The Sword of God

John Milton #5

by Mark Dawson

John Milton has blood on his conscience.

He was an assassin for the British government for a decade until he got out. He treks into the Michigan wilderness for the solitude he needs to forget his guilt. He isn't looking for trouble, but trouble always seems to come looking for him.

Morten Lundquist, a man with his own dark secrets, is a deputy in the town of Truth. He finds himself investigating Milton, but Lundquist has no idea how dangerous his quarry is.

Double crossed and badly injured, Milton flees into the remote Porcupine Mountains with a posse on his tail. His enemies thought that they could hunt him down. They were wrong - and where John Milton is concerned, there are no second chances.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Action, Espionage, Crime, Suspense

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

For news and special offers join Mark's mailing list at:

http://eepurl.com/Cai5X

Mark Dawson was born in Lowestoft and grew up in Manchester and Chicago. He has worked as a lawyer and currently works in the London film industry. His first books, "The Art of Falling Apart" and "Subpoena Colada" have been published in multiple languages.

He is currently writing two series. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, "The Black Mile", deals with the (real life but little known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. "The Imposter" traces the journey of a criminal family (think The Sopranos in austerity London and you'd be on the right track).

The John Milton series features a disgruntled special agent who aims to help people to make amends for the terrible things that he has done. Mark, as a child of the 80s, will freely admit that he watched a lot of The Equalizer in his youth.

Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.

You can find him at www.markjdawson.com or www.facebook.com/markdawsonauthor.

Reviews

[Jennifer (Jaye) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*The Chase is On*

**4.5 Stars**
This instalment finds John Milton in a town called Truth in Michigan. The town Sheriff picks him up automatically thinking the worst of him, John has been trekking for days and looks like a vagrant. With the sheriff keen to get him out of town, as he drops Milton off Milton comes back. After cleaning himself up he decides to go to a bar for food. What the hell is wrong with Milton!!! wherever he goes trouble is waiting for him. 2 men end up on the wrong end of his fist then things go from bad to worse.

This is not just any town this town is full of a secret Militia Army who run around from town to town and have people infiltrated in all walks of life especially in law enforcement. Their aim under the guise of a warped form of religion is to get rid of all who do not fit the rules of their cause.

A FBI agent with her partner looking for a missing person stays on while her partner flies home. She witnesses how Milton hardly breaks a sweat disabling the men in the bar. But trouble comes for her too.

Milton is suddenly on the run from these dangerous men, he has no weapon and is in the forest with 10 men after him and dogs. What a fine mess he has got himself into, not to mention he has been shot in one arm and still he swears to kill them all. The men think it’s a slam dunk but an injured Milton is still as deadly. They have no idea what they are in for.

I made the mistake reading part of this before bed that was not a good idea. I read and listened to this one - David Thorpe does a grand job with all the characters.

[Book Addict Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sword of God was another gripping instalment in the John Milton series. If you are yet to meet the British Jack Reacher then you really should get around to reading this series. This wasn’t my favourite in the series so far (however the previous books have been that good that they will take some beating) but I enjoyed the further character development of Milton and also enjoyed reading about how he managed to stay alive during everything that was thrown at him here in this story. It wasn’t the most original tale that has been spun but it was the characterisation that stood out most to me. Milton a likeable hero and I am loving reading about him.

[Marleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If outdoors survival is your thing, then you will not be disappointed in this fifth John Milton book. Personally, The Sword of God (Milton #5) was not my cup of tea, especially as John Milton, who's been wandering (yes, on foot), in the Upper Peninsula, MI, and has, by happenstance, come across a group of white supremacists/militants who plan to commit acts of terror against their government in the name of God. Admittedly, for me that religious babbling as an excuse for violence is so not interesting, so not understandable, that I skipped those parts, to be honest. As for John trying to make it out alive being tracked by those dangerous lunatics, there's no doubt I root for Milton, but there was no element of surprise, no originality to this entire plot. We know what John Milton is capable of. So, yes, this story was a bit of a let-down. Milton's brief (sexual) encounter with Ellie Flowers, FBI Agent, was also redundant and misplaced, in my opinion. Anything but that would have been more believable.
No, not the best Milton.

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series, looking forward to next book

[Neats · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sword of God – Mark Dawson

This is my first encounter with John Milton and I know it won’t be my last! The author Mark Dawson was brought to my attention through an online book club and although I was a little dubious about going in on book five of a series, I needn’t have worried as the story reads well as a stand-alone and then leaves you wanting to go straight back in for book one.
John Milton has obviously got an intriguing past, ex-soldier and assassin and it seems like he’s a magnet for trouble despite being the good guy. He’s approached by a young girl, Mallory, who is desperately trying to get someone to help her find her vulnerable brother Arty who she think’s has been caught up with a group of bank robbers and is hiding out in the woods.
What happens next is a rollercoaster of non-stop action that I couldn’t tear myself away from. Would Milton find Arty? What would happen to FBI agent Flowers? Who exactly was involved with the militia group? The only way to find out the answers to these questions is to read the book and if you enjoy a fast paced, gritty read then I recommend that you get hold of a copy.

