Introduction to the first three in the Sam Wick Rapid Thriller series of pulp fiction books.
Titles: Wicked Storm-Book 1, Wicked Deceit-Book 2, Wicked Hunter-Book 3 – Sam Wick Rapid Thrillers by Chase Austin
Genre: Pulp Thrillers, War Fiction, Political Fiction
Wicked Storm-Book #1 – ASIN: B07P833GN5
- Print Length: 76 pages
- Publication Date: March 28, 2019
Wicked Deceit-Book #2 – ASIN: B07PKDRRN6
- Print Length: 183 pages
Publication Date: May 1, 2019
Wicked Hunter-Book #3 – ASIN: B07PNK69PP
- Print Length: 195 pages
Publication Date: June 1, 2019
Source: Direct author request with Advanced Reader’s Copies
Title Links:
Book Blurb-Book 1- Wicked Storm: A Thrilling Short Story
A girl’s life at stake. A cage match. Only one chance.
Task Force-77 (TF-77) is a black ops team of NSA and the US Military. This is the team, the U.S. government calls when it needs to get people out of the most dangerous places on earth.
Sam Wick.Task Force 77’s best. Master Extractor. Perfect Assassin. Where the government cannot and will not go, he will.
My Review-Book 1:
Talk about fast and furious! This is a short story, long on action, short on character development. The action is apparently meant to garner interest in the series that is coming with promise to develop characters as the entries progress. The last 30% of the first book is a series teaser along with introductory chapters of Wicked Deceit.
Sam Wick is a baddie to the bone. Interesting premise here and well-plotted with a cute twist you may not have suspected. No rules, no harm, no foul. (Okay–forget about the “harm” part.) You’ll have to suspend some disbelief, but otherwise, a fast read. Fun to read a short story once in a while! Of course, we used to call them “dime novels.” And there were some edit problems.
Book Blurb-Book 2 – Wicked Deceit: A Pulsating Race-Against-Time Thriller with High Body Count
What do you do when your own President wants you dead?
You call Sam Wick.
His mission: Extract Carlos Cruz-Diez—a New York Times reporter from the clutches of death.
Location: Venezuela Consulate in Vienna, Austria.
The Obstacle: Venezuela’s National Intelligence Service has sent sixteen of their best to execute this mission.
Timeline: Twenty-four hours. Time is running out. Bullets are flying. Bodies are piling up. Nothing is as it seems.
My Review-Book 2:
Sam Wick, our protagonist, is the returning main character and this is the second in the series, but easily read as a standalone. The reader is being fed little bits of information about Sam Wick. In this entry, Sam joins team Vesuvius who is headed by Jessica, the logistics liaison. There is some chemistry between she and Sam and the team heads into Venezuela on a bloody mission. Once again, the plot kicks into high gear and zooms to conclusion. 007 on steroids. Wick likes to play the strong, silent type, opting to dazzle with pregnant pauses and clear-eyed stares. (At least he won’t bore you with babble on a long flight!)
Some support characters here, not a one-man band, including Jessica and Henrique, the Venezuelan intelligence service director. Not a lot of humor, these missions are played out seriously, fast, and deadly. I saw some improvement in the second of the series in storytelling, but with minimal editing this also exhibited many problems from awkward English to repeated descriptions and punctuation errors. Hopefully, these problems were corrected prior to publication.
Book Blurb-Book 3 – Wicked Hunter: A High Octane Action Thriller
The Taliban have abducted a CIA agent. No one knows where he is being kept. Time is running out. Can he be saved?
His mission: Extract Josh Fletcher, a CIA operative, from the Taliban Backyard
Deadline: Less than twelve hours.
My Review-Book 3:
Okay, down to business, the author is finding his writing chops and this well-plotted storyline is enjoyable to read. Well, another caveat, if you are squeamish, may not be your cup of tea. This is another entry that gets serious very quickly, and Sam actually reaches out to his go-to sharp-shooter for help. We get additional details on Sam, a little more description of the scene and a more thorough introduction and description of the mission. And again, functions just fine as a standalone.
Definitely a more relaxed, cohesive writing style with points of interest well-described. Sam takes the time to plot out the mission control areas and timing, logistics and personnel. Set up more thoroughly, the storyline lays out smoothly although you are still actively ignoring some disbelief. A quotable: “Master your breath, master your mind.”
Unfortunately, again, an ARC rift with edit misses that is hoped were found and corrected prior to publication.
With the third entry to the series and the improvement noted, it would appear that these might continue to be of interest to those who enjoy a fast and furious read, no-holds-barred type of action. A throw-back to more pulp fiction days, just read for fun.
The Author: Chase Austin Get your FREE Starter Library http://www.thechaseaustin.com
Hope you would like my new series – Sam Wick Rapid Thrillers.
Book 1- Wicked Storm
Book 2- Wicked Deceit
Book 3- Wicked Hunter
Book 4- Wicked Blood
Book 5- Wicked Ghost
Welcome to my world.
©2019 V Williams 
Rosepoint Publishing 
“007 on steroids.” 😂
Too bad about the editing issues.
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Yeah but he’ll work on those now that he’s getting his thing going. Thanks for the comment.
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