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Shadow Warriors #6
Presence of Mine Enemies
Every man is the hero of his own story. But he's become the villain of his.
He's a man without a country. . .fighting a war without end.
Gravely wounded, and at the point of death following the terrorist attacks on Balmoral, Scotland, former CIA paramilitary Harry Nichols has found himself a fugitive.
On the run from the British security services, and his own former employers, the combined might of the Western intelligence community closing in upon him on the continent of Europe.
He's never been farther out in the cold. He's never been more dangerous.
There's nowhere to run.
And the only place left to hide is among the very people he's spent a career hunting.
He's a man without a country. . .fighting a war without end.
Gravely wounded, and at the point of death following the terrorist attacks on Balmoral, Scotland, former CIA paramilitary Harry Nichols has found himself a fugitive.
On the run from the British security services, and his own former employers, the combined might of the Western intelligence community closing in upon him on the continent of Europe.
He's never been farther out in the cold. He's never been more dangerous.
There's nowhere to run.
And the only place left to hide is among the very people he's spent a career hunting.
600 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2019
154 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Stephen England
36 books162 followersStephen England is the author of the bestselling Shadow Warriors thrillers, including Amazon's #1 Bestselling Political Thriller, Pandora's Grave, and its long-awaited sequel, Day of Reckoning--a novel hailed as "the perfect spy thriller for our time--chaotic, cynical, with only a few good men keeping the barbarians from the gate."
Drawing upon nearly a decade of research into the nature of Islam, the Middle East, espionage and counterterrorism operations, England's work has drawn praise for breathing new life into the genre with the hard-edged, unsparing realism of his portrayal of the war on terror, the people who wage it, and the moral and psychological costs exacted of those who take the war to the enemy where he lives. "Soldiers without uniforms. Fighting a war without end. Shadow warriors. . ."
The short stories NIGHTSHADE and TALISMAN round out the Shadow Warriors series, and England's work also includes the stand-alone historical adventure novel, Sword of Neamha.
Drawing upon nearly a decade of research into the nature of Islam, the Middle East, espionage and counterterrorism operations, England's work has drawn praise for breathing new life into the genre with the hard-edged, unsparing realism of his portrayal of the war on terror, the people who wage it, and the moral and psychological costs exacted of those who take the war to the enemy where he lives. "Soldiers without uniforms. Fighting a war without end. Shadow warriors. . ."
The short stories NIGHTSHADE and TALISMAN round out the Shadow Warriors series, and England's work also includes the stand-alone historical adventure novel, Sword of Neamha.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 16, 2019
Been there? Done that? Not this time!
PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES is this rare novel where everything works. Where every word has its place and everything that happens adds up to something larger in the end.
Stephen England already delivered two of the best thrillers I have ever read - DAY OF RECKONING & EMBRACE THE FIRE - but this book feels different.
We find ex-CIA paramilitary Harry Nichols as a broken man. A man who is on the end of his rope. Who just has one goal left in life. Survival - even if he doesn’t know why it matters anymore. But then he is plunged into a maelstrom of the likes he has never faced before. And in order to stop what’s coming, he might have to sacrifice the last vestiges of humanity still left to him...
England is a master of his craft. And one of the areas where he truly shines is the pacing. Basically, three main storylines are unfolding parallel over the course of this novel. There is so much going on at all times that the reader just feels obliged to turn the pages. To find out what it all culminates in.
Furthermore the author never fails to get the real-world details right and consequently his stories often hit a little too close to home in a way which is exciting but also a bit frightening at the same time.
But the the author’s biggest strength might be the unique multi-layered characters and his willingness to challenge them - and by extension the reader - in ways, other writers simply won’t dare. Here, the characters aren’t mere chess pieces being shuffled about. Rather their actions and motivations are the fuse which initiate the plot twists, not the other way around.
The action is also there but never as an artificial way to ramp up the adrenaline. It always has a purpose and means something to the emotional journey of the the characters who engage in it. And once it transpires, it is fast, functional and brutal as opposed to the beautiful but improbable choreographies, Hollywood is so fond of
Finally, it’s awe-inspiring how - over the course of nine books now - England has created a world which bears a huge resemblance to our own but also stands for itself. There are so many intricacies, references and revelations to reward long-time readers that one can only wonder what little detail will proof to be a game changer further down the road. Therefore I can only recommend to start with the first book in the series and read them all in order. Because once you start you won’t be able to finish until you have reached THE END. And once you do, there will remain only one question in your mind: What happens next? Bravo!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES is this rare novel where everything works. Where every word has its place and everything that happens adds up to something larger in the end.
Stephen England already delivered two of the best thrillers I have ever read - DAY OF RECKONING & EMBRACE THE FIRE - but this book feels different.
We find ex-CIA paramilitary Harry Nichols as a broken man. A man who is on the end of his rope. Who just has one goal left in life. Survival - even if he doesn’t know why it matters anymore. But then he is plunged into a maelstrom of the likes he has never faced before. And in order to stop what’s coming, he might have to sacrifice the last vestiges of humanity still left to him...
England is a master of his craft. And one of the areas where he truly shines is the pacing. Basically, three main storylines are unfolding parallel over the course of this novel. There is so much going on at all times that the reader just feels obliged to turn the pages. To find out what it all culminates in.
Furthermore the author never fails to get the real-world details right and consequently his stories often hit a little too close to home in a way which is exciting but also a bit frightening at the same time.
But the the author’s biggest strength might be the unique multi-layered characters and his willingness to challenge them - and by extension the reader - in ways, other writers simply won’t dare. Here, the characters aren’t mere chess pieces being shuffled about. Rather their actions and motivations are the fuse which initiate the plot twists, not the other way around.
The action is also there but never as an artificial way to ramp up the adrenaline. It always has a purpose and means something to the emotional journey of the the characters who engage in it. And once it transpires, it is fast, functional and brutal as opposed to the beautiful but improbable choreographies, Hollywood is so fond of
Finally, it’s awe-inspiring how - over the course of nine books now - England has created a world which bears a huge resemblance to our own but also stands for itself. There are so many intricacies, references and revelations to reward long-time readers that one can only wonder what little detail will proof to be a game changer further down the road. Therefore I can only recommend to start with the first book in the series and read them all in order. Because once you start you won’t be able to finish until you have reached THE END. And once you do, there will remain only one question in your mind: What happens next? Bravo!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 2, 2019
The hits keep on rolling in the latest installment in Stephen England's Shadow Warriors series, PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES.
The last time we'd seen former CIA paramilitary operative Harry Nichols, he'd been grievously wounded and was on the run for assassinations he'd committed on British soil as part of a vengeance campaign. The fact that he'd helped save the Royal Family be damned, Nichols has become a most wanted man.
PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES finds Nichols in Belgium, embedded with a group of Middle Eastern refugees who have waging war on the West on their mind. What starts off as a simple plan to dissuade them from developing plans rapidly escalates into a tightrope walk, threading the needle and weighing the protection of his cover against stopping the threat that this terrorist cell poses.
Without getting into too many details:
-I particularly enjoyed that storylines set into motion in both DAY OF RECKONING and EMBRACE THE FIRE were either forwarded or reached their conclusion. Too many authors start a variety of threads and then forget to close them. England is adept at ensuring no storyline is forgotten.
-Three works of popular media come to mind for comparison: Splinter Cell: Double Agent (the stresses of being undercover and testing just how far one will go to maintain their cover), Sleeper Cell (much the same as the previous list entry, and closer to home with the subject being infiltrating a Islamic extremist cell), and 24 (with there being a Rubicon moment that will incur the wrath of a powerful entity, much like when Jack Bauer raided the Chinese Embassy in Season 4).
That said, England outdoes all three works (with Sleeper Cell being the closest in terms of skill and quality), which is a testament to both his ability to research and his knack for telling compelling tales.
A word to the wise, though: this is undercover work portrayed realistically. It's not a bunch of random gunfights. It's not turbo murder. If you're looking for bodies hitting the floor out the gate, this won't be the book for you.
If you're wanting to read about a harrowing, suspenseful tale of undercover work, with substantial side plots of espionage and political intrigue, then this book is highly recommended and 100% up your alley.
The last time we'd seen former CIA paramilitary operative Harry Nichols, he'd been grievously wounded and was on the run for assassinations he'd committed on British soil as part of a vengeance campaign. The fact that he'd helped save the Royal Family be damned, Nichols has become a most wanted man.
PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES finds Nichols in Belgium, embedded with a group of Middle Eastern refugees who have waging war on the West on their mind. What starts off as a simple plan to dissuade them from developing plans rapidly escalates into a tightrope walk, threading the needle and weighing the protection of his cover against stopping the threat that this terrorist cell poses.
Without getting into too many details:
-I particularly enjoyed that storylines set into motion in both DAY OF RECKONING and EMBRACE THE FIRE were either forwarded or reached their conclusion. Too many authors start a variety of threads and then forget to close them. England is adept at ensuring no storyline is forgotten.
-Three works of popular media come to mind for comparison: Splinter Cell: Double Agent (the stresses of being undercover and testing just how far one will go to maintain their cover), Sleeper Cell (much the same as the previous list entry, and closer to home with the subject being infiltrating a Islamic extremist cell), and 24 (with there being a Rubicon moment that will incur the wrath of a powerful entity, much like when Jack Bauer raided the Chinese Embassy in Season 4).
That said, England outdoes all three works (with Sleeper Cell being the closest in terms of skill and quality), which is a testament to both his ability to research and his knack for telling compelling tales.
A word to the wise, though: this is undercover work portrayed realistically. It's not a bunch of random gunfights. It's not turbo murder. If you're looking for bodies hitting the floor out the gate, this won't be the book for you.