[Simon Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I began this book the music from Rambo First Blood was playing in my mind and indeed became even louder as Milton was 'escorted' out of town by the sheriff for no other reason than the way he looks.
Running foul of the sheriff is soon the least of Milton's worries, as a good deed leads to Milton betrayed, ambushed hurt and hunted in the mountain woods. But the posse have no idea who they are pursuing and soon the hunters become hunted!
With well rounded bad guys (none so dangerous as the devout) a good supporting cast, which includes an FBI agent who I hope we see more of at a later date this is a good book that manages to convey the desperation of the chase from both sides, great action, and a sublime ending means another great read.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Milton walks to Michigan, and is accosted by a small town sheriff. For a while, I thought I was getting a rehash of First Blood, but after some initial friction, Milton is trying to find some bank robbers out in the U.P.

This sends him up against one of the usual anti-government militias.

Not bad, even if the militia seems pretty inept.

[Barry who enjoys well-written thrillers, mysteries , & espionage & loathes romance, horror & supernat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not up to Dawson's standard.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. One of the better books in the series so far.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Milton is walking from Ohio to points west as the result of almost taking a drink (he tries to attend regular meetings of AA) beset as he is by demons from his past hits. Walking in the rainstorm in the Upper Peninsula, he’s given a lift to a campsite by the local sheriff who sees him as just another drifter waiting to cause trouble. Being a contrary person, Milton walks back to town and walks into the local hotel to clean up and then to the local bar and grill for dinner. There, he is seen taking down a couple of very large tourists by himself, by Mallory and two FBI agents. (He’s also seen by the sheriff leading to some momentary unpleasantness that we need not go into here.) The FBI and Mallory are both seeking a group of modern-day outlaws they think might be hold up somewhere in the UP; Mallory only because she believes her “simple” brother may have hooked up with them.

To make a long introduction short, Mallory and one of the FBI agents (Ellie), follow Milton (who agrees to lead them reluctantly) into the back-country to look for Mallory’s brother and the gang. Turns out to be a Christian militia determined to attack the federal government.

Sound like a Reacher story? It certainly has much of the same flavor although personally I like Milton better than Reacher, but both Lee Child and Mark Dawson write more than competently. A very good story until the ending which is ridiculously over-the-top. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm absolutely loving this series, and don't mind at all that Milton is a fairly obvious copy of Jack Reacher, since that's one of my other favourite series. This one has a fairly standard Reacher plot: travelling across America with no particular destination in mind, about 3 months after the events of the last book, our hero walks into a small town, is told to leave by the Sheriff because he looks like a vagrant, ignores this advice and is arrested after coming off best in an unprovoked bar fight. After straightening things out with the sheriff based on a shared military history, Milton is followed by a young girl who wants him to help her find her special needs brother, who has gone missing in the woods alongside some local bank robbers. While he doesn't really want to get involved, Milton feels the need to atone for his past crimes by helping people, so they set off, along with an attractive female FBI agent who is on the trail of the robbers.

So yes it was fairly predictable with standard nutty bad guys and the obligatory mini-romance, but it was well written and exciting with great action sequences, and we got to see Milton use more of his past SAS skills here as he has to survive in the forest and take down the pursuing psychos. I've read this in a day and could happily go straight on to the next one, although won't because I need to both pace myself and read some paperbacks.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Milton has made his way back to the US where he is currently wandering around the Michigan wilderness, with no particular destination in mind. Stopping in the small town of Truth, he agrees to help a desperate girl try to find her brother out in the woods and ends up antagonizing members of a heavily armed militia plotting an attack in the process, who promptly proceed to chase him, injured, outnumbered and outgunned, through said woods.

Rather a letdown after the far more intriguing and complex previous book. This one was too longwinded - that chase through the woods dragged on forever, and there just wasn't enough plot for 424 pages. Added to that, the bad guys in this one were such flatout stereotypes - y'know, your run of the mill militant rightwing Christian fundamentalist nutcases - that it was almost laughable, and the action was even more ridiculously over the top than usual. Judging from the first five books in this series, I seem to like the ones not set in the US better in general - the world only needs one Jack Reacher-esque guy tromping around America and getting into trouble, just let Milton do it somewhere else.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was book 5 in the John Milton series, this book reads well as a stand alone book too. He might not be sought by the British Secret Service any more, but trouble has a way of finding Milton. Even when he is trekking across America, and finds himself in a small town. After getting arrested for a fight in a bar, things seem to spiral out of control.
A young girl, whose brother has gone missing, witnessed the fight and seeks Milton's help. The FBI are also in town and on the trail of some bank robbers. Could the two be connected? Add in a religious militia, and it all makes for an action packed thriller. The militia just don't know who they are dealing with though, and the hunted can become the hunter.
This was another excellent book in the John Milton series, and each one seems to be getting better.

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook - 12:35 Hours (12 CD's) - Narrator: David Thorpe
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
I was somewhat disappointed with this novel, #5 in the John Milton series. The first three or so CD's were entertaining but I did wonder what the next eight or so CD's were going to contribute to the current story, which seemed pretty much already told. I needn't have worried because Mark Dawson launched into a new story, an "End Times" conspiracy full of vegenance, murder and mayhem. Hero John Milton was even more heroic than he had been in previous novels and finally, after calling on all his SAS experience and knowledge displayed in books #1 to #4 to vanquish his enemies and "God's Soldiers", he shoulders arms and drifts off into the sunset. Barely an OK read that needed several CD's worth of editing.

[Keith Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing

After thoroughly enjoying the previous books in the series, I found this one a grave disappointment. It is far too wannabe ex SAS, Chris Ryan, "aren't I clever and hard" for my taste. I had enjoyed the underlying vulnerability of Milton's character in the earlier books. I find this one rather too desperate to impress.
Please get Milton back to town where he doesn't need to go all Bear Gillies on us.

[Giles Burrows · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favourite John Milton to date. The plot borrows more than a little from 'First Blood' which is no bad thing. I was going to to give 5* but I found the ending just a bit too protracted given the inevitability of the outcome.
4.5/5

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best in the series so far. Good storyline which kept me gripped through to the last page.

[Laura Peden · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[ღ Carol jinx~☆~☔ʚϊɞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Mark Dawson series is such a thrill to read. I love John Milton, the assassin. Only problem is I'm staying up too late because I just want to read one or two more chapters. It's addictive.

[Sue Garwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Injured and soaked through most of the time, John Milton staggers through the woods. High body count and quite bloody.

[Twobchelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was nonstop action… I was exhausted for Milton by the time it ended! Entertaining!

[Kagsy Wagsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Sword of God' by Mark Dawson

John Milton, a man with a history of violence, an assassin, is trying to put some distance between his past and the future. However hard he tries to avoid it, trouble always finds him. After ignoring Truth's sheriffs warning to keep on travelling through the town, trouble finds him in a bar and he is soon arrested and on his way to the cells.
Released the next morning he is tracked down by Mallory Stanton, a local teen, one of the witnesses from the brawl in Johnny's bar. Mallory had been trying to get help from FBI officers to find her vulnerable brother Arty, who is in hiding with a group of bank robbers the FBI are chasing, camped up in the mountains. After the town's police department had brushed her information off Mallory saw that Milton could handle himself and she needed his help.
Reluctantly Milton agrees to search for Arty. Together with Ellie, one of the FBI agents they set off into the mountains.
This gripping, fast moving story builds, uncovering the layers of a plot to overthrow the US government by a Christian militia group with deep roots in the military, police and local infrastructure. Will this be more trouble than Milton can handle?
I couldn't put this book down. Well done Mark Dawson, this is not my usual genre but I'm so glad your writing was flagged up by a friend - now purchased more of your work - good luck with the next.

[D.F. Haley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this for 99c, and it was worth what I paid for it. I felt slightly suckered in, because the writing is actually pretty good, and the characters initially seem appealing. However, when the real action starts and the bodies start piling up, credibility utterly flees. In fact it gets just plain silly. Our hero ends up spending most of the story in the woods, weaponless, suffering from blood loss, losing the use of one arm, yet somehow he can climb cliffs and still run 7-minute miles after being awake for 40 hours. He kills dozens of people, swings from the rear doors of a tractor trailer rig, and shoots arrows with sticks of dynamite strapped on them. Not all at once, but one suspects that in the author's mind that he Could.

Save me, I'm having a giggle attack.

[Jim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Mark Dawson shows his writing strength in the way he describes the settings. The reader feels he/she is on the trail in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

A couple of good plot twists make this story above average and, for those who enjoy a good action thriller, worth the read. And while this is part of the John Milton series by Dawson, there is no reason a new reader can’t jump right in and then go back and catch up. There are not enough references to previous novels to cause the reader to feel lost.

Fans of the writing of David Morrell will recognize an opening very similar to one of Morrell’s more famous novels.

[Kimberly Komst · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic!

Excellent read! Enough technical info to keep me interested and tons of action....this would make a killer movie! I should be folding laundry and doing something with my hair but screw that.... I'm downloading another John Milton!

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, although I doubt I'll read more of this author. It wasn't that well written, and a couple of the characters were not as smart as they should have been.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no denying Mark Dawson's tremendous skill at spinning a yarn that drags you along through each threat, cliff hanger, and brush with death until the rescued are safe, the hero is restored, the relationships resolved, and your curiosity about Milton's next adventure locked and loaded. I've read Miltons one through five now in fairly short order, a testament to that curiosity and his skills. Having said this, I am a mildly piqued by another feature of this and other Milton titles: a lack of attention to certain contextual details. In The Sword of God, Milton is rudely interupted as he journeys across Michigan's Upper Peninsulaby the misadventures of a radical-right militia brigade intent on mayhem. For no obvious reason, two references are made to the times of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and both are incorrect. In the first, hikers come upon an old car rusting away in the woods. Someone refers to the car as a Model A Ford, from the days when T.R. was president (1901-1909). The 1928 Model A was introduced in 1927, eight years after T.R. died. The author probably intended the car to be a Model T (1903-1927). In another reference, a character's father is said to have served in T.R.'s Rough Riders. This could only have been in 1898, making the father much too old to be the person described as the character's dad. In The Driver, Milton #3, freeways are referenced as a Southern Californian would, as in "the 101" (rather than just "101" or "Bayshore"). No self-respecting Bay Area resident would say "the 101" or "Frisco," also used, in referring to San Francisco. I can't say that these errors have cost Dawson a single sale or fan. Looking quickly through the reviews of Dawson #5, I don't see that anyone else picked up on the Model A and T.R. references. I'm just being a stickler for accuracy, I know, but this type of error makes me pause and becomes a countervailing force to the magnetism propelling me along in the story. Nonetheless and sufficiently primed by the author, I am ready to start #6!

[John A. Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we follow Milton on his attempts to escape his own demons, we find him in small town Michigan, fighting to avoid drinking. He walks into the town of Truth, and the sheriff takes an immediate dislike to him as a vagrant, and escorts him out of town, but Milton wants a warm bed and a hot dinner, and he decides to ignore the hint.
He finds himself in trouble after yet another bar-room brawl which he didn’t start (he is rather unlucky on this score it seems), and spends the night in the local lock-up. However, when he is approached by a young girl after he is released, he agrees to help her find her brother, and becomes embroiled in a nasty conspiracy involving bank robbers and a group of locals. Milton is hurt and forced to flee into the back country to avoid the local towns lunch mob, living off the land as he works out how he can straighten things out. As one might expect, Milton’s pursuers have no idea what they are dealing with, and the soon become the hunted.
Overall a pretty good outing for Milton. There is quite a bit about hiking, living off the land and such to fill out the story, and we see Milton using the skills he learned in the SAS to live off the land, and fight his way to freedom. There is plenty of action, but it is difficult to say too much more without ruining the story, which is reasonably carefully concealed in the summary above, and most of the other reviews, so suffice to say I enjoyed this outing and will be looking for #6.

[Angela Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The momentum continues.

John Milton is now a free man. No longer being hunted by the British Government, he is still getting used to the fact that he doesn't have to hide.

He never intended on stopping in the town of Truth. A brief encounter with the local sheriff gave a clear and friendly warning he (and any other vagrant or drifter) was not welcome in town, but the weather was bad so he came into town anyway. All he was looking for was a bed for the night and a good meal. What he ended up with was a night in jail.

After clearing up misunderstandings with local law enforcement, he intends to head out of town but is instead followed by a young local girl who insists she is desparate for his help to find her missing brother. Nobody in town will believe he is really missing, or in any danger, but she knows something is very wrong and believes someone like John can help her.

Before he has time to think, John finds himself paired up not only with her but a local FBI agent as the hunt for a missing person becomes something much bigger and more dangerous. Action packed right to the end to see who manages to come out alive.

I listed to the audio version of this book and found the narrator to be suited to the story.

Am I glad I read it - it was ok.
Was it a waste of my time - no.
Would I sit down and read it all over again - probably not.
Would I read more by this author based on this book - yes.

[Greg Strom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the convoluted tale with more than its fair share of suspended disbelievable moments. It all starts with a bar fight after sheriff tried to keep our hero out of town for his own good (too bad his premonition didn't save him from crazy deputy) It spiralled quickly out of control when a 15 yo kid asks him to trek into woods to save autistic savant brother from some gang of thieves. Add the FBI woman (ridiculously bickering with her partner over nothing to set some kind of stage) and there you have the rag tag bunch ready to take down the sword of god. Interesting symbolism and connection to the white supremist faux religious types we have parading around now, hopefully ready to find out that polite society wants no part of their mental illness, too bad John isn't around to smarten them up himself, but he was lucky to escape in a junk trailer shot up like some scene from The Gauntlet, and falling from speeding semi filled with explosives. Seems he is trying to one up himself with every effort and unfortunately has reached end of line with me. I will take my chances with Rose and see what she is up to, wondering if the sheriffs kid gets sorted out and trailer kids find a place to call home.