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Origin
The world on fire with violence against innocents.
In places where the U.S. military cannot become embroiled.
If only there was a team that could go in anyway.
Now there is.
Navy SEAL Jason Kromer is the tip of the U.S. military’s spear . . . until a sniper/assassination mission goes pear-shaped and his friend is severely wounded—thanks to Jason’s hesitation.
Guilt consumes Jason and he quits the military, thinking that his days of being a warrior are gone.
But along comes a mysterious billionaire who is putting together a very special covert ops team. Its to go into forbidden combat zones on high-tech missions of mercy. And the billionaire wants Jason to lead that team.
Two problems with 1) The team is honor-bound to use only non-lethal weapons (“Are you insane?”) and 2) everyone on the team is a Christian.
Trouble is, Jason and God haven’t been on speaking terms since the accident.
To make it worse, not everyone on the team is even former military. Oh, there’s an ex-Green Beret and a former Marine Force Recon man, but there are women on the team—albeit very hot women—and a freaking teenager. This has instant death written all over it.
Then again, maybe instant death is just what Jason deserves.
So Jason has to whip this team together and get to Kazakhstan, where a civil war has put a group of orphans in danger. Fine. Great.
It’s the perfect way to get himself killed.
This is book 1 in the Operation Firebrand series.
** Previously published in 2002 under the title Firebrand. **
In the tradition of the best adventure pulp novels.
Excerpt from Operation Firebrand—Origin
Rubble covered the ground as if a giant toddler had come in and knocked everything over. Bricks, upended furniture, burned rafters, discarded weapons, and plain old trash littered the ground exactly as they had in other war-torn cities. Where buildings still stood, most were on the brink of collapse. Some were missing corners, some were blackened by smoke, and some were gone completely. Jason could see stars through the wall of one of the dingy white apartment buildings that lined the street.
Jason and Trieu reached the front of the orphanage. It had burned almost to the ground. A brick husk remained to mark the general layout of the building. The walls had five feet of solid concrete at the bottom. The first ten rows of pink bricks remained in places.
Jason signaled for Trieu to take cover and watch behind him while he went inside the ruins. She crouched against the wall. Jason stepped through the entryway.
It didn’t look like anyone could’ve survived this fire if they’d been here when it happened. Everything that had been on the upper story was represented in the pile of dark rubble before him. The infrared imagers in his goggles gave him a green monochrome view of the destruction. He saw furniture amid the heap of ash and overturned desks, chunks of couch stuffing, a blackened refrigerator, and dozens of metal bed frames.
Jason’s stomach constricted. In his mind’s eye he saw dozens of orphan girls having pillow fights on these beds. The frames were so tiny. Suddenly this wasn’t a cut-and-dried FedEx op Now it was a rescue mission.
It was only that, before, the kids were just packages to be delivered. Now they were little girls who slept in little steel beds. It made a difference somehow.
In places where the U.S. military cannot become embroiled.
If only there was a team that could go in anyway.
Now there is.
Navy SEAL Jason Kromer is the tip of the U.S. military’s spear . . . until a sniper/assassination mission goes pear-shaped and his friend is severely wounded—thanks to Jason’s hesitation.
Guilt consumes Jason and he quits the military, thinking that his days of being a warrior are gone.
But along comes a mysterious billionaire who is putting together a very special covert ops team. Its to go into forbidden combat zones on high-tech missions of mercy. And the billionaire wants Jason to lead that team.
Two problems with 1) The team is honor-bound to use only non-lethal weapons (“Are you insane?”) and 2) everyone on the team is a Christian.
Trouble is, Jason and God haven’t been on speaking terms since the accident.
To make it worse, not everyone on the team is even former military. Oh, there’s an ex-Green Beret and a former Marine Force Recon man, but there are women on the team—albeit very hot women—and a freaking teenager. This has instant death written all over it.
Then again, maybe instant death is just what Jason deserves.
So Jason has to whip this team together and get to Kazakhstan, where a civil war has put a group of orphans in danger. Fine. Great.
It’s the perfect way to get himself killed.
This is book 1 in the Operation Firebrand series.
** Previously published in 2002 under the title Firebrand. **
In the tradition of the best adventure pulp novels.
Excerpt from Operation Firebrand—Origin
Rubble covered the ground as if a giant toddler had come in and knocked everything over. Bricks, upended furniture, burned rafters, discarded weapons, and plain old trash littered the ground exactly as they had in other war-torn cities. Where buildings still stood, most were on the brink of collapse. Some were missing corners, some were blackened by smoke, and some were gone completely. Jason could see stars through the wall of one of the dingy white apartment buildings that lined the street.