If you're wanting to read about a harrowing, suspenseful tale of undercover work, with substantial side plots of espionage and political intrigue, then this book is highly recommended and 100% up your alley.
December 5, 2019
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
“France will hold on. The French will hold on, without even needing a “sursaut national,” a national pushback reflex. They’ll hold on because there’s no other way, and because you get used to everything. No human force, not even fear, is stronger.” - Michel Houellebecq.
“'Pourvou que cela doure.” - Maria Letizia Buonaparte née Ramolino.
Ah, France. Maligned unjustly by the English-speaking world as a bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys, the Fifth Republic founded by the great General Charles De Gaulle has seen its share of ups and downs over the years. Most recently it’s had to deal with successive Islamist terrorist attacks that have literally had the streets of Paris run red with blood. France has always been a violent country. To secure itself, she has law enforcement and intelligence services that do not treat their targets with kid gloves. French cops readily batter rioters and insurrectionists into submission and French intelligence officers spy on friend and foe alike with an aggressiveness that is near unequaled among the NATO states. It’s the defense of the French Republic that is the starting point of ‘Presence of Mine Enemies,’ the fourth full length novel by indie published thriller super star Stephen England. One of the first see the potential that indie published writing has brought to thriller fiction, England’s, creation, the Shadow Warriors series is a fine example of just how impressive results can be.
A Post 9/11 counter – terrorism thriller series, but one that is grander in vision than that of mainstream published novels. Centred around the life and times of one, Harry Nicholas, a CIA operative who we first find tracking and killing terrorists, readers have gone on a fascinating odyssey into the chaos and darkness of the 2010s. The Shadow Warriors series captures the reality of the war on terror. The tension of a profession where you live life on the edge. The thankless difficulty of fighting wars that are endless. And perhaps most important of all, the power of someone’s unwillingness to give in even when it looks like it’s the only option and the world wants to destroy them. And in this story, the world does seem to be after one man, who sinned for the right reasons and is about to be punished for the wrong ones. Now to the review. Can a black sheep not get eaten in a pack of wolves?
We begin our tale on a fine June morning somewhere in Belgium. Harry Nicholas is having a nightmare. Haunted by loss, sins, remorse and the sobering fact that there is no way back to a peaceful life as a free man, Nicholas’ predicament as a rogue agent is an unpleasant one. After fleeing Great Britain in the wake of righting an awful wrong, he’s cut off from his American home, and disavowed by his employer at the Company which wishes to arrest him and lock him away for the rest of his days.
As such, like Daniel, Harry has ended up in the lion’s den, Molenbeek Brussels, the capital of violent radical Islamists in continental Europe. There he has hidden himself among men and women whom he had once spied on, hunted down and killed in defence of the United States and Western civilization. Hoping to hide till the heat dies down and he can make a clean getaway, Nicholas is masquerading as a fanatical German Wahabi who shot it out with the House of Assad, was wounded and managed to flee all the way back to Europe to continue his Jihad. Living with a group of young Islamist sympathizing immigrants to Belgium, Harry’s plans begin to collapse when the germ of an idea begins to spread among his acquaintances. To commit an act of Islamic terrorism in Europe as a contribution to the war on the infidel West. As none of them have any actual experience in violence and murder, they flock to Nicholas, to teach them the ropes in Jihad 101.
As the ex – counter terrorism operative begins to frantically string along his newly acquired pack of wolves and find a way to be gone like the wind before it’s too late, events elsewhere begin to complicate matters. In Berlin, a car explodes killing an American bureaucrat and a German General. In London, a Russian super spy begins working to capitalize on an opportunity that would allow him to make an audacious raid on the UK Secret Intelligence Service. In America, a hurricane of change begins bearing down upon the CIA and its final political ally in Washington DC. And in Paris, the DGSE begin an intelligence operation that soon grows to become critical for the security of the Republic. All these threads come together in a cyclone of violence, betrayals and a desperate, overpowering urge to survive no matter the costs others have to pay. As good men try to beat the clock, only one question remains. If everyone is the hero in their story, how long will you have left to live when you become the villain in yours?
In terms of plot Presence of Mine Enemies is, in one word, beautiful. The author’s writing has evolved over the course of the first full length novel Pandora’s Grave and this most recent thriller. Starting as a Brad Thor – Jack Bauer race against the clock type story in the early years of Post 9/11 thriller fiction, it has gradually transcended its beginnings and adopted ‘literary’ trappings of the type of espionage fiction John Le Carre and Charles McCarry and Brian Freemantle became famous for. More gambits and mind games over bullets. More psychological brutality over happy endings. Brutal trope subversion where things don’t turn out well and in fact turn out worse with no cheap lucky breaks to save the bacon of the cast.
And this style is fully realized in the author’s fourth book. Centered around going undercover into a hostile environment and gathering as much intelligence as one can before paranoid, murderous targets discover you, few bullets fly in POME. If you’re looking for gun battles, car chases and action scenes galore like in Mark Greaney’s Gray Man series, this is not the particular book for you. The preceding three books, perhaps, but not this one. Even without the kiss kiss bang bang factor, this story is not a soft touch. Both are hard, cruel and in place of the excitement of battle, comes the harrowing, tense thrills of trying to outwit and outfox murderous fanatics where one wrong move will mean there is no escape. Using this type of story, the author explores several complex themes, the primary one being about the corrupting power of self – preservation and the fundamental human need to survive and evade danger. While not presented as necessarily inherently moral or immoral, the power of self – preservation causes many characters in POME to make decisions that while keeping them alive, cause untold suffering to others they had no intention of hurting or destroying. And it’s that single minded urge for survival that ultimately changes the game completely and causes a stunning catastrophe that you won’t ever see coming.
Action and setting? A great change from the previous full-length novel. As mentioned above, the action scenes are much less prevalent in POME. But the few action scenes present are written with the excellence that characterizes the authors previous novels and his many novellas and short stories. Very fast paced, very vividly written and very destructive. Whether it be the a shocking escape from an evening murder in a Belgian park, or a gun battle in the midst of a stampede caused by a terrorist attack targeting a major public landmark in France, no one’s fate is truly certain when old fashioned violence and hot lead starts to fly around and hit things. It’s the settings on which the action takes place on which is a real treat.
The author captures the sleazy underworld of continental Europe with aplomb, a continent that has long since lost the sheen that a thousand tourist brochures cannot recapture. From the decrepit drab apartments of Brussels which impoverished, resentful immigrants with no future have been stuffed into, to the mountainous Northern French borderland forests where sinister comings and goings take place away from innocent eyes, we even get a look in the corridors of a mysterious counter – terrorism organization that has defended Europe since the War On Terror began.
As his writing style has matured and developed over the years, the author has developed that most difficult of novelist skills, being able to bring to life a vivid setting without detracting from the pacing or thrills. And he does so with consummate skill. POME also displays a particular trademark of the author, namely his mastery with subverting the tropes and conventions of spy fiction. From badass characters not being omnipotent to the antagonists being competent and avoiding making needless mistakes, we even get an interesting subversion of the obstructive bureaucrat who unlike examples in the series, is a competent professional who does not have the usual lilly livered disgust about espionage and killing like his equivalents in the genre but rather is obstructive due to a simple failure of perspective.
Research? Phenomenal as usual. I’ve said it before in my previous reviews of the author’s work and I will say it again. The Shadow Warriors series is what happens when the action and brutal thrills of ‘24’ meet the diligent technical advising of Tom Clancy. These are books written to respect the intelligence of the reader. Sure, there’s the appropriate level of guns and military hardware, but the author goes beyond that into so many fascinating places. Primarily there’s the mechanics of contemporary Post 9/11 espionage and the reality of contemporary counter – terrorism. From the intricacies of running surveillance operations and the counter – surveillance employed by the hunted, to the challenges and dynamics of actual spying and intelligence gathering, with running assets and worming one’s way into a group of murderers, the author captures the special challenges of living a double life in a hostile environment where the cavalry will never arrive on time. This is not merely about lying through one’s teeth.
It involves timing, speed in communication, seizing opportunities, snatching whatever intelligence can be found and a lot of luck to ensure covers aren’t broken. It’s far, more stressful than mere asset running. Besides that, there’s a fascinating look into the underworld of contemporary 2010s Continental Europe. From the piggybacking on Russian Mafia gangs by Moscow Centre, to drug deals in the Belgian countryside and immigrant communities where resentment and decay coalesce into a toxic mix of violent action, POME captures, with a near journalistic eye the gritty dangers of this chaotic decade that exist around us.
Characters? Outstanding. So many standouts that I’ll focus on two . First, Harry Nicholas. Nicholas in this story is in a very precarious position. Despite having completed his quest for vengeance and destroyed the Islamic terrorist who wronged him greatly, the situation is not changed. The CIA wants to drag him back to America and lock him away in the most secluded prison cell they can find for the rest of their days. Elements of the British government want him brought down for several (justified) murders he committed in the previous book. And soon Harry is contending with French and Belgian spies and cops in addition to the murderous Islamist sympathizers he’s trying to con. As such, Harry has resorted to making some sacrifices, chief among which is being cut off from his actual faith. Nicholas is a Christian albeit one who has studied Islam and the Muslim world extensively. With this knowledge he can deliver an Oscar winning performance, acting as the most vile, crazed ISIS loving militant while in fact being nothing of the sort. However, this acting does eat at him as the book progresses with issues of his personal spiritual and psychological moorings increasingly cut loose and adrift in the interests of self-preservation. Trying to endure the stresses of this double life where he has no country to go home to or anyone to save him, makes for a fascinating, dramatic conflict. But even being hurt, frazzled and traumatized by the enormity of his plight, Nicholas, while not being a good man, still tries to do the right thing. And even when he can’t, the man at the end steps into his role as a shadow warrior once more and becomes a spectacular avenging angel, deftly dispatching the opposition with aplomb.
