James Swallow scores a lethal hit with Splinter Cell: Dragonfire that ramps up the awesomeness of the Splinter Cell games to a whole nother level and blows past the high bar set by its predecessor, Splinter Cell: Firewall. If you thought you’d seen all there is to know about Sam Fisher, you’re in for an action-filled treat that’s going to have you giddy and full of adrenaline.
Sam Fisher finds himself in hot waters when he’s set up and arrested in North Korea behind enemy lines. Declared persona non grata, he has to fight for his life any way he can. His only hope beyond his own training and survival skills is his daughter, Sarah Fisher, who will put her skills as a recent inductee of the Splinter Cell program to the test when she has to go dark in order to save her father’s life. Adding to the complexity of infiltrating enemy lines without backup is a new cabal of shadowy forces working in conjunction to bring an end to the Korean War in a rather explosive and destructive manner, having the means and reach to turn everyone against the Fishers.
An action-heavy synopsis as this merits gritty and smooth combat sequences. James Swallow captures the vibrant and fluid nature of the video games when it comes to the pulse-pounding shootouts and raw hand to hand fisticuffs. From the very beginning, the bar is set high for action when we get a glimpse of panther-like stealth combat followed by an all-out chaotic battle between Sam and his adversaries. Sam Fisher is revered by action-thriller fans as an iconic assassin with ‘tacticool’ gadgets and weaponry and this is an aspect James Swallow explores to the maximum without compromising the finality of danger that lies in every decision Fisher makes on the ground. Fans of the Ghost Recon video games will be pleased to see the titular team of operatives making a fun cameo in this entry.
What further makes Splinter Cell: Dragonfire a distinctive thriller in the modern narrative is the presence of fresh villains and a plotline both far from saturated topics in the genre. The cabal of antagonists is shown to be bigger than just a few players, hinting at a possible return in the sequels with something even more sinister. Drawing from his experience of the Nomad series, James Swallow is terrific at world-building as we see a whole universe of characters that not only live up to our expectations but also improve upon their 3D dimensionality to appear even more grounded and exciting.
Splinter Cell: Dragonfire is the best kind of book you can hope to read when you’re craving top-notch action and a refreshing roster of characters and motivations that fuel the narrative at breakneck speeds.
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