Tournament of Shadows is a captivating novel written by Andrew Watts and Dale M. Nelson. This gripping tale delves into the realm of political intrigue and espionage, taking readers on a thrilling journey through the intricate web of international relations and clandestine operations. Set against the backdrop of the global war on terror, the narrative unveils the covert maneuvers of intelligence agencies and the complex dynamics of power struggles between nations. As the plot unfolds, readers are drawn into a world of suspense, deception, and high-stakes confrontations, making it a must-read for those with a penchant for political thrillers.

Andrew Watts and Dale Nelson have teamed up again for the latest Colt McShane adventure in Tournament of Shadows. This bold spy thriller in the Firewall series is another daring journey involving some of the most dangerous skills while utilizing some of the most unlikely assets.

McShane and team are in Israel trying to undermine the secretive Chinese government, who have their hands in everything. As far as the plan goes, the team inserts themselves into the Bay of Haifa shipping terminal complex, upload some software to exploit data the Chinese are stealing, then bounce. Of course, as every great plan comes together, there is an inevitability that it will just fall apart. All the while, hackers are turning an American dam into a flood zone, then another intrusion forces the grounding of all planes in American airspace.

While the plan didn’t come together perfectly, the United States did get one of their men, Liu Che, Chinese government official who turned an Admiral in the US Navy previously. Che is a very cunning and smart individual who might play well into the hands of McShane and team. While PAX AI and owner Jeff Kim have been recovering from their misfortunes, thief Guy Hawkinson has been attempting to upgrade his business since his previous AI island ended up as a parking lot. Hawkinson has been in deliberate meetings with the Chinese government for some type of affiliation.

McShane and Che come to an agreement that if Che wants his freedom back and his incarcerated wife back with him, he must play ball. The journey slowly unwinds through interrogation rooms and AI office buildings until the opportunity comes to travel to Buenos Aires to put Hawkinson out of business for good.

Watts and Nelson have finely crafted the Colt McShane legacy while leaning heavy into the world of AI competition. The storyline follows what you would see in any newspaper around the world with the ever-recurring threat of the abilities of rival governments. McShane has been through the ringer too, battling the legalities of a former flame who happens to be a Mossad operative. The journey builds slowly from Israel to Argentina, but it follows a more conventional timeline of action and then reaction. Watts and Nelson creatively deliver a story of good versus evil while combining the two at just the right time.

That China is trying to expand its sphere of influence is old news. How they are doing it may not be. In this book, China has been marketing software that will revolutionize how seaports handle incoming and outgoing ships and their cargo. Sounds fine until it’s learned that the software also peaks into how each country manages trade – cargo destinations, payments, transportations . . . effectively they can know each country’s trade infrastructure. And if they know all that, they can control worldwide trade entirely. It’s been installed in many countries, and more are signing on because, on the surface, it operates seamlessly with each country’s own managerial methods.

It's being installed in an Italian port, but some anti-globalists try to execute a plan that will force a significant delay by China. The US, not yet a customer, sends a team to watch over the installation quietly . . . until the shooting starts.

This band of terrorists is probably not effectively organized or funded to pull off their goals. Behind the scenes is a cabal of people whose goal is for more international independence than China would like to see.

To achieve China’s goals, they’ve had to incorporate AI into their products. But so have other countries and business organizations. In particular, Archon. On the surface, Archon uses AI for such projects as food and water distribution. Who wouldn’t like that? Behind the scenes, the CEO, Guy Hawkinson (nephew of a sitting US Senator who has an eye on the Oval Office) would like nothing better than to see the world thrown into chaos. And depending on how the major players get along, the possibility of WWIII is a possibility.

The good guys are that other cabal - Trinity. They fund and provide personnel to help the US and other players avoid the coming chaos. Then there is the litany of American and British 3-letter agencies trying to avoid any major conflict.

Want chaos? How about Folsom Dam outside of Sacramento going offline and opening all its doors? A rogue Russian was behind that, and the US knows it. Now to execute a proportionate response. Then the air traffic control system for east of the Mississippi goes out. That wasn’t the Russians. They don’t want to get blamed, so they too want to know who did it.

In all the investigations that follow, we are introduced to a plant with Hawk Technologies, a Chinese super spy, all the AI nerds within various arms of the US intelligence community.

Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY indeed. The authors have a lot of plates spinning on sticks. As I went deeper and deeper into the book, I started to get the feeling that this storyline was an extension of any number of James Bond books where our hero has to face down the likes of criminal organizations like SMERSH and SPECTOR only this time it’s HawkTech/Archon vs. Trinity with the government agents filling in some gaps.

In another world, I might have thought the plot was just too outlandish and over the top and needed to be put down. But I charged on mostly because the book is so dang well written and plotted. But for me, quality writing doesn’t save the book (actually the 4th is a series on technothrillers). It’s good and lots of folks will enjoy this. The authors have gotten this far so they have a valued audience. I just thought it was just a bit too intricate and overblown