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Unabridged Audiobook: 10 CDs (13 hours)
Read by Ari Fliakos
Rush hour traffic can sometimes feel like a war zone. You weave your way in and out of lanes, trying to avoid your fellow motorists—who are usually focused on anything but their driving—in a daily attempt to make it home safely. But if your daily commute isn’t thrilling enough, you can always pick up a military thriller on CD—like Dalton Fury’s Black Site.
Written by a man who’s been there—a former Delta Force commander—Black Site is a gritty and highly detailed military thriller following a deadly operation in Pakistan.
Three years ago, during a secret mission, Delta Force operator Kolt “Racer” Raynor chose to disobey orders, leading his men into an ambush that left some dead and others captured. Since then, he’s nursed his guilt with alcohol, scraping by with the occasional odd job. But now he finally has a chance to make things right.
When some of Raynor’s former colleagues get wind of the location of the missing men, they call on him to find proof. What he finds, however, is much more than just proof of the men’s location. He also uncovers an al Qaeda plot that could change everything.
From the very beginning of Black Site, it’s clear that the book was written by someone who knows what he’s talking about. The story is filled with detailed descriptions of both the Middle Eastern settings and the various military operations in which Raynor finds himself involved. So if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be there, this is definitely a good place to start. The pace may not always be brisk, but even when Raynor is waiting for something to happen—patiently scoping out the compound where his friends are being held—the suspense continues to build.
The characters, however, could use a little more development. Raynor seems to be the boilerplate tough guy. He has no family, no history, no personal life whatsoever. He’s simply a military machine who holds nothing back—and who, like many literary heroes, sometimes has a problem following orders. He’s a familiar character—but not necessarily one to whom you’ll feel particularly attached.
At the same time, the in depth descriptions and detailed operations often make Black Site a challenging audiobook—especially if you’re listening in the car. No matter how much you’ll want to follow each step of the process—to keep track of the characters and their movements while getting caught up in the building tension—you might end up missing some of the details as you try to pass a construction zone (or get your GPS to stop recalculating and get back on track).
Black Site is definitely a carefully-crafted military thriller—one that will leave you feeling like you’ve been there, running right beside Raynor, the bullets flying all around you. And fans of the genre will appreciate the insider’s perspective. But, with so many detailed descriptions, you might want to stick with something lighter for your daily commute through the concrete jungle—and pick up the book instead.