Secondly, we have a fellow by the name of Grigori. Grigori is a young, dashing officer of the Russian FSB. Winning acclaim from the men who run Moscow Centre and even some of the men who run the New Russia, Grigori is engaged in one of the most delicate FSB black operations in recent memory, one where plausible deniability must be maintained at all costs up to murder. A skilled professional, who through most of the story, doesn’t put a foot wrong, Grigori is a very interesting bad guy due to his motivations and worldview. Unlike most fictional Russian spies of the Putin era, Grigori is not a closet Communist or someone who has an ill – defined hatred of the West, freedoms and democracy, rather, he’s a pious fellow who has gone to work in a business for sinners. A devout Russian Orthodox Christian, one who wouldn’t be out of place in the autocrat court of Catherine The Great, Grigori has, an overwhelming contempt, rather that a mere hatred of Russia’s enemies whom he is sent to undermine. Disgusted with the decadence, the seeming loss of belief and faith among Westerners in the God he believes his own country has held fast to, that righteousness of faith makes Grigori one formidable opponent.
In Chinese superstition, number 4 is the number of death and bad luck. Presence of Mine Enemies, the author’s fourth book, is full of both. The author makes plenty of gutsy decisions that will force the readers and thriller fiction fans everywhere to look beyond their comfort zone into new, thrilling horizons. A rich, nuanced plot that generates harrowing tension without resorting to an M249 light machine gun, brilliantly utilized real world detail that shows the full extent of sacrifice that the free world’s defender have to make, and a cast of characters who genuinely have to risk it all to even live and die another day, Stephen England has written a masterpiece perfect to end this violent decade on. “Oh sinner man, where you gonna run to”, as Nina Simone famously crooned. That question will remain only half answered. Where Harry Nicholas will run to is unknown at this time, but one thing’s for sure, he’s going to be running and you will want to make sure to catch up with him the next time he emerges from the shadows.
SO RECOMMENDED.
“France will hold on. The French will hold on, without even needing a “sursaut national,” a national pushback reflex. They’ll hold on because there’s no other way, and because you get used to everything. No human force, not even fear, is stronger.” - Michel Houellebecq.
“'Pourvou que cela doure.” - Maria Letizia Buonaparte née Ramolino.
Ah, France. Maligned unjustly by the English-speaking world as a bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys, the Fifth Republic founded by the great General Charles De Gaulle has seen its share of ups and downs over the years. Most recently it’s had to deal with successive Islamist terrorist attacks that have literally had the streets of Paris run red with blood. France has always been a violent country. To secure itself, she has law enforcement and intelligence services that do not treat their targets with kid gloves. French cops readily batter rioters and insurrectionists into submission and French intelligence officers spy on friend and foe alike with an aggressiveness that is near unequaled among the NATO states. It’s the defense of the French Republic that is the starting point of ‘Presence of Mine Enemies,’ the fourth full length novel by indie published thriller super star Stephen England. One of the first see the potential that indie published writing has brought to thriller fiction, England’s, creation, the Shadow Warriors series is a fine example of just how impressive results can be.
A Post 9/11 counter – terrorism thriller series, but one that is grander in vision than that of mainstream published novels. Centred around the life and times of one, Harry Nicholas, a CIA operative who we first find tracking and killing terrorists, readers have gone on a fascinating odyssey into the chaos and darkness of the 2010s. The Shadow Warriors series captures the reality of the war on terror. The tension of a profession where you live life on the edge. The thankless difficulty of fighting wars that are endless. And perhaps most important of all, the power of someone’s unwillingness to give in even when it looks like it’s the only option and the world wants to destroy them. And in this story, the world does seem to be after one man, who sinned for the right reasons and is about to be punished for the wrong ones. Now to the review. Can a black sheep not get eaten in a pack of wolves?
We begin our tale on a fine June morning somewhere in Belgium. Harry Nicholas is having a nightmare. Haunted by loss, sins, remorse and the sobering fact that there is no way back to a peaceful life as a free man, Nicholas’ predicament as a rogue agent is an unpleasant one. After fleeing Great Britain in the wake of righting an awful wrong, he’s cut off from his American home, and disavowed by his employer at the Company which wishes to arrest him and lock him away for the rest of his days.
As such, like Daniel, Harry has ended up in the lion’s den, Molenbeek Brussels, the capital of violent radical Islamists in continental Europe. There he has hidden himself among men and women whom he had once spied on, hunted down and killed in defence of the United States and Western civilization. Hoping to hide till the heat dies down and he can make a clean getaway, Nicholas is masquerading as a fanatical German Wahabi who shot it out with the House of Assad, was wounded and managed to flee all the way back to Europe to continue his Jihad. Living with a group of young Islamist sympathizing immigrants to Belgium, Harry’s plans begin to collapse when the germ of an idea begins to spread among his acquaintances. To commit an act of Islamic terrorism in Europe as a contribution to the war on the infidel West. As none of them have any actual experience in violence and murder, they flock to Nicholas, to teach them the ropes in Jihad 101.
