hero? The author neither glorifies nor laments modern war; he simply shows it how it really goes down. The tongue-in-cheek writing style and the shadowy organization pulling strings behind the scenes prevents the reader from becoming lost in the war though. This also helps keep the story fresh and racing along.
I found the ending a little too dark for my personal tastes. The main character’s personal development arc is also incredibly steep. To the point where you get annoyed with him for becoming an extremist. Of course, isn't that a hallmark of great writing? These aren't simple characters; both the “good” and “bad” people truly come alive. It’s very hard to stay emotionally disconnected!
FYI:
Of all the military fiction I've ever read, none has captured the realism and immediacy of this book. The writer struck a fine balance between appealing to veterans and lay-folk alike. Details of weapons and tactics are watered down enough so as not to drown people in acronyms, but the meticulous detailing of every minor aspect of day-to-day deployment life gives vets that “he gets it” flavor they crave.
Spy thriller, war story, mystery adventure- all those labels fit this tale, but still don’t do it justice. Perhaps, as a vet myself, I’m somewhat biased and overly impressed by the author’s attention to detail and willingness to tackle tough subjects. Into Darkness pulls no punches and sharply contrasts “Big Army politics” with the field realities of fighting a 21st century insurgency.
This is no jingoistic, “America rocks” story. Due to the complicated nature of each character, I’m still not sure who really was the bad guy. The Al Qaeda warlord or the supposed hero? The author neither glorifies nor laments modern war; he simply shows it how it really goes down. The tongue-in-cheek writing style and the shadowy organization pulling strings behind the scenes prevents the reader from becoming lost in the war though. This also helps keep the story fresh and racing along.
I found the ending a little too dark for my personal tastes. The main character’s personal development arc is also incredibly steep. To the point where you get annoyed with him for becoming an extremist. Of course, isn't that a hallmark of great writing? These aren't simple characters; both the “good” and “bad” people truly come alive. It’s very hard to stay emotionally disconnected!
FYI:
Of all the military fiction I've ever read, none has captured the realism and immediacy of this book. The writer struck a fine balance between appealing to veterans and lay-folk alike. Details of weapons and tactics are watered down enough so as not to drown people in acronyms, but the meticulous detailing of every minor aspect of day-to-day deployment life gives vets that “he gets it” flavor they crave.
January 24, 2014
I found this book after reading a short story by the same author. Wow, man I'm glad I took a look at Into Darkness.
I'm an Iraq vet ('04-'05) and this is the Iraq novel I've been waiting for. This guy gets it. This guy knows what it was like being over there and dealing with Iraqis on a day to day basis. For the first time (and I've done my best to find any and all fiction about Iraq), I've found a book that I can tell people to read to know a bit more about the war.
There's an Iraqi side of the story too, which is a frigging miracle as far as I'm concerned.
The story clips along at a good pace, and there's always a reason to keep flipping the pages.
For the main guy in the book, Ritter, he had a hard row to hoe. He wanted to find the missing Soldiers, but there was no right and just way to do it. So he made some...less than ethical decisions. Was he right? I think so, but that's my take on it. Your mileage may very.
There are a couple moral moments in the book that would make good ethical discussions for folks still in the service. Do you shoot the donkey (read the book, you'll get it)? What do you do with a civilians on the battlefield? What if an ally has American blood on his hands?
One thing I liked, there are female Soldiers in the book and they're a pivotal part of the story, not just window dressing for the sake of a love interest. There's a part when you think something romantic is about to take over the story, but it get's crushed in a pretty funny way.
The CIA spooks from the Caliban Program, and they want Ritter, for some reason. It's a good subplot and I want to see it resolved in sequels, if there is one.
I'm an Iraq vet ('04-'05) and this is the Iraq novel I've been waiting for. This guy gets it. This guy knows what it was like being over there and dealing with Iraqis on a day to day basis. For the first time (and I've done my best to find any and all fiction about Iraq), I've found a book that I can tell people to read to know a bit more about the war.
There's an Iraqi side of the story too, which is a frigging miracle as far as I'm concerned.
The story clips along at a good pace, and there's always a reason to keep flipping the pages.
For the main guy in the book, Ritter, he had a hard row to hoe. He wanted to find the missing Soldiers, but there was no right and just way to do it. So he made some...less than ethical decisions. Was he right? I think so, but that's my take on it. Your mileage may very.
There are a couple moral moments in the book that would make good ethical discussions for folks still in the service. Do you shoot the donkey (read the book, you'll get it)? What do you do with a civilians on the battlefield? What if an ally has American blood on his hands?
One thing I liked, there are female Soldiers in the book and they're a pivotal part of the story, not just window dressing for the sake of a love interest. There's a part when you think something romantic is about to take over the story, but it get's crushed in a pretty funny way.
The CIA spooks from the Caliban Program, and they want Ritter, for some reason. It's a good subplot and I want to see it resolved in sequels, if there is one.
July 21, 2016
I give it 3.5 stars.
I liked the book, but feel that it needed another round of feedback from an editor/focus-group before publishing. The problems were with the story line, and not so much spelling or grammar (not that I would catch either of those - not my strong suit).
The story jumped around a bit and there were a couple of times where it referenced something as if it had previously introduced. Part of that is probably because this book is part of a series, and I guess it is always difficult to know how much back story to put into a book when it has already been covered elsewhere. Part of it was just because of inadequate editing.
As I got further into the book I got caught up in the story and those issues bothered me less. The level of detail about Iraq is very rich. The author had me cringing a couple of times, which I intend as a complement.
Full Disclosure: I am a Goodreads author and my books may or may not be reviewed by the author of this book. This review is my honest reaction to the book, and there has been no quid pro quo between authors to exchange good reviews.
I liked the book, but feel that it needed another round of feedback from an editor/focus-group before publishing. The problems were with the story line, and not so much spelling or grammar (not that I would catch either of those - not my strong suit).
The story jumped around a bit and there were a couple of times where it referenced something as if it had previously introduced. Part of that is probably because this book is part of a series, and I guess it is always difficult to know how much back story to put into a book when it has already been covered elsewhere. Part of it was just because of inadequate editing.
As I got further into the book I got caught up in the story and those issues bothered me less. The level of detail about Iraq is very rich. The author had me cringing a couple of times, which I intend as a complement.
Full Disclosure: I am a Goodreads author and my books may or may not be reviewed by the author of this book. This review is my honest reaction to the book, and there has been no quid pro quo between authors to exchange good reviews.
February 5, 2014
First off, I have to admit that this book is completely out of my comfort zone. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but it was definitely a page turner! It's action-packed suspense, but also deals with difficult moral and ethical issues of war. I had a tough time with the graphic descriptions of violence, but I got a glimpse of a world that I know very little about. I did find myself wishing I'd read the prequel first, as I felt I was missing details that should already be known, but found it to be less of an issue as the storyline progressed. The character development left me wanting to know more, and I'm looking forward to the next book!
April 15, 2014
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Although I'm not usually a fan of war stories, the story told in this novel kept my interest. The characters were likable and a few of the deaths made me cry. The deceit shown by the various Iraqis was chilling. It seems like it was every man or woman for themselves. Everyone seemed to have their own agenda. Ritter was a man with many secrets of his own. He was able to think quickly when there was unexpected action and his quick actions were able to save lives and the mission. Although the soldiers they were seeking were dead, they were able to recover the bodies and avenge the death of one of their. I really enjoyed this novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2014
Being retired military myself you learn to appreciate books like this. This book is a work of fiction but had the realistic details and facts that make it very accurate. Nothing over the top, the weapons, jargon, acronyms etc are all spot on. I am.hoping the author continues with this series it has an awful lot of meat to it and could go a very long way. so if your a Mitch Rapp Gabriel Allen fan then do yourself a favor and read this one. A very solid 4.5 stars.... I will be waiting patiently for the next installment. Thank you Mr Fox for a very nice read and 2 days of inexpensive entertainment.
March 30, 2014
Loved It!
Being retired military myself you learn to appreciate books like this. This book is a work of fiction but had the realistic details and facts that make it very accurate. Nothing over the top, the weapons, jargon, acronyms etc are all spot on. I am.hoping the author continues with this series it has an awful lot of meat to it and could go a very long way. so if your a Mitch Rapp Gabriel Allen fan then do yourself a favor and read this one. A very solid 4.5 stars.... I will be waiting patiently for the next installment. Thank you Mr Fox for a very nice read and 2 days of inexpensive entertainment.
Being retired military myself you learn to appreciate books like this. This book is a work of fiction but had the realistic details and facts that make it very accurate. Nothing over the top, the weapons, jargon, acronyms etc are all spot on. I am.hoping the author continues with this series it has an awful lot of meat to it and could go a very long way. so if your a Mitch Rapp Gabriel Allen fan then do yourself a favor and read this one. A very solid 4.5 stars.... I will be waiting patiently for the next installment. Thank you Mr Fox for a very nice read and 2 days of inexpensive entertainment.
May 24, 2015
A page turner for sure. Well set with great details of military life in Iraq. Compelling characters for the most part, with a plot that seems both realistic and a bit fiction at the same time - pretty much what you want if you want to read a good action novel set in a conflict you actually experienced such as I did. The trajectory of the protagonist is intriguing in that it doesn't hold to many formulas for redemption amidst darkness...or does it? It poses the great question regarding special operations units tactics and policies having to resort to actions that the Army/military at large would abhor. A good read.
As noted in a couple of other reviews I did find the kindle version to have a few typos that cleared editing but this shouldn't take away the potential of the writing and story.
As noted in a couple of other reviews I did find the kindle version to have a few typos that cleared editing but this shouldn't take away the potential of the writing and story.
February 6, 2016
A great second book .
The making of a spy. Book one was like mixing the bread dough and into Darkness was like throwing it into the oven at 450 degrees. I would recommend the first two books to anyone who loves military action and adventure. I was sad to see that the next two books are just short stories.
The making of a spy. Book one was like mixing the bread dough and into Darkness was like throwing it into the oven at 450 degrees. I would recommend the first two books to anyone who loves military action and adventure. I was sad to see that the next two books are just short stories.
July 24, 2015
Great Writing
Very readable and at least possible. The story rings true even if fiction, our is it? I will look for other writings from Mr. Fox.
Very readable and at least possible. The story rings true even if fiction, our is it? I will look for other writings from Mr. Fox.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews