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Warrior In The Shadows
Special operations meets black magic in the outback of Australia and the suburbs of Minneapolis.
WARRIOR IN THE SHADOWS was written after a magazine assignment in Queensland, Australia. I'd been assigned by an adventure travel magazine to go to the Jowalbinna Bush Camp, deep in an Aboriginal preserve, home to one of the world's greatest concentrations of prehistoric sacred rock art. My host was a taciturn former Australian SAS operator turned reclusive bush-guide. He was a treasure trove of insights on bush lore, aboriginal magic, and the very strange history of the Jowalbinna area. Mysterious disappearances, sightings of prehistoric animals caught on infra-red cameras, magical occurrences including duels between competing sorcerers, amazing tales shared over the camp fire -- rich grist for a fellow story teller.
On the plane home, I began to wonder what if you were to drop a special operations soldier, one of the elite of the elite like the Special Activities Division people as seen in the recent film MILE 22 (and featured in my first novel, NO OTHER OPTION), into conflict with an equally skilled special operations soldier --- who was also a black magician?
The idea took hold of me, and I couldn't let it go. Part of the challenge was to combine the reality of the special operations skill sets with the "magical reality" of someone who lived and breathed that Other World...as the people I'd met in Jowalbinna did.
So meet Charley Payne, police photographer with a shadowy past in the most elite special operations unit in the US arsenal, and Alfie Woodard, a cheerful leather clad rock star type who just happens to be a former Australian SAS operator, international assassin, and...a black magician.
WARRIOR IN THE SHADOWS was written after a magazine assignment in Queensland, Australia. I'd been assigned by an adventure travel magazine to go to the Jowalbinna Bush Camp, deep in an Aboriginal preserve, home to one of the world's greatest concentrations of prehistoric sacred rock art. My host was a taciturn former Australian SAS operator turned reclusive bush-guide. He was a treasure trove of insights on bush lore, aboriginal magic, and the very strange history of the Jowalbinna area. Mysterious disappearances, sightings of prehistoric animals caught on infra-red cameras, magical occurrences including duels between competing sorcerers, amazing tales shared over the camp fire -- rich grist for a fellow story teller.
On the plane home, I began to wonder what if you were to drop a special operations soldier, one of the elite of the elite like the Special Activities Division people as seen in the recent film MILE 22 (and featured in my first novel, NO OTHER OPTION), into conflict with an equally skilled special operations soldier --- who was also a black magician?
The idea took hold of me, and I couldn't let it go. Part of the challenge was to combine the reality of the special operations skill sets with the "magical reality" of someone who lived and breathed that Other World...as the people I'd met in Jowalbinna did.
So meet Charley Payne, police photographer with a shadowy past in the most elite special operations unit in the US arsenal, and Alfie Woodard, a cheerful leather clad rock star type who just happens to be a former Australian SAS operator, international assassin, and...a black magician.
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 14, 2002
About the author
Marcus Wynne
19 books20 followersMarcus Wynne is a charter member of The Been There, Done That Club. He's got all the T-shirts and knows all the secret handshakes. He enjoys poetry, ballet, knife fighting, and serial monogamy with fierce feminists. He is the author of multiple best-selling thrillers and urban fantasies. When he's not busy telling lies for money as a fictioneer, he runs a research and development company for the Department of Defense. He's honored to provide training and consultation to the finest warriors in the world.
www.marcuswynne.com
www.accentusludus.com
www.marcuswynne.com
www.accentusludus.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 13, 2019
It has been a few years since I read a Marcus Wynne thriller. I think my first was
. I picked up several Wynne thrillers for free a week or so ago and jumped on this one. And my next Wynne thriller will feature the main characters from this book and No Other Option:
I enjoyed the characters, and the setting. From Minnesota to deep in the outback of Australia. sort of like a crazed Crocodile Dundee meets Jason Borne. If you are a fan of David Morrell, then give Marcus Wynne a shot.
. I picked up several Wynne thrillers for free a week or so ago and jumped on this one. And my next Wynne thriller will feature the main characters from this book and No Other Option:
I enjoyed the characters, and the setting. From Minnesota to deep in the outback of Australia. sort of like a crazed Crocodile Dundee meets Jason Borne. If you are a fan of David Morrell, then give Marcus Wynne a shot.
November 12, 2025
Marcus Wynne was the real deal.
There was not one error in the technical aspects of the book...quite uncommon in the action/adventure genre, which seems dominated by writers with a little knowledge and a penchant for trying to sound like experts. It brings to mind the tee shirt that I used to have: "Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do."
Well, Marcus WAS the real deal, and the real world of action is diminished by his passing. I recommend any and all of his writing. He did essentially all of the things he wrote about, then spent another career teaching what he had learned to others. His many students are lucky to have known and learned from him.
There was not one error in the technical aspects of the book...quite uncommon in the action/adventure genre, which seems dominated by writers with a little knowledge and a penchant for trying to sound like experts. It brings to mind the tee shirt that I used to have: "Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do."
Well, Marcus WAS the real deal, and the real world of action is diminished by his passing. I recommend any and all of his writing. He did essentially all of the things he wrote about, then spent another career teaching what he had learned to others. His many students are lucky to have known and learned from him.
March 29, 2021
More well thought out action writing.
Some of the action writer’s narratives read like a shopping list for a trip to Joe Tacticool’s Action Man Shoppe. This author expresses the character’s voice of quality tools and the bond that develops with long use.
Some of the action writer’s narratives read like a shopping list for a trip to Joe Tacticool’s Action Man Shoppe. This author expresses the character’s voice of quality tools and the bond that develops with long use.
December 30, 2021
Technically accurate action spiced with Australian Aboriginal Black Magic — a real page turner.
February 27, 2013
Warrior in the Shadows is a powerful thriller that combines magic and violence, culture and history. This is not a clear-cut thriller. While grounded in real-world authenticity, it also combines aspects of spirituality and shamanism to create a rich cast of characters and settings.
A killer is stalking the streets of Minneapolis, his signature a ritual mutilation of his victims in accordance with Australian Aboriginal beliefs. Charley Payne, former CIA operator and now police photographer, sees in the slayings the handiwork of a man as capable as he. Teaming up with Kativa Pavel, an expert in Australian Aboriginal mythology, Payne finds himself on a collision course with a hitman, and in a struggle between the forces of good and evil.
Marcus Wynne is a former operator and did his research. Realism drips from every page, from the little things like taping up a weapon to complex and intense action sequences.
The one knock against this book is the characters. I sense Wynne is trying for complex, flawed characters and mostly he succeeds. However, though Payne is billed as the protagonist, he doesn't make any major contributions to the plot until almost two-thirds of the way through. It's an odd story when the antagonist appears more often than the protagonist, but this isn't a traditional action novel either, and this may not appeal to anyone. Further, in one particular action scene, the antagonist actually disappears somehow, and this is never fully explained - nor how he recovers from an injury.
Warrior from the Shadows is a tightly-written thriller and I strongly recommend it to people with an interest in realistic action, authentic characters, mythology and non-traditional-yet-authentic portrayals of Aboriginal beliefs and magic.
A killer is stalking the streets of Minneapolis, his signature a ritual mutilation of his victims in accordance with Australian Aboriginal beliefs. Charley Payne, former CIA operator and now police photographer, sees in the slayings the handiwork of a man as capable as he. Teaming up with Kativa Pavel, an expert in Australian Aboriginal mythology, Payne finds himself on a collision course with a hitman, and in a struggle between the forces of good and evil.
Marcus Wynne is a former operator and did his research. Realism drips from every page, from the little things like taping up a weapon to complex and intense action sequences.
The one knock against this book is the characters. I sense Wynne is trying for complex, flawed characters and mostly he succeeds. However, though Payne is billed as the protagonist, he doesn't make any major contributions to the plot until almost two-thirds of the way through. It's an odd story when the antagonist appears more often than the protagonist, but this isn't a traditional action novel either, and this may not appeal to anyone. Further, in one particular action scene, the antagonist actually disappears somehow, and this is never fully explained - nor how he recovers from an injury.
Warrior from the Shadows is a tightly-written thriller and I strongly recommend it to people with an interest in realistic action, authentic characters, mythology and non-traditional-yet-authentic portrayals of Aboriginal beliefs and magic.
February 27, 2015
It's a book worth the read however not on par with the earlier product of Wynne, No Other Option. The first half of the book is very exciting but the pace slows in the second half only to have a very rushed " final show down ". In fairness my one major complaint of No Other Option was the weakness in the final showdown as well. All in all a good thriller from a good author but realistically a 3.5 out of 5 star book.
February 21, 2014
I enjoy books like this one and I was not disappointed. I have read other books by Marcus Wynne and have alway been taken away into the story only to reach the end and not want to start another book because it might not be as good.
February 13, 2014
Really enjoyed Charley Payne 7 his nemesis was quite original!
February 14, 2015
Hooked from the first sentence.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews