The Ajax Protocol The Project Book 7
Action/Thriller
February 26, 2014
309
Book Seven: The Ajax Protocol
The Project is a Black Ops intelligence unit reporting only to the President of the United States. When an assassination attempt takes the President out of commission, the Project is caught up in a conspiracy that threatens to spark a world war and runs a lot deeper than just trying to kill the leader of the free world.
Led by Director Elizabeth Harker, the Project team discovers a cold-hearted plot to turn America into a totalitarian police state. Betrayed by powerful enemies at home and forced to rely on doubtful allies abroad, Harker and her team are driven underground. With time running out, they must stop the conspirators before they destroy everything America stands for. At the same time team leader Nick Carter and his lover, Selena Connor, struggle to commit to each other in a covert world where love and compassion are in short supply and enemies lie in wait at every turn.
The Ajax Protocol could be taken from tomorrow's headlines. It will disturb you and keep you turning pages to the end.
Dual Review
The Ajax Protocol – A Project Novel – Alex Lukeman
Reviewers: She Said – Gloria Lakritz / She Said – Penelope Adams
Riots break out and kill thousands in a Russian city. The US President has an apparent heart attack and is taken out of commission. Someone tries to kill Project Director Elizabeth Harker. Harker and her crew discover a chilling plot to turn America into a totalitarian police state. Betrayed by powerful enemies at home and faced with doubtful allies abroad, the Project is forced underground and flees the country.
Project team leader Nick Carter and his partner Selena Connor are caught up in one of their most dangerous missions. Even as their relationship deepens, forces beyond their control may destroy them both.
The story twists and turns across the globe. The Project must find and stop the conspirators before they carry out their plan, with failure the most likely outcome. But with the fate of America and the world hanging in the balance, failure is not an option.
Review by Gloria Lakritz/She Said:
Chairperson of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
This is the 7th Book in the Project series, and Alex dazzles us again with all the fancy acronyms the United States Government loves to use. The PROJECT is The PResidential Official Joint Exercise for Counter Terrorism, SATWEP is the Satellite Weapons Program, DARPA the Defense Agcency Research Projects Agency. See what I mean???
Our team is questioning what has happened to a town in Novosibirsk, Russia. The small area had their people struck by rage, killing, looting with such a madness that could not be explained. Elizabeth Harker calls in part of the team, still one man down from their last mission with Lamont still in the hospital. Nick Carter, Selena Connor, Ronnie Peete join Elizabeth Harker the Head of the Project and Stephanie Willits, assistant to Director Harker, she is our girl with major computer hacking skills. And so our story begins.
America’s President Rice is going on stage to make a speech before the American people. As he approaches the podium he grabs his chest and falls, He is rushed to Bethesda Medical Center with an apparent heart attack.
Elizabeth calls their Russian counterpart of the PROJECT called ZASLON whose leader is Alexei Vysotsky. We have joined forces with them before to fight the bad guys, with Vysotsky lending us Arcady Korov one of his best agents and now who our team considers a friend. The phone meeting brings the two together again to share information.
Harker sends our team out again. Stephanie’s work leads the team to a remote part of Alaska on the trail of what happened in Novosibirsk. America is being run by our idiot VP who is not a fan of The Project Team and that might alter our plans somewhat. We have slowly gotten information thru Stephanie’s hacking, learning that The Ajax Protocol is a detailed plan of rich and powerful men who have worked long and hard to take over the United States government.
Alex Lukeman writes action adventure the likes of which should be in movies. I can just see me squeezing my box of layered buttered popcorn all over myself as the team rushes into a hot spot with their Glocks and hopefully their body armor (sometimes that isn’t always there) and whips through the enemy. This isn’t without losses to our side, but hopefully the enemy can be thwarted till the next time.
Elizabeth Harker is one smart, tough woman. President Rice is lucky to have her and our team so we can all sleep at night. I like what Alex is doing to move the story forward with relationships and growth of the people he writes. Nick is in therapy, Selena was coming to grips with who she is and Steph is moving forward as well, and the possibilities might be there for Harker as well.
Alex I salute you!!! Keep writing more and someday I will see you at the movies!!!
Review by Penelope Adam/ She Said:
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
When a riot breaks out in a Russian town and escalates in a matter of minutes, not only does the Russian government take notice but it peaks the interest of Elizabeth Harker, Director of a small, elite American task force called The Project. Tasked by the President of the United States and answering only to him, The Project members fly under the radar, known to very few, they take on the missions that can’t be undertaken by any of the other government agencies.
Director Harker’s team is led by ex-Marine Nick Carter, a big man whose talents are many, he also inherited a hint of his grandmother’s physic ability by way of an itchy ear. The team consists of four other members, each as good as the next in what they do.
Ex-Navy Seal Lamont Cameron, known as “Shadow” by his old team mates, currently healing from a lung injury he sustained on their last mission he is as at home in the water as a fish. Navajo native Ronnie Pete has a penchant for Hawaiian shirts and practices the ways of his ancestors. The third member of the field team is Nick’s lover, Selena Connor, a specialist in ancient cultures; she is as lethal as she is beautiful. The last member of the team is Director Harker’s Deputy, Stephanie Willitis, a computer guru with no match there isn’t anything she can’t get out one.
Not only will the Project team have to figure out what is going on in Russia, they will have to do it while battling an unknown enemy out to take them down. Will they be up for the task or will this be the one enemy they cannot defeat?
Mr. Lukeman once again takes us into his world of intrigue and covert operations with his seventh book in The Project Series. He takes us on an action packed, heart stopping, world travelling ride with a story telling style that is so realistic you will swear you can feel the bullets whizzing past your ears and feel the adrenaline of the battle.
Nick and the gang are all present and accounted for; some a little more beat up than others, all up for whatever task gets thrown their way. They are joined once again by an old friend/enemy from Russia Lt. Colonel Arkady Korov, a member of Spetsnaz, Russia’s elite Special Forces and Director Harker will walk the tightrope with Arkady’s boss, General Alexei Vystosky.
Nick and Selena’s relationship will take an important turn and Selena will discover something that will test her beliefs. A different side of some of the team members is revealed and they are tested beyond what they thought themselves capable of.
As with all the books in this series, Mr. Lukeman not only gives us an action packed thrilling story, but a travel guide as well. We spend a little time in Russia, Alaska, London, the Caribbean and the sub-terrain world beneath the Denver airport. There are just enough questions answered and more posed so that we are left wanting more. While it’s not necessary to read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one, I dare you to read this one and not immediately go get them all.
Now that the reviewers have read each other’s thoughts…
Wow Penny, I was so excited to see Book 7 in the Project series sent as an Advanced Readers Copy. It is to be released February 28th today, Alex Lukeman has been entertaining us for quite a few years now with this series. This newest, The Ajax Protocol, again features the wonderful cast that we have come so much to love, who are keeping the world safe from the bad guys. I especially love the growth we have seen in some of the major players since the storyline began. The storyline again gave us an exciting read with the chases all over the continent following the clues he so meticulously plants. What did you think Penny?
What did I think? Like you, I was excited to get a new Project book, I’m completely hooked on this series. One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about this series is it’s not cookie cutter, you never know what topic Mr. Lukeman is going to take on. As always, I enjoyed the story, but the whole time I was reading I kept getting a sense of deja vue, partly because I had just seen a story on TV about part of the topic, and partly because I kept having a niggle about the main plot line, can’t say what that was, just a niggle.
I noticed you rated it 4 stars to my 5 stars. I always see that my reading enjoyment in a story is sometimes different than yours…so tell me what was the niggle??? We talked about the fact that sometimes people are human and for the sake of saving their life they might leave in haste and leave a weapon behind… Nick forgot to pack body armor in a story and look what happened… Sooo tell me what was the niggle for you here…?
To tell you the truth, I honestly can’t say, it was just a niggle in the back of my mind, a little tickle of something. While, yes I had a slight problem with the left behind guns and certain character reactions to events, they weren’t enough to bother me all that much. The 4 stars as opposed to 5 for me was the fact that while I enjoyed the book, who wouldn’t, I was able to put it down without reading it in one sitting. I think Mr. Lukeman has set the bar so high for himself with this series that I’ve learned to expect a wow, zip, bang every time. This time I got a wow and bang but was just shy of the zip. That said, I will always be a fan of this series and am already wishing for the next book.
So sorry Penny you missed the zip…But as you I cannot wait for the next.
Nite George
Good night, Gracie.
Q&A with Author Alex Lukeman
- I just saw a special on a group called The New World Order and it touched upon the tunnels underneath the Denver airport, was this part of the inspiration for the story?
The special wasn’t. The tunnels and such are common knowledge in the Denver area. I used to live in Denver and Fort Collins and was there when the airport was being built.
- I have to admit I love Burps the cat, was he inspired by a real life cat or just your active imagination?
There are cats that big. I once saw a cat like that when I was 12 years old, so I guess that’s an inspiration. I never forgot him.
- I love the series and how you are growing your characters . What next for the gang, will you bring more on board?
I’m going to start a new series and take a break from the Project for a bit, but yes, there will be new characters.
- What is next for Alex Lukeman? Will you be looking into something different or continue with keeping America safe?
As above, something different but there are always bad guys out there trying to take us down…
