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Project Darkheart: A Black Spear Novel
"THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE LEGION."
Ghost mercenary Damien Black moves like a shadow, striking with precision. An occult cabal has hired him to complete two important 1) Recover the mysterious Morpheus device, a long-buried Cold War weapon with the power to unleash ruin upon humanity; 2) Annihilate the military's Black Spear Initiative in the process.
Captain Cole West has been collecting a different kind of ghost ever since he joined Black Spear. Haunted by memories of all the lives he couldn't save, and all the ones he's taken, he is now tasked with finding Morpheus and uncovering the core of a new enemy's plot before it's too late.
At first, this mission is just a job, but when a shocking secret rises to the surface, Cole West's determination to kill or be killed becomes personal and more meaningful than ever. Armed with anger issues, PTSD, and vengeance, Cole faces off against his most lethal adversary yet.
As his fears and failures multiply, the darkness in his heart grows stronger, fueling his rage and proving once more that destruction always comes at a cost. And this time, Cole must persevere, even if that means completely losing himself in the name of revenge.
Ghost mercenary Damien Black moves like a shadow, striking with precision. An occult cabal has hired him to complete two important 1) Recover the mysterious Morpheus device, a long-buried Cold War weapon with the power to unleash ruin upon humanity; 2) Annihilate the military's Black Spear Initiative in the process.
Captain Cole West has been collecting a different kind of ghost ever since he joined Black Spear. Haunted by memories of all the lives he couldn't save, and all the ones he's taken, he is now tasked with finding Morpheus and uncovering the core of a new enemy's plot before it's too late.
At first, this mission is just a job, but when a shocking secret rises to the surface, Cole West's determination to kill or be killed becomes personal and more meaningful than ever. Armed with anger issues, PTSD, and vengeance, Cole faces off against his most lethal adversary yet.
As his fears and failures multiply, the darkness in his heart grows stronger, fueling his rage and proving once more that destruction always comes at a cost. And this time, Cole must persevere, even if that means completely losing himself in the name of revenge.
491 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2026
About the author
Benjamin Spada
11 books12 followersBorn and raised in California, Benjamin Spada has had a lifelong passion for storytelling. Benjamin is a dedicated taco aficionado, self- described “Professor of Batmanology”, diehard lumpia enthusiast, and served for ten years in the United States Marine Corps. He has been assigned as a Section Leader in the Wounded Warrior Battalion for our nation’s wounded, ill, and injured, and served overseas to help train our foreign military allies how to survive against chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Over his career he’s trained Marines, Sailors, Federal Agents, and other friendly forces in individual survival measures for everything from nuclear attacks to deadly nerve agents. Despite these grim assignments, he has carried on with equal amounts of sarcasm and stoicism. Benjamin is also an avid sci-fi and horror movie fan, tattoo collector, comic enthusiast, and two-time holder of the Platinum Trophy in Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
Benjamin lives with his wife, Jacqueline, and their four daughters in Oceanside, California.
Benjamin lives with his wife, Jacqueline, and their four daughters in Oceanside, California.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2026
Over time, we are exposed to a wide variety of authors and many new books that might strike one's interest simply due to the cover art (an effect that I've coined "The Racoon Effect"). A few years ago, I joined a Facebook group (Military Thriller Book Group), which seems to have amped that exposure to the Nth degree.
One of those authors was Benjamin Spada and his Black Spear series. Project Blackheart is the third offering in this series. This was my first opportunity to read Spada and delve into the world of the Black Spear Initiative (and hopefully will not be the last).
____________________________
Origin and Purpose of the Black Spear Initiative
Off-Books Operations: The initiative functions as a shadowy, clandestine program where members are often conscripted rather than recruited. For instance, protagonist Cole West was thrust into the program as an "FNG" (F***ing New Guy) without warning or choice.
The "Ghosts": Under the leadership of Captain Cole West, the team is composed of operators who are essentially "ghosts"—individuals carrying deep psychological scars, including PTSD and memories of those they couldn't save.
____________________________
Project Darkheart: A Black Spear Novel by Benjamin Spada is an action-thriller that follows Captain Cole West of the military's Black Spear initiative as he races to find and stop a mysterious Cold War weapon called the Morpheus device from falling into the wrong hands. He must also contend with a ghost mercenary, Damien Black, who has been hired by an occult cabal to recover the device and annihilate the Black Spear team.
Morpheus is a mysterious and devastating Cold War-era weapon. This weapon is described as a long-buried technological asset with the power to "unleash ruin upon humanity" and wreak havoc across the globe. The "Kruger Effect" specifically refers to the device's function of trapping individuals in a state of eternal sleep or a nightmare reality, effectively using their own minds against them to cause widespread devastation.
____________________________
Some of the secret weapon projects of the Cold War
During the Cold War, both superpowers developed radical and often terrifying secret weapon projects ranging from doomsday missiles to bizarre spy gadgets.
Strategic Mega-Weapons
Project Pluto (SLAM): This American project involved a nuclear-powered ramjet missile nicknamed the "Big Stick." Designed to fly at Mach 4.2 at low altitudes, it would deliver up to 16 nuclear warheads. Its unshielded nuclear engine would spew radioactive waste over everything it passed, making it a "doomsday" weapon intended to be used only once.
The Dead Hand (Perimeter): A Soviet automated nuclear control system designed to ensure a "guaranteed" retaliatory strike. If Soviet leadership were incapacitated in a surprise attack, sensors would detect nuclear blasts and automatically launch all remaining ICBMs without human intervention.
Project Iceworm: A secret U.S. Army program to build a massive network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the Greenland ice sheet. It was abandoned in 1966 when engineers realized the ice was moving too fast, threatening to crush the tunnels.
Tsar Bomba: Developed by the Soviets, this remains the most powerful man-made explosion in history. Tested in 1961, it yielded 50 megatons—equivalent to more than all the explosives used in World War II combined.
Experimental Tech & Vehicles
Soviet Ekranoplans: Enormous "ground effect" vehicles like the Caspian Sea Monster and the Lun-class. These were massive flying boats that skimmed just above the water at high speeds to evade radar, with the Lun-class carrying six anti-ship missiles.
Project Orion: A U.S. plan to propel massive spacecraft using a series of controlled nuclear bomb explosions behind the ship. While theoretically capable of interplanetary travel, it was abandoned due to concerns over radioactive fallout in the atmosphere.
Blue Peacock: A British project to bury 10-kiloton nuclear landmines in West Germany to stop a Soviet advance. To prevent the electronics from freezing in the winter, engineers considered keeping live chickens inside the bomb casings to provide body heat.
Clandestine Spy Weapons
Heart-Attack Gun: A CIA-developed weapon that fired a tiny, nearly silent dart made of frozen shellfish toxin. The toxin would cause a fatal heart attack and then dissolve completely, leaving no trace during an autopsy.
The "Kiss of Death": A KGB-issued single-shot 4.5mm pistol disguised as a tube of lipstick.
Insectothopter: A tiny, bird- or insect-sized drone developed by the CIA in the 1970s to deliver listening devices. It looked like a dragonfly but proved difficult to control in real-world wind conditions.
Bulgarian Umbrella: Used by a Bulgarian agent to assassinate dissident Georgi Markov in 1978, this modified umbrella fired a tiny ricin-filled pellet into the target's leg.
____________________________
Plot Summary
Project Darkheart pits two central characters against each other in a high-stakes race with global consequences:
Captain Cole West, a member of the Black Spear initiative haunted by past failures, is tasked with finding the Morpheus device and stopping the enemy's plot. The mission becomes intensely personal when a shocking secret is revealed, forcing him to confront his most lethal adversary with anger, PTSD, and a growing desire for vengeance.
Captain Cole West's "internal adversaries" are represented by a different kind of ghost, as he is haunted by memories of all the lives he couldn't save and all the ones he has taken since he joined Black Spear.
Damien Black A precise and shadow-like mercenary, Black is hired by a shadowy cabal to recover the Morpheus device, a long-buried Cold War weapon capable of "unleashing ruin upon humanity". His secondary objective is the elimination of the Black Spear Initiative.
As each individual makes his way through this novel, there are brief "interludes", that give the reader insight into the parts of the backstory surrounding not only a mysterious Cold War weapon, codenamed Project Morpheus, but also the antagonist, Damien Black.
Hired by a shadowy organization called Legion, Damian Black is a fearsome assassin who is seemingly untouchable and leaves death and destruction in his wake. Now his mission is to retrieve a devastating weapon…and to take out the entire Black Spear organization.
The narrative of this novel explores themes of revenge and destruction, as West's internal darkness grows stronger in his quest to persevere, even if it means losing himself in the process. The internal darkness that is explored in the protagonist is almost described as a "third character" that is essential to the telling of this story. The violence and graphic descriptions throughout this novel are not gratuitous in any way, rather the narrative contained within its pages is like an added character that is essential to telling the story. Without it, something big would be missing. It works incredibly well within the construct of this intricate story with twists and turns, death and destruction, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
On my self-determined five-star scale, I would give this offering by Benjamin Spada a solid four stars as it is a brutal, pulse-pounding masterclass in modern action-thriller storytelling. I would highly recommend this novel to aficionados of the military thriller, black ops, and dark speculative fiction genres. Fans of authors such as Jonathan Maberry, Brad Magnarella, Andy Peloquin, and Doug Burbey would quickly become fans of this author.
As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents' worth.
One of those authors was Benjamin Spada and his Black Spear series. Project Blackheart is the third offering in this series. This was my first opportunity to read Spada and delve into the world of the Black Spear Initiative (and hopefully will not be the last).
____________________________
Origin and Purpose of the Black Spear Initiative
Off-Books Operations: The initiative functions as a shadowy, clandestine program where members are often conscripted rather than recruited. For instance, protagonist Cole West was thrust into the program as an "FNG" (F***ing New Guy) without warning or choice.
The "Ghosts": Under the leadership of Captain Cole West, the team is composed of operators who are essentially "ghosts"—individuals carrying deep psychological scars, including PTSD and memories of those they couldn't save.
____________________________
Project Darkheart: A Black Spear Novel by Benjamin Spada is an action-thriller that follows Captain Cole West of the military's Black Spear initiative as he races to find and stop a mysterious Cold War weapon called the Morpheus device from falling into the wrong hands. He must also contend with a ghost mercenary, Damien Black, who has been hired by an occult cabal to recover the device and annihilate the Black Spear team.
Morpheus is a mysterious and devastating Cold War-era weapon. This weapon is described as a long-buried technological asset with the power to "unleash ruin upon humanity" and wreak havoc across the globe. The "Kruger Effect" specifically refers to the device's function of trapping individuals in a state of eternal sleep or a nightmare reality, effectively using their own minds against them to cause widespread devastation.
____________________________
Some of the secret weapon projects of the Cold War
During the Cold War, both superpowers developed radical and often terrifying secret weapon projects ranging from doomsday missiles to bizarre spy gadgets.
Strategic Mega-Weapons
Project Pluto (SLAM): This American project involved a nuclear-powered ramjet missile nicknamed the "Big Stick." Designed to fly at Mach 4.2 at low altitudes, it would deliver up to 16 nuclear warheads. Its unshielded nuclear engine would spew radioactive waste over everything it passed, making it a "doomsday" weapon intended to be used only once.
The Dead Hand (Perimeter): A Soviet automated nuclear control system designed to ensure a "guaranteed" retaliatory strike. If Soviet leadership were incapacitated in a surprise attack, sensors would detect nuclear blasts and automatically launch all remaining ICBMs without human intervention.
Project Iceworm: A secret U.S. Army program to build a massive network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the Greenland ice sheet. It was abandoned in 1966 when engineers realized the ice was moving too fast, threatening to crush the tunnels.
Tsar Bomba: Developed by the Soviets, this remains the most powerful man-made explosion in history. Tested in 1961, it yielded 50 megatons—equivalent to more than all the explosives used in World War II combined.
Experimental Tech & Vehicles
Soviet Ekranoplans: Enormous "ground effect" vehicles like the Caspian Sea Monster and the Lun-class. These were massive flying boats that skimmed just above the water at high speeds to evade radar, with the Lun-class carrying six anti-ship missiles.
Project Orion: A U.S. plan to propel massive spacecraft using a series of controlled nuclear bomb explosions behind the ship. While theoretically capable of interplanetary travel, it was abandoned due to concerns over radioactive fallout in the atmosphere.
Blue Peacock: A British project to bury 10-kiloton nuclear landmines in West Germany to stop a Soviet advance. To prevent the electronics from freezing in the winter, engineers considered keeping live chickens inside the bomb casings to provide body heat.
Clandestine Spy Weapons
Heart-Attack Gun: A CIA-developed weapon that fired a tiny, nearly silent dart made of frozen shellfish toxin. The toxin would cause a fatal heart attack and then dissolve completely, leaving no trace during an autopsy.
The "Kiss of Death": A KGB-issued single-shot 4.5mm pistol disguised as a tube of lipstick.
Insectothopter: A tiny, bird- or insect-sized drone developed by the CIA in the 1970s to deliver listening devices. It looked like a dragonfly but proved difficult to control in real-world wind conditions.
Bulgarian Umbrella: Used by a Bulgarian agent to assassinate dissident Georgi Markov in 1978, this modified umbrella fired a tiny ricin-filled pellet into the target's leg.
____________________________
Plot Summary
Project Darkheart pits two central characters against each other in a high-stakes race with global consequences:
Captain Cole West, a member of the Black Spear initiative haunted by past failures, is tasked with finding the Morpheus device and stopping the enemy's plot. The mission becomes intensely personal when a shocking secret is revealed, forcing him to confront his most lethal adversary with anger, PTSD, and a growing desire for vengeance.
Captain Cole West's "internal adversaries" are represented by a different kind of ghost, as he is haunted by memories of all the lives he couldn't save and all the ones he has taken since he joined Black Spear.
Damien Black A precise and shadow-like mercenary, Black is hired by a shadowy cabal to recover the Morpheus device, a long-buried Cold War weapon capable of "unleashing ruin upon humanity". His secondary objective is the elimination of the Black Spear Initiative.
As each individual makes his way through this novel, there are brief "interludes", that give the reader insight into the parts of the backstory surrounding not only a mysterious Cold War weapon, codenamed Project Morpheus, but also the antagonist, Damien Black.
Hired by a shadowy organization called Legion, Damian Black is a fearsome assassin who is seemingly untouchable and leaves death and destruction in his wake. Now his mission is to retrieve a devastating weapon…and to take out the entire Black Spear organization.
The narrative of this novel explores themes of revenge and destruction, as West's internal darkness grows stronger in his quest to persevere, even if it means losing himself in the process. The internal darkness that is explored in the protagonist is almost described as a "third character" that is essential to the telling of this story. The violence and graphic descriptions throughout this novel are not gratuitous in any way, rather the narrative contained within its pages is like an added character that is essential to telling the story. Without it, something big would be missing. It works incredibly well within the construct of this intricate story with twists and turns, death and destruction, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
On my self-determined five-star scale, I would give this offering by Benjamin Spada a solid four stars as it is a brutal, pulse-pounding masterclass in modern action-thriller storytelling. I would highly recommend this novel to aficionados of the military thriller, black ops, and dark speculative fiction genres. Fans of authors such as Jonathan Maberry, Brad Magnarella, Andy Peloquin, and Doug Burbey would quickly become fans of this author.
As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents' worth.
Review of advance copy received from Author
READ MY FULL REVIEW AT Best Thriller Books
Dripping with blood and piling dead bodies higher than Mount Everest, Project Darkheart is the perfect thriller for those who love intense action, unadulterated violence, and quests of revenge. Ben Spada delivers another brutal thriller in the Black Spear series that isn’t for the faint of heart, rewarding those with an iron will and a strong stomach with an epic tale you won’t soon forget.
Project Darkheart is unapologetically unhinged and viscous for the best of reasons - necessity. It’s not gratuitous in any way, rather the violence contained within its pages is like an added character that is essential to telling the story. Without it, something big would be missing. It works incredibly well within the construct of this intricate story with twists and turns, death and destruction, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Because you can’t have a story featuring servants of death without dismembering a few people along the way.
Dripping with blood and piling dead bodies higher than Mount Everest, Project Darkheart is the perfect thriller for those who love intense action, unadulterated violence, and quests of revenge. Ben Spada delivers another brutal thriller in the Black Spear series that isn’t for the faint of heart, rewarding those with an iron will and a strong stomach with an epic tale you won’t soon forget.
Project Darkheart is unapologetically unhinged and viscous for the best of reasons - necessity. It’s not gratuitous in any way, rather the violence contained within its pages is like an added character that is essential to telling the story. Without it, something big would be missing. It works incredibly well within the construct of this intricate story with twists and turns, death and destruction, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Because you can’t have a story featuring servants of death without dismembering a few people along the way.
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July 2, 2026Read and scored as part of Military Writers' Society of America's 2026 awards season. mwsadispatches.com
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June 24, 2026MWSA Review
Benjamin Spada brings back flawed hero Cole West and the rest of Cerebrus Team in Project Darkheart. Black Spear is an off-the-books clandestine unit made up of some of the best special operators the United States has ever produced. Cole West was surprised he was invited, but has since proven his worth. But now he must lead his team against the almost inhuman Mr. Black, a ghost-like mercenary whose methods and beginnings seem eerily familiar.
Black is working for Legion, a behind-the-scenes cabal that wields power to manipulate the world's governments and economies for its benefit. Legion is driven by power and money; Black views himself as an instrument of death. When Black steals for Legion a psychological weapon thought lost to history, Cerebrus and Black Spear are sent to stop them. This sets up a showdown between an immovable object and an irresistible force, and when those two things collide, the shrapnel could take down any family Cole West has left.
Filled with all the action and darkness of the previous installments, this book is a welcome addition to the series. Spec Ops and thriller fans alike will find much to enjoy here.
Review by Rob Ballister
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews