Cover Image: Tom Clancy's The Division: Recruited

Tom Clancy's The Division: Recruited

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I loved the main premise of the novel. From the very first chapter we are made aware of how unforgiving the world has become in this post-apocalyptic story and how every day is a fight for survival. Parrott masterfully weaves tension and action together. His characters are well-developed though not necessarily likeable. None of them are whom they appear to be. The twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat right to the last page. It was so captivating and exciting that I simply couldn't put it down! This provocative, somewhat dark and twisted story grabs you from the first page and keeps you guessing until the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

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I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Tom Clancy’s The Division book Recruited by Thomas Parrott and published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

Also, I won’t lie, I have looked at other reviews to see what others think, so there may be some influences from them in this book review. If I am going to quote them, I will attribute them. But if I forget to, or something is highly influenced by them, and you think I ought to attribute someone, let me know so that I can.

What is Tom Clancy’s The Division
Based on the Ubisoft game series of the same name, its set in the near future, the Strategic Homeland Division, known simply as The Division, is a group of government sleeper agents, activated to assist emergency responders and the armed forces, when a smallpox like virus, called the Green Poison or Dollar Flu spreads like wildfire across the US, causing the collapse in the government and society.

The job of the Division, is to combat lawlessness and find out the origin of the virus in an attempt to restore order and bring back civilisation.

The Story
This story follows a cell investigating why trucks carrying food to the eastern coast of the US have slowed to a trickle, in order to prevent the survivors of the plague from starving.

Having lost one of their trio before they get out of Washington D.C., they recruit Maria Kanhai, a young veteran and cyber security expert into their cell as they journey west to try and get to the bottom of the problem.

As they travel the huge distances on foot, they travel through an unforgiving world and come across ruthless factions who will do their upmost to hold power for themselves, and keep themselves on top regardless of how it impacts others.

Conclusion
I haven’t played either of the games in the series, and so I am approaching this from fresh eyes, and no doubt didn’t see any references from them.

But I am very familiar with the works of Tom Clancy, and whilst this book sort of resembles, them, it has a voice of its own that is distinct.

A world ravaged by a pandemic is something I think many of us are familiar with now, even if ours didn’t collapse into chaos!

The book is very fast paced, and there is always a concern about who is tracking the cell and why they are being targeted, sometimes, it feels like you are going from set piece to set piece, but the characters and their interactions does make it feel a lot more natural.

And speaking about the characters, they are all very well written, with flaws and virtues that feel very very real, and thus it helps keep you immeresed.

The Division paints a picture of a very bleak world where humanity has quickly devolved into groups that are only looking out for themselves.

I am going to give this 4 out of 5 stars, and I might have to buy the game next time Ubisoft have a sale.

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This is a great look at the post-apocalyptic world with some great characters. The addition of a non Division agent working with the Division brings a phenomenal aspect of bravery and strife within the group. I enjoyed the locations and the detail given to the amount of character development. This is the first Thomas Parrott read that I have read and it was definitely a good starting point. It is a strong addition to the Tom Clancy universe and I will be sure to pick more of his stuff up and add it to my TBR pile.

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I have no experience with Tom Clancy's The Division, I have the first game loaded on my Xbox thanks to GamePass, but have yet to actually find any time to play it. I know the basic premise of the game, that a virus has caused untold chaos in the US, killing many and bringing the rest of society to its knees, resulting in those left behind having to rebuild their lives as best they can. But outside of that, I was unaware of any particular characters, groups, or important events that take place within this universe. As such, Recruited became my introduction to this franchise; and thanks to the quality of the book it's a game series I definitely want to play now.

The story of Recruited takes place after the initial events of the plague, when the Dollar Flu has done the most damage and the people left behind are trying their best to recover. It's in the remains of Washington DC that we meet Maira Kanhai, a former Navy computer specialist who's living in an apartment block with a group of around fifty other survivors. The group has come together in order to survive, trying to make life comfortable and manageable with things like solar panels to generate power, and scavenger missions to gather supplies and important equipment from the surrounding area. The only person there with military training, Maira has become the head of security for the community, arranging the defences of the building and being in charge of those that have been trained up to defend the place.

Despite seeming to have things running well Maira isn't viewed as well by everyone, and there are some in the community who dislike her, and blame her for a supply run that went wrong that cost the lives of several members of the group, including Maira's own brother. However, when the community comes under attack from a roving band of infected anarchist it's Maira's defences that hold them back long enough for help to arrive. That help comes in the form of three Division agents, who end up driving the attackers back, and wiping them out.

When the agents inform the survivors that they've been passing through as part of an important mission that could help save millions of people Maira volunteers to join them. They lost one of their number stopping the attack, and Maira feels even more unwelcome in the community now. The Division leader agrees to take her on in a trial capacity, giving her the chance to prove that she has what it takes to be a member of the Division as they head out into what's left of the world, hoping to do some good.

The world that Thomas Parrott crafts for Recruited is an interesting one. Thanks to the popularity of post-apocalypse stories we've all seen a fair amount of stories that follow survivors as they attempt to rebuild the world, struggling to get by whilst those left fight over resources. This book does have some of that, especially to begin with, and whilst Parrott does hit on some similar notes to other stories, with worries about supplies and so forth, it never feels boring, or like it's repeating what's come before. There's enough different here in the early parts of the book that you don't end up feeling jaded by it; and by the time the Division agents head out into the world we get to see this post apocalypse in a completely different way too.

What I really enjoyed about it was that we get to see a lot of different types of survivors and communities over the course of the novel. There's the regular people having to come together to survive, there's the loners out in the woods going self sufficient, there are folks who just want to see the world burn and will sow chaos wherever they go, there are groups of soldiers who've tried to maintain order, and there's even a fleet of truckers who have formed their own society. There's a big mix of different types of folks in this book, showing different viewpoints to this new world, different methods of survival and adaptation; yet it never feels bloated or that Parrott is giving the reader too much. He's able to integrate so many elements in a way that it feels natural as we learn more about it. It's impressive.

One of the biggest factors to the success of the book has to be the characters though, particularly Maira. Maira is our point of view character, we experience everything that happens through her eyes. We learn about the Division and the other groups of survivors as she does, and her relatively sheltered experience of staying with one group of survivors makes her a great gateway into this world. She has enough experience and ability to be able to keep up with the other agents, yet still feels like she's learning and growing as a character.

Speaking of the other Division agents, I really enjoyed these two too. The leader of this little trio is a woman named Brenda, who from the very first time we meet her gives the sense that she's an open, caring person. She's a professional soldier, but she takes the time to talk to people around her, to reassure them, and probably gives out a little bit more information that you'd expect, but does so because she knows its the decent thing to do. She seems to understand that she's there to help others, that her job is to ultimately benefit the people, and as such makes sure to do good and be kind wherever she goes. I also liked the relationship that formed between her and Maira, where she seemed to fall into some kind of big sister type role, helping the other woman out and encouraging her whenever it was needed.

The other Division agent is Leo, a big, silent type of guy who I actually took a while to figure out if I liked or not. To begin with he seemed a bit of a dick, refusing to really open up, not wanting Maira to join them, and being cold towards her. But over time he began to open up, to show more of his personality, and by the end of the book I'd come to like his gruffness and his stoic nature. He felt like the kind of guy that once you got through his tough outer shell would be the kind of person who'd always be there for you, and would be great fun to be around.

Recruited: A Tom Clancy's The Division Novel is a book where I wasn't sure what to expect from it. I didn't know if this was going to be a survival story, a post apocalypse story, or an action story. And in the end it was all of them, but it was also a story about people. It was a story about the people who stand up and help others, who put their lives on the line to do the right thing even when it puts you in danger and others are refusing to act in a good way. And that's not just the Division agents either. The book shows normal people doing the right thing even when it's the hard thing to do. Despite being about the what's left of the world after awful events it's a book that shows the good in humanity, and has a surprising amount of hope in its message.

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I've never read any book or played any game, inspired by Tom Clancy but have always loved the film adaptations of his novels. So thought it high time to give one a try. This one is based on his Division series and written by Thomas Parrott, whose known for his novels set in the world of Warhammer 40,000.

The book is set in post-apocalyptic future where an epidemic, referred to as the Green Poison, has ravaged the land. Each day brings new marauders and factions battling for survival. Willing to take what they need by any means necessary, even using the virus as a weapon. 

It's in this future the heroine of the story, Maira, finds herself. Tasked with the job of providing security to the community called Athena, Maira is constantly trying to find redemption to make up for a mistake that cost herself and the community dearly. When the community is attacked by a faction, three Division agents come to their aid, in the ensuing battle one of the agents is killed. Maira volunteers to take the agents place.

No longer insulated to only the communities needs, Maira discovers a world that is in desperate need of hope. The Division are trying to inspire such hope, by bring back some forms of infrastructure to keep everyone alive. But there are people who just want to watch the world burn. Maira finds herself pushing herself further than she thought possible to see if she has what it takes to overcome any obstacle, any foe to become a Division agent and a beacon of hope.

4****/5* Filled with intrigue, action and a disturbing resemblance to a world gripped by fear of an epidemic, this is a great read. You don't have to be a fan of the game to enjoy this adventure rollercoaster.

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A lot of people might view game tie-in books as just a money grab, with publishers trying to cash in on a property’s popularity. But IMO that’s the exception rather than the rule. The truth is that many of the games that spawn book series feature incredibly detailed world with rich lure begging to be further explored, and since the games themselves take so long to develop, books are a wonderful way for us fans to get a chance to get more of what we love.

I’m happy to say Recruited, a novel set in the game world from Tom Clancy’s The Division (a game I love even though I’m absolutely horrible at it, lol) is a solid action novel. A book I would have enjoyed even if I’d never played the games, though knowing the world from the game absolutely enhanced my enjoyment.

There is definitely a story here, perhaps not the deepest but certainly serviceable enough. Things aren’t going well for Maira and her group of survivors. They suffered losses, are running out of supplies, and so make the decision they need to expand their scavenging further out into more dangerous territory. Naturally it’s no walk in the park, and again and again Maira and her group come under attack, losing some of her team while encountering new allies. As expected the story is heavy on action with most of those action scenes being well written. While enjoyable just as an action novel, fans of the games are likely to recognize and appreciate the little nods to the game.

Thanks to Aconyte Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the eARC of Tom Clancy’s The Division: Recruited.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1I2ZXP3IFN6CQ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tom-clancys-the-division-thomas-parrott/1140377480?ean=9781839081170&bvnotificationId=77f90fe6-a0a2-11ec-828f-12775d6f1c4b&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/203723262

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This is an interesting spin on the often overworked dystopian future. The author does have some novel ideas. I appreciate the character development, along with the evolving story line, and use of technologically advanced weaponry. Although a thriller dystopia meets military vs. sci fi thriller, the author plants some play prose at times to break up the tension with some laughs. The ending leaves a cliffhanger, so I look forward to the next drafts. Overall, I am surprised and impressed.

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I received this book through "NetGalley" and the publisher and I am voluntarily providing an honest review.

In this story, the country has suffered and major tragic event which impacted many people. The story introduces Maira a Navy vet who winds up being in charge of security for a group of families that are trying to survive. Earlier she had attempted to procure items that would help the families survive, but she wound up in an ambush where several members of her team were killed including her brother. Later the families gathered and discussed how they were going to be able to survive. The group ultimately decided that they would need to scavenge further out to locate more supplies. As a result, it appeared to bring an assault by the "Outcasts" to their site. As battle was fought and many people were killed. They were helped by the "Division" in the end and managed to survive.

The remainder of the story had Maira joining with Leo and Brenda, the Division members, on the journey. It highlights the risks and obstacles they had to overcome if they were going to be able to accomplish their task. With assistance from unexpected people, they eventually came to their destination. At this juncture they had a battle that they needed to win.

To ind out who they were helped by, what their objective was, who was trying to stop them, then you need to read this story.

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Once again I would like to thank Aconyte for granting me access to this ARC for a fair and honest review. A growing name in publishing tie-in fiction, I am beginning to wonder if they can actually do anything not to perfection! I would say it is a problem, but it is the exact opposite. Being an adult brings with it adult responsibilities and you find you can’t always sit down to play a good board game, video game or set up a RPG be it table top or otherwise but there is always time to fit in a quick chapter or two and the folks at Aconyte and their writers just keep on delivering.

The latest to join the roster of growing fiction is Tom Clancy’s The Division: Recruited. Those who know the game can guess what they are in for, it certainly isn’t going to be happy and comforting. There will be tension, there will be death, there will be violence. It’s part of the post-apocalyptic staple. It’s something that comes along with the territory and it’s something that Thomas Parrott does fantastically.

