This entire novel can be summed up with the following:

U.S. Military: "No, Jack. You can't do that."
Jack: "Watch me."
Jack: *does the thing, becomes a hero, returns home, grows attached to someone, they die or are put in danger*
Jack: "Revenge!"
U.S. Military: "No, Jack. You can't do that."
Jack: "Watch me."

And this exact cycle continues for over 500 pages. Seriously. That's pretty much it. And in all honesty, I can only recommend this book to you if you fully believe that 9/11 was 100% an inside job funded by Bush (Sr. and Jr.), you hate absolutely everyone from the Middle East, and you suffer from sort of delusional hero complex.

In Assassins, Mike Bond takes us from Desert Storm to the early terrorist attacks in Paris. Assassins, is adventure, terror, romance, sex and lies, all in one riveting package; and is a good examination of the tragedies inflicted by politics, egos, as well as fanatics who use religion as an excuse to wreak havoc on the world.

Dropped by parachute into the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, Jack and his team are fighting the Russians who have invaded Afghanistan. Through his well-developed characters, Bond reveals how the U.S. became involved in the drug trade in order to provide arms to the Afghanis, suggests that Saudi Arabia financed the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Bond also brings up a common complaint of many people: the fact that wars are started and continued by politicians who won't be harmed in those wars.

What Makes This Book Reviewer Grumpy?

Throughout the entire prologue, and the first few pages of Chapter 1, the reader is not given the names of the characters. Only he, him, she, etc., until someone yells, "Jack!" Additional chapters with different characters begin with the same.
Incomplete sentences.
Sentences that begin with conjunctions.

In depth view of what can happen to those involved in wars at ground zero. Couldn't put the book down and I found myself feeling the frustrations portrayed by the characters. Very well written.

While I was intrigued by the trials the protagonist goes through, and wanted to see where he went next, it was clear the author's politics, rife with animosity toward certain persons, showed through and served to give the book an angry and disjointed feel at times.

The action starts from the opening page and takes you on a 30 year journey through the middle East and it's conflicts. There are times it is hard to tell if you are reading a real life account of war or the vision of a clever novelist. This being my first book by Mr Bond, I was unfamiliar with his style and was completely involved until he chose to use a political voice - I don't want to hear an authors own beliefs - totally turned me off. Had he kept that out of the manuscript it would have rated a 5.

I enjoy Mike Bond novels - without exception. They are versatile and timely and always of interest.
This one was a compelling read, at times spine tingling and often with a smear of horror in the back of your mind. I kept hope hope hoping that the US involvement in the middle eastern political shenanigans was greatly exaggerated but a little research made that doubtful. I was much more complacent before this read, but am very glad that I read it. Keep them coming, Mike Bond.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Mike Bond, And Mandevilla Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Another great Bond thriller. Now you can't multi-task read this; that is a staple with Bond. His style FORCES you to pay attention and his experience FORCES you to pick a side. He does not write with the "everyone is basically good" mentality. I think this book is not only fantastic but a breath of "fresh-prose" that there are people who are just bad. Deal with it and read this great book

Bond reminds us of how history repeats itself ad nauseum. The US is helping Afghans fight the Russians, not because of altruism or concern but for payback. The premise of our involvement is to bog down the Russians and see casualties by helping the Afghans as the Russians helped the Viet Cong.

The pettiness of this motivation is exacerbated by the use of opium to fund the purchase of weapons in order to maintain the "blackness" of the operation.

Redeeming aspects of the book are the dog and the love affair between Leo and Sophie.

I'm enough of a student of history to be familiar with Bond's fiction and realize that a great deal of his speculation is fact not fiction.

The first half of this book was very exciting and suspenseful, with some political snarky remarks that were easily ignored. However, as the book progressed, it became obvious that the author's intent is just too political to make the book an enjoyable fiction.

I found the book long at times, but the end was satisfying, although open-ended. I'd like to read more Bond.

There are probably a lot of people who would be interested in this book, but unfortunately I'm not one of them. It's just not for me. Veterans and military buffs will find a lot here to like, but those of us who aren't as interested in war will likely be bored. There's not enough other things to keep someone reading if they aren't fascinated by the Middle East Wars. So ignore this review if war interests you.

I started this book expecting something similar to Brad Thor: military guys, cool action scenes, a bit of politics here and there, and maybe some history to round things out. What I found was a PSA against Islam and Islamic countries. Just in case Americans don't get enough propaganda that tells us Muslims are inherently bad, here's a whole book all about it.

The writing itself was decent, though I wasn't a fan of the long run-on sentences. I can see readers being swept up in this kind of writing. This is what earns it the extra star from me. However, there were several times where it felt the author put in battle scenes for no reason other than to add drama and a lot of the time they felt superfluous.

What really made me not want to continue reading was the one-sided stance on the wars (because bad guys are just innately bad and no one has other dimensions) and when the author used words such as retard and raghead. They might not be the most horrible words a person could use, but they're not something I appreciate reading, especially when they're not used in dialogue. If you've got a character who is a jerk and he uses that language, that's usually okay with me. When a book is third person and those words are being used, that's less okay.

All in all, a little to racist/religion-ist for my taste. I would have preferred more balance and understanding. Less slurs would have been nice as well.

This book is a thriller which is based on events which have taken place over the last 30 years. It has pace, plenty of action, a good insight into the the fictional characters that form the basis of the intrigues and as you get further into the book the political commentary increases. In the end it became unclear to me whether this was intended to be a political soapbox, historical account intertwined with fictional characters or a good thriller.

Whatever the intention, I was unable to put the book down until I had finished the final page and would recommend others to do the same thing. You will be left with a clear memory of how our world has been changed and some thought-provoking ideas to ponder on the future of our planet.

I was disappointed in this book. It could have been strong, but instead it got so chock full of politics from one side alone that it strangled the story. This was my first, and probably last book by this author. It was very difficult to finish this book, most people with a good education are not going to want to wade through this. It is a good deal of fabricated fiction, when you can get to those parts through the awkward writing style.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

As a military wife this was a tough read to see what my husband could of been faced with when he was deployed. Great insight to what they face on a daily basis.

Although it took me an exceptionally long time to complete this book, not because of the book itself, every time I picked up where I left off it was like I was transported back into action with the main character. The story was insightful to what battling the Middle East looked liked. There is plenty of action and some romance sprinkled here and there. Bond does a fantastic job creating vivid scenery with his words so the reader can imagine what life looks like through the main characters eyes.

I'm shelving this book for a later date. As of now it's a DNF. The constant switch in points of view, coupled with the complex names and language made it too difficult for me to enjoy right now

An intense, fast-paced read. It covers thirty years of war in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Seen through several characters, it gives unique perspectives. There is some political commentary on the various wars. Other than that, I enjoyed this quite a bit.

If you like a good, comprehensive look at the wars, this could be for you.

This is a well-written and thought-provoking book, but also a deeply cynical and pessimistic book. The main character, Jack, is a CIA asset who is valuable for his military skills, survival skills, language skills, and intelligence. He starts out training and arming the mujahedeen in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets and ends up being involved, in some way, with almost every major conflict or crisis in the Middle East -- infiltrating a terrorist training camp in Lebanon, Iraq post-911, Afghanistan post-911, the hunt for Bin Laden, etc. Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama and their administrations all draw the author's ire, but the greatest scorn is reserved for Bush Jr. for invading Iraq and having no plan for what to do afterwards and for Obama for making the bad situation in Iraq worse and failing to confront the evil of ISIS. There are multiple examples in the book of deals with the Devil where the Devil wins.

If you are into books on the middle east and how our meddling has caused the problems we now face there Mike Bond lays it out in a story with a great main character. I was reminded of General Grant and how he kept telling the Secretary of War and President to let him pursue the enemy. They didn't and a war that could have ended earlier dragged on. The war in the middle east drags on and Jack has advised actions again and again that could have prevented further terrorism. I join the author and others who think it was all about the oil.

What a riveting, thrilling, and at times, horrifying book this was. It was so hard to put down because the main character Jack was constantly being pulled into every type of Islamic war that could be found. All of his missions were so covered up that even some individuals in our government were kept in the dark. In various missions, he was ordered to move through Afghanistan to Kabul to Baghdad to the United States and France. All the while losing very close comrades, family, and friends in the wake of the Islamic war, Jack continued on in his attempt to protect us from this maniacal religious cult of ISIS. The brutality of the ISIS regime and their far-reaching tentacles knew no bounds. This book was so realistic and fast-paced that the reader felt as if they were actually there. Additionally, this book also uncovered the bureaucracy of various governments, and the coverup of greed which can take hold of individuals in power. The plot was well thought out and completely engaged the reader from the first page. This book was not completely a special ops military based genre. There was some romance and some mystery involved too. The characters were also realistic and it was easy to feel the emotions that the characters felt. What will the future hold for Jack? Will he eventually say "enough?" Will he decide to get on with his own life and leave the Islamic war to others to carry on? Will this constant roller coaster ride ever end for him? This was my first book to read by this author, and I must say that I was very impressed and will be reading many more in the future. His writing style definitely has me hooked!! You will not be sorry if you decide to pick this book up - I know I wasn't.