As the ex – counter terrorism operative begins to frantically string along his newly acquired pack of wolves and find a way to be gone like the wind before it’s too late, events elsewhere begin to complicate matters. In Berlin, a car explodes killing an American bureaucrat and a German General. In London, a Russian super spy begins working to capitalize on an opportunity that would allow him to make an audacious raid on the UK Secret Intelligence Service. In America, a hurricane of change begins bearing down upon the CIA and its final political ally in Washington DC. And in Paris, the DGSE begin an intelligence operation that soon grows to become critical for the security of the Republic. All these threads come together in a cyclone of violence, betrayals and a desperate, overpowering urge to survive no matter the costs others have to pay. As good men try to beat the clock, only one question remains. If everyone is the hero in their story, how long will you have left to live when you become the villain in yours?
In terms of plot Presence of Mine Enemies is, in one word, beautiful. The author’s writing has evolved over the course of the first full length novel Pandora’s Grave and this most recent thriller. Starting as a Brad Thor – Jack Bauer race against the clock type story in the early years of Post 9/11 thriller fiction, it has gradually transcended its beginnings and adopted ‘literary’ trappings of the type of espionage fiction John Le Carre and Charles McCarry and Brian Freemantle became famous for. More gambits and mind games over bullets. More psychological brutality over happy endings. Brutal trope subversion where things don’t turn out well and in fact turn out worse with no cheap lucky breaks to save the bacon of the cast.
And this style is fully realized in the author’s fourth book. Centered around going undercover into a hostile environment and gathering as much intelligence as one can before paranoid, murderous targets discover you, few bullets fly in POME. If you’re looking for gun battles, car chases and action scenes galore like in Mark Greaney’s Gray Man series, this is not the particular book for you. The preceding three books, perhaps, but not this one. Even without the kiss kiss bang bang factor, this story is not a soft touch. Both are hard, cruel and in place of the excitement of battle, comes the harrowing, tense thrills of trying to outwit and outfox murderous fanatics where one wrong move will mean there is no escape. Using this type of story, the author explores several complex themes, the primary one being about the corrupting power of self – preservation and the fundamental human need to survive and evade danger. While not presented as necessarily inherently moral or immoral, the power of self – preservation causes many characters in POME to make decisions that while keeping them alive, cause untold suffering to others they had no intention of hurting or destroying. And it’s that single minded urge for survival that ultimately changes the game completely and causes a stunning catastrophe that you won’t ever see coming.
Action and setting? A great change from the previous full-length novel. As mentioned above, the action scenes are much less prevalent in POME. But the few action scenes present are written with the excellence that characterizes the authors previous novels and his many novellas and short stories. Very fast paced, very vividly written and very destructive. Whether it be the a shocking escape from an evening murder in a Belgian park, or a gun battle in the midst of a stampede caused by a terrorist attack targeting a major public landmark in France, no one’s fate is truly certain when old fashioned violence and hot lead starts to fly around and hit things. It’s the settings on which the action takes place on which is a real treat.
The author captures the sleazy underworld of continental Europe with aplomb, a continent that has long since lost the sheen that a thousand tourist brochures cannot recapture. From the decrepit drab apartments of Brussels which impoverished, resentful immigrants with no future have been stuffed into, to the mountainous Northern French borderland forests where sinister comings and goings take place away from innocent eyes, we even get a look in the corridors of a mysterious counter – terrorism organization that has defended Europe since the War On Terror began.
As his writing style has matured and developed over the years, the author has developed that most difficult of novelist skills, being able to bring to life a vivid setting without detracting from the pacing or thrills. And he does so with consummate skill. POME also displays a particular trademark of the author, namely his mastery with subverting the tropes and conventions of spy fiction. From badass characters not being omnipotent to the antagonists being competent and avoiding making needless mistakes, we even get an interesting subversion of the obstructive bureaucrat who unlike examples in the series, is a competent professional who does not have the usual lilly livered disgust about espionage and killing like his equivalents in the genre but rather is obstructive due to a simple failure of perspective.
Research? Phenomenal as usual. I’ve said it before in my previous reviews of the author’s work and I will say it again. The Shadow Warriors series is what happens when the action and brutal thrills of ‘24’ meet the diligent technical advising of Tom Clancy. These are books written to respect the intelligence of the reader. Sure, there’s the appropriate level of guns and military hardware, but the author goes beyond that into so many fascinating places. Primarily there’s the mechanics of contemporary Post 9/11 espionage and the reality of contemporary counter – terrorism. From the intricacies of running surveillance operations and the counter – surveillance employed by the hunted, to the challenges and dynamics of actual spying and intelligence gathering, with running assets and worming one’s way into a group of murderers, the author captures the special challenges of living a double life in a hostile environment where the cavalry will never arrive on time. This is not merely about lying through one’s teeth.
