The Polaris Protocol

Pike Logan #5

by Brad Taylor, Henry Strozier (Narrator), Rich Orlow (Narrator)

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are used to putting their lives at risk, but in The Polaris Protocol it’s Jennifer’s brother and countless more innocents who face unfathomable violence and bloodshed.

Pike and Jennifer are in Turkmenistan with the Taskforce—a top-secret antiterrorist unit that operates outside US law—when Jennifer gets a call from her brother, Jack. Working on an investigative report into the Mexican drug cartels, Jack Cahill has unknowingly gotten caught between two rival groups. His desperate call to his sister is his last before he’s kidnapped.

In their efforts to rescue Jack, Pike and Jennifer uncover a plot much more insidious than illegal drug trafficking—the cartel that put a target on Jack’s back has discovered a GPS hack with the power to effectively debilitate the United States. The hack allows a user to send false GPS signals, making it possible to manipulate everything from traffic signals and banking wire transfers to cruise missiles, but only while the system’s loophole remains in place.

With the GPS hack about to be exploited and Jack’s life at stake, Jennifer and Pike must find a way to infiltrate the cartel’s inner circle and eliminate the impending threat. The price of failure, for both the Taskforce and the country, is higher than ever.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Action, Audiobook, Suspense, Adventure

Audible Audio

First published January 14, 2014

About the author

Brad Taylor served for more than twenty-one years in the U.S. Army, retiring in 2010 as a Special Forces Lieutenant colonel. During that time he held numerous infantry and special operations positions, including eight years in 1st Special Forces Operations Detachment—Delta, popularly known as the Delta Force, where he commanded multiple troops and a squadron.

He has conducted operations in support of U.S. national interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other classified locations. His final military post was as Assistant Professor of Military Science at The Citadel. He holds a master's of science in defense analysis with a concentration in irregular warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

When not writing, Brad serves as a security consultant on asymmetric threats to various agencies. He currently lives in Charleston, SC, with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[John (JC) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am exhausted. After reading this book I feel like I have been ridden hard like a horse and then put away wet without the cool down.
The task force is hard at it again. A traitor is selling cyber information that could knock the US military back on its haunches for years to come. Complications arise such as two expert killers, one new and one from the past, intervening with their own personal goals. The task force is in danger of being exposed. The need for a scapegoat is hanging in the balance, only to be tipped by the results of the actions of those operators on the ground.
The ending was a mouth gaping set of events. The last twenty five percent of this book was like flying down a ski slope with no way to know if it will be a crash or a cushioned fall in the snow.
If you want an exciting, never boring book to read this would be a good one to try. This entire series is well worth the time spent in reading. Enjoy the ride!

[Patrice Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been interested in reading a Brad Taylor novel for some time now. I've received tons of recommendations and friends urging me to start his Pike Logan series. After reading Polaris Protocol I can see why it was essential to get my hands on this thrilling series.

After being initially being declined by Netgalley to read Polaris Protocol, I was certain my hopes of fulfilling this need to become acquainted with Pike Logan was DOA. With a heavy heart, I reluctantly opened a second email saying my request had been approved. I did a little jig and then sent the copy to my Kindle before the Penguin Group could change their minds.

Polaris Protocol begins with some serious GPS failures that appears to be something more than just a software/hardware mating problem. Then military is trying to keep its implications on the hush since losing a drone anywhere in Iran would be catastrophic. Skip to present day where there's more evidence that something's wrong with the North American GPS system. Is it something due to human error that can be resolved or something more sinister at bay?

On to Pike Logan and his team. What a bad-a$$! Pike and his team are handling a mission in Turkmenistan when Jennifer receives word from her brother that while on assignment, his life is in jeopardy. Jennifer is frantic and needs to bail on the current mission since she knows that her brothers voice-mail, although brief, means that he is in need of her assistance. Somehow he's gotten his self caught between two opposing Mexican drug cartels while investigating on their turf.

Eventually Pike's whole team goes out to save the precious cargo. Jennifer is in trouble and so if he brother. Let the dead bodies begin to pile up!


In a nutshell: I loved this book. Polaris Protocol moves at lightening speed, is multi-layered, and easy to follow. Brad Taylor manages to bring every scene to life. Every kick to the throat and punch in the eye was descriptive. I almost felt as if I was reading a movie. Thank you Mr. Taylor.

There are bad guys galore so in the beginning, it was a little hard to remember who was a part of what opposing gang. They were both equally menacing. Eventually, those rough patches get smoothed out as the novel progresses. Ultimately, I was just hoping nobody got their hands on the Polaris Protocol program. This program is designed to cripple North America's GPS with no trace. I have only recently become privy to how much we rely on this system. Its timing is embedded in the United States architecture in a way that is scary. Breaking into GPS could cause massive levels of damage to the very things we use daily. Imagine your bank account being wiped out. Yeah! It's like that.

The other thing that stood out for me with this novel is that Pike is a well drawn character. With Polaris Protocol being well into an already well established series, its easy for the feature character to get lost in the fray. I didn't feel that this happened at all to Pike. His struggles with managing his team as well keeping his love life with Jennifer balanced was real. It provides a level of depth to a man that seems best at being a bad-a$$. I lack the vocabulary necessary to explain just how cool Pike is and for that I apologize.

Ultimately fans of Brad Taylor's won't want to miss Polaris Protocol. If you're a fan of espionage, secret military operations, and just plain ol' bad-a$$ery please check this novel out. This is my first dance with Logan and his special team but it will definitely not be my last.

Copy provided by Penguin Group via Netgalley

[Scott A. Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was barely okay and never really grabbed me. I might even be generous in giving it two... Taylor has been significantly better before. The story was a little convoluted and unfocused. It just didn’t work for me. The bad guys were boring and Pike and company weren’t much better. It was as if they had regressed all the way back to high school and Taylor thought it was a good story element. Disappointing.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay....I went 3 stars on this one and it's a little charitable to that high in some ways.

I have liked the Pike Logan books I've read before this and if I go into detail about the problems here it will entail some spoilers. Here I'll simply say that while the books all have a strong strain of fantasy built into the action/geopolitics this steps into a "story place" that I found annoying and would have...frankly...destroyed the team dynamic.

In the end the story works out but the plot device and...character interaction puts my continuation of the series in serious doubt.

Still has some pretty good action and descent plotting (other than the problematic bit I referred to earlier). You'll probably enjoy the action but if you like some of the more realistic action thrillers this one may seem pretty flawed. It has stepped away from the Pike Logan of the earlier book(s).

Okay so what's the big deal? The big deal is Pike sleeping with Jennifer and having to "figure out his feelings" toward her and realize he's been trying to protect her. The big deal is Pike turning to Jennifer and getting her to approve his actions (some team leader). The big deal is that the rest of the team has decided that "it's okay" for two members of the team to be romantically involved.

This is an emotional swamp that would destroy any team.The military doesn't even like have siblings posted together or spouses in the same command.

What happens when one of these two decides to "give the other the silent treatment" after a disagreement. How much angst will the team survive if one of them decides to protect the other during a fire fight.

Combat much less a Spec Ops team is no place for romantic angst.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brad Taylor's Pike Logan anti-terrorist thriller series travels down the well worn "kidnapping plot" line, but Taylor finds a way to make the familiar new by combining it with an interesting take on using technology against the USA.

Pike Logan, his girlfriend Jennifer Cahill, Knuckles, Decoy and Blood are all undercover operators for Taskforce, an uber secretive clandestine service used to find terrorists and identify them for a secret USA government counsel, that then decides if the terrorists can be captured or killed. While on a mission, Cahill receives a call from her brother, a reporter, who has been kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.

Because he is an American, the cartel plans to take him to Mexico and execute him, after learning what he knows about their plan. Their plan, in fact, involves Booth, a traitorous American computer hacker, who has invented the Polaris Protocol, a way to turn off GPS data used by the military and civilian airlines.

Cahill rushes to Mexico against Pike's orders and soon finds herself in over her head, but Pike rescues her. Meanwhile, Cahill's brother has been captured by Pelon a murderous assassin and torturer for another Mexican cartel, who are interested in also learning what he knows.

Cahill convinces Pike to go after her brother and they soon engage in various battles against Mexican cartel members and find out about the secret GPS disruptive program. It becomes a rush against time to find Cahill before the assassin can find Booth and sell the technology to both the Mexicans and some Arab terrorists. Pike will have to use an old enemy to help with unanticipated results.

Taylor knows how to write action sequences and set pieces. The novel moves well and the relationship between Logan and Cahill is still good.

Overall this is another excellent thriller with a fast paced plot.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book had me thinking this might be my least favorite Pike Logan book. There are story choices in the first half that make it seem like it doesn't even belong in the series. It felt extremely unrealistic (for this series) and sidequesty. Luckily the 2nd half was maybe my favorite so far in terms of tension, stakes, action and plot. I'm still looking for a book in this series that is more even at a high level all the way through.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this entry in the Pike Logan series, Pike and Jennifer's relationship becomes public knowledge.

Jennifer's brother, an unindicted undercover reporter, is captured by a cartel and smuggled into Mexico. The Cartel has plans to interfere with the GPS system for the whole world to facilitate their drug smuggling.

Jennifer goes south of the border to rescue him and gets in over her head, so Pike has to rescue her, after which they spend most of the book squabbling. One thing leads to another, and after some brutal killings by an uber assassin, the cartel is trying to sell the GPS process to Hezbollah. Pike lets The Ghost out of prison to go undercover. After a lot of buildup, the confrontation between the elite assassins is anticlimactic.

A good novel, but some definite weak spots.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this installment of the adventures of Pike and Jennifer. The tension is really high in this one. Taylor also does an excellent job of further developing the character of Pike and Jennifer while bringing back a character from my {so far} favorite of the series Enemy of Mine. It's a windy, twisty, turvy plot that you wonder how he's going to get from beginning to end, but it all comes together with a big bang (literally) and a very satisfactory ending.

Highly recommend this series for fans of Vince Flynn, Ben Coes, Brad Thor.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

BACK ON TRACK:

In the previous book of the Pike Logan series, "The Widow's Strike", I noted that the author, Brad Taylor appeared to be suffering a sophomore slump. For starters, there was only one competent villain in the book and it seemed that The Taskforce was having an easy time instead of working for their paycheck in one of the challenging and horrifying situations they had gone through in the previous books. In "The Polaris Protocol" however, the author has improved on the previous book, crafting the strongest story in the series with major character development, a nail biting plot and a epic threat that in real life, you wouldn't see coming till it's to late. Now to the review,what if the most asymmetric danger to our way of life was already among us....

The novel begins with a brief snapshot of how GPS systems are critical in modern warfare and how the consequences can be catastrophic if they fail. We then cut to Mexico where Jack Cahill, a journalist who has stumbled onto a strange business deal between an American hacktivist and a drug dealer is making a frantic phone call before he's kidnapped by the Sinola Drug Cartel. This phone call reaches Jenifer, his sister in Turkmenistan where she's helping conduct an ongoing surveillance operation aimed at pinpointing an Islamist terrorist. Traveling to Mexico, Jenifer's hunt for her brother ends up dragging Pike Logan and the Taskforce into what starts as a simple kidnap and ransom job but turns into race to stop the destruction of a piece of infrastructure which has become one of the main foundations of modern life in the 21st century.

In terms of plot, "The Polaris Protocol" is the best I've seen from the series with the author once again creating some seriously unexpected twists like a surprise guest appearance from one of the previous books. The action is also spot on. From a covert infiltration into a Cartel kidnapping house to a frantic free for all fight in a Mexico City museum, at times, I was left breathless and even wondering at times how Pike Logan would adapt to the increasingly difficult tactical environment. The author also put his research trip in Mexico City to good use, successfully capturing the insane and twisted atmosphere of the Mexican Drug War where acts of horrific violence have become as easy as flicking off a light switch. This is the most brutal book in the series and I advise first time readers to go back to the other books before reading this one.

In terms of character interaction and development, this book trumps its predecessor in so many ways. Firstly, Pike and Jennifer are now having to learn to deal with the struggles of their relationship, with Pike trying to reign in his natural protectiveness of Jenifer to prevent it from getting in the way of their job while Jenifer is forced to make tough calls in her personal and professional worlds when they come together with near disastrous results for her and the Taskforce. The book also focuses on how she's the moral compass and sometimes brains of Pike's team, making a critical spot check which saves the day at the eleventh hour. Secondly,Pike and Jennifer's team gets a major dose of character development when they begin to show a lot more appreciation for Jennifer in subtle ways, even sticking their necks out for her at a critical moment in the story when all appear to be lost. Thirdly, we have Mr Sicario and "Gamal Hussein", the two main antagonists of the book who offer an interesting philosophical perspective about killing. The Sicario, while ruthless has a nagging doubt in the back of his head about the justifications he uses for his actions and is constantly trying to find someone to challenge them while "Gamal Hussein" has a streak on honor in him but is an unapologetic killer to the core. What I've always loved about Brad Taylor's villains is that they've got shades of gray along within the blackness of their morality making them much more interesting and far more dangerous than other villains in the genre. Finally, there's Arthur Booth, the American Hacktivist/Contractor/Traitor who kicks off the events of the book. Cowardly, egotistical and utterly opportunistic, even the unstable Sicario is a much more worthy opponent than Mr Booth who dissolves into a blubbering mess when the universe decides to drown him in a tsunami of bad luck and trouble. But the thing that damns him the most is that unlike the Taskforce, he never stops to consider the consequences of his actions, which is fully demonstrated when he murders a planeload of people with the software he plans to sell to a hostile third party.

But the star of the show is the main "epic threat" of the novel, the compromising of the GPS constellation. The author has put his studies in asymmetric warfare to good use, creating a unique and terrifying threat which would be damn near impossible to counter in time. From transport to financial services, GPS is critical in many things which we take for granted and in the story, Brad Taylor creates a scenario where the titular Polaris protocol, a fictional computer software, exists to screw up the GPS networks timing signals along with everything that is connected to it. From planes falling out of the sky to economic collapse due to financial transactions not knowing where to go, this threat is far more interesting than your usual assassination of stop the bomb plot. On a related note, recently, the university of Texas conducted an experiment with GPS spoofing, using a powerful transmitter to deceive the navigation systems of a yacht and successfully make it go off course by sending false coordinates making the threat of this story just that more plausible and worrying.

Minor criticism, there was a moment in the book involving a certain type of restraint where Pike should have known better and dropped the ball, causing a complication which normally he would have seen coming. Apart from that, the story was fantastic.

Overall, the author has rebounded strongly from the sophomore slump from the previous book. From addressing issues such as contractors, the difference between whistle blowers and traitors, the Mexican drug war and the importance of a infrastructure system we take for granted, Brad Taylor has matured as a thriller writer and in my opinion, has clawed his way up to the top of the Military thriller genre with the best installment in the Pike Logan series to date.
COMPLETELY RECOMMENDED.

[Kashif · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Polaris Protocol is a thrilling read with a healthy diet of action, thrills, romance and wonderful evolution of characters that readers have come to love in the Pike Logan series. The thrilling narrative of an attack on Global Positioning System that can prove to be catastrophic since almost every major aspect of infrastructure now depends on GPS. Mr. Taylor presents a scary scenario of this aspect and infuses realistic action and storytelling into the narrative that kept me glued to the book. Pike Logan keeps evolving with a finesse that is due to Mr. Taylor's exquisite writing. I personally enjoyed reading Pike's and Jennifer's chemistry that does not take after a cliche but rather presents an understanding feel to their relationship that made me root for them even more. The entire Taskforce members create an amazing team atmosphere that keeps the conversations and witty banters all the more fun to read. While I prefer the action to be more weapon-detail oriented, the action in this novel still holds up very well. The novel makes references to prior adventures of the Taskforce which makes it all the more interesting for the readers of the series. While this novel appeals to the fans of Pike Logan, new readers of the series can jump into the novel easily as well.

