It's a fast paced book that takes you across the globe. I enjoyed the travel and the historical references. The main character, Maddy is interesting and I look forward to the sequel.

Thank you to Thunder Creek Press and NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.
I read VanOps: The Lost Power by Avanti Centrae back in Dec 2019/Jan 2020 and spent weeks attempting to get through the book. I was never able to finish it. So when the publisher sent out book two I wasn’t sure if I should give another go. I decided to try it.

Centrae writes fast-ish paced stories with a lot going on. You’re led to believe that the story is about Maddy Marshall however the POV jumps around to so many characters that it became overwhelming for me. I enjoy the Tomb Raider aspect of the story. I enjoy the VanOps team for the most part, although there were some weak spots to me, but I’ll get into that next. I had a bigger problem with the POV jumps and some individual characters. The story overall, I’m sure, makes more sense if you read the first book. You can piece things together but some details you probably won’t get if you do what I did.

Maddy is an interesting character. She’s a tough woman who, for the most part, knows what she wants and is willing to fight for it. I enjoy strong female characters and I'd put her up there with some of the best. Although her back and forth about her ex, I found ridiculous and unnecessary. It felt like it was only there to provoke Bear, her boyfriend, into bits of jealousy, which was not fair to him. She wasn’t that interested, yet she allowed Bear for most of the book to think she might still be. I don’t get that, and it made me push her away during scenes with Bear. Then you have Will, her twin, who I found fun until he is suddenly into his partner/boss. The man lost his wife somewhat recently and I can understand him being attracted to someone but his interest in his partner became annoying and again unnecessary. For a highly trained team, I found some of the obvious things they missed throughout the story frustrating, which would pull me out of the action.

All that said, it’s fun to travel across the globe from Morocco, Turkey, Philippians, Mexico, and Egypt. There’s history and legends throughout that if you’re into that sort of thing, you’ll enjoy. I know I did. My biggest problem was the number of references to Covid, which if I’m being honest, it’s a little too soon for me. We’re still in the middle of all this and to read about how devastating it “was” and how much worst this supercomputer would make life, it made me want to stop reading. Perhaps it wouldn’t bother me later, but right now, it’s too soon.

I would highly recommend the serious for fans of thrillers, history with a little bit of sci-fi/fantasy in there.

Author Avanti Centrae (https://www.avanticentrae.com) published the novel “Solstice Shadows” in 2020 (August). Mr. Centrae has published two novels, this being the second in his “VanOps Thriller” series.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains Scenes of Violence, Mature Language, and Mature Situations. The novel continues the story of the elite VanOps team. The main characters include siblings Maddy & Will Marshall. Will has now joined a long time family friend ‘Bear’ as a VanOps agent. While they would like Maddy to join them, she has not yet agreed.

Forces from Russia and Spain confront the VanOps team. Russian or Spanish agents are the most likely suspects in the theft of a star chart. Maddy agrees to help VanOps to find the chart. All are looking for the source of a superconducting material. The VanOps team must avoid attacks while working to solve the mystery of the star chart.

I enjoyed the 7.5+ hours I spent reading this 401-page thriller. The plot weaves suspense and thrills with a dash of the paranormal. It is a little ‘out there’ but it is an enjoyable story. The selected cover art is OK. I give this novel a 3.7 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

action, suspense, theft, thriller, historical-research, international-crime-and-mystery, espionage, intrigue, mystery, family-dynamics

Another high tension thriller from the pen of a gifted novelist with a world class imagination. Just as riveting as the first, the main characters are back but the mystery and locations are different even as the total unpredictability and plot twists are the desired characteristics that stay. The publisher's blurb is pretty good for an intro, and no spoilers here. An amazing read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Thunder Creek Press via NetGalley.

Quite engaging and well-written. Enjoyed the mystery and characters, and the ride. I'll have to circle back to the first book in the series. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

Another winning effort by Avanti Centrae! The action continues from where it left off in her first novel, The Lost Power. Once again, the depth and amount of historical information shows that the author has done her research. It is great to see the main characters develop and mature as this story unfolds. This is yet another page turner with lots of adventure, action and twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thunder Creek Press who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The second book in a planned series about the VanOps group which is a secret organization working for the US Government handling problem areas all over the world. The author is writing the stories in a similar manner to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and others of that ilk by placing the action in exotic places and utilizing themes that involve more than a little fantasy. In the current book the group is chasing after a rare ancient star chart with the help of Maddy Marshall who is an expert in the martial art of aikido, not yet a member of VanOps but considering it and being considered.
The villains involved are plotting armed invasions of the United States in a two-pronged attack on both the east and west coasts. They intend to use the powers generated by a super conductive treasure trove to effect their conquest of the U.S. In a test of the super conductive approach the bad guys use it to interrupt power all over the Philippine Islands and bring that nation to its knees in one gulp. Maddy has sent a young boy there for safe keeping and in addition to helping the others in the VanOps group in their fight she has him to worry about. She is considering adopting him and at the same time initiating a love affair with one of the group's members. Busy lady no.
There is little or no character development but there is action galore making Ms Centrae's book very interesting for the reader. There was also an afterward by the author indicating that several of the inventions or finds have a basis in fact making the novel possibly a glimpse into the future. My recommendation is if you liked "Raiders" you will like the novels featuring the VanOps group and their adventures.