The Void

FINALLY! I am all caught up with the Alex Hunter series by Greig Beck! Seems like just a short while ago that I found the series. I'd actually purchased one of Beck's ebooks years back but hadn't read it. It wasn't until I'd decided to read Arcadian Genesis that I realized I'd been sitting on an adventurous goldmine! So what is The Void about? Are there monsters? Will there be gruesome deaths? Will there be the handsome Alex Hunter, code name Arcadian? Bank on it! Sometimes lessons are never learned. Oh- I guess I'm ahead of myself. When the US sends out a shuttle for a mission, all is well, but the return raises issues no man ever expected. Something begins to follow the shuttle before reentry to the earth's atmosphere. They can't seem to escape it, since changing trajectory of the shuttle also causes the object to change direction as well. Instead of ignoring it, they reach out and bring it into the shuttle... Mistake. Mission Control can't reach their team, they only know the shuttle's crashed into a crater that seems to be emitting a sort of gaseous fog. Since the trouble began after bringing the asteroid onboard, they know there could be contamination. They have to get information pertaining to the mission as well as any survivors of the crash. Carefully. Which is near impossible because something's going on below the fog. A lot of something. Some things actually. When the HAWC's are deployed, they take with them a news reporter who refuses to take no and a specialized crew fo know about the mission and possibly what the shuttle crew came in contact with. They're wrong. They're all wrong and there are thigns no man could ever imagine down there and they're hungry. So The Void is not just a science fiction thriller, this book is scary and creepier than any of the other Beck novels! I cringed and frowned and could not stop my imagination from seeing all of there horrible things! Alex Hunter is the man, for real! And then there's a situation going on, at home with Joshua, his son. How can anyone escape all of these horrors? This book was freaking phenomenal! I love his stories so much! I loved The Void so much, I sent a message to Mr. Beck, thanking him for such a fab read! If you've touched any of his books, you know the accolades I raise for this series. I probably said too much about the story but I couldn't help it. And that only sets things oup! Read The Void! Read the series! You will not be sorry! Off to the next read. Cheers! The Void Book 7 of the Alex Hunter series Written by Greig Beck Narrated by Sean Mangan Kindle Edition, 329 pages Audible Running Time: 14 Hrs 25 mins Published February 13th 2018 by Momentum Released July 2018

I had a couple of issues with this story, but otherwise, it was an enjoyable thrill ride. Beck is always good at delivering those. I always love the real science behind that story that he brings in to his books. It's that 'maybe this could happen' scenario. Truly, you never know what's really out in space somewhere, just like there are things in the Amazon that no one has ever had to deal with. And the HAWCs have some great new tech at their disposal to make things interesting. Now, what I had trouble with was that NASA would be looking at a possibly threatening sample in anything other than one of those boxes you often see on TV and in movies that separates the scientist from the organism. And even if they didn't, why wouldn't they be in a full 'bunny suit'? The other thing is that very high heat has to be used to kill the organism, but they manage to kill one with chlorine gas so they can examine it. Yup, not buying it. But don't let my hang ups ruin what is actually a really good story. And don't miss the sighting of Arn from the Valkeryn Chronicles.

Another great read by Beck. Spoiler alert. This one starts with the space shuttle Orlando. Something from the void has targeted the space shuttle. No matter how many times they back the oncoming "thing" is right there. Commander Mitch Granger consults with Houston and its decided to use the long arm grab bar to snag the "thing" and put it in the bay. What a mistake this turns out to be. The shuttle then crash's in the mountains of Alaska. Alex Hunter, the Arcadian and Casey Franks are waylaying the yacht Manhattan. A yacht owned by a former Senator Robert A Anderson and his wife Gillian. Hunter is swimming to the ship while a disguised Casey is in front of it making eyes at the jihadists who took over the ship. Once Hunter takes out the jihadists who have a nuclear bomb on board he and Franks clear the ship. They find the bodies of the former Senator and his wife on board. Hunter and Franks leave the rest to professionals and head for home. Alex is with his long time love Aimee Weir and his very special son Joshua. He is the happiest he's been in a long while. Hammerson has a new mission for him though. Its the recovery of photo chips from the downed Orlando. Alex picks his team which includes his long time friend and number two Sam Reid, Franks, two new guys Steven Knight and Andy Garcia, Drake Monroe, Anita Erikson and Max Dunsen who Hunter and Reid have worked with before. All are HAWCS, All very capable men and women. This is the team he will take to Alaska along with Russ Burrows, Scott McIntyre and Anne Peterson all from NASA. A newspaper reporter Morag O'Sullivan and her cameraman Calvin Renner also became part of the crew when the Chinook hauling them all landed in Alaska and the two of them jump aboarde. Hunter didn't want them along but Burrows stated that they could record the whole thing. Its a decision that O'Sullivan and Renner would come to regret. The Russians know all about the photos taken and the fact that the Orlando has crash landed. A Russian team is already on the way. They want those photo's back. Ivan Zlatan is leading the ream. All Kurgan super soldiers. Once on site Hunter finds the bowl that the shuttle landed in is warm. About fifty degrees. All of the HAWCS have on super body armor and breathing apparatus. The NASA folks and the reporters have suits on and oxygen as well. It doesn't take Hunter long to discover that something very strange is going on in that bowl. So begins another fine read by Beck. This one has Alex, Aimee, Joshua, Sam, his team, O'Sullivan, Renner, the Russians, creatures, a ship that is still partially intact, a silver A1 that will lend a hand, a German Shepherd call Tor that is a gift to Joshua, a Joshua who can follow whatever his dad is doing, the Russians who have no suits or oxygen and are breathing the air that is changing them and Alex Hunter doing his best to complete his mission, bring his team home alive and survive. Five Stars and then some.

I love the Alex Hunter series, they are somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me. I don't know that this is usually my genre of books, but somehow I find them really good. There are well written characters, and I really enjoy the cameraderie between the HAWKs. There are also insane adventures and action, and a lot of cool monsters that show up throughout the books. The Arcadian himself keeps evolving and growing in every book as well. In this book, a space shuttle crashes in the mountains in Alaska, and Alex and his team have to race the Russians to get there first. The shuttle however, has brought something back from space, and the HAWKs have to battle Lovecraftian monsters to get what they came for.

Greig Beck never fails to disappoint! I just love when a pre-ordered book shows up-especially when I have forgotten that I ordered it! What could possibly make it even better? An Alex Hunter treasure...yes I am addicted to Beck's own "Avenger". How Beck continues to provide an excellent storyline with the HAWCs to the rescue is always exciting and unputdownable! (My own word) The characters are some old favorites as well as a few new faces. Of course the weapons "showroom" is always exciting and creative. What really makes this a great book are the antagonists. Alex has never met this type of match before and I was sucked in immediately. He and Sam have to fight with every last breath. Really Greig, where can I meet these guys?

Each entry in the Alex Hunter series is a terrific blend of formulaic super-soldier-meets-monsters story with high-tech weaponry, exotic and original creatures with well-thought out origins, and edge-of-your-seat excitement. It's a series with heroes you'd like to meet and monsters you hope you never do, and perhaps contains Greig Beck's strongest storyline and character development. I've looked forward to every one since Beneath the Dark Ice. The Void does not disappoint in these areas, though I was disappointed my kindle version left something to be desired in the editing, having more spelling and grammar mistakes than the previous books. I was sorry to see this, as I felt the quality of the writing of the series was one more positive aspect that set it apart from other stories and authors of this genre. Otherwise the Void is a fine addition to this series, and I certainly look forward to more with anticipation.

This is book 7 in the Alex Hunter "Arcadian" series. It might be the best one yet! It is almost non-stop thrilling action with science mixed in with science fiction (It is tough to tell what is real science and what is the fiction, so believable)! I don't want to give anything away but Alex Hunter is sent on his toughest mission yet against a foe he knows almost nothing about (maybe less than nothing ;-). He may be the baddest of bad ass special op's soldiers but the challenges he (and hist team of HAWCS) encounter on this mission are incomprehensible (plenty of WTF moments)! So, all I will say is that if you read the previous books in this series you HAVE to read this. It is an awesome read. I believe this book would make a great movie (If done by the right people)! For those that want some humanity and to see the "softer" side of the ultimate bad ass, there are some nuggets in their for you too ;-).

THE VOID:ALEX HUNTER 7 is the (duh) 7th in the series of novels starring Alex Hunter, who has gradually over the course of the series gone from a medically enhanced highly trained special ops guy to a veritable superman with incredible powers that include super strength, super speed, super fast healing, super senses including a spider sense sort of danger alert. To tell the truth, I liked him better in the earlier novels when he was only very strong and fast. I have read most or all of Greig Beck's novels and enjoyed most of them. They vary from military sci-fi like the Alex Hunter novels, to straight-up sci-fi thrillers (e.g., THE FIRST BIRD series) to sci-fi fantasy (THE VALKERYN CHRONICLES). Beck is a great plotter and writes interesting thrillers that are fast paced and very hard to put down once you get started. THE VOID:ALEX HUNTER 7 is no exception. However, the earliest of his novels were also characterized by rigorous research resulting in situations, dangers and antagonists that had great verisimilitude. But the more recent ones, like THE VOID:ALEX HUNTER 7, are marred by technical errors, Aussie-speak emantating from the mouths of Americans, and gobbledegook technospeak that make me want to scream. Here are just a couple of examples. Referring to an American Space shuttle "There were 37 windowpanes in eleven different sizes and shapes on the shuttle...." really?? and soon after, referring to the eponymous VOID, "...nothing there for countless billions of miles". Space is really, really big and billions of miles is nothing - our puny solar system is over 7 billion miles in diameter. Which brings me to Beck's annoying habit of having measurements expressed inches, feet and miles when no scientific or astronomical calculations are made that way any more. One final example, referring to an advanced com system that the HAWCs used: "In her ear was a small communication plug that also touched her tympanum nerve allowing it ti both send and receive communications". Neat huh? Except there is no tympanum nerve. The tympanum is the ear drum and its only innervation consists of pain nerves. There is an auditory nerve, but that is basically buried in the mastoid bone and enters the brain and there is no way an ear plug could have access to it and so on and so forth. OMG!! All of this appeared only 5% of the way through and there were already so many glaring technical errors and unbelievably stupid actions on the part of the throw-away characters that if this were not Greig Beck, I would have already quit reading. What the hell happened to one of my former favorite authors! By the 20% mark the howlers disappeared and the story, as usual, became original, interesting and fast paced. A new character is introduced that is more or less identical to James Bond's Q who supplies the HAWCs with over-the-top super high tech offensive and defensive weapons, that Hunter and team will need to have a chance again Russian super soldiers who are also trying to recover the crashed space shuttle with too many windows that was on a spy mission photographing all missile sites, from all countries all over the world. And oh yeah, the shuttle brought back a little something extra that threatens all life on earth. Thrilling, fast-paced, interesting and (especially in the beginning) sloppy. I hope the latter does not become a habit. Recommended, so long as the errors don't bother you too much. JM Tepper