Redemption: Ryan Drake, Book 1

The first book of the Ryan Drake series begins as it means the series to continue, from humble origins to a more complex story. The book begins simple enough, a team of highly trained CIA operators on a rescue mission, but quickly thrusts the characters and the reader into a larger world of intrigue, revenge, and gritty action. With a refreshing attention to detail, Redemption avoids contrivance by allowing the story to natural progress based on character decisions and the consequences thereof rather than by chasing some mcguffin or through lucky coincidences. The characters are well described and vivid enough to keep track of what they're doing and WHY they're the ones doing it, but also leaves enough out so that we continue to learn about the characters naturally. It also doesn't shy away from the darkest aspects of human nature but understands that nonstop gore and violence diminishes their impacts and so holds those back for when they are needed.Overall, if you are a fan of attention to detail, character-driven plot and action, and meaningful consequences in a world, then you will like this book.

Many authors write about things they have no experience of. Most do a modicum of research. Some don't.I can excuse the author has never been inside Langley. His description of Agency employees as menswear fashion plates, however... And Franklin, a former Marine, is a West Point (US Military Academy) graduate? Technically possible... The honor graduate can choose another service, BUT! they rarely do. US Marine officers that are academy graduates are US Naval Academy (Annapolis) graduates.And how does hot and humid Washington DC make England look "tropical"? Wouldn't DC be tropical compared to the chilly and rainy United Kingdom? I've been to both (and the tropics - Central America, Hawaii and equatorial Africa) and while I have seen warm, sunny days in the UK I'd never mistake England for the tropics.And I haven't gotten to Iraq yet (been there too).If you're going to set a story in this world - as opposed to a fantasy world - the obvious details need to be researched. Another reviewer mentions 'Wikipedia-level knowledge' but so far even that bar is too high.I paid .99¢ for this. I'll struggle this implausible improbability at that price. At $12.68 I'd want a refund.

Will has a YouTube channel, The Critical Drinker, and I've been listening to him review current and old movies. His critiques often deal with character development and story arcs and writers/directors not doing this aspect of storytelling very well. When I found out he had a book series I thought I'd see if he would have a reason to criticize others. So I ordered Redemption. Now I'm not an avid reader and would rather spend 2 hours watching a movie than a bunch of days reading a story. I really, really enjoyed reading this book. Will finds ways to 'backfill' a character's life in subtle and timely ways to really get you to know them. Because of this I didn't get lost in remembering who was who and what their motivations were. The story flowed very well and never seemed to lull or go off on unnecessary tangents. Every plot point ultimately drove to a great conclusion and fed the character development and storyline to a very enjoyable read. I can honestly say that I couldn't put this book down. I read it in five days and immediately ordered the second in the series. Will Jordan has written a great book and it should be picked up for a movie or miniseries.

I really enjoyed this book. The Ryan Drake character is refreshing, he is not a superman, Jason Bourne type character. He is very human, we see his emotional struggles as well as his physical struggles. There were some nice plot twists that kept me guessing. The story also has a few strong woman characters that are developed organically, not forced into the story as is the case in hollywood these days. I will be reading the rest of the books in this series. That's all I have for you, go away now!

Overall I enjoyed the book and the lead character. Plot was well thought-out but there were a couple of things that were incorrect in either description or workings. Better than most and I will read more.I'm a big fan of his YouTube channel and this is how I heard about these books.

The book is very good & flows well. The characters are well rounded & complex. The story moved quickly & held my interest. There’s a nice plot twist toward the end that I didn’t see coming. I’m ready to read the next Ryan Drake book right now!

Ryan Drake is a Brit working for the US government in a top secret capacity. He finds missing people for the CIA. He is given a near impossible task, to break a woman out of a super high security prison in the Russian gulag and bring her in safely. From this beginning, a story of intrigue, suspense and action results. The woman in question, Anya, is a mysterious and deadly operative for the CIA, imprisoned as a result of an assignment gone bad. She is unquestionably the most interesting character in the book. Possessed of every deadly skill imaginable, she also has an extremely strong mind and will that helps her survive not only her ordeal in prison but many other dangers that face her as the story unfolds. The characters move from Washington DC and Russia to several countries in the middle east as we learn bit by bit the reasons behind Drake's original assignment. The characters that inhabit this story are complex and definitely not necessarily just good or just bad. The reader is guessing throughout about their motives and loyalties. This is a fun read with lots going on to keep your interest. It is a good and satisfying action/thriller.

I just finished reading this book and WOW! I was blown away. This book had me hooked the minute I started reading it.The pacing, the characters, action, and the best part was how the story twists and turns. It kept me guessing throughout. The suspense had me coming back. This was one hell of a ride. I enjoyed it.I discovered the author on youtube talking about movies, his thoughts resonated with me in many ways, and he's funny. When I found out he was an author I had to check out his literature. As a story teller myself, we believe in the same thing, telling a good story. And BANG this guy delivers.I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this. All I knew that it was a thriller. So I took the plunge.To be honest though, I was never into stories about the CIA, the modern american military etc. But this book sure has hell enlightened me and caught my interest. This is a well researched and detailed book in this field. For me it was educational.The chapters are nice and short so you can take the story in smaller doses. Which is ideal when you have busy schedule. It's better this way. And I like how he describes places and their environments with a good level of detail which makes you feel immersed in them. It's like watching a movie. Some descriptions are poetic which breathes life into the story.Although I did find the sub-plots confusing, and some of the motives of the characters a bit mind-boggling in some places, I was more concerned about the main characters and what was going to happen to them. The author had me emotionally invested anyway.There are many books out there that are long with hundreds of pages but have little content.This book doesn't mess about. Every scene and chapter progresses the story while informing us something about the characters and their interactions. Giving us clues along the way.There are characters you'll love, others you'll hate. The author brings them to life with detailed descriptions to how they look and how they interact with others, and as the story progresses you learn more of their personalities.Ryan Drake is awesome. I highly recommend this book.So I have ordered the second book in the series, it's on the way. I'm excited as hell for this new ride.Highly Addictive: Gripping from start to finish

What a cracking series of books and this one is a great start. Entertaining from start to end. Will Jordan is a real star. I actually stumbled over the author on YouTube where as his character critical drinker he was doing crit videos on the final season of Game of Thrones. They were hilarious and very clever. I decided to give his zryan Drake books a try. I have just devoured them. If you like Lee Childs then you will love this series. This is good fun and non stop action and you can see that Jordan has done a bit of research on weapons and exotic locations. Great holiday read. His Anya character is just inspired.

And yet this book succeeds where so many others fail, why? I think it's the writing, Will Jordan's writing suits this kind of story. It's action packed, a page turner with some good twists, the dialogue flows well and never grates. The few women in a mans world, often so badly done is neither cheesy nor token here.Finally the story has a refreshing absence of luck. That is, the good guys and bad guys actions have consequence. The characters are never better or worse off due to good or bad luck, how unfortunately rare that is in contemporary thrillers.Now to read the next one.

A great page turner and book that's got me into the series as a whole. Like most other books in the genre you get some outlandish concepts and moments in which the hero or team pull through while the enemy force is obliterated, but at the same time its not quiet amped up as some other titles in which the hero is on par with superman. In all it provides a bit more grounding.More interesting however is that some more serious topics were covered which give a back story in to some of the character and their motivator's. Usually in other titles this is alluded to, but in this they are actually covered which is different.In all I highly recommend this title. Like many time will fly by as you will be engrossed. Its also a great place to start before reading book two and three.

The book opens with the ending but before you find out what happened, it whips back 7 days and proceeds to take the reader on an action-packed corker of a story from which you can hardly draw breath. The breakout from the Russian prison is brilliant, so well written you almost feel you are there. From there it just gets better and better with intrigue, double and triple crosses and of course loads of action. I look forward to reading book 2 in the series and finding out what happens to Ryan next.