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Crusade
They came in broad daylight.
They burned our huts. Killed our men and boys.
What will become of my sisters, mothers, and me?
Will I live and die a slave of the one who stole me?
It’s been only four weeks since former Navy SEAL Jason Kromer led the Firebrand team to Kazakhstan to rescue a group of orphan girls, and already there is a new mission.
The world is like that—always serving up a new violence against innocents.
This time, Muslim slavers have raided a village in southern Sudan, stealing away a new crop of human slaves and forced wives.
Most of the time when we hear about things like this, all we can do is shake our heads.
Not anymore.
The Firebrand team exists to right wrongs like these. There are Sudanese girls and women sitting in slavers’ homes right now, and Jason and the team go wheels up to take them back.
The Firebrand team hit their stride when they were in Kazakhstan. But Africa is different, and Jason’s more than passing interest in the two beautiful women on the team threatens to distract him from the mission.
It doesn’t help that they’re going up against Muslim extremists—like the ones who murdered Rachel’s father, which was the thing that made her become a Mossad assassin in her former life.
Now she’s face to face with the same sort of man, and she may just go off the reservation to settle the score.
The slave situation turns out to be worse than they’d feared, and the Firebrand team decides they need to do more than just rescue a handful of slaves and go home.
Between Rachel’s fury and the team’s vendetta against the slavers, this mission is turning into a full-blown crusade.
The Operation Firebrand novels are Christian military fiction.
In the tradition of pulp adventure novels.
** These novels were originally published in 2002–4. **
Excerpt from Operation Firebrand—Crusade
The scars in the man’s forehead were deep but exquisitely done, Jason saw. Four furrows arched forward from the ears and came together in four perfect Vs between his eyebrows. He stood solemnly as Jason approached.
“Hello,” Jason said. “Um, we didn’t really shoot those guys, not with real bullets. They’re just asleep.”
The man wrinkled his brow, constricting the scars. He spoke in a deep voice, but Jason couldn’t know the words. He seemed a little agitated, but not afraid. He pointed toward the soldiers with the stick he’d used for digging.
“Jason?”
Jason turned toward the voice. It was Rachel, wiping her hands on a bloody towel and trotting toward them. “What is it, Miss Bloom?”
“No need for the fake name,” she said, walking forward slowly. “He doesn’t understand and he sure doesn’t care.” She dropped the towel on the dirt. “Would you like a little help here?”
Jason deflated. “Please!”
She said something that immediately caught the man’s attention. He began talking to her quickly and gesticulating with the stick. Rachel held her hands up and asked a question. The man responded, and then they both started speaking another language altogether.
Chris stepped up to Jason’s shoulder. “Arabic.”
After a particularly long string of words from Rachel, the man groaned loudly and fell to his knees. He crawled toward her, speaking urgently through sudden tears.
Dinka came running. In seconds, Rachel was surrounded by everyone in the village. Three boys ran over to Dau and Akot, then came shrieking back.
Rachel’s voice rose above the ruckus. Jason watched her in awe. Here she was in what seemed to be the most godforsaken spot on earth speaking like a native to a band
They burned our huts. Killed our men and boys.
What will become of my sisters, mothers, and me?
Will I live and die a slave of the one who stole me?
It’s been only four weeks since former Navy SEAL Jason Kromer led the Firebrand team to Kazakhstan to rescue a group of orphan girls, and already there is a new mission.
The world is like that—always serving up a new violence against innocents.
This time, Muslim slavers have raided a village in southern Sudan, stealing away a new crop of human slaves and forced wives.
Most of the time when we hear about things like this, all we can do is shake our heads.
Not anymore.
The Firebrand team exists to right wrongs like these. There are Sudanese girls and women sitting in slavers’ homes right now, and Jason and the team go wheels up to take them back.
The Firebrand team hit their stride when they were in Kazakhstan. But Africa is different, and Jason’s more than passing interest in the two beautiful women on the team threatens to distract him from the mission.
It doesn’t help that they’re going up against Muslim extremists—like the ones who murdered Rachel’s father, which was the thing that made her become a Mossad assassin in her former life.
Now she’s face to face with the same sort of man, and she may just go off the reservation to settle the score.
The slave situation turns out to be worse than they’d feared, and the Firebrand team decides they need to do more than just rescue a handful of slaves and go home.
Between Rachel’s fury and the team’s vendetta against the slavers, this mission is turning into a full-blown crusade.
The Operation Firebrand novels are Christian military fiction.
In the tradition of pulp adventure novels.
** These novels were originally published in 2002–4. **
Excerpt from Operation Firebrand—Crusade
The scars in the man’s forehead were deep but exquisitely done, Jason saw. Four furrows arched forward from the ears and came together in four perfect Vs between his eyebrows. He stood solemnly as Jason approached.
“Hello,” Jason said. “Um, we didn’t really shoot those guys, not with real bullets. They’re just asleep.”
The man wrinkled his brow, constricting the scars. He spoke in a deep voice, but Jason couldn’t know the words. He seemed a little agitated, but not afraid. He pointed toward the soldiers with the stick he’d used for digging.
“Jason?”
Jason turned toward the voice. It was Rachel, wiping her hands on a bloody towel and trotting toward them. “What is it, Miss Bloom?”
“No need for the fake name,” she said, walking forward slowly. “He doesn’t understand and he sure doesn’t care.” She dropped the towel on the dirt. “Would you like a little help here?”
Jason deflated. “Please!”
She said something that immediately caught the man’s attention. He began talking to her quickly and gesticulating with the stick. Rachel held her hands up and asked a question. The man responded, and then they both started speaking another language altogether.
Chris stepped up to Jason’s shoulder. “Arabic.”
After a particularly long string of words from Rachel, the man groaned loudly and fell to his knees. He crawled toward her, speaking urgently through sudden tears.
Dinka came running. In seconds, Rachel was surrounded by everyone in the village. Three boys ran over to Dau and Akot, then came shrieking back.
Rachel’s voice rose above the ruckus. Jason watched her in awe. Here she was in what seemed to be the most godforsaken spot on earth speaking like a native to a band
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 25, 2014
I put it at about 3.7. Liked it, but not overwhelmingly love. Plenty of action. Great plot with the good guys winning, but not too easily.
So why not 4 or 5 stars? It's a nitpick, but here goes:
The little love triangle thing that's going on in the background, aka the romance subplot. Ugh.
*warning: somewhat spoilerish*
We know why Jason is attracted to Rachel (she's so incredibly gorgeous, insanely intelligent, talented with languages, and now also "passionate" in the zealous sense of the word) and Trieu (who is also beautiful, incredibly intelligent, both a doctor and a sharpshooter, and has "quiet strength") but he's stringing them both along (albeit with full disclosure). Don't get me wrong. I like the fact there are female team members and they're not just damsels in distress. I just wish Jason (who is most often the POV char) didn't keep thinking about being attracted to both of them so much. We heard Chris was attractive once, back in the first book, but it doesn't keep getting harped on like Rachel's bombshell beauty. We get it. She's drop-dead-ultra-mega Miss Universe sexy.
Plus, I can't figure out why either of the single women are interested in Jason other than he's doing a fairly good job of being the leader (except when he sneaks off to be a suicidal Rambo or loses his temper and beats a guy up). Chris is supposedly the physically attractive one, doesn't keep messing up, and yet he's inexplicably out of the running. Rachel says she wants someone strong who makes her feel safe, so I would think she'd be swooning over the tall and muscular explosives expert, Garth.
Personally, I find Lewis the best catch of all, with his only flaw being his inexperience with the military. Not everyone can be a special forces stud. Yet Lewis doesn't even seem to be on anyone's radar.
I just don't know why there needs to be this tedious love triangle at all. This is an action adventure. Why can't Rachel and Trieu just be amazing team members who just happen to be female? Why can't a male protag lean toward Pauline singlehood? Why does this annoy me so much?
Okay, I ranted way too long. I've written romantic subplots that people didn't like too. Sorry, Jeff, maybe this is disgruntled reaction to all those reviewers who didn't like my beloved pairings and got nasty about it. No nasty intended here. It's a nitpick. Overall, I liked the book. And it must count for something that I feel this strongly about it. You've definitely created conflict.
So why not 4 or 5 stars? It's a nitpick, but here goes:
The little love triangle thing that's going on in the background, aka the romance subplot. Ugh.
*warning: somewhat spoilerish*
We know why Jason is attracted to Rachel (she's so incredibly gorgeous, insanely intelligent, talented with languages, and now also "passionate" in the zealous sense of the word) and Trieu (who is also beautiful, incredibly intelligent, both a doctor and a sharpshooter, and has "quiet strength") but he's stringing them both along (albeit with full disclosure). Don't get me wrong. I like the fact there are female team members and they're not just damsels in distress. I just wish Jason (who is most often the POV char) didn't keep thinking about being attracted to both of them so much. We heard Chris was attractive once, back in the first book, but it doesn't keep getting harped on like Rachel's bombshell beauty. We get it. She's drop-dead-ultra-mega Miss Universe sexy.
Plus, I can't figure out why either of the single women are interested in Jason other than he's doing a fairly good job of being the leader (except when he sneaks off to be a suicidal Rambo or loses his temper and beats a guy up). Chris is supposedly the physically attractive one, doesn't keep messing up, and yet he's inexplicably out of the running. Rachel says she wants someone strong who makes her feel safe, so I would think she'd be swooning over the tall and muscular explosives expert, Garth.
Personally, I find Lewis the best catch of all, with his only flaw being his inexperience with the military. Not everyone can be a special forces stud. Yet Lewis doesn't even seem to be on anyone's radar.
I just don't know why there needs to be this tedious love triangle at all. This is an action adventure. Why can't Rachel and Trieu just be amazing team members who just happen to be female? Why can't a male protag lean toward Pauline singlehood? Why does this annoy me so much?
Okay, I ranted way too long. I've written romantic subplots that people didn't like too. Sorry, Jeff, maybe this is disgruntled reaction to all those reviewers who didn't like my beloved pairings and got nasty about it. No nasty intended here. It's a nitpick. Overall, I liked the book. And it must count for something that I feel this strongly about it. You've definitely created conflict.
May 17, 2018
"Operation Firebrand: Crusade" by Jeff Gerke
Get ready for a harrowing read! Author Jeff Gerke does not sugarcoat the horrid situation in southern Sudan.
When it comes to the attention of Eloise Webster that slavery is alive in Sudan, she deploys her team of six as soon as she can. Their mission is straightforward: rescue the villagers of Akwer Nhom, who were recently taken from their homes to become the slaves of evil men. The team soon discovers they can trust very few people. Although they pose as well diggers, the Sudanese people are suspicious of the Americans. And Jason and his team have a very short time to complete their mission. But it soon becomes apparent to them that rescuing the villagers isn't enough. They need to put the slave trade out of business. This decision ups the danger even more, making it doubtful they will all survive.
I understand why the author didn't water down the horrendous conditions the villagers in southern Sudan live under. He needed to rock readers out of their complacency. Like the Firebrand team, I wanted to make a difference and bring hope to these people who live in fear every day. I cared about them immediately. And I was cheering on the team as they worked through their mission ... and then some!
I also enjoyed the love triangle of Jason, Trieu, and Rachel. That man definitely has a decision to make, which won't be easy. They are both lovely young women.
I guarantee this heart-pounding novel will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Get ready for a harrowing read! Author Jeff Gerke does not sugarcoat the horrid situation in southern Sudan.
When it comes to the attention of Eloise Webster that slavery is alive in Sudan, she deploys her team of six as soon as she can. Their mission is straightforward: rescue the villagers of Akwer Nhom, who were recently taken from their homes to become the slaves of evil men. The team soon discovers they can trust very few people. Although they pose as well diggers, the Sudanese people are suspicious of the Americans. And Jason and his team have a very short time to complete their mission. But it soon becomes apparent to them that rescuing the villagers isn't enough. They need to put the slave trade out of business. This decision ups the danger even more, making it doubtful they will all survive.
I understand why the author didn't water down the horrendous conditions the villagers in southern Sudan live under. He needed to rock readers out of their complacency. Like the Firebrand team, I wanted to make a difference and bring hope to these people who live in fear every day. I cared about them immediately. And I was cheering on the team as they worked through their mission ... and then some!
I also enjoyed the love triangle of Jason, Trieu, and Rachel. That man definitely has a decision to make, which won't be easy. They are both lovely young women.
I guarantee this heart-pounding novel will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews