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Flash Point: A Project RIFT Novel
Not yet published
Expected 16 Jun 26Grayson Maddox has lived two lives.
He thought he had left one of them behind.
Once a Tier 1 operator, he’s now a particle physicist leading a classified DARPA project at Oak Ridge. His team has achieved the tunneling neutrons into a decoupled quantum domain.
They call it RIFT.
Then the sabotage begins.
An outage cripples his lab. An intruder targets his assistant. A bomb detonates outside a DARPA briefing he just left. Someone knows what Maddox has unlocked—and is moving with lethal precision to stop it.
On the run, Maddox turns to former teammates. But even CIA safe houses aren’t secure. There’s a leak, and two rival factions are closing one wants RIFT, the other wants it erased—and Maddox along with it.
Because if RIFT falls into the wrong hands, the next battlefield won’t be a country.
It will be reality itself—and who controls what crosses over.
“The pace was relentless—the next page couldn’t come fast enough. The characterizations were spot on and believable.”
— U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret)
“I started reading at 2000 and finished at 0200. A gripping build with a surprising finish.”
— Former Army Ranger Regiment operator and Army aviator
He thought he had left one of them behind.
Once a Tier 1 operator, he’s now a particle physicist leading a classified DARPA project at Oak Ridge. His team has achieved the tunneling neutrons into a decoupled quantum domain.
They call it RIFT.
Then the sabotage begins.
An outage cripples his lab. An intruder targets his assistant. A bomb detonates outside a DARPA briefing he just left. Someone knows what Maddox has unlocked—and is moving with lethal precision to stop it.
On the run, Maddox turns to former teammates. But even CIA safe houses aren’t secure. There’s a leak, and two rival factions are closing one wants RIFT, the other wants it erased—and Maddox along with it.
Because if RIFT falls into the wrong hands, the next battlefield won’t be a country.
It will be reality itself—and who controls what crosses over.
“The pace was relentless—the next page couldn’t come fast enough. The characterizations were spot on and believable.”
— U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret)
“I started reading at 2000 and finished at 0200. A gripping build with a surprising finish.”
— Former Army Ranger Regiment operator and Army aviator
422 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 16, 2026
3 people want to read
About the author
Jake Darst
1 bookABOUT
Jake Darst writes technothrillers at the intersection of emerging technology, covert operations, and advanced physics.
BACKGROUND
Before turning to fiction, Jake spent more than a decade working in radiation physics with advanced instrumentation, where particle beams, precision measurement, and rigorous safety protocols are part of everyday work. Jake also maintains close ties to members of the special operations community.
PROJECT RIFT
That background informs the Project Rift series, which explores the consequences when classified science escapes the laboratory and becomes a strategic asset.
Operational elements in Project Rift were reviewed by friends who are current or former members of the special operations community to ensure the tactics, procedures, and culture reflect the realities of that world.
SCIENTIFIC NOTE
Some of the science in these stories is real.
Some is speculative.
But the research behind it is rigorous.
Jake Darst writes technothrillers at the intersection of emerging technology, covert operations, and advanced physics.
BACKGROUND
Before turning to fiction, Jake spent more than a decade working in radiation physics with advanced instrumentation, where particle beams, precision measurement, and rigorous safety protocols are part of everyday work. Jake also maintains close ties to members of the special operations community.
PROJECT RIFT
That background informs the Project Rift series, which explores the consequences when classified science escapes the laboratory and becomes a strategic asset.
Operational elements in Project Rift were reviewed by friends who are current or former members of the special operations community to ensure the tactics, procedures, and culture reflect the realities of that world.
SCIENTIFIC NOTE
Some of the science in these stories is real.
Some is speculative.
But the research behind it is rigorous.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
I got an early copy of Flash Point from the author, and wow, what a great start to a new thriller series that doesn't feel like anything else out there. It's a thriller with solid science theories, and the science is enough fringe that it definitely would appeal to fans of science fiction as much as thriller fans. Since I love both genres, it a was perfect match for me.
Grayson Maddox is so cool. He's a smart guy, a tough guy, and a really likable guy (yeah, I might have a new crush). And boy, he has to survive a lot of challenges in this book. I can't wait to see where the series goes from here. Book 2 will be an instant buy for me.
Grayson Maddox is so cool. He's a smart guy, a tough guy, and a really likable guy (yeah, I might have a new crush). And boy, he has to survive a lot of challenges in this book. I can't wait to see where the series goes from here. Book 2 will be an instant buy for me.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I really enjoyed FLASH POINT. Our protagonist, Grayson Maddox, is an elite Spec Ops guy who is now doing cutting edge theoretical physics research for DARPA. Suddenly, he and his research are targeted for elimination. Who is after him? Why? Can he go dark enough to find out and still survive?
Wonderful characters, lots of action, fascinating peek into the brotherhood of special operations warriors, a plot with lots of twists and turns, and a surprise ending. NO cliffhanger!”
I reviewed an Advance Reader copy of this book with no strings attached.
Wonderful characters, lots of action, fascinating peek into the brotherhood of special operations warriors, a plot with lots of twists and turns, and a surprise ending. NO cliffhanger!”
I reviewed an Advance Reader copy of this book with no strings attached.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A fantastic debut! Fast pacing, exciting tech, and engaging characters. Perfect for fans of technothrillers in a military thriller skin.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Great thriller.
Grayson Maddox, a former very successful covert operative, is now a leading physicist in quantum science and
working on the link to the scientific divide between the present and a companion existence.
When the project he is working on is targeted for capture by a nefarious lab and its owner, his work and its top secret physicists survival is threatened.
So Maddox, determined to keep his work safe, with his survival and defensive training tactics in hand, takes the fight to to them.
Non stop action, suspense and riveting intrigue.
5 stars all the,way.
Grayson Maddox, a former very successful covert operative, is now a leading physicist in quantum science and
working on the link to the scientific divide between the present and a companion existence.
When the project he is working on is targeted for capture by a nefarious lab and its owner, his work and its top secret physicists survival is threatened.
So Maddox, determined to keep his work safe, with his survival and defensive training tactics in hand, takes the fight to to them.
Non stop action, suspense and riveting intrigue.
5 stars all the,way.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews