Maximum Damage

Grant Valor #1

by Jack Mars

In MAXIMUM DAMAGE (Book #1), former Army Ranger Grant Valor faces a deadly mission when he is recruited to stop a surgical strike on crucial waterways that can lead to global collapse. As Grant and the team track dangerous adversaries across continents, every move could trigger devastation or avert disaster.

Yet his team, composed of outcasts as willing to bend the rules as he is, is up for any challenge.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2025

About the author

Jack Mars is author of the bestselling LUKE STONE thriller series, which include the suspense thrillers ANY MEANS NECESSARY (book #1), OATH OF OFFICE (book #2) and SITUATION ROOM (book #3).

Reviews

[Peter Nader · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was HORRIBLE!!!
30 chapters and 25 had a knife fight.
Really???
The story - for want of a better description - was as basic as possible.
The good guys went to a location and were involved in a skirmish.
Excruciatingly described in a blow by blow account that went on f o r e v e r.
Rinse and repeat.
It's a shame there's no easy way to fast forward an epub.
Nevertheless, for all my previous blinders,mistakes and indiscretions karma has had its revenge.
I have rated this book a VERY generous 1.

[Mr N]

Over the Top

A covert organisation with its first recruits a bunch of professionals at the top of their game trying to take down a very nasty bad guy. The team needs to learn to trust each other and work as a cohesive unit. Hmm!

The Gung ho storyline, with our main protagonists seemingly indestructible, reduces the credibility of this book. Grant, at one point appears to have three hands. He has a rifle in one, a handgun in the second but somehow manages to grab and throw a knife at the same time!

Could have been better.

[David Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Characters and Great Action

My attention was glued to this book from start to finish. Superb characters and plot. Whenever we need these kind of people in the real world, I'm glad we have them.

[Mark Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Compelling and adventurous. Highly recommended for anyone who is looking for excitement and suspense. Looking forward to more books like this.

[jim craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action

There’s more action than most thrillers. Good characters that fill their roles. Mars a potential series to match his first one.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible.

[Gerard Dekeizer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

A very exciting read , with lots of turns and twists in the plot . Looking forward to
a good series .

[Kim A. Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

Lots of action and intrigue. And bloodshed. A nitty gritty thriller and the good guys come out on top this tkne

[patricia sendelbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Jack Mars. We all need a super hero.

[Ben Hirsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars is a gift. So I changed it. This team? Is comprised of special forces personnel that were kicked out due to insubordination (or failing to obey an order) now most of the time they disobeyed orders to save lives. Now they are thrown together and twenty pages after meeting each other ( no intensive training not any significant team building) they are the ones sent to get victor who is detonating dirty bombs etc. not seals not other special forces these guys. One or more loses 90% of their blood yet is ready for more in a week. This was horrible don’t read any more of these

this guy writes the Troy Stark books, which are very good. interesting

[Philip Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking

Really good read this. Lots of action with a bunch of total badasses. Great storyline and very well written. A true action story.

[Garry Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish…
I could not stay focused on the storyline. 3OCT25

Tied again to read the book. Finished it, but realized I should have left it in the "DNF" stack.
Since I finished the book, I upgraded the rating to 2 stars.
Will not continue to read the series. 1NOV25