Jason and Trieu reached the front of the orphanage. It had burned almost to the ground. A brick husk remained to mark the general layout of the building. The walls had five feet of solid concrete at the bottom. The first ten rows of pink bricks remained in places.
Jason signaled for Trieu to take cover and watch behind him while he went inside the ruins. She crouched against the wall. Jason stepped through the entryway.
It didn’t look like anyone could’ve survived this fire if they’d been here when it happened. Everything that had been on the upper story was represented in the pile of dark rubble before him. The infrared imagers in his goggles gave him a green monochrome view of the destruction. He saw furniture amid the heap of ash and overturned desks, chunks of couch stuffing, a blackened refrigerator, and dozens of metal bed frames.
Jason’s stomach constricted. In his mind’s eye he saw dozens of orphan girls having pillow fights on these beds. The frames were so tiny. Suddenly this wasn’t a cut-and-dried FedEx op Now it was a rescue mission.
It was only that, before, the kids were just packages to be delivered. Now they were little girls who slept in little steel beds. It made a difference somehow.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2014
35 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 15, 2018
"Operation Firebrand: Origin" by Jeff Gerke
This book is a fun and thrilling adventure into danger.
When Jason Kromer becomes a Christian, it becomes difficult doing his job as a Navy SEAL. He balks during a mission, unable to take the life of the intended target. Then the team he is on gets into trouble during the exfiltration, and Jason's best friend gets blown into the air by a grenade.
Mired in guilt, Jason leaves the Navy when his term is up. The job he finds is less than satisfying and well-deserved in Jason's eyes. But then he gets a job offer of a different kind. It's tempting, but how can he lead a team into enemy territory when he was such a failure in the last team he was on?
This riveting novel has it all: memorable characters, suspenseful action, and plenty of humor to keep you smiling. The author was adept at drawing me into the scene and keeping me there. And there were plenty of moments where I was barely able to breathe. The danger crept too close to the characters I cared about. I didn't see how they could possibly survive.
I highly recommend this entertaining book.
This book is a fun and thrilling adventure into danger.
When Jason Kromer becomes a Christian, it becomes difficult doing his job as a Navy SEAL. He balks during a mission, unable to take the life of the intended target. Then the team he is on gets into trouble during the exfiltration, and Jason's best friend gets blown into the air by a grenade.
Mired in guilt, Jason leaves the Navy when his term is up. The job he finds is less than satisfying and well-deserved in Jason's eyes. But then he gets a job offer of a different kind. It's tempting, but how can he lead a team into enemy territory when he was such a failure in the last team he was on?
This riveting novel has it all: memorable characters, suspenseful action, and plenty of humor to keep you smiling. The author was adept at drawing me into the scene and keeping me there. And there were plenty of moments where I was barely able to breathe. The danger crept too close to the characters I cared about. I didn't see how they could possibly survive.
I highly recommend this entertaining book.
September 24, 2014
This story is somewhat like the A-Team meets Mother Teresa. I love the fact that the characters see the resemblance and say so! Lots of action and good guys winning without a lot of killing. (The good guys use only non-lethal weapons.)
I also love the fact that WOMEN are on the team and don't have to act like men to be an important addition.
I must admit, it did take me a while to figure out what was so special about Nevada goggles. (hint: the words "night vision" were not capitalized when first used, so later, the abbreviation NV didn't click as anything but Nevada). I know, dumb chick mistake.
Looking forward to the next book.
I also love the fact that WOMEN are on the team and don't have to act like men to be an important addition.
I must admit, it did take me a while to figure out what was so special about Nevada goggles. (hint: the words "night vision" were not capitalized when first used, so later, the abbreviation NV didn't click as anything but Nevada). I know, dumb chick mistake.
Looking forward to the next book.
September 7, 2023
Synopsis-Jason leaves the Navy SEALs and is recruited to lead a private special ops team which will use nonlethal means to conduct rescue missions.
Technology-I enjoyed seeing a creative assortment of nonlethal weapons in use. Everything was realistic. There is a fun scene where Russian soldiers encounter a drone for the very first time, and become convinced it is a demon.
Christian content-The main characters take their faith seriously. Christianity is a central element to the story. The faith struggles are realistic.
Themes-Self-forgiveness, vision, the power of agape love.
Romance-Romance is not the focus, though there are some steamy-but-G-rated moments.
Triggers-Characters joke about disability, including use of nicknames like "crip." This is done in a fashion which realistically depicts how characters might think and talk, but could offend some readers with 2020s sensibilities.
Recommended for-Readers who are looking for overtly Christian fiction from a male point of view.
I will read other books in this series if they become available again. This series is not available in libraries or on Amazon as of 2023.
Originally published in 2002 by Promise Press as "Operation Firebrand" by Jefferson Scott (Gerke's pen name). Republished by the author. Colorado Springs author.
Technology-I enjoyed seeing a creative assortment of nonlethal weapons in use. Everything was realistic. There is a fun scene where Russian soldiers encounter a drone for the very first time, and become convinced it is a demon.
Christian content-The main characters take their faith seriously. Christianity is a central element to the story. The faith struggles are realistic.
Themes-Self-forgiveness, vision, the power of agape love.
Romance-Romance is not the focus, though there are some steamy-but-G-rated moments.
Triggers-Characters joke about disability, including use of nicknames like "crip." This is done in a fashion which realistically depicts how characters might think and talk, but could offend some readers with 2020s sensibilities.
Recommended for-Readers who are looking for overtly Christian fiction from a male point of view.
I will read other books in this series if they become available again. This series is not available in libraries or on Amazon as of 2023.
Originally published in 2002 by Promise Press as "Operation Firebrand" by Jefferson Scott (Gerke's pen name). Republished by the author. Colorado Springs author.
December 5, 2018
I thought the story okay, but could have been better written. There were too many characters at times and too many tag lines. The writing seemed forced in the beginning but got better throughout the story. I did like the camaraderie with the characters and their humor which sounded genuine. All in all a petty good read.
June 26, 2017
Intrusive
The writing seems forced. Christian themed is fine but there doesn't seem to be much focus story and more than adequate on character development. 47%finished and I'm not sure if I will get back to the rest of it.
The writing seems forced. Christian themed is fine but there doesn't seem to be much focus story and more than adequate on character development. 47%finished and I'm not sure if I will get back to the rest of it.
August 11, 2018
Great story, fast moving, page turner, men and women team together to fight unknown enemies using only non-lethal weapons
Great story, fast moving, page turner, men and women team together to fight unknown enemies using only non-lethal weapons and without killing.
Great story, fast moving, page turner, men and women team together to fight unknown enemies using only non-lethal weapons and without killing.
August 2, 2020
Someday, Eventually
God read. Very entertaining to read. Very suspenseful as a result of the continuous change of events. Recommend for adventure readers.
God read. Very entertaining to read. Very suspenseful as a result of the continuous change of events. Recommend for adventure readers.
September 24, 2014
This was an excellent book! I was actually thinking it would be a B-rated book at best, but it was a surprisingly fun read. His characters were well-developed, his dialogue was incredibly witty, and he threw in quite a few plot twists as well. The premise was refreshing. All in all, he's hit my 'great authors' list.
If you liked Ronie Kendig's series about a black ops team going in to save the helpless, you'll love Gerke's series. He has all the plots, teamwork elements, and dialogue that made her books fun to read without adding the cringe-worthy graphic scenes she did. I can't wait to read the others in his series...heading to checkout now.
If you liked Ronie Kendig's series about a black ops team going in to save the helpless, you'll love Gerke's series. He has all the plots, teamwork elements, and dialogue that made her books fun to read without adding the cringe-worthy graphic scenes she did. I can't wait to read the others in his series...heading to checkout now.
January 13, 2016
This is a good read for action hunters. The book starts out in a navy seal mission when the main character Jason gets back he gets a letter. he goes to a place (not spoiling) and he joins a team and they are going to help people all over the world. There is a lot more I'm leaving in the dark so I don't spoil anything. So go read the book if you want to get the rest because I'm not telling any more.
May 22, 2015
Operation Firebrand is a great opening to a trilogy. I'm excited to see what happens next in book 2. This is very well written and interesting. It is believable through and through and has a great take away from the story. I loved it. 5 Stars.
July 28, 2015
Christian action and adventure at its best.
Learn about the beginning of the Firebrand team and how they overcome objectives in a non lethal manner. This series will only get better.
Learn about the beginning of the Firebrand team and how they overcome objectives in a non lethal manner. This series will only get better.
June 9, 2016
God's Wrath Has Fury!
Battles are fought and won based upon good tactics. I firmly believe that teamwwork plays a role, just as much as firepower. There will always be an evil out there to defeat, sadly, and death, is a cure. The only ccure!
Battles are fought and won based upon good tactics. I firmly believe that teamwwork plays a role, just as much as firepower. There will always be an evil out there to defeat, sadly, and death, is a cure. The only ccure!
March 13, 2015
Excellent writing skills
When you read this sort of Christian nonfiction, it can get too scripted ordained. Gerke did a good job with the detail.
When you read this sort of Christian nonfiction, it can get too scripted ordained. Gerke did a good job with the detail.
February 13, 2016
Excellent!
Surprising, well written,
Lots of twists and emotion. Nice inclusion of God and Him bringing this team together. Look forward to the next book !
Surprising, well written,
Lots of twists and emotion. Nice inclusion of God and Him bringing this team together. Look forward to the next book !
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews