Meet SteVen Hendricks
Background: A seasoned writer with more than 20 years' experience in the corporate communications world. Found peace and pleasure in reading and reviewing countless books in the action thriller genre. Spent many long hours on international flights much before the dawn of Netflix which is how I began “binge reading” action thriller series and novels. Love writing objective, yet conversational reviews for thriller novels.
Favorite Local/Indie Store: Haslam's Book Store in St. Petersburg, FL. The store is overseen by four bookstore cats -- Teacup and Beowulf, almost 15 years old, and youngsters Clancy (for Tom) and Emily (for Dickinson), rescued as tiny kittens from the engine compartment of the store’s van. The store is a browser’s paradise, with all sorts of unexpected titles tucked into its shelves. The place is huge and continues to grow but always has the 'indie bookstore' feel and atmosphere.
A Bestselling Author That Is A Go-To: Mark Greaney - Gray Man Series - every book in the series has been nothing more than a solid action-packed adventure with lots of espionage intrigue. Each book includes the usual series suspects, plus plenty of new antagonists, and really good setups for the next Gray Man installment. The series has nice progression in Court Gentry’s character without changing the overall tone of the series. Greaney is a great action thriller writer!
An Author People Should Discover: Marc Cameron - Jericho Quinn Series, (Tom Clancy’s) Jack Ryan Series and the Arliss Cutter Series. Jericho Quinn books have a relatable protagonist that's a decent person as well as an experienced operator. All his Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan books were delivered in the style of its original creator. And the Arliss Cutter series just brings a strong sense of authenticity due to Cameron's US Marshal background, skill and experience.
A Book You Would Recommend From 2020: Tom Clancy Shadow of the Dragon by Marc Cameron. Cameron developed and gave an important character in the book my surname following a suggestion of including more people of color in his books.
A Book You Are Looking Forward To In 2021: Tom Clancy Target Acquired by Don Bentley. Bentley takes over the Jack Ryan Jr. series after delivering two outstanding action thriller novels of his own; the Matt Drake series.
Booze And Books
SteVen is known for accompanying his reviews with photos where he pairs the book with a drink, typically a bottle of beer or spirits, that matches the color scheme of the cover. Here are a few examples.
Target Acquired By Don Bentley
Ever since Tom Clancy’s first Jack Ryan, Jr. book, “Teeth of the Tiger,” I have been a longtime fan of Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Jr. series. I enjoy the Jack Ryan Sr. novels as well, with their political, techno-thriller spin, but the Jack Jr. and The Campus books own the more intense action side of the Tom Clancy Universe.
After reading Tom Clancy’s Target Acquired by new coauthor Don Bentley, my faith in revitalizing the Jack Jr. series has been restored. Grant Blackwood, Mark Greaney and Mike Maden all did good jobs with the Jack Jr./The Campus series of novels, but the series needed updating and evolving from the Cold War Clancy-like stories to the now post 9-11 terrorism-type stories.
Previous Clancy novels were heavy into the strength and details of the story plots with geo-political analysis and operational details that many times overwhelmed the few action sequences. Unfortunately, many of the Clancy books were soon overwhelmed by Clancy’s usual weaknesses of lengthy dialogue, sometimes thin characterizations of too many characters, endless repetition of back stories and partisan bumper-sticker politics. Not this new coauthored Clancy, Jack Jr. novel! Target Acquired is a measured response and an obvious attempt to reinvent the Clancy Universe into a more contemporary action-thriller series. This eighth Jack Jr. book is one of the best Jack Jr. novels written and with Don Bentley now coauthoring the series, it has tremendous ‘action-thriller’ promise with more to come.
Target Acquired surprises and entertains like Clancy’s Rainbow Six novel did. It charts a fascinating course through Israel and the Middle East with a chilling and intriguing look into international espionage, geo-political politics, Black Ops operations and cults. The main character, Jack Ryan, Jr. was a much-improved protagonist in this book than of old. Bentley did an outstanding job in revitalizing Jack Jr.’s character. Bentley brought out the ‘unexplained’ reason why the son of the President of the United States is working as a senior analyst/black ops operator for a secret intelligence organization – The Campus. Jack Jr. was raised in politics and intrigue and as his father, Jack Ryan Sr. moved through the ranks of the CIA and then into the White House, Jack Jr. received a life lesson of the world and the way it operates from federal agents, political statesmen, CIA analysts, Secret Service agents, and Black Ops operators like John Clark and Ding Chavez. Bentley’s characterization of Jack Jr. in this book, brought all of this to light and how Jack Jr. finally put all of this together without it coming across too “cartoonish” and with some true realization. I also love the characterization of the female Air Force F-35 fighter pilot, Captain Natalie “Daisy” Smith…she was a “badass” and Bentley’s writing of the F-35 scenes were top-notch!
Bentley also provides the typical Jack Jr. ‘James Bond-like’ flirting, seducing, and toying with attractive females, but that’s to be expected in the spy, espionage genre. Jack Jr. is an attractive American spy that many women can’t seem to resist. Tremendously happy with how Target Acquired turned out. Bentley not only wrote a great story, but he told it in a way that improved the series and created anticipation for its future. Two-thumbs up on Target Acquired by Don Bentley.
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Purchase Target Acquired
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Amazon
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Books-A-Million
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