It involves timing, speed in communication, seizing opportunities, snatching whatever intelligence can be found and a lot of luck to ensure covers aren’t broken. It’s far, more stressful than mere asset running. Besides that, there’s a fascinating look into the underworld of contemporary 2010s Continental Europe. From the piggybacking on Russian Mafia gangs by Moscow Centre, to drug deals in the Belgian countryside and immigrant communities where resentment and decay coalesce into a toxic mix of violent action, POME captures, with a near journalistic eye the gritty dangers of this chaotic decade that exist around us.
Characters? Outstanding. So many standouts that I’ll focus on two . First, Harry Nicholas. Nicholas in this story is in a very precarious position. Despite having completed his quest for vengeance and destroyed the Islamic terrorist who wronged him greatly, the situation is not changed. The CIA wants to drag him back to America and lock him away in the most secluded prison cell they can find for the rest of their days. Elements of the British government want him brought down for several (justified) murders he committed in the previous book. And soon Harry is contending with French and Belgian spies and cops in addition to the murderous Islamist sympathizers he’s trying to con. As such, Harry has resorted to making some sacrifices, chief among which is being cut off from his actual faith. Nicholas is a Christian albeit one who has studied Islam and the Muslim world extensively. With this knowledge he can deliver an Oscar winning performance, acting as the most vile, crazed ISIS loving militant while in fact being nothing of the sort. However, this acting does eat at him as the book progresses with issues of his personal spiritual and psychological moorings increasingly cut loose and adrift in the interests of self-preservation. Trying to endure the stresses of this double life where he has no country to go home to or anyone to save him, makes for a fascinating, dramatic conflict. But even being hurt, frazzled and traumatized by the enormity of his plight, Nicholas, while not being a good man, still tries to do the right thing. And even when he can’t, the man at the end steps into his role as a shadow warrior once more and becomes a spectacular avenging angel, deftly dispatching the opposition with aplomb.
Secondly, we have a fellow by the name of Grigori. Grigori is a young, dashing officer of the Russian FSB. Winning acclaim from the men who run Moscow Centre and even some of the men who run the New Russia, Grigori is engaged in one of the most delicate FSB black operations in recent memory, one where plausible deniability must be maintained at all costs up to murder. A skilled professional, who through most of the story, doesn’t put a foot wrong, Grigori is a very interesting bad guy due to his motivations and worldview. Unlike most fictional Russian spies of the Putin era, Grigori is not a closet Communist or someone who has an ill – defined hatred of the West, freedoms and democracy, rather, he’s a pious fellow who has gone to work in a business for sinners. A devout Russian Orthodox Christian, one who wouldn’t be out of place in the autocrat court of Catherine The Great, Grigori has, an overwhelming contempt, rather that a mere hatred of Russia’s enemies whom he is sent to undermine. Disgusted with the decadence, the seeming loss of belief and faith among Westerners in the God he believes his own country has held fast to, that righteousness of faith makes Grigori one formidable opponent.
In Chinese superstition, number 4 is the number of death and bad luck. Presence of Mine Enemies, the author’s fourth book, is full of both. The author makes plenty of gutsy decisions that will force the readers and thriller fiction fans everywhere to look beyond their comfort zone into new, thrilling horizons. A rich, nuanced plot that generates harrowing tension without resorting to an M249 light machine gun, brilliantly utilized real world detail that shows the full extent of sacrifice that the free world’s defender have to make, and a cast of characters who genuinely have to risk it all to even live and die another day, Stephen England has written a masterpiece perfect to end this violent decade on. “Oh sinner man, where you gonna run to”, as Nina Simone famously crooned. That question will remain only half answered. Where Harry Nicholas will run to is unknown at this time, but one thing’s for sure, he’s going to be running and you will want to make sure to catch up with him the next time he emerges from the shadows.
SO RECOMMENDED.
September 9, 2019
Is there Anyone Better?
Wow - what a ride! For fans of Clancy, Thor, Flynn, Greaney, etc., if you have not read Mr. England’s series you are missing out on an author that is producing work that is much better than the aforementioned authors. I would actually say that England’s works compare to Clancy’s original books (Without Remorse, Sum of All Fears).
For today’s authors, I do not think you can beat the substance, quality and sheer emotion that England brings to his readers. I was right there with Harry Nichols as he had to fight to stay in character, as he .........no spoilers from me.
As I was reading this latest installment from England I found myself fully engrossed in the story, could actually feel the emotions of the characters, the depth width which England writes is incredible.
Do yourself a favor and get involved in this series. It is one of the most well written, complex, deep, techno-thrillers of our time. You will not be disappointed- I promise that!
Well done again, sir, well done.
Wow - what a ride! For fans of Clancy, Thor, Flynn, Greaney, etc., if you have not read Mr. England’s series you are missing out on an author that is producing work that is much better than the aforementioned authors. I would actually say that England’s works compare to Clancy’s original books (Without Remorse, Sum of All Fears).
For today’s authors, I do not think you can beat the substance, quality and sheer emotion that England brings to his readers. I was right there with Harry Nichols as he had to fight to stay in character, as he .........no spoilers from me.
As I was reading this latest installment from England I found myself fully engrossed in the story, could actually feel the emotions of the characters, the depth width which England writes is incredible.
Do yourself a favor and get involved in this series. It is one of the most well written, complex, deep, techno-thrillers of our time. You will not be disappointed- I promise that!
Well done again, sir, well done.
October 18, 2019
For the international espionage thriller genre, the book is the 21st century "The Spy Who Came in from The Cold. The first 8 in this series were great. Presence of Mine Enemies is a masterpiece. Do yourself a favor; start with book 1 and keep going.
January 7, 2021
I'm sorry. I had to stop about 1/4 the way thru. Its well written but I just couldn't get into the story. It was moving really slow, my big strong confident bad-a$$ hero (Harry) is spiritually and mentally lost, unconfident, seemingly has no more bros, and STILL grieving over the woman he oddly fell madly crazy in love with after being around her for what, a month? The story just didn't grab me and my hero is ...well... not acting so heroic. I need action and excitement along with my heady-ness. Plus where are we going here with the story? Maybe I'll pick the story back up in the future, but it's a no go for me right now.
March 6, 2023
not for the weak hearted
Harry, Harry what is the line you won’t cross? Does the end always justify the means? Will your deeds go on record? Some would earn you medals and some put you behind metal doors. And some could carry the ultimate punishment. This author is damn good. Keep them coming. Read you soon!
Harry, Harry what is the line you won’t cross? Does the end always justify the means? Will your deeds go on record? Some would earn you medals and some put you behind metal doors. And some could carry the ultimate punishment. This author is damn good. Keep them coming. Read you soon!
June 4, 2022
Complex creative
Excellent writing, descriptive situational awareness by complex characters developed through movement in time and place. Simultaneously keeping a myriad of threads pulling together and symbionicly apart.
Excellent writing, descriptive situational awareness by complex characters developed through movement in time and place. Simultaneously keeping a myriad of threads pulling together and symbionicly apart.
July 3, 2021
What an epic novel in the Shadow Warriors universe. I'm very much looking forward to learn where Nichols will go now.
October 4, 2019
Wow!
Not exactly sure where to start. Prescene of Mine Enemies was very deep and complex. It was unlike many of the other books that I have read and also enjoyed. I recommend that you read all of the prior Shadow Warriors books including Arkhangel before opening this as pretty much everything in Prescene of Mine Enemies is built off the events in the others.
Stephen England did a great job having several events with other characters going on at the same time and makes the world of clandestine operations more real with the difficulty and unintended consequences with none of them truly working together as well as problems when they do. Not a complaint about other authors/books, but it's not often that an author let's you know what is going on with the main protagonist and several the number of other events with other characters at the same time. If anything is lacking in this book, it is not knowing how events unfold with some of these secondary stories. This isn't a huge issue as Stephen will build upon these in his next one which I cannot wait for.
Stephen also took his main character, Harry Nichols, down a path I could never have imagined. It's not that the path was violent as that is a given. It's Nichols' actions to do what he felt needed to be done while knowing/dreading the consequences of those actions.
Again, read the other Shadow Warriors books and then get this one. If you enjoy clandestine thrillers, you will like these.
Not exactly sure where to start. Prescene of Mine Enemies was very deep and complex. It was unlike many of the other books that I have read and also enjoyed. I recommend that you read all of the prior Shadow Warriors books including Arkhangel before opening this as pretty much everything in Prescene of Mine Enemies is built off the events in the others.
Stephen England did a great job having several events with other characters going on at the same time and makes the world of clandestine operations more real with the difficulty and unintended consequences with none of them truly working together as well as problems when they do. Not a complaint about other authors/books, but it's not often that an author let's you know what is going on with the main protagonist and several the number of other events with other characters at the same time. If anything is lacking in this book, it is not knowing how events unfold with some of these secondary stories. This isn't a huge issue as Stephen will build upon these in his next one which I cannot wait for.
Stephen also took his main character, Harry Nichols, down a path I could never have imagined. It's not that the path was violent as that is a given. It's Nichols' actions to do what he felt needed to be done while knowing/dreading the consequences of those actions.
Again, read the other Shadow Warriors books and then get this one. If you enjoy clandestine thrillers, you will like these.
September 24, 2019
A Bit Too Long
Great story but got a bit bogged down with a few too many details. Would have been better if it were a bit shorter.
Great story but got a bit bogged down with a few too many details. Would have been better if it were a bit shorter.
October 2, 2019
Well what an exciting & gripping series of books, very well written & I couldn’t put them down, well done Stephen England what a great writer you are.
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