Another 4-star review for Dale Brown's Nick Flynn series. I have been a long-time Dale Brown fan going back to Dreamland over 20 years ago, and Nick Flynn follows in the long line of great reads.

Brown is a master at writing military fiction. Nick Flynn is a resourceful, creative, somewhat crazy leader. He leads his team on missions that should be impossible. Yet they always find some way, although it comes at a cost. I like his teammates. Van Horn is an amazing woman. She seems fearless and willing to do anything for her country and to protect her man. She's got a lot of spunk.

The action and adventure are intense. I appreciate that the author can write in such a way that a person can understand what's happening even if they have no military background. These books would make great movies. I really enjoyed it and will look forward to the next one.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Dale Brown is the author of more than 50 novels. The Devil’s Fortress was published late last May and is the 4th novel in his Nick Flynn series. It is the 50th book I completed reading in 2024.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

This novel continues the saga of Quartet Directorate operative Nick Flynn. The wealthy Russian Pavel Voronin heads the mercenary organization the Raven Syndicate. He has schemed with the Russian President before (prior novels in the series) to bring down the US. Having stopped Voronin twice, the Quartet Directorate decides that it is time to remove him.

Flynn and his team have infiltrated deep into Russia to perform a quiet reconnaissance mission on Voronin’s remote personal compound. When the team is discovered, they must make a mad dash for the border to escape. They struggle to stay ahead of those in pursuit, thwarting one lethal ambush after another.

After the encounter with Flynn at his compound, Voronin relocates to more secure quarters in Moscow at the Raven Syndicate office tower headquarters. With his apartment and office located more than 40 stories high and surrounded by his mercenaries, he feels safe.

Flynn and his team come up with a crazy plan to assault the building and put an end to Voronin. The plan will place the team at death’s door at every step. The team hopes that the audacity of the assault, coupled with their skills, will see their mission completed and their escape a success. Few plans survive contact with the enemy, and, in this case, the results are lethal.

I enjoyed the 10 hours I spent reading this 401-page action thriller. Most of Brown’s works are action-packed thrilling adventures. Over the years, I have read many of Brown’s novels and enjoyed every one. Among the recent novels are Arctic Storm Rising and Countdown to Midnight. I give this novel a rating of 3.9 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

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As expected Dale Brown delivered again with Nick Flynn and his team. Right away we see action and it goes from there. It was very well written and kept me on the edge of your seat. Excellent book. This book is being rated 5 stars

I enjoyed Dae Brown's The Devil's Fortress. Dale Brown stays true to form offering a heart thumping action packed novel. Another military masterpiece.

I received this book from the writing team of Dale Brown and Patrick Larkin, their publisher (Blackstone Publishing), and the fine folks at NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The story summarizes that former US Air Force officer Nick Flynn joined the clandestine Quartet Directorate to continue its long-standing mission: to act decisively against serious threats to the free world. Twice they have almost succeeded in bringing the United States to its knees, only to be stopped at the last moment by Flynn and his team of highly trained operatives. One of their chief opposition, backed by Russia's autocratic president, Piotr Zhdanov, is mercenary oligarch Pavel Voronin who is readying another deadly covert assault on the United States and its allies. This time in the form of a chemical spray that would severely hinder the agricultural might of the United States and affect the well-being of millions through the resulting famine.

Now, however, Flynn, daring pilot and fellow agent Laura Van Horn, and the others are no longer playing defense. They're coming for Voronin--determined to take the fight directly to their dangerous foe in a high-stakes, all-or-nothing strike deep into enemy territory. To the city streets of Moscow, members of the Quartet Directorate launch an attack against the headquarters of the Raven Syndicate.

On a five-star scale, I think that this novel is worthy of a solid four stars and would be a favourite of those espionage/intrigue aficionados. This is the fourth novel in the Nick Flynn series from the writing team of Dale Brown and Patrick Larkin and is a perfect read for fans of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Ian Fleming (the author of James Bond).

As with all of my literary ramblings, these are a few of my five cents worth.

THE DEVIL'S FORTRESS - Sadly, I knew not about the previous books of this series. Luckily, Mr. Brown keeps the references to the past sparse. Brown was (and still is) one of my favorite authors when he appeared with his Flight of The Old Dog. That series and the Dreamland series kept me looking forward to reading more. It's been a couple of decades since the last book I read, so I was excited to find this book. He still has his wonderful writing style, great characters, and intriguing, immersing, suspense filled story lines, along with realistic dialog and actions, and knowledge about the topics and the technology. There aren't any safeties on Brown's revolvers. Once I finish my ARCs, I have a trip planned to get the other books of this series from my public library. Source: Netgalley. 5*

I was so excited when I was approved for this ARC having read the previous Nick Flynn series books. unfortunately, i'm walking away from this one slightly disappointed. While the plot and premise were great and the continuation of the Raven Syndicate was a welcomed plot line, I just felt underwhelmed by the story. Don't get me wrong, Nick Flynn is kind of operator any agency would love to have in their midst, but this book just didn't fire off for me. there were times where it felt the story was just grinding along, that whole sections of the story were unnecessary. just my two cents.

Nick Flynn—a former Air Force officer—is a member of the ultra-secret organization Quartet Directorate. The directorate exists to act decisively against threats to the world. The Raven Syndicate is that threat and has been for a while. With the direct backing of the Russian president, the syndicate has tried twice to unleash weapons of mass destruction in the U.S. and failed twice thanks to the Quartet Directorate. Russia may be embarrassed, but Flynn and the Quartet know the syndicate isn’t about to quit and decide to meet them at their house. Simple in theory; almost impossible in reality.

Dale Brown has been great for a long time and has never struggled in the imagination department. The Devil’s Fortress’ high-flying action and wild scenes would seem preposterous if written by anyone else. From Brown’s pen, it feels right, like a warm hug.

Crop modification isn’t a sexy subject to base a thriller on. That didn’t stop Brown from turning a mundane topic for most into something else to worry about. Thanks for that.

The Devil’s Fortress is a daring, forward-thinking rush of action and cool planes and weaponry, you should check it out. Nay, the series. I can’t recommend The Devil’s Fortress enough.

Thank you to BlackStone Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Devil’s Fortress.

Brown is batting a thousand with this fabulous next edition of the Nick Flynn and the Quartet Directorate stories.
Nick and his team ate once again in Russia attempting to capture or
kill Patel Voronin, mastermind of Russia's ruthless and deadly Raven Syndicate.
Voronin, with the backing of Russia's President Zhdanov has one mission and that
is to destroy the US and its place on top of the world order.
Knowing he has this only mission in his life, the Directorate needs to stop him in his tracks.
Great story with the usual spellbinding dynamics of high tech weaponry, identitiy takeovers and incredibly fascinating infiltration plans as the plot moves along with speed, definition and riveting suspense.
The characters, as always, are clearly defined, infinitely interesting and amazingly easy to follow in their assumed roles, as they undertake a highly improbable and extremely dangerous search and kill of the Raven Syndicate mastermind.
Can not wait for the story to continue.

Action-packed and daunting with violence, Dale Brown ups the game big time with a gruesome showdown behind enemy lines.

Full review to be posted on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain

"The Devil's Fortress" is the fourth book in the Nick Flynn Series by the well known writer of technofiction, Dale Brown. It is being published by Blackstone Publishing who kindly provided me with an ARC for the purposes of this review. I have been following this author for many years, so you can safely assume that I am appreciative of his work, both in terms of its imaginative content and Brown's careful editing and technical skill in creating compelling fiction. That said, this book is no exception to my experience of Brown's work to date; it is a fun read
with roots deep in the history of our time, and anyone following the news, particularly from the Ukraine, will immediately respond to the echoes of those events in this series of books. The action revolves around the same Russian oligarch so prominent in every volume of this series, Pavel Voronin, who has created a mercenary force designed to undertake tasks too risky for the Russian government to undertake without plausible deniability. This organization, with obvious cognates in modern Russia, is here referred to as the Raven Syndicate. In this volume they have concocted yet another wild scheme to cripple the United States while avoiding a full on nuclear exchange. After putting up with these wild schemes throughout the series, Nick Flynn, our protagonist, is chosen to lead a team to terminate Voronin and hopefully end his endless scheming. This turns out to be a task much complicated by the heavy defenses deployed to protect his adversary and provides the basis of a fast paced and thrilling narrative, heavy on action, if occasionally over the top. I found it to be a quick and rewarding read for those seeking escapist fiction still anchored in the ominous realities of our world. It is a stand alone volume although knowledge of the earlier books enriches the reader's experience. I am happy to endorse it without reservation.