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Blaine McCracken #2
The Alpha Deception
A town in Oregon is wiped out by a bluish white beam from the sky. A Wyoming town is held prisoner by a strange, Russian-speaking army. The war is on for an ancient mineral--the ultimate weapon. The most exciting thriller yet from a new young master.
383 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1987
33 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Jon Land
128 books407 followersJon Land is an American author of thriller novels and a screenwriter. He graduated from Brown University in 1979 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude. He often bases his novels and scripts on extensive travel and research as well as a twenty-five year career in martial arts. He is an associate member of the US Special Forces and is an emeritus board member the International Thriller Writers. John currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 7, 2025
Jon Land, a prolific author who has written numerous books in numerous series, began a series in the 1980s featuring an ex-military war hero named Blaine McCracken.
Silly name aside, McCracken is a hero in the same vein as Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, with a little bit of James Bond and Indiana Jones thrown in, as well. Apparently the market for men's action-adventure was not nearly saturated enough back then, because Land went on to write eleven books in the McCracken series.
"The Alpha Deception" is actually the second book in the series, but it's the first I've read. Don't worry, though, because you probably don't need to read the first book to understand what's going on. While I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help but feel that Land took a "kitchen sink" approach to writing it. Basically, he threw a lot of stuff into it, some of which works, some of which didn't.
Without giving too much of the plot away, the book involves a particle beam weapon that can destroy entire cities from orbit, a rogue group of Soviet hardliners bent on destruction of the U.S.A., a precious and rare gem that may or may not have come from the lost continent of Atlantis, Hasidic Jew assassins, a sea monster, and a Native American named Johnny Wareagle who can talk to animal spirits (of course) and has the magical ability of sneaking into any office anywhere in the Pentagon.
Having just written that, I'm surprised that this is not a Thomas Pynchon novel.
This book is silly and ridiculous, but it's also harmless good fun. If you enjoy Clive Cussler, you'll probably like this series by Land.
Silly name aside, McCracken is a hero in the same vein as Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, with a little bit of James Bond and Indiana Jones thrown in, as well. Apparently the market for men's action-adventure was not nearly saturated enough back then, because Land went on to write eleven books in the McCracken series.
"The Alpha Deception" is actually the second book in the series, but it's the first I've read. Don't worry, though, because you probably don't need to read the first book to understand what's going on. While I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help but feel that Land took a "kitchen sink" approach to writing it. Basically, he threw a lot of stuff into it, some of which works, some of which didn't.
Without giving too much of the plot away, the book involves a particle beam weapon that can destroy entire cities from orbit, a rogue group of Soviet hardliners bent on destruction of the U.S.A., a precious and rare gem that may or may not have come from the lost continent of Atlantis, Hasidic Jew assassins, a sea monster, and a Native American named Johnny Wareagle who can talk to animal spirits (of course) and has the magical ability of sneaking into any office anywhere in the Pentagon.
Having just written that, I'm surprised that this is not a Thomas Pynchon novel.
This book is silly and ridiculous, but it's also harmless good fun. If you enjoy Clive Cussler, you'll probably like this series by Land.
June 28, 2017
Land could have titled this book "No Kitchen Sink" because he threw everything else into it. A superhuman hero; stereotypical psychopathic, maniacal bad guys; the tragic murder of a loved one; the sexy counter-spy from the other side; incredible narrow escapes all over the world; a ridiculous, complex plot; constant, pulse-pounding action. So over-the-top that you lose interest. An obvious pitch to attract readers by promising them absolutely everything. Way, way, too much.
September 11, 2017
Enjoying re-reading this series. It hasn;t lost any of its original appeal. Good action and story.
November 19, 2023
Jam packed with every type of action you could think of, so that's a plus. Dialog leads a lot to be desire. The character of Wareagle is almost comical in how poorly he is portrayed, bordering on pure racist and making him out to be the most mystical War Machine of all time. But if you like crazy action for Crazy Action sake this is for you.
January 29, 2019
Ages pretty well for an older action/adventure book with politics, espionage and some technology elements. Not quite as good as the newer books in the series but well worth the read.
September 1, 2022
A good read but way too many cliches including Casablanca, Atlantis, Star Trek, and others.
February 12, 2015
The second in the Blain McCracken series.
I've come to this series in a backward way. The first book of the series that I read was the 11th. That book I put in my top 5 so, I was ready to dig back into more.
If your asking why I jumped to the 2nd book and not the 1st, I can only say that I just picked one. It should be said that this is one of those rare series that you can really jump in anywhere and fully enjoy it without feeling confused through half the book. As with any series with recurring characters there is obviously a history built through each book and there are times when you sense that your not quiet getting the subtext of some things but as with skilled writers the author includes just the right words for fans and followers to feel the thread but not so much as to confuse new readers.
This book showed me the earlier version of McCrakenballs (I love that!) and Wareagle that helped me better understand them, especially some of the Native American mysticism of Wareagle.
This story revolves around a crazed Russian (How appropriate for the recent current events), spies, traitors, killers, Atlantis, massive shoot outs, the total inhalation of a town in the blink of an eye, and a deadly weapon capable of harnessing the power of the sun.
Early on there is a pivotal event that serves as the catalyst for the unleashing of Blaine.
That should be enough to whet your appetite.
P.S. I discovered a character that spans at least two different series from the author. The two couldn't be more different. The characters appears in this book and also the Strong series, a series that brings out a female Texas Ranger that is no joke. I highly recommend those books as well.
I've come to this series in a backward way. The first book of the series that I read was the 11th. That book I put in my top 5 so, I was ready to dig back into more.
If your asking why I jumped to the 2nd book and not the 1st, I can only say that I just picked one. It should be said that this is one of those rare series that you can really jump in anywhere and fully enjoy it without feeling confused through half the book. As with any series with recurring characters there is obviously a history built through each book and there are times when you sense that your not quiet getting the subtext of some things but as with skilled writers the author includes just the right words for fans and followers to feel the thread but not so much as to confuse new readers.
This book showed me the earlier version of McCrakenballs (I love that!) and Wareagle that helped me better understand them, especially some of the Native American mysticism of Wareagle.
This story revolves around a crazed Russian (How appropriate for the recent current events), spies, traitors, killers, Atlantis, massive shoot outs, the total inhalation of a town in the blink of an eye, and a deadly weapon capable of harnessing the power of the sun.
Early on there is a pivotal event that serves as the catalyst for the unleashing of Blaine.
That should be enough to whet your appetite.
P.S. I discovered a character that spans at least two different series from the author. The two couldn't be more different. The characters appears in this book and also the Strong series, a series that brings out a female Texas Ranger that is no joke. I highly recommend those books as well.
March 15, 2014
This book should have been good, I like the series and the author but, it was a struggle for me to read and I was glad when it was over.
I've had a bad week and that may be the reason I didn't enjoy the book, I'm not going to read it again to find out.
I have read books that I can enjoy even on a bad day but, I'll give this one the benefit of my doubt and rate it 3 stars instead of 1.
I've had a bad week and that may be the reason I didn't enjoy the book, I'm not going to read it again to find out.
I have read books that I can enjoy even on a bad day but, I'll give this one the benefit of my doubt and rate it 3 stars instead of 1.
March 17, 2014
I didn't realize when I picked this up to read that it was sci-fi, and not even very good sci-fi at that. I ended up skimming through to verify the story and action remained predictable (it did). Probably won't pick up another one of these.
February 20, 2013
What I love about Jon Land's books, is he keeps coming up with new scenarios, so we're never bored!
Another great Blaine McCracken and a nostalgia trip back to the 80's
Another great Blaine McCracken and a nostalgia trip back to the 80's
February 20, 2013
This was my first book with Blaine McCracken. Seems pretty cool, but I think Reacher could take him.
February 25, 2015
death Ray...an entire town and it's inhabitants reduced to carbon particles
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews