Pandora's Grave (Shadow Warriors Book 2)

Stephen England has written an excellent debut thriller. Pandora's Grave throttles up from the first chapter and doesn't stop until the end.

He weaves history, suspense, and politics for an intriguing story that takes us from Tehran, to Langley, to Jerusalem and introduces a cast of characters who are all critical to the story. To add to the suspense, there's a sleeper among the U.S. agents and we're left to figure out who it might be.

It takes a talented author to provide historical and tactical detail without being overbearing and background that is relevant to understanding each character. Mr. England does both easily and skillfully. There is no fluff in this book. Each chapter progresses into the next logically and intelligently and pushes the story along. Whether it's in the mountains of Iran or the halls of Langley, his ability to make you feel like you're there with the characters is exceptional. I found myself not wanting to put the book down which was evident the other night when I didn't go to sleep until I finished it at 2AM.

I read several authors in this genre and in my opinion, Mr. England ranks right up there with Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, John Gilstrap and the late Andrew Britton as the best. Like those authors, he leaves us with our mouths hanging open at the end of the book and hoping the next one is released soon. I can't recommend this book enough.

I've read many a spy thriller. Seems many authors in this genre have developed the same "tried and true" techniques for character and plot development. Pandora's Grave broke that mold.

Good authors have a way of putting you right there in the middle of the action. Mr. England takes that a step further. I could "smell" the action. It was tactile. Even seemingly "small" events, such a the sound of a metal barrel scrapping the side of a wall as it is pulled around someone's body, really came to life. I have never seen an author use that level of detail and not overwhelm and distract me from the flow of the writing (i.e. Clancy). Such details were never so contrived in Pandora's Grave.

This book was extremely well researched and real-to-life. The intensity and drama was so real that I actually had to put the book away and calm my nerves. That has never happened to me.

Many authors seem to tire of the project toward the end, moving quickly to an anti-climax. Not here. Mr. England takes his time, and seems to relish in making the action even more compelling toward the end.

Fantastic read, but not for the faint of heart. You'll need to get use to Mr. England's unique writing style, but once you do, you'll be pulled into the action nicely.

I thoroughly enjoyed Pandora's Grave! Characters you care about and circumstances so relevant in today's world make this a must read! On occasion I had trouble keeping some of the minor characters straight, but it was only a slight distraction. I was too busy realizing how realistic this scenario could actually be in a post 9/11 world, and waiting for the next big surprise.

I was hooked from the prologue. The characters are well written, and to say it is action packed is an understatement. There are plot twists you expect and some you don't see coming. It's been a long time since a book has taken me by surprise, but this one did. Just when you think you have it figured out - well, you don't. Take my word for it. The hard part now is waiting for the next book.

I enjoyed this book very much. Plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Well written story line with the right blend of action to dialogue and description. I am looking forward to the next book from England. Great Read!

If you like reading Rosenberg, Flynn, McNab; you'll love this book. The plot is well crafted (at some parts a bit complex) and the pace of the story adds to the suspense and tension. The protagonist is gritty and tough. He leads a highly trained group of men who are like brothers but is there a traitor in their ranks? This book has the right mix of political intrigue, action, suspense and emotion. Christian readers will appreciate that the author avoids the use of profanity and sex which does not detract from the story at all. Can't wait for the next one!

Bottom line up front. Good book. Great plot and writing, good characters, very well researched, BUT some definite fantasy elements with little knowledge of tactical anything.

Lets hit the high points first. This guy writes very well. His descriptions are vivid, and his characters are multidimensional. For instance, I thought he did a great job with some of his Islamic characters, especially the bad ones. They all pay lip service to the Islamic ideal, but they have varied and realistic true motives that go from true belief in the coming of a Shia apocalypse, to simple political ambition, which, true to real middle-eastern culture, they don't mind killing a couple hundred or thousand people to achieve. In the product description I remember there being a claim that this author did something like a decade of research before writing this book. That definitely shows. Everything is very specific, to include beaurocratic machinations of American politics and intelligence agencies which may or may not be true to life, who really knows? That being said, I suspect there is a good bit of truth in the author's somewhat realpolitik view of these organizations.
I really enjoyed this book, and it really is a very good book in my opinion, however, there were three things about it that really drove me a little nuts. First, I feel like there's some really fantistical material here. The plot revolves around this supposed secret CIA team whose primary mission seems to be running around the world conducting random unilateral direct action missions, which the home office seems to have an unending requirement for. While there certainly are elements of the US military that go to war zones and kick in a LOT of doors in a low intensity warfare setting, like Syria or Afghanistan, I really don't think that this is a realistic picture of the CIA, or any other intelligence agency. Bottom line, James Bond just doesn't exist, no matter how current and relevant we try to make him. Along these same lines there's an awful lot of guncraft that seems to be injected into spycraft. For instance, these guys go to Israel to discuss an issue with their counterparts, and somehow sniper overwatch is involved with this. Huh???
Secondly, this author really fails to portray the team dynamic that goes with small teams working in a high risk environment. Authors like Jack Murphy or Dalton Fury, who have really been there, do a good job of this. England, not so much, the synergy is just not there. Thirdly and finally. This guy has NO idea how anything tactical unfolds on the ground, and constantly gets hardware related stuff wrong. For instance these guys are involved in a helocopter crash during infiltration to an objective. They emmedietly start talking to each other in the most corny possible radio code, mostly fail to consolidate or take good physical accountability, and then leave their sniper hung out to dry on an overwatch position somewhere. Again, huh??? Or, in another annoying fail, a character take an M24 sniper system apart and puts it in a brief case to conceal it for rapid deployment. Seriously?! Just the barrel on that thing is twenty something inches long, the stock doesn't fold, and the barrel, stock, and action, well, they DO come apart, but it's armorer level maintenance that requires stuff like barrel vices and torc wrenches. Another character "safes his pistol," which is a glock, and therefore doesn't have a manual safety. Another guy takes apart a Barrett 98B and magically puts it in a camera bag. Wow, that camera must have a looooooooooooooooong lense. Anyway, now that I am done ranting, this aspect of the book maybe the least significant from a literary stand point, but as you can tell it drove me kinda crazy.
Anyway, none of the above should detract from the fact that I actually enjoyed this book, because, at the end of the day, a few flaws aside, this is really a very talented author.

This is my favorite genre of books, and finally a writer the is not afraid to have a Christian Hero, but does not slam it in your face. The story was interesting and kept me hooked till the end. I cannot wait to read his other works.

A meticulous, pulse-pounding spy technothriller. Pandora's Grave is the most explosive new entry in the genre since DeMille's By the Rivers of Babylon. Harry Nichols is not to be messed with! Highly recommended.

A meticulous, pulse-pounding spy technothriller. Pandora's Grave is the most explosive new entry in the genre since DeMille's By the Rivers of Babylon. Harry Nichols is not to be messed with! Highly recommended.

One of the first things I noticed about Pandora's Grave is that it was a spy/military/thriller with NO foul language. That made the book all the more enjoyable. In the author's note at the end, Stephen calls the book a "Christian spy thriller." I wouldn't have thought to classify it that way because it's not overtly Christian (i.e., it's not preachy at all).

The author does a very good job of keeping the story moving and keeping you turning the pages.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

Pandora's Grave is a solid, reasonably well-written but generic terrorist/spy thriller - reasonably well executed. It is supposedly a "Christian" thriller; I didn't find it to be particularly Christian - or particularly un-Christian. It isn't great, but it's good enough.

The only real minuses I would give the book is that while the author tries hard to hide the identity of the traitor, I figured it out instantly. Also, the author overuses ellipses...

Which is really annoying...

Pandora's Grave is an excellent debut thriller by novelist Stephen England. The characters and action kept me reading long into the night...night after night. Happy to hear there's a sequel in the works. Very much looking forward to it!

A well-written CIA para-military thriller, setting out to stop a plot to unleash a plague in Jerusalem that would tear the lid off the fragile peace in the Mideast. The reader should be aware that there is a lot of movement, many characters in different locations, and a good deal of Muslim background. The style is choppy, with many sentence fragments that may not be every reader's cup of tea, but seemed to fit the story IMHO. There is too little character development even by the low standards of the genre, especially given that this book launches the series (excluding the short story billed as "Book One").

This reads like a cross between Clancy and 24hours. It is fast-paced and thrilling written in real time. Short chapters which is very useful for folk like me who tend to read in numerous 5/6 minute snatches. Plot is interesting, as a Brit I felt the author put over the CIA/FBI/Presidency interaction (or rather lack of same) and operational heirachy very well, although I frequently had to read back to refresh my memory with what I considered an over-usage of titled initials and aliases. Thought the complicated plot was presented clearly and thrillingly.
Had a nagging doubt whilst reading that, judging by this list of characters, the anti-christ must surely be a muslim. Was even more concerned when reading postscripts to discover the "Christian" tendencies of the author. This aspect made me deduct just the one star for religious bias (which is pretty generous of me). Also feel that the central character was a little too super-sonic and "Captain America" for my liking.
Can't fault the action, tension and pace of the book though.

I don't write book reviews...but an exception for this one. This book is very well done and worth every bit of your time to read. Thought provoking, educational and emotionally compelling. I can't wai to see what the follow on books will be!

This book had very good character developements with multiple story plots. The character developments were realistic and the author's prose was written for educated people. Tactics, weapons and "lingo" used in the book created a realistic endeavor into spec. ops.

I enjoyed this book immensely - it had action, suspense, historical detail - it was an exciting read and very well written. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes terrorist type thrillers. I'm looking forward to Mr. England's next book which I hope will be out in the near future.

I thought it was well written and really enjoyed it. Reading from the various perspectives of the CIA, Mossad, terrorists, etc. really kept me on my toes. Honestly, I had no idea what the outcome was going to be. I'm a big fan of spy novels and found this book after finishing the Bourne triology. It was a good transition going from following one man to reading about a entire team taking on a mission. I was able to pick up on a lot of military jargan as well. I'll be awaiting the release of the next Shadow Warrior book Day of Reckoning. Again, great book and you can really feel the passion Stephan puts into this story.

Stephen England has written an intriguing and captivating spy thriller. This book moves quickly and is a fun read. It has very detailed plots and there is supense until the end. Can't wait for the next one!

Great adventure full of action and excitement. This novel also adds a dimension that is usually only thinly applied to these types of books-the emotions of of the people involved on all sides. This factor ratchets up the impact-fullness exponentiallly.

The author is extremely talented and I enjoyed the novel. The story was very interesting. However, if someone wants to write about intelligence organizations or SOF forces he should pay attention to detail. It would not have been much to ask that the novel not refer to the CIA's training center as Quantico, which is where new FBI agents are trained, not CIA officers. Furthermore, the "Q course" is for trainees of Army Special Forces, not Army Rangers, there is a big difference. There are numerous other missteps that the author makes when referring to the CIA or the military. I have never been in either but just from reading fiction and non fiction I can spot these errors. I look forward to more from this author but hope he takes the time to be more accurate.