It’s been over two years since the tumultuous events in “Order of Battle,” the previous novel in this series. The world has calmed down though the rivalries between the world powers such as the United States, Russia, and China continue. Always keeping a watchful eye on each other, they continue to try to find or thwart ways to upset the balance of power in the world.

Over at the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group (ETG), Don Riley is the director, vigilant about unearthing threats before they happen. His team uncovers something important: a sighting of the Naval College War bomber, who was thought to have been dead over two years ago. Over one-hundred people died in that terrorist attack, and he quickly became the most wanted man on the planet. While China denied culpability for that event, the US held China responsible. Now, a worldwide manhunt for this man has begun.

Sentinel Holdings is now led by Manson Skelly. Wealthy beyond imagining, he runs the company how he sees fit, sometimes to the detriment of its sterling reputation. Sentinel Holdings is a private military contractor that works with the United States government, and they have their forces positioned all over the world. They even have privately taken control of Wagner Group, their Russian counterpart, and their former boss, Pavel Kozlov, is now Skelly’s number two.

Skelly learns of this manhunt and sees this as an opportunity to gain some real power and influence within the United States government. With China, Russia, and the United States hot on the bomber’s heels, it all converges into one singular defining incident. In the process, what they uncover is something so seismic, it will challenge the balance of power across the world and threaten to bring all its countries to their knees.

This story is different from other tales in the “Command and Control” series. The other stories focused on huge battles with countless numbers of forces waging war on one another. This one maintains the high stakes, intense situations, and fast pacing of the previous stories and utilizes those methods in telling another thrilling tale. This time, it features smaller-scale conflicts, intelligence gathering, the desire for power, personal grudges, and stunning brinksmanship between a private military contractor and international powers. All of this occurs while operating on a global scale with many different factors at play.

A manhunt for the most wanted man on the planet transforms into a planet-wide search for clues leading to one inescapable truth. There is something that was lost during the conflict between China and Taiwan years ago, secrets have come to light and now all the world powers are searching for it. But someone has it and is threatening to use it unless he gets what he wants, with deadly ramifications if no one capitulates to his demands.

The use of technology continues to marvel, as the authors clearly and impeccably do their research. Unmanned submarines, suitcase nukes and drones of all shapes and sizes containing dangerous armaments come into play. And then there’s Mama, which is one of the most sophisticated experimental technologies on the planet. Owned by Sentinel, it is an artificial intelligence that helps coordinate and monitor military and law enforcement assets around the world plus so much more.

I like how the “Command and Control” series continues to build on previously depicted events. The Naval War College bombing took place a couple of books ago. The events surrounding Skelly’s takeover of Sentinel Holdings in “Order of Battle” now come to light and become a flashpoint in this novel. Also, a mysterious submarine that was sunk two books ago is now the focus of a worldwide search. These dangling plot threads now become very important and are the focus of the main storyline here. That is very focused planning of this entire series and I appreciated that forethought thoroughly.

Don Riley is a man who is pushed to his limits many times over the course of this series of books. However, by the end of this novel, he is pushed to his breaking point, and it is startling to see just how far he will go to accomplish his mission. It’s also deeply personal for him as well, which adds much unpredictability to the equation. Don also has to deal with the newly re-elected President Serrano and the pressure he applies to complete the manhunt to get good optics for his inauguration.

This story also brings back Senior Colonel Yichen Gao of the People’s Republic of China. After rising to fame and gaining a promotion after the failed invasion of Taiwan, he is now tasked by his government to find out the hidden secrets of former Minister Fei. And one of those secrets is Fei’s connection to the Naval College War bomber!

Pavel Kozlov chafes under the leadership of Skelly but he does as he is told. The tension between the two of them only shows how Skelly is unraveling and going further off the rails with each passing mission and each attempted power grab.

Rachel Jaeger plays a large role in this novel as well. Not seen since her undercover work during the “Pandora Deception” novel, she’s back and gets pulled into the manhunt by helping Riley and the ETG. Her path takes some surprising turns over the course of this story too.

Let’s not forget other mainstays of the entire series, such as Janet Everett, who gets to see more action here. When her submarine gets pulled into figuring out these hidden secrets, her life and that of the crew are put in danger. And it’s always nice to see Liz Soroush, who gets a promotion here, leading the National Security Branch at the FBI.

This attention to detail and continuity continues to impress. There are character arcs and overall plotlines that extend from one novel to another in the overall series, which currently numbers eight novels as well as numerous novellas and short stories. New readers are welcomed, as the authors give you everything you need to understand the character and their history. Older readers such as I are rewarded with the knowledge of the stories that came before this one, which is referenced but not necessary to enjoy this current tale. I would recommend you read them all, however, as they are terrific reads, just like this one.

I’m a long-time reader of this series of books by these authors, going back to Weapons of Mass Deception, the first book to feature these characters and situations. I appreciate the callbacks and bringing in characters from the history of the series while it continues to move forward in an increasingly dangerous world.

This novel is a thrilling page-turner that could just sit on its laurels and play it safe by telling the same story over and over. Instead, the series continues to defy expectations and continuously evolve with a riveting plot that upends any preconceptions about what this story would be.

Hidden within its pages, it presents a parable about private military contractors who gain so much power, they secure the ability to topple governments and countries. It presented an intense and gripping story that surprised me at every turn. Each chapter propelled me through the novel so fast that I couldn’t stop reading, making for a scintillating story that was all too plausible and very well told.

This was a really good book for those who enjoys military techno thrillers. Some of it was a little implausible but if you move past that it is a good read. There is someone out there trying not to be found but a glimpse on camera and the world is after him, each for their own reason. The action keeps this book moving and the ending is satisfying. I really didn’t like the Skelly character but he played his role well.

I got this one through the Netgalley program.

It is my first time reading these authors. It is as it turns out book four in a series so I am dropping into the middle of the story as it were and was a little lost on the backgrounds of the characters. There are references to previous events that did leave me feeling a little lost but that is on me for not doing my research and starting at the beginning.

I wanted to give this one a 3.5 rating but as we all know, Goodreads does not allow for that. A rating of 7 out of 10 is much more revealing than a 3.5 out of 5.

So I am an avid spy, espionage reader and this one sounded like one I would enjoy. The characters for the most part are engaging. In fact there are two that I took to and will need to go back to book one to find out how they got to where they were in this book. There should be some very interesting character growth there.

The "bad guy" in this one I had no trouble at all disliking. So kudos to the authors for painting so well with the black hat brush. Cheering against him was not an issue.

There is an interesting grey area character here as well that I found myself hoping the best for. Again I don't know if he is in the previous books but if he is I will be scrutinizing him very closely.

The storyline itself I found interesting. There are a lot of moving parts in the beginning. A lot of characters introduced and I originally thought it way to busy but the authors do a good job of sorting it all out, explaining who everyone is and moving the events along. There is a longish stretch in the middle where two of the characters I liked seem to disappear. I found myself wondering if they were done and gone. They do reappear in the end game and become important again but for me it was a bit long with them absent.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I will be going back to book one at least to see how the characters started out and I will be watching for book five.

"Threat Axis" is the fourth book in the "Command and Control" series, written by David Bruns and J.R. Olsen and published by Severn River Publishing. For those of us who have been following this outstanding series of techno thrillers, it is a real treat, and I am delighted that the publisher allowed me access to an ARC.. The action is well developed and convincing, and the political background (think Brad Thor and Vince Flynn) lends it a veracity and a depth together with a complexity that makes it as challenging as it is fast- paced. Thematically, it does not move far away from the established tropes of military technofiction, but it is easily more polished than much of what is out there. The writing is good and distinguished by a really nuanced balance between the technical weaponry and technology and the intense way that it plays out among very real people, flawed and skilled, but very human nonetheless. If you haven't read any of this series, I suggest you start at the beginning, but it is not essential as each work can stand on its own merits. The authors command of their material and obvious familiarity with how it manifests in terms of policy and politics is truly impressive. It is a wild ride, but well worth the ticket. Enjoy.