Hired to extract an undercover operative in Kenya, Juan Cabrillo finds himself on the trail of a deadly international plot. A Saudi Prince seeks to unleash a deadly assault on U.S. forces, sparking a new war in the Middle East and ultimately destroying Israel.

Mike Maden is the author of the Troy Pearce series, four books in the Jack Ryan Jr. series. In Fire Strike, Maden delivers another high-tech, action filled, instalment of The Oregon Files.

I was hooked from the start with this one. It’s rare to encounter characters from the British Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service (SBS). They are the maritime counterpart to the more well-known Special Air Service (SAS). Their motto “Not by strength, by guile” has always seemed to me an even more chilling level of professionalism compared to the brashness of “Who dares, wins”. So it was a pleasure for me to find out about the origins of Maurice, an otherwise unassuming steward aboard the Oregon.

To those sticklers for detail, yes that’s not the motto now, not exactly. But check the records, that’s it in original and often preferred form.

Anyway, this SBS origins opening to the book served up a delightful scene later in the book when it almost seemed like all was lost for the Oregon.

Overall, the story was a real treat. Once again, packed with cutting edge tech. Additionally, we saw cutting edge genetics, with a squad of genetically modified super soldiers. Maden knows how to keep things on the bleeding edge.

With this being the third book I’ve read in the series, I’m really starting to get a feel for the main characters as individuals but also as a crew. One of the things I really enjoy about reading a series is that sense of being at home with the people you know. It’s still early days for me, and perhaps I need to read the earlier books to get there quicker, but I think Maden will continue to deliver and I will soon enough be feeling as if I’m at home and aboard the Oregon.