It’s no secret that James Swallow writes riveting action-packed espionage stories that stand with the best of the best. Rogue is a testament to his extraordinary writing where the beautifully fleshed-out characters, a rich story-arc stemming over the course of previous books, innovative action sequences, and a haunting cliffhanger make it not only the best entry in the series so far, but also one of my all-time favorite books.
Continuing the proverbial war of two opposing private intelligence agencies, the one striving for global anarchy, Combine, hatches a plan born out of frustration caused by the other agency, Rubicon, to systematically break down the latter organization for a hostile takeover. Techie-turned-operative and protagonist Marc Dane, ex-Delta sniper Lucy Keyes, and IT guru Assim Kader of Rubicon agency are sent on a wild goose chase when a familiar face from Dane’s past reappears in sinister fashion, without knowing that Combine is pulling the strings. There is no good time for a quick rest as the entire narrative blasts through all stops full steam with brilliant plot twists and game-changing revelations. James Swallow dedicates the right amount of time focusing on character developments to truly immerse the reader in the high stakes of the story. The struggle for Marc’s grip on trust in the murky world of espionage is superbly demonstrated, similar to Jason Bourne’s struggle with his memory in Robert Ludlum’s trilogy, but even better with a faster pace to keep the story rolling.
Complimenting the stellar plotline and character developments are adrenaline-pumping action sequences on ground, at sea, and in air. Cinematic sequences including but not limited to parachuting off skyscrapers under a barrage of bullets, outrunning a combat helicopter on a super-fast boat, and souped-up private jets taking on Mig-21s in a creative as well as believable manner; this book has it all.
Rogue is a meticulously crafted global extravaganza of espionage and action with a deeply personal crux to amplify the power of gut-punching turns in the narrative that shake the core foundation of the story. I can’t recall the last time I felt mind-blowingly impressed by a grand spy thriller set on a global scale with the emotional center of a powerful drama.
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