Into a Dark Frontier

Slade Crawford is on the run. A decorated navy seal he has been wrongly accused of terrorism. After two years in US custody, he is able to escape from his no-name blacksite prison and make his way to freedom. But it is a freedom based on the hell of war, disease and death. He is on his way to Africa, a continent that has been destroyed by sectarian violence, famine and disease. So begins the thriller, Into a Dark Frontier, by John Mangan.

Read the entire review at https://journalingonpaper.com/2017/08/11/book-review-into-a-dark-frontier-by-john-mangan/

Like your action fast and furious? Like it even more when it is authored by a veteran of action packed combat in real conflict zones. The setting of the novel is in the near future when the African continent has collapsed collectively into a nearly failed state loosely supervised by the U. N. We meet Slade Crawford a veteran of nearly 20 years of front line combat who was falsely accused of terrorism and is fleeing to Africa to escape his captors. Slade has contracted to lead a group of settlers from the United States looking to make a new life in Africa.
The group lands in Cape Town and begins a journey to the site they intend to settle on to the north of South Africa with Slade in military command. The trip is filled with danger and attacks of a group looking to prevent colonization that has already massacred other colonists looking to settle in Africa. Crawford finds a liking for the goals of the group and attracts a pretty teenager; a girl half his age that appears to flirt with him. He was divorced by his wife and lost a son just prior to being arrested for terrorism which puts him on a path of just not caring about anything but the goal of getting his settlers to their destination.
The final section of the novel puts Slade under the orders of the mysterious American colonel Gary Kraven. The colonel feels free to issue orders to Crawford without telling him what the real situation is that Kraven is following militarily. Slade ends up going to Nairobi in Kenya under orders from the colonel but also to rescue the pretty teenager that has been following him and was captured by the group involved in preventing African colonization. Slade is now placed in a situation of asking Col. Kraven to help him with the rescue at the price of agreeing to work for him on a full time basis.
After spending several nights up reading Lt Col(his actual rank) Mangan's book the reader can take a break and catch their breathe while impatiently awaiting the next adventure of Slade Crawford. A definite keeper and one to follow.

If you like fast paced, action packed then you will enjoy reading this book. Set in a war torn, lawless Africa, where everyone is out to kill you, the plot kept me wondering how would Slade get out of this mess alive.

Slade Crawford is having problems of his own but his friend has given him a chance to change his life if he can be at the harbor to escort a group wanting to go to Africa to live in their own community with their religious beliefs. He is a little late but makes it on board and then tries to explain how hard life will be but the group have made their decision to go. We see the lack of safety, lack of government and all of the problems they find. Can they get help? Not so much. They have arms but too much inexperience. There is a global struggle here that none of them were prepared to face.

This is one of the best books in the black ops genre. When you are betrayed by the government you have faithfully served, have lost your family, and are being hunted by everyone, life becomes a nightmare attempt to survive. The story is based in current events, and makes sense politically. The action includes a strange sect that uses violence, torture and death for its rituals. When Slade becomes a guide and protector for a group of religious pioneers in Africa, a Christian nut becomes an enemy, fighting Slade on every turn until his beliefs lead to disaster. Despite his tenuous existence, Slade tries to do the right thing, and that makes his problems worse. The writing creates great mental images, and the many characters are unique and developed in depth. The realism and nature of the plot ring very true, causing concern for the reader beyond the action in the book. The very end suggests we may see more of Slade, and I am ready

In the near future, the continent of Africa has collapsed into chaos, with criminals and rogue security agents ruling over a greatly diminished, poverty- and disease-stricken population. Over in America, ex-Navy SEAL Slade Crawford has been falsely accused of terrorism by the government he spent 20 years serving. Emotionally broken by the death of his son in a terrible accident and the resultant falling apart of his marriage, Slade decides to take up the offer of being professional Security Advisor to a group of fundamentalist Christians called the Judeans, who hope to resettle in the decimated Africa.

Escaping from the country that betrayed him, he arrives in Cape Town and sets out across the wilderness with his newly trained associates. However, they soon discover that the situation is more desperate than they suspected, with evidence of brutal organised attacks being carried out on foreign settlements. As Slade struggles to keep the group alive, he finds himself captured by a US colonel Gary Kraven who agrees to let him go free but blackmails him into investigating a sinister blood cult that seems to be responsible for the attacks. Torn between doing what he must survive and maintain his honour, Slade attempts to pursue the cult but finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of the Judeans and having to ultimately decide where his loyalties truly lie.

This book begins with Slade fleeing the US in a stolen truck, eventually escaping by stealing a plane and flying off over New York Harbour before parachuting down to the boat that will take him to Africa. This adrenaline-thrilled sequence sets the pace for the rest of Into a Dark Frontier, which rarely lets up on the level of action from that point on. The gripping writing moves at a lightning-fast pace with constant twists and turns and the reader finds him/herself rapidly turning pages, desperate to find out what will happen next. The momentum slows down a little during the second half but picks up rapidly towards the end of the thrilling finale, which leaves the story open for a potential sequel – something I would definitely want to get my hands on if it were to be written.

I found the background plot of this story to be highly imaginative and quite unusual. The concept of an entire continent devoid of civilisation is a frightening one, and the way that the author describes how the lawless state of Africa came to be is unsettlingly plausible. With the state of the world as it is at the moment, the thought of some dramatic act of war leading to a drastic re-organisation of the way that civilisations are run is not too inconceivable, and reading fiction about one possible outcome of such an event is both entertaining and chilling.

Slade, whilst initially coming across as a little bit clichéd, is a likeable and understandable hero who I felt empathy for throughout the story. His backstory is suitably tragic and, despite his many obvious flaws, he is evidently a good man who has suffered a lot at the hands of those who he was loyal to. The supporting characters were also interesting and likeable, especially the kind-hearted Judean leader Abe and Elizabeth, the feisty daughter of one of the Judean refugees. My one criticism of the characterisation was that the villains of the story felt a little two-dimensional and at times it seemed like Slade was almost too skilled and too much of a stereotypical action hero in his encounters with them.

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and would definitely be keen to read more by this author, either in the form of a sequel or a new story.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

INTO THE DARK FRONTIER is a suspense thriller showing the world seems in turmoil focusing on events unfolding in Africa. John Daman introduces his protagonist Slade Crawford who is an ex-seal who was going to Africa to escape prosecution of trumped charges by Homeland Security. When Slade misses his ship’s departure, he steals a small engine plane and chases it out to sea. Readers meet Slade as he parachutes out of the plane and lands on the ship’s deck. Daman provides Slade’s backstory and military experience at the same time he provides his readers with the backstory of the three hundred men, women, and children on board the ship. The author describes the persecutions the families are leaving behind hoping to find a new life in Africa. Daman gives more details of how Slade’s experience dealing with life in Africa has brought him together with the group of settlers.

The storyline’s momentum increases as quickly as readers can turn to the next page. Mangan describes the dangers the people face traveling in Africa. Slade acting as the pilgrim's guide and protector discovers there is a well-organized group of mercenaries attacking existing colonies and new settlers. Regardless of discoveries of burnt out building and mutilated bodies, Slade is unable to convince the group of the dangers ahead.
Daman introduces several support characters both good and evil adding twists and turns to unfolding events. The author keeps readers guessing what will happen next while Slade begins to wonders who he should trust. When an army colonel shows up bringing Slade’s past with him makes demands for his silence. Readers feel the settlers’ tension as Mangan describes the immigrants’ feelings. The author keeps his reader on the edge of their seats as they try to understand Slade’s actions. Mangan places them inside Slade's head so they can feel and experience his turmoil when he realizes he has feelings for a few of the settlers.
The author creates several subplots changing the storyline’s direction. Mangan gives readers an inside look at the severity of the mercenaries attacks including the heart-wrenching story of attack and capture of the settlers. The storyline’s momentum increases as Slade’s plans to save his friends using the data he has found to leverage getting help from the colonel to save his friends and commits to stopping whoever is responsible for the slaughtering of innocents. Mangan adds intensity to his compelling storyline describing Slade’s race against time to implement his plan, and he uses his ex-military experience to bring a dramatic solution to his problem. There is a story behind the message in Mangan’s INTO A DARK FRONTIER earning a five-star ranking.

Damn. Now that's some good storytelling! Action from beginning to end, with just enough breaks so I could stop and catch my breath...then back on my feet kicking ass and taking names! Pew, pew...yeah that's my gun noise. Seriously, the fact that I could believe in every bad thing that happens in this book is what made it all so terrifying. It was a brutal and graphic read. You only have to watch the news to realize how real this could be, or even pay a little attention to what the U.N. is not doing.....I loved Slade, and those Kiwi's! They were funny and made a dark situation just a little bit lighter. Mr. Mangan has already been put on a post-it note, and stuck to my wall. Well, his name anyway. That way I'll remember to check for his newest books. I can't wait to read more of what I'm hoping will be a continuing series. My thanks to Oceanview publishing and Netgalley.

Into a Dark Frontier
John Mangan

Outstanding and with the way things are in Africa I could see something like this happening.
Ex-Navy SEAL Slade Crawford, damaged by years of war, the loss of his family, and betrayed by his country, has escaped a Black Ops prison and fled to Africa.
Hired to lead a caravan of Christians to their "Promised Land" he discovers that an army of well equiped fanatics is killing everyone in their path. He is in their path and so is the caravan.

That is just the tip of the pyramid. It gets much better. For sheer
thrills this is one fast ride. There were characters that were easy to like and others that you could hate with ease. Slade was easy to like and sympathize with. He made a great hero. His background was well developed. I liked the way the pilgrims were portraid. A basic example of good and evil. Conflict in the ranks.
It all blended together in one very good thrilling read.

You won't go wrong with this Hero. I highly recommend "Into a Dark Frontier"

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So glad I did.

The dark Frontier is a ravaged Africa, maybe lot so lo.g in the near future. The hero Slade Crawford is fleeing from an Orwéllian USA that had trackers consists, all communication tapped.

He does it in style, landing by parachute from a stolen plane onto a ship of refugees who wish to establish a new colony strong in Faith.

Slade is veteran Sas. He is a tough cookie indeed but the dark Frontier holds more of the same terms of industrial-scale atrocities in the new Africa. There are berserker groups for example that seem to have taken a leaf from Vladimir Types.- spreading terror via implement. But what are the vested interests behind all these progroms? And will he be able to save the girl he has fallen for?

I do not know if the writer is drawing from his own experiences as a soldier who may have endured hard service. Slade does not seem like someone who could cope well with Civvy Street..

It's an engrossing read in a Rambo kind of a way, I found myself turning the pages furiously. I would not recommend this to those who would abhor depictions of bloodbaths and scenes of atrocities though.

Hegelian Dialectic: You intentionally create a problem . . . which requires a solution . . .that benefits you. - G.W.F. Hegel

This is a fast-paced gory thriller that features ex-Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Slade Crawford who has been wrongly accused of domestic terrorism.

This book takes place in the near future and Africa is in a total shambles, with land up for the grabbing to those brave enough to settle there.

Crawford daringly escapes the U.S. and heads to Africa to lead the Judeans, a religious group, to their new promised land. But not everything is as it seems to be and Crawford and his group are soon under ferocious attack.

And Crawford finds his strings being pulled by a U.S. Colonel that uses the safety of his family as an inducement to get the results he needs.

This story, albeit out there, is too believable for comfort.

I received this book from Oceanview Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read the book and leave an unbiased review.