The first thing I adored was the main premise of the novel. A newly recruited, albeit untrained in Division’s ways, agent is integral in preventing a nefarious plot from ripping The Division apart.
As we see from the synopsis Maria Kanhai has had enough. Since the Green Poison epidemic hit DC, her Cybersecurity Degree is worthless, she can’t rejoin the US Navy, and her early efforts to secure Maryland led to a costly mistake: the death of her brother. Every day is becoming a battle as new factions emerge trying to burn her city and any survivors to the ground. Until The Division arrives, inspiring hope. When one of the agents is brought down by a grenade, Maria suddenly has a chance to make a real difference as a raw new Division recruit. If she passes the tests and on top of this overcome the enemies plotting to permanently see the end of the Division once and for all.

When we meet Maria Kanhai. She is doing her best to try and survive and help others in this new post-apocalyptic world. Already suffering from survivor guilt and the wrath of people looking to point blame anywhere but themselves she is trying to get by. Only the somewhat safety that her community have secured is a fragile thing at best and with increasing risks from raids and supplies running low it falls to Maria, the unofficial second in command, to try and come up with a plan. But as with everything in the Division world it’s never easy or clear cut. Before any plan can be actioned the community comes under attack and takes a large hit. If it weren’t for several Division agents the whole community would have been lost. Seeing a chance to provide some real help to the new world and see much needed supplies reach her community Maria offers to join the ranks of the Agents on their mission.

From the very first chapter we are made aware of how unforgiving the world has become and how every day is a fight for survival. Parrott masterfully weaves tension and action together, capturing the true nature of the game. As the story advances we begin to see our protagonists begin to face near impossible odds, when you consider there are just three agents, one a new recruit, facing down several well armed and very nearly mad opponents. I often hate spoilers due to wanting people to experience the twists and turns firsthand. But I have to say that it takes a very good author to make you become invested in characters you’ve only just met. Needless to say the characters who do not make it do leave an impression be it good or bad and fit the universe setting perfectly.

The story is fast-paced but well thought out, that is to say you aren’t just dragged from fight to fight. You are kept wondering who or what is targeting the Division. The characterisation and characters are wonderful. Each having a brilliant balance of flaws and virtues. Peppered between the action and tension there are moments where we see the weakness and ‘human’ side of the elite agents. This is a side that is a little lacking in the game since while you can play with friends and online there isn’t much element of roleplay or character building in that sense. This, I feel, is what sets this book apart. We don’t just see special agents taking down the bad guys, we see the weakness of those agents, we see the softer side, we see how the epidemic changes them and sometimes not for the better and to me that was and is fantastic.

Most definitely a must read for fans of The Division games but also could easily be a stepping stone into the universe and games or to someone who just enjoys a good post-apocalyptic read. I have to say it reignited my love for the game and thankfully I managed to convince a few friends to load it up too. I really hope more titles are released in this series in the future.

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After the Plague, America is split into warring factions in this absorbing thriller.
Maira inserts herself into what remains of a secretive law enforcement body to try to help the remaining population start to rebuild, and this book chronicles her adventures.
Believable and disturbing insight into a post-apocalyptic dystopia.

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To be honest I was skeptical with some of the dialogue in the beginning but this book Recruited (huge fan of the games, over 1000 hours...I take Tom Clancy's The Division seriously) turned out to take some turns I did not expect positively, some cool in-game lore references while easy to catch if you at all play the games.

Recruited most importantly added a lot of well-written action scenes that were lacking from some of the other books. Those were great as well but this one really felt like you were starting up a game and not creating a character, but diving into an already-developing and recruited Agent for the first time from equipment to emotions. Something the game can't do as well as reading Recruited did.

Highly recommend for anyone who is a hardcore fan of the game or action/sci-fi fans in general!

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RECRUITED is a smooth, solidly written read - more action than Character, but enough insight to keep you curious about future novels in the series.

It is action packed, and strewn with marvelous visuals - Semis rigged out as mobile weapons platforms.

As in Gaming, the team takes damage, but keeps on going to the goal.

Many plot-ploys are recycled cliches because the action and events don't arise from the Characters internal conflicts. They aren't in this karmic stew of a survival marathon to learn specific lessons and elevate their spiritual understanding of why they are alive.

In other words, the novels is as shallow as a video Game, which might be just what you want to read on an airplane and toss when you get where you are going. It's a fun novel, but not memorable.

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Tom Clancy’s The Division: Recruited – Thomas Parrott – Review
scifiandfantasyreviewerDecember 13, 2021UncategorizedEdit"Tom Clancy’s The Division: Recruited – Thomas Parrott – Review"

The Division: Recruited

Thomas Parrott

Aconyte Books

I’m always happy to discover the latest releases by one of my absolute favourite publishers, Aconyte Books – publisher of novels and anthologies based around a variety of boardgame-related properties like Arkham Horror, KeyForge and Legend of the Five Rings – and even moreso when one of the releases involves someone I consider to be a red-hot rising star that deserves all the attention that they can get to help their writing career. In this case, that person is up-and-coming scifi and fantasy author, Thomas Parrott. A tremendously talented author, he first came to my attention with his debut novella from Black Library, Isha’s Lament with its assured, confident and action-packed take on the Blackstone Fortress setting in Warhammer 40,000, and then further impressed with a series of short stories across multiple genres. Thomas has collaborated with Aconyte Books several times recently, having short stories published in the KeyForge anthology Tales from the Crucible and the Arkham Horror anthology The Devourer Below and I thought it was about time that the publisher gave Thomas a slot to release a fully-fledged novel that would allow him to fully demonstrate his capabilities as a writer. Imagine my delight, therefore, to discover that Parrott’s first novel is due to be released in February 2022 – and is based on a rather intriguing and highly promising video-game property. Tom Clancy’s The Division: Recruited is a novel based on the titular The Division, a popular and long-running third-person shooter MMORPG series based in a dystopian, near-future setting in the United States. After a virulent and highly lethal virus – the Green Poison – has devastated much of the continental United States, killing millions, as the result of a deliberate terrorist attack, huge swathes of the United States have been lost from government control and descended into pseudo-anarchy. Members of the secretive, newly-activated Strategic Homeland Division – or ‘The Division’ for short – must now work with military and civilian forces to secure major cities and urban areas across the United States and attempt to restore law and order. In Recruited, cybersecurity expert and US Navy veteran Maira Kanhai finds herself trying to lead a rag-tag band of survivors to maintain control of Maryland, only for a costly mistake leading to the death of her brother. Losing hope, a chance for redemption comes in the form of contact with agents from The Division – and a chance to join the agency, if she can both pass their tests, and help overcome the myriad of enemies trying to eliminate The Division permanently. It sounded like a fascinating scenario, one with a great deal of potential for someone of Parrott’s skills as an author, and I couldn’t wait to dive in and see what his first novel had for me as a reader.

As the novel opens, protagonist Maira is attempting to re-enlist with the US Navy as the Green Poison spreads across the country, determined to remain faithful to the oath of service she swore when she first served in the armed forces. But the alleged recruitment station is a hellish, blood-spattered location that causes Maira to finally realise just how horrifying the effects of the pandemic have become; and while she has been inside the building, her younger brother nearly became a victim of the increasingly instability and chaos engulfing the country. Some indeterminate period of time later, Maira is the nominal head of security for Athena, a community of survivors located in a formerly luxurious apartment building. Life is difficult, to say the least, and Maria’s attempts to b0th keep the peace inside the community, and protect it from the many gangs and militias roaming around the D.C area have been at great cost: one ill-fated trip led to the death of her brother, alongside many other survivors. The guilt over his death joins the many other burdens on Maira’s shoulders, and at times it seems like the fragile little community will barely survive the coming winter, let alone the gangs surrounding them. When a massed assault by one gang – the plague-spreading Outcasts – against Athena occurs, it’s only the miraculous intervention of a group of agents from The Division that prevents them from being completely wiped out. Faced with increasing dissent against her for the difficult decisions she has had to make to keep Athena safe, it seems clear that Maira’s only choice is to join up with the agents, becoming a probationary member of The Division. Leaving the fragile safety of Athena, she follows Agents Brenda Wells and Leo Fourte on their secretive journey towards America’s rural heartlands in search of secure food supplies for Washington D.C. and other urban centres full of survivors. But it soon becomes clear that unseen elements want the trio to fail their mission, using artillery bombardments and death cult hit squads to try and take them down. Between these threats, potentially rogue National Guard units suspicious of their intentions, and semi-feudal bands of trucker patrolling huge swathes of the rural interior, it seems like the odds are against Maira and the two Agents; and that’s before she uncovers the dark secret hidden by the two veteran government operatives.