All in all, The Polaris Protocol is a stunning and grounded thriller that does not disappoint.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another action story by the extremely knowledgeable and talented Brad Taylor. This could easily be 5 stars, but I nit-pick at the almost juvenile relationship between jealous Pike and Jennifer. Less of that makes this novel more focused and rewarding. In addition, the ending could have been embellished more around the consequences of the final actions taken. 8 of 10 stars

[wally · Rating 4 out of 5]

finished today 14th august 2021 good read four stars really liked it kindle owned. down to the wire. off to look for some more. garden's doing good, case you're wondering, though the rabbits did wipe out all of my yellow beans, the little savages, fence didn't keep them out, chewed right through it. next year. next year, yellow beans. read em if you got em.

[Nick Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better books in the series (so far). Logan and the Taskforce once again doing their bit to protect the USA. I liked the less obvious route this takes, there is a major threat (someone who can shut down the GPS system) but a lot is thrown into the mix. Logan is still a Mitch Rapp type of operator (well, how Rapp was a few books ago anyway) but it takes him a while to buy into the threat and there is a Mexican cartel element and a Middle East element, all with slightly differing agendas. The chaos means everyone is chasing a different aspect of the prize and not quite understanding who they are dealing with. In this confusion is a lot of action and a lot of fun.
This was clever stuff and I very much enjoyed it.

[Pop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Can hardly wait until I get the next one in the series. Awesome characters and thriller books.

[Travis Starnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in this series and Taylor does really good job onboarding new readers before setting off on high adventure. The prolog to the book has Pike and Jennifer, and the rest of the taskforce team, finishing up a mission. Much like the start to a James Bond film this works really well as a device to introduce the characters and give a sense of their personalities and yet have something fun to read for readers who are already familiar with the series. By the time the story started really going I had a strong sense of the characters and was ready for the story to get going.

The story itself is a bit convoluted. It feels like a couple of different stories that Taylor wanted to tell that were meshed together. Not that the book doesn’t work, because the stories are interconnected enough not to feel arbitrary or weird, but there are a lot of threads going on and it can get a bit much at times.

The main problem this creates is a lot of characters to focus on. Taylor tries to do a thorough job introducing a character and their personality, which is fine until that character gets bumped off. Then it feels like a bit of a waste of time reading all about a guy who isn't around 30 pages later.

Still this book is well paced and exciting. The action is very well described and this is some of the best small unit action I have read in a thriller in some time. Fans of thrillers and adventure books should check this out.

http://homeofreading.com/the-polaris-protocol/

[L.A. Starks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone who likes earlier books by Taylor or books by Vince Flynn, Jamie Freveletti, Ben Coes, Joseph Finder, Daniel Silva, or Alex Berenson.

Taylor gets the dialogue, research, and "tools" just right. He keeps the tension high in every scene yet involves readers with the characters. It's a tough balance and Taylor pulls it together well.

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. Lots of plots and subplots. A bottom line of everything is not black or white. A glimpse into Cartels and to top it off, another organization that isn't suppose to operate in their home country but end up doing so anyways. Good book - I found it a tad long.

[Mojo Shivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series may have started off shaky for my tastes, but by this fifth installment it seems to have hit its stride. Not only was the inciting incident realistic and timely, but the plot managed to be just on this side of dramatic without being over-the-top. The action scenes were tense and detailed as always.

More surprising was how effective the personal plot line of the Taskforce finding out about Pike and Koko’s secret was. I bought it completely. It didn’t feel out of place or mishandled by oversimplification. It always gets a little clunky when you introduce even a hint of romance into an ongoing thriller series. And usually the reveal to those nearest and dearest turns out to be the weak point in an otherwise engaging installment. But here it was given its proper treatment without dragging on or sidestepping the moment entirely.

Lastly, the way The Ghost’s subplot was handled was perfect as well. It’s not a redemptive arc but it is a bit of welcome nuance to who I suspect is a recurring character.

This is definitely my favorite installment so far because it managed to mix a lot of elements I like together in an effective and entertaining manner.

[Steven Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another of Brad Taylor's books I've previously read (and this one, my dad got signed for me by the author!) and have neglected to review. Working on fixing that.

The Polaris Protocol sets the stage with the Taskforce abroad on a mission. Jennifer Cahill gets a call from her brother, a Dallas-based reporter who is investigating the drug cartels. He stumbles onto a much larger conspiracy. Jihadists, sicarios, and anarchists, oh, my!

Unlike other former SOF types who try their hand at the written word, Taylor proves to be skilled at both providing just enough insider know-how to craft a thrilling and authentic story (though, by his own admission, he changes certain details so that the bad guys can't use his works as a manual to wreak havoc), and crafts characters that readers can sink their teeth into. He also obliquely approaches the topic of women in combat positions through the Jennifer character, and does it in a way that is nuanced and organic to the story.

I'm loving my catching up on the Taskforce series and I'm looking forward to getting onto the next!

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far my least favorite of the series so far (first 5 Books). The first half of the book Jennifer, an otherwise enjoyable character in the previous books, acted like a spoiled teenager. This troubled me greatly. Once the issue with her brother was resolved, she was back to normal. The second half of the book was excellent. I should have rated it 3.5 stars, but went with 4.

[Paul Youngerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️. This book dragged. Too much going on in the story. If this was first Pike book I probably would not read anymore. Now I Need a break from this series for awhile

[Jeff Siegmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pike and the taskforce rack up the traveler miles as they race against time to save the US from another potential Amegedon.

[Tom Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill two members of Taskforce a
top secret antiterrorist unit that operates outside the U.S.
are in Turkmenistan when Jennifer gets a call from her
brother Jack. He is a reporter investigating Mexican drug
cartels and he unknowingly gets caught between two rival
groups. He manages to call his sister right before he is
kidnapped. In their effort to help Jack, Pike and Jennifer
encounter more than just drug deals. They uncover a GPS hack
who can wreck the U.S. GPS system. He can send signals making
it possible to manipulate everything from traffic signals
to cruise missiles. With Jack's life at stake Pike and
Jennifer must infiltrate the cartel's inner circle and
eliminate the threat. This is another pulse pounding page
turner from Brad Taylor. This is number five from the series
so don't miss it.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the concept of this book, but I found myself annoyed by minor things with Jennifer. The team is an interesting mix and I get that the relationship between Jennifer and Pike is complicated on many levels.
There is a great deal of technical conversations that at times seem overdone, but I get that the team and their history would behave like that. It just takes a bit to tune into the dialogue.
The concept of this series is extremely interesting and I look forward to more adventures. I'd like to see more details of the team members, their strengths and fears. They are an interesting bunch.

[Douglas Barrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A device that can cripple the United States GPS system, at will? That can't be good, especially if it falls into the hands of a terrorist organization. But before that we still have to deal with Mexican drug cartels? Once again the Pike, Jennifer and the Taskforce are knee deep in across the border missions dealing with, drug gang thugs, traitors, assassins and or nefarious types in this fast moving tale. At a couple of points I thought I would get lost in the number of characters in the story but eventually it all comes together in a satisfying conclusion.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good political/espionage thriller, and this one is excellent! From the reader's hook to the final page, the action, adventure, Big-Picture issues, and leavening humour and character interaction proceed nonstop. I'm off to read all of this series; you should too!

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2nd half of this book worth this 4 stars.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUBJECTIVE READER REVIEW WITH PLOT SPOILERS FOLLOWS:

Brad Taylor comes up with some majestic storylines, and his compromise of the GPS Constellation for 'The Polaris Protocol' is another winner.

It becomes quite apparent in the front half of the book just how ubiquitous and important the Global Positioning System has become to the most mundane aspects of everyday life. (Initially born as a top secret US military satellite system, President Reagan ordered it to be an open source asset following the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in September 1983. Though the Pentagon resisted furiously, Reagan saw it as the only means of keeping commercial airlines from unknowingly entering Soviet air space. It quickly became the single most important nav aid to the commercial airline trade as well as ground based systems.)

Thirty years later, every electronic appliance or piece of equipment has a GPS transmitter. The original DoD system, NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, is now a rigidly guarded GPS Constellation operated by the USAF Space Operations Squadron at Schreiber AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado. For 'The Polaris Protocol,' Boeing is a support contractor used solely for troubleshooting should any anomalies appear. Arthur Booth is such a contractor who spends too much of his spare time communicating with Anonymous, a hacktivist group bent on compromise of guarded systems. Arthur wants to hurt the US and develops his Polaris Protocol that he intends to imbed in the GPS Architecture Evolution Plan when and if the Air Force calls for help. When they do he loads up the code; initial trial of the Protocol wreaks havoc; disabling critical air support in Afghanistan, wrecking the controls of a US RQ-107 UAV than lands in Iran and then crashing a Cessna 182 into a commercial airliner on final into Denver, killing all 190 aboard.

It takes the system time to assess the linked nature of the havoc, then DEFCON ONE comes into play. Jennifer Cahill's brother Jack, an investigative reporter, sets up a meeting with an inside source to learn more of the Mexican cartel's plans to further their drug smuggling. While eavesdropping on the meeting, all he hears are the plotters discussing technology, totally confused when Carlos the Sicario jumps his ass and takes him prisoner. His last gasp mayday is a voice mail to his sister. Jenn's on a Taskforce Op in Turkmenistan when she gets the VM, then stuns all by dropping out and flying home. The disloyalty blowback from on high is quickly muted as Pike Logan's team becomes the sole active agent to preclude GPS Armageddon.

The twists and turns in 'The Polaris Protocol' will keep you reading late into the night. Pike's most desperate move is to arrange for release of Abdul 'The Ghost' Rahman from an ultra-secret Taskforce prison, knowing he's the only man who can swim in the shark tank of the madness of the Mexican cartels. As usual the TF Team's fighting the Oversight Council with every move they make, but it takes a diabolically paranoid mind to defeat another, n'est pas? Get the book, read it and tell me if you don't agree.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#5 in the Pike Logan series. This 2014 series entry by author Brad Taylor is an above average series entry. I found the description of the "GPS Constellation" to be excessively technical hard to comprehend. As it turns out, the general description was quite understandable and the technical matters didn't really effect the plot. For example, the description of the computer display looking like a 197os stereo equalizer board and then a description of the workings of each slide control was unnecessary. However, it was a good, exciting read and I look forward to the next in the series.

Pike and his girlfriend, Jennifer Cahill, are in Turkmenistan working on an assignment for Taskforce, the super-secret government antiterrorism agency, when Jennifer gets a phone message from her brother, Jack, who's in El Paso, Tex., reporting on a story involving the Sinaloa drug cartel. Jack has recorded a conversation that seems to be not about drugs but about a far greater danger to U.S. security. Certain that Jack is in trouble, Jennifer persuades Pike to search for her brother. Taskforce joins in once our heroes discover a plot to sell a device known as the Polaris Protocol that can disrupt worldwide GPS software.

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 5th Pike Logan book.

In this one, Pike and crew are off to Mexico to help rescue Jennifer's brother who is a reporter covering a story regarding Mexican drug cartels. As with most of these Pike Logan stories much more is brewing underneath. A computer nerd is about to sell the US out by giving up a computer program. Polaris Protocol, to Middle East terrorists who will use it to shut down the GPS system. I didn't even think of how reliant we are on GPS in our lives. It was created by the military to ensure that attacks are more accurate. Shutting it down, even temporarily, would do tremendous damage to our country and our military.

So in this story, we have Mexican drug cartels, Middle East terrorists, and a return appearance by The Ghost, who is a terrorist mastermind who was captured by the Taskforce in one of the earlier books. The Ghost has "agreed" to help the Taskforce to stop the terrorist action. You will find out what happens when evil works with good. You will also see honor in those we sometimes view as most evil.

Another fun story that is full of action.