Fetch Your Copy Drone (Troy Pearce, #1) Drafted By Mike Maden Conveyed In Pamphlet

at halfway point. Too much politics for me, I really wanted to like “Drone”, the first novel by Mike Maden, and introducing former CIA operative Troy Pearce, The action is fierce, and comes often, Maden knows what he is talking about, too, He has a masters and a Ph, D. in political science, and his technological and political knowledge lent credibility and intrigue to the text, There were, however, serious problems that I couldnt overcome,

First, the cover of the book states, “INTRODUCING TROY PEARCE, ” As I found out in my reading of “Drone,” that isnt necessarily a good thing, First, he wasnt in the book that often, For a new book, in a new series, with a new character, I want him in a goodof the book, If hes in a third of this book, Id be shocked, Second, hes a prick. He has absolutely no redeeming value, Unless, of course, you believe that blindly following the directive of the U, S. President, ignoring the Constitution, and revengemurder are redeeming values, I know very little about his background I actually learned more about his background by reading the dust jacket than I did in the manuscript, and even less about his personal life.
Frankly, I didnt care if he lived or died, I didnt finish “Drone” thinking, “I cant wait to see what Troy Pearce does next, ” Rather, I thought the opposite, My prevailing thought was, “This dude needs to be in jail, ”

Second, the book isnt written that well, I get that its a thriller, and there are plenty of thrillers out there that dont focus on the writing, For some people, thats okay, For others, its not, so I thought Id point it out, The most frustrating was Madens continual use of tired idioms, For example: “The security detail left, tails tucked between their legs, ”

Finally, the use of drones was fairly limited, in my opinion, Especially since its well, the title of the book, There was only one scene early on that I felt like I was reading a cool technothriller, with a creative use of drone technology.
Every other scene was like, “the Predator drone flew over and launched the missile, People died. ” Yippee.

There were also some errors in accuracy, For example, a man in the office of the president in Iran was given Tylenol for a headache, My understanding is that the trade embargo would restrict American items like Tylenol to be sold in Iran, Now, I understand that heads of state could probably get anything they want, but considering the embargo, I would have mentioned it, As it read, it stood out so clearly that it may have well been in bold type,

If you just want a mindless, fun at times read, you could do worse than “Drone, ” There were some interesting political arguments made, It moved quickly. The body count was high, Just dont blame me if you feel just a little less smart after finishing it,
There was a lot to set up being the first book in the series, but it still moved well and was well written.
I enjoyed this book and had some nights where I couldn't put it down, This is an intense political thriller where potential war is looming between the US and Mexico due to the machinations of outside forces.


The story is told from multiple points of view which initially is difficult to follow mainly due to the variable/shifting times.
However, the shifting points of view get smoother and easier as the novel progresses,

The narrative is a verbose and dry at times however, with politics being deeply involved throughout, that probably will happen, The technological writings read accurately which allows for suspension of disbelief/belief in the technology regardless of whether or not all currently exist.


Characters are authentic and believable, Details are extensive. The plot has ample action,

Overall, an intriguing read, Good stuff

Kind of brings Tom Clancy into thecentury with hi tech drones and a female President, The writer drops in some cases for political reform that would be most welcome in todays climate of distrust of government, Wow, just wow. Troy Pearce is a badass!! I wish I had a private contractor who uses drones and other unmanned devices to exact revenge for those who have been wronged and a few of those who pay him top dollar.


President Myers' way of governing America are somewhat in line with what our current PresidentElect Trump has been saying so, it's been interesting get a glimpse into a very imaginative "whatif" scenario.


Definite must read if you're even the slightest bit interested in politics, warfare and drones, It read likeHours with maybe a little less action and a little more politics, finished this one yesterdayaprgood read four really liked it kindle owned am on the second have read a few other maden stories, his "clancymaden" stories as i've shelved them.
drones, what can you say, spooky stuff, thought the interactions with the potus a bit on the, . . what would be the word, . . meh don't know a bit different is all, and politics. i wonder allatime if given the way we're all "connected", most of us when we don't even know it, if those connections feed the machine.
how else to explain the actions of some that or visitations, possession. rack em up. I tried out this book as I like the way Mr, Maden wrote in the famous Clancy world, I thought I would give it a try and was pleasantly surprised, To the point whereas I orderedand almost started reading it, Good book fighting the cartels in Mexico with our nemesis, Iran thrown in for some salt on the wound, I'm hooked on the Drone series, High technology action, adventure saga, Can be gory. Entertaining, if you like Tom Clancy on steroids, The high tech. is the use of drones, Arial, underwater, land. Much of the tech. is available today. Others are certainly in the works,

Mike Maden doesn't hesitate to let you know what he thinks of politics, A quote: "You know how you can tell when a politician is lying" Pearce asked, "When their lips are moving, "

I think these books can become too cookie cutterish, so I will stop while ahead, I did not like the book, It's too predictable and not as interesting as the last book I read on Drone usage for war couldn't remember the title of the one I liked.
Anyways, I trudged through it all, There were moments at the beginning of the book where I was wondering where the book was heading but it was a thrill, a good ride.
The intro, the first few chapters were captivating and then it slowed to a grind and worse it became predictable, We are talking of drone use as a killing machine and there are many ways it could have been innovative rather than insomnia inducing.
Because this is thest book in a series of right nowbooks, I'll give it astar rating out ofand hope that the rating can increase as the books evolve.
Yes, I will try book, . . but not for a while lol TAKING FLIGHT

,rounded up to four

Drones, An incredibly useful piece of kit which has radically changed the face of modern warfare with advances in technology since the's, Unfortunately, they've been given a bad name, Namely due to extensive coverage of collateral damage caused by hellfire missiles fired by Predator Drones in South Asia, However, like an open Pandora's box, Drones are here to stay, and soon, they will become a viable alternative to risking human assets in situations such a counterterrorism.
"Drone" is perhaps the first technothriller which celebrates their

use, It's the first book in a series by Mike Maden, and appeared to be trying to do for drones, what The Hunt For Red October did for submarines.
Did it succeed Well it could have, The book introduces former CIA S, A. D officer Troy Pearce, a man who runs a Private Military Corporation with a major twist, Rather than human assets, they control what can only be described as an automated air force, In this story, what starts out as a simple contract for his firm leads to him being embroiled in a complex geopolitical shell game which aims to destabilize the United States by causing the Mexican Drug War to spin out of control and spread up north.
Now to the review. How far would you go in destroying all clear and present dangers to your country

The story begins in Texas, where men dressed as DHS I.
C. E agents armed with LMG's hose down a suburban house where a party is being held, The attack claims multiple casualties, one who happens to be the son of the American President, We then cut to what I consider one of the best establishing character moments I've read, a corrupt Kenyan army officer, guilty of charging colossal bribes to aid organizations has his greed catch up to him when his house is attacked.
No hellfire missiles. Instead, he gets to watch his guards get elegantly taken out by ARSS UAVs, drones equipped with remote fired sniper rifles, All the while, Troy Pearce, the main character introduces himself and gives him a epic verbal beatdown, convincing his target to take the easy way out as he systematically destroys the man's life.
Back in Washington, we're introduced to the American President, Margaret Meyers, After identifying the perpetrators of the mass homicide, she methodically goes through all legal channels, but sees them get shut spectacularly when the Team of Mexican Marines who tried to conduct an arrest were incinerated by an ambush.
Seemingly at a loss, one of her aides, Mike Early suggests using Troy Pearce, a fellow former CIA officer and someone who has the resources to take on a Mexican drug cartel.
She accepts and after convincing Pearce, what starts out as a simple mission of retribution turns into a geopolitical nightmare where enemies foreign and domestic set horrific plans into motion.


I found the first two thirds of this book very good, The final third however left much to be desired,
In terms of plot, DRONE is decent, Mr Maden managed to keep the pace going at a steady clip for most of the book, but in the last third, was let down by a few things which I shall deal with further down.
From the lavish residences of Mexico's Drug Lords to the alleys of Mexico City, Maden manages to keep things interesting as the conspiracy takes root and lines up its dominoes.
The research is also done satisfactorily, The author wisely did not chose to drown us in technical details, but manages to make the Drones used in this novel interesting enough to Google I did, fascinating stuff.
He also gives an accurate portrayal of the politics down in Latin America and how the Mexican Drug Cartels have become the most dangerous criminal group on the planet with a horrific campaign of violence, equal to that of Daesh in Iraq.


As for characters, for a book which is more focused on the plot, politics and technology, fittingly, many of them were not fleshed out.
Except two.
The first standout in this novel is Troy Pearce the main character, The author managed to make this book count in establishing him as a character, Think of Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Tony Stark, but less drunk and as a former intelligence officer turned Private Military Contractor rather than a superhero.
He shares the frustrations most people share about current events today, The injustice, the seemingly futile responses and most importantly of all, the lack of SMART leadership from the current generation of politicians, The last one is something which factors into his past, In regards to his backstory, the author made very effective use of the "lost loved one" trope, and it goes along way to explaining why someone who used to be at the tip of the spear became a massive advocate of drone warfare.

Next, we have POTUS Margaret Meyers, She can be characterized by Bram Stoker's summary of Theodore Roosevelt, "Can't cajole, can't frighten, can't buy", She does her best to be a smart leader who tries to do the right thing even when it hurts her in the process and most importantly of all, when things are going to hell in a handcart, she's willing to put it all on the line and sacrifice something which she's worked herself to the bone to achieve.


Now for the constructive criticism, I've never really minded about authors who don't head the "show don't tell principle", But "Drone" had potential. Potential which was lost in the last third when the "telling" went into overdrive as the book focused on a terrorist campaign run by the Mexican drug cartels.
If the author had done a little more "showing", and maybe focused on those parts a bit more the climax area It could have been sprawling, epic and the stuff Tom Clancy was doing at the height of his career but instead, it started to fizzle out.


Next, the technothriller parts began to be drowned out by the political aspects of this novel, as it progressed, This part is a very difficult balancing act for most writers, and the struggle to insert a commentary into the mix can be problematic.
Too much and it becomes padding, Too little and the book won't convey whatever theme you want, And then there's execution where if the commentary comes off as preaching from a soapbox, some readers will be put off, For the first two thirds of the book, Mr Maden managed the balancing act well, From the difficulties of running a "third way" administration not paid for by America's political establishment to the horrific bloat in the budget for systems like the Fcompared to the cost effectiveness of Drones, they enriched those parts of the book.
However, in the final third, the book simply tipped into preaching from the bully pulpit and became wearisome to put it bluntly,

Overall, Drone is a somewhat decent technothriller, The last third of the story caused it to fail at being a "Hunt For Red October" for Drone warfare but this series has potential.
When the characters get focus, they're characterized adequately, The specific focus on Drones successfully distinguishes this book in a crowded genre, And the politics described in the early parts of the book are actually very interesting, In short, a new series takes flight but hasn't reached the heavens it could,

MAYBE RECOMMENDED. .