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Maelstrom Rising #1
Escalation
It was supposed to be straightforward. In and out…
…but nobody was prepared for the real threat.
Would this be the start of WWIII?
In the not so distant future, the world is falling apart. Social unrest has spread across the U.S. and Europe, China pursues their ambitions in the Pacific, and the Middle East is about to explode. The dominoes are in place for disaster. Where would the first one fall?
It looked like a routine job.
Matt’s ten man special-ops team has their orders. Infiltrate civil-war-torn Slovakia and rescue the hostage, and then get out undetected. There was just one problem…
The terrorists had their own plans.
Did command have any idea what they were getting into?
…but nobody was prepared for the real threat.
Would this be the start of WWIII?
In the not so distant future, the world is falling apart. Social unrest has spread across the U.S. and Europe, China pursues their ambitions in the Pacific, and the Middle East is about to explode. The dominoes are in place for disaster. Where would the first one fall?
It looked like a routine job.
Matt’s ten man special-ops team has their orders. Infiltrate civil-war-torn Slovakia and rescue the hostage, and then get out undetected. There was just one problem…
The terrorists had their own plans.
Did command have any idea what they were getting into?
- GenresMilitary FictionFiction
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2020
381 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Peter Nealen
73 books107 followersPeter Nealen is a former Recon Marine, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and something of an aspiring renaissance man (emphasis on aspiring). He has long been a reader of history, philosophy, folklore, science fiction, and fantasy, and is the author of the American Praetorians series of paramilitary thrillers as well as the Jed Horn series of supernatural thrillers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 24, 2019
Nealen's Best Work Yet!!!
Wow, what a ride! This is was military-fiction should be. This book should be shown in the dictionary next to "Military-Fiction". Do yourself a favor and click the Buy It Now button RIGHT NOW!
If you have not read Nealen's other works then you need to. Great author, great group of independent series. All of his works will have you up late at night not wanting to put each book down.
FYI - I paid for this book, don't know the author and do not get compensated in any way for this review. I enjoyed the book so much I thought I would share my thoughts!
Well done sir, well done! I can not wait for the next book!
Wow, what a ride! This is was military-fiction should be. This book should be shown in the dictionary next to "Military-Fiction". Do yourself a favor and click the Buy It Now button RIGHT NOW!
If you have not read Nealen's other works then you need to. Great author, great group of independent series. All of his works will have you up late at night not wanting to put each book down.
FYI - I paid for this book, don't know the author and do not get compensated in any way for this review. I enjoyed the book so much I thought I would share my thoughts!
Well done sir, well done! I can not wait for the next book!
February 29, 2020
The Maelstrom Rising series is former Reconnaissance Marine Peter Nealen's latest fictional foray, this time into the realm of speculative war fiction. The first entry, ESCALATION, introduces the paramilitary non-government organization "The Triarii," a network of military veterans looking to step up where the American government has utterly failed amidst a rapidly heating cold civil war. Specifically, the events of the novel focus around the Triarii's first overseas deployment to rescue an American peacekeeper captured during a civil war in Slovokia.
Firstly, I do feel compelled to say that while not all readers may agree with Nealen's extrapolations of current political crises (myself included), the research into said current crises is well done. As a form of addendum, Nealen breaks down in detail how he arrived at his conclusions on his writing website. More importantly, Nealen maintains consistency within his established canon throughout. Part of speculative fiction is knowing that not everyone will arrive at the same conclusion that the author did. Thus, I judged ESCALATION on its merits as a piece of war fiction and accepted the extrapolations as canon rather than judged whether I saw eye-to-eye with Nealen on a political science basis.
With that established, ESCALATION's merits are plentiful. As is the case with every other one of his books that I've read, Nealen demonstrates his savvy with depicting technical and tactical combat prowess and for raising the stakes with every chapter, making each page more harrowing than the last. You can smell the gunpowder, feel the pain from bloodshot eyes from days on end without a decent night's rest, can almost touch the worry that the Triarii may not survive building so high that it is near-tangible.
At its core, ESCALATION asks what if today's allies become tomorrow's enemies, and what if the United States lost both its already fragile cohesion and its technological military prowess and force projection? It makes for an incredibly compelling read.
Highly recommended for fans of both speculative fiction and war fiction.
Firstly, I do feel compelled to say that while not all readers may agree with Nealen's extrapolations of current political crises (myself included), the research into said current crises is well done. As a form of addendum, Nealen breaks down in detail how he arrived at his conclusions on his writing website. More importantly, Nealen maintains consistency within his established canon throughout. Part of speculative fiction is knowing that not everyone will arrive at the same conclusion that the author did. Thus, I judged ESCALATION on its merits as a piece of war fiction and accepted the extrapolations as canon rather than judged whether I saw eye-to-eye with Nealen on a political science basis.
