Stephen Leather sends his warriors on one of their most perilous missions yet. With the Ukrainian-Russian war machine churning more and more devastation, Leather puts readers in the hot seat as Matt Standing takes the fight to Russia’s forces.
Matt Standing and his team are attached to a strike team in Ukraine with the intention of helping the forces on the ground become familiar with new cutting-edge weaponry provided by the British. With tensions continuing to escalate, Standing and his team find themselves mired in firefights, double crosses, and drones swirling around. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a secret directive to their actions; assassinating the Russian president in what many others would consider to be a suicide mission. For Standing, it’s just another Tuesday.
Just from the setting, one can infer the action’s going to be firing all on cylinders and that inference is absolutely correct. Stephen Leather crafts his action sequences with a delicate balance of chaotic energy and tactical precision that play off each other in an exciting fashion. Standing is a one-man army whom you love to read kicking ass in tactically-authentic military-styled combat sequences.
At the same time, what I found most absorbing was how Stephen Leather factors in the on-going war-weary nature of this conflict. Far from being treated like a new development, this time we feel the weight of the war taking its toll on the characters and how the conflict has evolved since its inception, reflecting the current events with somber and impactful moments in the narrative that help the story stand out from being just another military action thriller.
Standing Strong is packed with bold and gritty military standoffs, memorable characters, and exciting plot unraveling developments that unfold in the right flow to keep you hooked long past your bedtime.
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