Characterisation is one of Parrott’s greatest strengths, as seen in his previous works, and this is readily demonstrated in Recruit. There’s insightful, engaging and three-dimensional characters populating the entire novel, particularly Maira, Brenda and Leo as the trio make their way through the US Heartlands. Maira is a first-rate protagonist, vulnerabilities hidden behind a rough-and-ready facade, and with some surprising abilities that come in hand towards the latter part of the novel, and I enjoyed following her as Parrott developed her character and fleshed her out. I can say the same for Brenda and Leo, particularly the former as Parrott uses her character to explore the complexities and moral challenges of working for a unique organisation like The Division. Through Brenda, we get a sense of the huge losses that the agency took just to secure major urban centres like New York and Washington D.C., and the controversial decisions that had to be taken – at times on what seems like an hourly basis – in order to try and secure even a fragile sense of security and drive out the rampaging gangs, militias and outright psychos. We see that The Division needs to recruit or die with its mission unfulfilled; but on the flip-side, not all Division agents agree with the agency’s vision, and some have even gone rogue – as Maira eventually finds out to her cost. The characterisation is supported by a strong sense of atmosphere and background detail that readily demonstrates that Parrott has done his research about the game the novel is based on – not exactly a guarantee with some tie-in fiction even these days. Parrott brings to grim life the state of the nation in the aftermath of the initial waves of the pandemic, and particularly the various factions populating the D.C. area, with a focus on the horrifying Outcasts, groups of survivors quarantined at the start of the pandemic and abandoned by the government, now following a twisted creed to spread the virus wherever they travel.


There’s even some intriguing discussions about the very concepts behind The Division – an agency tasked not only with continuity of government but also continuity of society itself, but also so secret and atomised that it’s rare that one cell of agents will even meet another group of agents, let alone work with them for an extended period of time. Parrott makes the agency feel real, giving us a sense of just how vital its mission is, and as such I’ve become intrigued about the possibilities of upcoming spin-off game The Division: Heartlands. Tied into that discussion is the state of post-pandemic America and the open-ended question of whether it can survive – a spectre that looms above the trio of agents throughout the narrative. Parrott provides fascinating and often harrowing insights into how society has warped and altered since the virus hit: to take just one example, early on we’re shown how the community of Athena operates – communal areas with survivors huddling together for some notion of safety, not even bothering to lock their doors due to a lack of central authorities to help them, and a lack of valuables to steal. Authority has devolved into a strange mix of local demiocracy and feudalism, and Parrott isn’t afraid to question what, exactly, the bonds are that link together society, and whether they can hold under the strain of a sustained apocalyptic event that fundamentally alters the power structures of humanity itself. It makes a refreshing change from the usual post-apocalyptic fiction, which tends to skip over difficult questions like this in favour of gunfights and pseudo-medieval aesthetics.


Tom Clancy’s The Division: Recruited is a novel that operates on multiple levels thanks to the talent and skills of author Thomas Parrott. On one level, Recruited is a fast-paced, action-packed and utterly captivating thriller that perfectly matches the atmosphere generated by its source material – a flawless adaptation of The Division. But on another, far deeper and more complex level, it’s also a haunting, often deeply uncomfortable look at a world devastated by a pandemic even worse than the one we face in our reality, and the fundamental changes that have happened to society and human interaction since the ‘Dollar Flu’ was introduced. As protagonist Maira joins a much-depleted cell of agents from The Division on a vital and highly secretive mission, there’s an open question as to what, exactly, the three people hope to achieve on their journey into the rural depths of the United States, and whether a deep-rooted values – freedom, democracy, truth and justice – have been too badly damaged to ever thrive again. It’s an absolutely fascinating story that Parrott tells perfectly, demonstrating an innate understanding of The Division’s setting and atmosphere, and I genuinely hope that he gets the chance to continue Maira’s story as soon as possible.

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