With that established, ESCALATION's merits are plentiful. As is the case with every other one of his books that I've read, Nealen demonstrates his savvy with depicting technical and tactical combat prowess and for raising the stakes with every chapter, making each page more harrowing than the last. You can smell the gunpowder, feel the pain from bloodshot eyes from days on end without a decent night's rest, can almost touch the worry that the Triarii may not survive building so high that it is near-tangible.
At its core, ESCALATION asks what if today's allies become tomorrow's enemies, and what if the United States lost both its already fragile cohesion and its technological military prowess and force projection? It makes for an incredibly compelling read.
Highly recommended for fans of both speculative fiction and war fiction.
June 1, 2021
This is a great first book. Matt Deacon is the team leader of a Grex Luporum team of the Triarii. They seem to be some kind of mercenary fighting force, capable of not just special forces action, but able to field infanty and mortarmen, as well as gunship and helo transport support. I was half expecting them to have armoured support as well.
They've sneaked into Slovakia to rescue an American soldier who was captured by a jihadi group. The European Defence Council choose this moment to attack American forces in Slovakia, and allow the jihadi groups and Slovak troops to attack loyal nationalist Slovak forces. It's now up to Matt to get his team, and a group of American soldiers they've rescued out of Slavakia, all the way to Poland.
Along the way they'll fight jihadis, EDC soldiers, and Slovak Army forces, survive drone attacks, bombings, and an all out attack defending a city.
They've sneaked into Slovakia to rescue an American soldier who was captured by a jihadi group. The European Defence Council choose this moment to attack American forces in Slovakia, and allow the jihadi groups and Slovak troops to attack loyal nationalist Slovak forces. It's now up to Matt to get his team, and a group of American soldiers they've rescued out of Slavakia, all the way to Poland.
Along the way they'll fight jihadis, EDC soldiers, and Slovak Army forces, survive drone attacks, bombings, and an all out attack defending a city.
October 2, 2019
Milspec Military Fiction
Reasonably good story with an okay plot, nothing super unexpected happens. It's military fiction written for people with a military background or a very strong interest, very heavy on the acronyms and jargon. Would have been nice if the book had included a map
Reasonably good story with an okay plot, nothing super unexpected happens. It's military fiction written for people with a military background or a very strong interest, very heavy on the acronyms and jargon. Would have been nice if the book had included a map
May 22, 2024
Action is awesome, one of the best writers of modern combat. Although the opposition generally are aimless weak nobodies (especially the ones from Arabic descent, all the 'jihadists' are basically bloodthirsty morons), can't have the protagonists killed on page 2 either.
The geopolitics and ideological/political underpinnings are childish. Writer apparently doesn't know what fascism is and calls it communism (which never existed anywhere) or 'utopean world government'. No dude it's plain old fascism, it's what the ultra right wing/left wing nutjobs aspire to.
It's the usual rules for thee not for me spiel, like any 'conservative' you ever heard.
The dichotomy between the well written action and the misguided braindead politics is jarring. I wondered if it is intentional to attract a certain public, but then again, the USA does not select it's enforcers on brainpower.
Apparently it's hard for a 'conservative' American to understand nuance, not to mention being totally clueless about history.
The geopolitics and ideological/political underpinnings are childish. Writer apparently doesn't know what fascism is and calls it communism (which never existed anywhere) or 'utopean world government'. No dude it's plain old fascism, it's what the ultra right wing/left wing nutjobs aspire to.
It's the usual rules for thee not for me spiel, like any 'conservative' you ever heard.
The dichotomy between the well written action and the misguided braindead politics is jarring. I wondered if it is intentional to attract a certain public, but then again, the USA does not select it's enforcers on brainpower.
Apparently it's hard for a 'conservative' American to understand nuance, not to mention being totally clueless about history.
January 11, 2021
Speculative military fiction of the highest order
I picked up the Escalation after a friend mentioned Maelstrom Rising in a highly complementary manner.
Escalation introduces the Maelstrom Rising universe in bright vivid strokes. It is perhaps the best near future military sci-fi I've encountered. You won't see giant mecha stinky things but you do experience a fast paced small unit fight for survival in a postmodern battlefield where next generation weapon systems compete against irregular tactics and the dogged resistance of a technologically outclassed opponent as the long standing status quo is shattered and the world descends into a remarkably believable collapse into chaos.
Escalation introduces multiple well fleshed and complex characters without falling into any of the common stereotypes or the too common cardboard stand-ins you see in many works. I VERY excitedly look forward to reading the rest of the series that has been published to date.
I picked up the Escalation after a friend mentioned Maelstrom Rising in a highly complementary manner.
Escalation introduces the Maelstrom Rising universe in bright vivid strokes. It is perhaps the best near future military sci-fi I've encountered. You won't see giant mecha stinky things but you do experience a fast paced small unit fight for survival in a postmodern battlefield where next generation weapon systems compete against irregular tactics and the dogged resistance of a technologically outclassed opponent as the long standing status quo is shattered and the world descends into a remarkably believable collapse into chaos.
Escalation introduces multiple well fleshed and complex characters without falling into any of the common stereotypes or the too common cardboard stand-ins you see in many works. I VERY excitedly look forward to reading the rest of the series that has been published to date.
November 30, 2024
Military fiction done right.
Peter Nealen is a veteran and it shows when he writes not only the combat scenes, but the stuff in between. How guys who have been through hell act around each other. How small units can have a big impact on the big picture.
Take a small group of highly trained former military members with the backing of a well funded private group. Put them in a world falling apart because the powers to be are more interested in themselves and ideals then the average person. Have them fight it out with violent gangs who control cities, Chinese "private security", a corrupt and out of touch European government. Its good times for all.
Peter Nealen is a veteran and it shows when he writes not only the combat scenes, but the stuff in between. How guys who have been through hell act around each other. How small units can have a big impact on the big picture.
Take a small group of highly trained former military members with the backing of a well funded private group. Put them in a world falling apart because the powers to be are more interested in themselves and ideals then the average person. Have them fight it out with violent gangs who control cities, Chinese "private security", a corrupt and out of touch European government. Its good times for all.
August 25, 2020
It took me a bit to get into this book because I like more character driven stories. This is a plot driven book. I had to reframe how I was approaching this book. There is a lot of action in the story, nearly nonstop. The micro level detail of the combat, weapon systems and tactics is strong. I don’t find the overall arc of the story plausible, but hey it’s fiction. That said the writing is good, detailed and action packed. It seems consistent with modern military fiction, where you know more about the gear than the character (this is a bit over stated in fairness).
November 17, 2024
I'm excited to read the series!
There are some amazing characters in this first book. I love that it started with a Bang! And then the true action happened. I cannot imagine how difficult the lives of these men are, but they are loyal & upstanding people who I would love to know. Even if I could only thank them for their service.
Peter Nealen is becoming one of my favorite all-time authors. I look forward to finishing this series & reading all the others. Thank you for your service Mr. Nealen.
There are some amazing characters in this first book. I love that it started with a Bang! And then the true action happened. I cannot imagine how difficult the lives of these men are, but they are loyal & upstanding people who I would love to know. Even if I could only thank them for their service.
Peter Nealen is becoming one of my favorite all-time authors. I look forward to finishing this series & reading all the others. Thank you for your service Mr. Nealen.
September 11, 2020
Well written and not obnoxious
Too many of the type of books covering this type of story are a hard to swallow far-right diatribe masquerading as fiction. This book manages to avoid that pretty well in my opinion. The characters are rich and well fleshed out. The combat is well described without bogging down the reader like some others I have read.
All in all an excellent read if you like military action.
Too many of the type of books covering this type of story are a hard to swallow far-right diatribe masquerading as fiction. This book manages to avoid that pretty well in my opinion. The characters are rich and well fleshed out. The combat is well described without bogging down the reader like some others I have read.
All in all an excellent read if you like military action.
October 23, 2021
A book not of set during WW3 but of the wars that and politics that escalated t Howard’s it has I read there this deeply impactful novel that shows the true face of people has ain’t cut and dry who truly is the enemie has the processed it kept me on the edge of my seat not knowing who lives or dies layslow immersing my self the world building and spectacular combat scenes that hit a realistic scale of 10/10 in my opinion.
March 13, 2021
Sad but true, recommended for those who have been paying attention. Probably the near future for the world,when political correctness collided with reality.
Sad but true. Probably the near future for the world when political correctness collided with reality. Recommended for those who have been paying attention.
Sad but true. Probably the near future for the world when political correctness collided with reality. Recommended for those who have been paying attention.
November 30, 2025
Really good read. However...the repetition of some things was unnecessary. We got it the first time you said it losing communication is bad. Repeating it more than 5 times without elaborating doesn't change the fact that it's bad. Also, ever since Peter mentioned the fact that they were rancid, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that they hadn't bathed.
July 11, 2019
Illustration of ·the end of history`
Progress has led the west into another world war just as the U.S. is least ready to respond. Good, sympathetic leader and what seems a plausible scenario. Going to buy the sequel.
Progress has led the west into another world war just as the U.S. is least ready to respond. Good, sympathetic leader and what seems a plausible scenario. Going to buy the sequel.
March 6, 2020
Action
If you want a book where the action never stops, this the book to read. You will quickly be drawn into the fight and experience the frustration and violence of war. The plot is all to plausible and the characters believable. Looking forward to the next book.
If you want a book where the action never stops, this the book to read. You will quickly be drawn into the fight and experience the frustration and violence of war. The plot is all to plausible and the characters believable. Looking forward to the next book.
April 6, 2020
Good read
I enjoyed the plot and characters as they evolved into a good action packet story. I look forward to the next book. I would have liked a few maps showing the “units” areas of travel but overall I like it very much
I enjoyed the plot and characters as they evolved into a good action packet story. I look forward to the next book. I would have liked a few maps showing the “units” areas of travel but overall I like it very much
September 20, 2020
Should it bother me that this scenario doesn’t seem far-fetched?
If you like action, this novel is packed with it, but the politics behind it just a few years ago would have been enough to cause eye-rolls. Not any more.
If you like action, this novel is packed with it, but the politics behind it just a few years ago would have been enough to cause eye-rolls. Not any more.
June 1, 2021
Poor poor book
I am glad I got this on kindle I’m glad I didn’t pay anything for this proud boys qanon wet dream piece of crap, it a poor imitation of Clancy’s red storm rising with crappy writing, I guess I’ll say I read it so you don’t have to
I am glad I got this on kindle I’m glad I didn’t pay anything for this proud boys qanon wet dream piece of crap, it a poor imitation of Clancy’s red storm rising with crappy writing, I guess I’ll say I read it so you don’t have to
July 22, 2021
Adrenaline rush
Non stop death defying fighting from start to finish, helps to know where each eastern and southeastern European country is, and what borders what. A map would have helped.
Non stop death defying fighting from start to finish, helps to know where each eastern and southeastern European country is, and what borders what. A map would have helped.
August 2, 2021
Good if you like futuristic
I bought this series after finishing the Brannigan series thinking it would be similar. Oops. Needless to say this was not what I expected. It was good with great action but hard for me to follow due to the global turmoil. 😁
I bought this series after finishing the Brannigan series thinking it would be similar. Oops. Needless to say this was not what I expected. It was good with great action but hard for me to follow due to the global turmoil. 😁
April 12, 2022
Acronyms aplenty
Although there’s a terrific story buried in there with all the acronyms the author uses. Lots of action you want the characters to succeed. But I can’t get my head around all the acronyms that’s why I gave it only a 4.
Although there’s a terrific story buried in there with all the acronyms the author uses. Lots of action you want the characters to succeed. But I can’t get my head around all the acronyms that’s why I gave it only a 4.
March 23, 2025
Intriguing and intense
I had already had read two other books in the series not realizing I missed the first one. Now I'm up to date and will look for number 4 in the series if there's one. My Complaints to Mr Nealen.
I had already had read two other books in the series not realizing I missed the first one. Now I'm up to date and will look for number 4 in the series if there's one. My Complaints to Mr Nealen.
March 24, 2025
Full on action from beginning to end. I felt like I was rolling in the dirt, taking fire, and running from page to page. Very realistic with rough-as-guts soldiers with a moral compass. Throughly enjoyable. Great start to a series.
April 29, 2019
100%
Thanks Peter, another great book. It made me wish I had, but glad I never experienced combat. Can't wait for the next book.
Richard
American legion Three Forks
Thanks Peter, another great book. It made me wish I had, but glad I never experienced combat. Can't wait for the next book.
Richard
American legion Three Forks
May 1, 2019
Excellent!
A great start to a new series, excellent writing and through the live action. Mr. Nealen has captured the essence of the grunt’s eye view of battle. Highly recommended.
A great start to a new series, excellent writing and through the live action. Mr. Nealen has captured the essence of the grunt’s eye view of battle. Highly recommended.
August 13, 2019
Excellent. Just a great piece of military fiction. Starting the second book now.
August 22, 2019
Military action. Easy reading. Full of detailed tactical descriptions. Liked.
August 29, 2019
Another winner
Another winning title from this author. Gritty, hard hitting, non stop action with all of the unpleasantness that goes with being a grunt. Well done!
Another winning title from this author. Gritty, hard hitting, non stop action with all of the unpleasantness that goes with being a grunt. Well done!
January 17, 2020
Highly recommended
Peter Nealen strikes again. Another excellent near future war novel that is guaranteed to get your pulse racing. The man is quite the author.
Peter Nealen strikes again. Another excellent near future war novel that is guaranteed to get your pulse racing. The man is quite the author.
October 30, 2020
Excellent
This was a great read with a good mix of action and “what if.” If you like military thrillers with no-nonsense and realistic action, this is the book for you.
This was a great read with a good mix of action and “what if.” If you like military thrillers with no-nonsense and realistic action, this is the book for you.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews