Bogey Spades, the third book in the Battle Born series by Jack Stewart, is a full-throttle thrill ride that has readers turning the page at Mach speeds!

I know next to nothing about aircrafts. Aside from knowing Maverick’s ego is writing checks his body can’t cash, my only other understanding is “woo jet goes fast!”, look at the Blue Angels, and thinking how difficult it must be to land a fighter jet on the deck of a aircraft carrier. I also know a few names of some aircraft… Tomcat, Raptor, Blackbird, etc… You get the gist, my knowledge is elementary.

What I love about Jack Stewart’s Battleborn book series is how he crafts a thrilling story with engaging characters with just enough jargon to feel like you are looking behind the scenes without feeling bogged down. It is not necessity for the readers to know the intricacy to piloting and flying such amazing aircrafts, nor the military aspects as a whole because Jack Stewart pens an incredible thriller!

Jack Stewart keeps readers engaged with the right amount of tidbits to create an authentic feel while keeping the pace at consistent Gs without breakneck chaos. While loops, sharp turns, and banking hard, Stewart knows how to keep the pages turning.

Bogey Spades continues by following our two leads, Emmy “Punky” King, a smart and savvy NCIS Agent, who once again is paired with Navy pilot Colt Bancroft. Stewart connects his two characters in an organic and meaningful way to the story. Each of the previous entries had story beats to connect Punky and Colt and again Stewart shows his expert writing to have each contribute to the ending.

This time Punky and Colt are hot on the trail of a stolen energy weapon that oddly taps into a mix of old school James Bond and new-age technology that lurks in the shadows of our real world. Focusing on the Chinese spies amongst our midsts, Stewart writes stunning twists with the asset known as KMART and the Chinese handler known as Mantis, one that fits the characters and story, but feels fresh… no I can’t spoil! However, the twists cater to the trajectory of the plot without feeling like it was haphazardly thrown into the story to have a “twist”.

Methodically planned, it seems like Stewart’s ability to land the twisted blows hits the mark each time. The end left me wide eyed and hungry for the next book. I must know how the chaos continues and how Punky and Colt will save the day!

Overall, Bogey Spades is Jack Stewart’s best outing yet! Not only does he use his knowledge to curate an engaging read, but the angle and characters feel fresh to the thriller genre! Bogey Spades is one of the best books I’ve read of 2024. I don’t normally give out five stars unless they are earned… but I am telling you, Jack Stewart deserves all five stars!

Bogey Spade is the third book in Jack Stewart’s Battle Born series, a series of smart, action packed military thrillers. TOPGUN pilot Colt Bancroft returns, as does NCIS special Agent Emmy ‘Punky’ King. Now while I believe you could read this as a standalone, the truth is you’re meant to read this as a series. The adventures build upon each other and you’ll definitely get more out of this one if you’ve at least read the first book, Unknown Rider, as there are very strong connections to the storylines originating there. As an actual former Top Gun instructor pilot, Steward is able to give your an authentic feel for what it is like be in the cockpit. But more than that, he just seems to know how to tell a really good story. The characters as great, the pacing is wonderful, and the stories are exciting. But he doesn’t let all this knowledge slow things down with endless/needless explanations. (A problem I always had with Tom Clancy. I appreciated the man’s attention to detail, but often times he’d basically stop telling you the story and spend 10+ pages explaining the minute inner workings of some obscure piece of equipment. /rant, lol) Stewart never does that, he fully understands we are reading his books to be entertained. And entertained I was. Chinese spies, shootouts on the streets of Vegas, Punky wrecking yet another car…this is what kept me flipping pages. But not only flipping pages. I was thrilled to get a chance to read an eARC of Bogey Spades, but no sooner had I finished than I got a chance to also listen to an advanced copy of the audio version. I didn’t hesitate for a second. With Ray Porter once again delivering the narration I couldn’t pass it up. As always he nails it. No matter how you choose to experience this book series (reading or listening …or like me both ways) you can’t go wrong. 5 stars both ways! Fans of Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, and Vince Flynn will want to check this series out. I’d like to thank Severn River Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC and Dreamscape Select | Severn River Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of of the audio version of Jack Stewart’s Bogey Spades.

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A rip roaring adventure that closes the book on the precious two entries and sets the stage for the books to come. No one does it better than Jack right and that’s a fact

Really enjoyed this latest book in the series by Jack Stewart, I have enjoyed each book and how the characters continue to grow and the story continues to build up. Bogey Spades was great, kept me guessing until the end and then left me with wanting to know what happens next after the way this one ended. If you are looking for a good military thriller series, this is a newer series that provides a great story.

Stewart does it again; this latest installment in his page-turning action-packed technothriller series will leave you on the catapult, ready to launch into the next story.

Top Gun Colt Bancroft and NCIS agent Emmy King are thrown together again in an
attempt to find and stop an international espionage traitor whose actions threaten the
Vice President
Book 3 of Stewart's Battle Born series s every bit as thrilling and riveting a read
as his first 2 were.
Great characters, with strong story lines.
A terrific read.

Colt Bancroft is back. While attending the now infamous Tailhook convention he is quietly approached to resurrect the Black Ponies Squadron by his old Master Chief. Soon he is entangled in another espionage thriller with his pal, NCIS Agent Punky King trying to locate a hijacked weapon that could tip the balance of military power away from the USA and possibly cost the VP his life as well.
Meanwhile Punky is trying to find KMART, the traitor in US uniform and is offered a chance to bring down the Ministry of State Security operations on the west coast.
Punky and Colt will have to once again join forces to head these lethal enemies off at the pass.

The Battle Born series is a fine series of military thrillers. Maybe a little over the top on detail — too much authenticity can be as distracting as too little — but good reads, nevertheless.

That said, I do have one major reservation. I've read all of the books in the series so far, and it's become obvious that Battle Born isn't really a series at all. When you think of a traditional series of thrillers or mysteries, you think of books that share common characters and settings. The Battle Born series, however, actually shares a single narrative line broken into chunks, It's really a serial, like the old time serials we used to see at the Saturday morning movies when we were kids, and the major point of each episode is to get you to show up for the next one.. The BOGEY SPADES episode of this serial, for example, ends with an absolutely great cliffhanger than I never saw coming. The major problem with it is that it resolves nothing about the narrative you've just read in BOGEY SPADES. It's pure setup to get you to read the next episode in the serial.

Is a serial structure for an ongoing series of novels a good thing or a bad thing? It's certainly a good thing from the standpoint of the publisher. If a serial hits, it's a license to print money. But how about from the reader's point of view? I honestly feel a bit manipulated to be forced to read title after title just to follow a narrative toward a reasonable resolution.

I guess the truth is I'm not sure how I feel about being pulled into a serial without being forewarned about what it is. It will be interesting to see how a larger body of readers ends up responding to that.

Lots of action in this sequel. The protagonists battle powers foreign and domestic, and they’re not really sure who is trustworthy. Good blend of old school and high tech tools being used to track down and neutralize the bad guys..

Jack Stewart writes books in at least mach 1, maybe mach 2. I don't know if everything he does goes fast but as a former fighter pilot I think he is used to high speed. Don't worry, this does not reflect on his writing, he has come up with some marvelous characters in his Battle Born series and I can't decide if I like Colt or Punky best. Bogey Spades is the third book about this duo and I think the books only gets better and better. Although I think that Punky soon can give Joe Pickett some competition when it comes to cars. I will not spoil anything but I can tell you that the end in this one came as a total surprise, not only for me. I strongly recommend that you try this author and I thank Severn River Publishing and Netgalley for supplying me with an advance copy.