Operation: Save the Innocent: From the Declassified Files of Team of Darkness

Team of Darkness #2

by Tony Ruggiero

In his follow up to the critically acclaimed Immortal Servitude, award-nominated author Tony Ruggiero weaves a tale of intrigue, secrecy and choices.John Reese thought it was all over-all except the nightmares. Everyone thought the Team of Darkness operation finished, and the vampires dead. Everyone but General Stone, who secretly proceeded with two special vampires. Two young, innocent girls, who should have spent their childhood playing with dolls and chasing boys. Instead, the girls, now full-fledged vampires, are trained to be the perfect assassin, ready to serve the General's personal ambitions.When Stone is murdered, a secret government organization sets out to contain the project-their way. And just as he begins his teaching career, John Reese is recalled to active duty to hunt down the two young vampires, gone missing from the 'training' facility. But he must do it without revealing his the Team of Darkness vampires still live, and likely freed the girls. If the secret gets out, his very freedom is at stake."... Save The Innocent is a bitingly good supernatural thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats." ~ SFREVU.com

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Tony Ruggiero is best known for his dark fantasy thrillers about vampires being used by the US military. Ground breaking and fast paced, the novels are a characteristic mixture of the vampire lore of Anne Rice and the clandestine secrets of the military found in Tom Clancy novels. The concept led to a series of books released in 2006 through 2010, labeled the Team of Darkness Declassified Files. The books include: Operation Immortal Servitude, Operation Save the Innocent, Operation Face the Fear, and Operation Endgame.
A longtime favorite for Tony is the old style of “space opera” type stories which is the center of his two book series: Alien Deception and Alien Revelation. The series deals with an alien organization that has infiltrated the American political system. The series runs the gauntlet from humorous and light hearted to deadly serious as a young man and woman search for answers.
His latest release is Coven. Little towns and secrets: a guilty pleasure for some and a harsh reality for others. Witches have secretly been in control of the town council for years and the town has prospered...until now. As they search for the truth behind the mysterious death of one of their shop owners, they uncover disturbing secrets about an ostracized witch and their own coven leader, making it unclear which one may have been using black magic to murder.
Tony retired from the United States Navy in 2001 after twenty-three years of service. He and his family currently reside in Portsmouth, Virginia. While continuing to write, Tony teaches at Old Dominion University and Saint Leo University. Visit his website to read sample chapters at www.tonyruggiero.com

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part two of a series, this book is about the use of vampires as present-day US Government assassins.

In part one, John Reese ran a very high-level military program called Team of Darkness, a team of three vampires ordered to kill selected targets. Led by a vampire called Dmitri, they had little choice in the matter. Around each of their necks was a permanent metal collar filled with a serum, that, at the touch of a button, would be injected into them, and kill them slowly and painfully. At the end of the book, Reese freed the three, telling his superiors that he killed them.

In this story, a megalomaniac officer named General Stone secretly obstructed Reese’s efforts to abolish the program. He has also secretly secured two young girls, a 13-year-old and her 8-year-old sister, to be his own personal assassins, with similar collars. They were turned into vampires through a Balkan (southeast Europe) equivalent of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud. General Stone is found dead, murdered by Christina, another vampire, who could be said to have started all of this. She was found in a cave in the Balkans near the end of World War II, and was convinced to come to America.

Dmitri and his two colleagues find out about the two sisters, and break them out of a very secure military prison, the same one in which they were held. Reese, supposedly retired from the military, is forcibly recalled to active duty (by an ultra-secret agency called The Agency) with the task of finding them. The alternative is to spend the rest of his life in military prison. He also starts a "relationship" with Christina, and is unaware of her story.

This novel does a fine job of combining a vampire story with a political thriller. I am not much of a vampire novel lover, but I am very interested in reading future novels in this series.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a combination of Stoker, John Ringo, Tom Clancy and a touch of ZA Recht (may he rest in peace) - all the suspense and classic "horror" of Stoker, all the military intrigue of John Ringo (read the "Paladin of Shadows" series - "Ghost," "Kildar," "Choosers of the Slain," "Unto the Breach," and "A Deeper Blue" - in that order) and all of the political intrigue of Tom Clancy (with some of his better military intrigue thrown in for good measure). As for the vampires - Anne Rice has nothing on Tony Ruggiero IMHO.

Tony has created some very real characters but I have to say that my favorites are Commander Reese and the vampire Dmitri - their interactions make the book what it is - a good, well written and fast read that you just cannot put down once you start it.

[Josh Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book as a First Reads winner. My biggest complaint is that I did not read the first book. That being said the author does bring the story up to speed very quickly so you get a feel of what took place in the first book. That being said I really enjoyed this book. Excellent pace, Good storyline, likeable characters. Will be looking for more from Mr. Ruggiero.

[reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book. i read the first one a while back and thought id continue the series. worth taking time out of my busy schedule.