The Hunters

May 18, 2015
In Young’s thinly plotted sixth novel featuring the U.S. Air Force’s Col. Michael Parson (after 2014’s Sand and Fire), Parson serves as a civilian pilot with World Relief Airlift, at the urging of his love interest, U.N. aid worker Sophie Gold. Parson, who flies a 75-year-old DC-3, a twin-engine cargo plane with frightening limitations, sees plenty of action, especially when he’s out of the
aircraft, running for his life and trying
to save his comrades. His chief foe is a 14-year-old Somali terrorist, Hussein, who is willing and eager to do anything his al Shabaab leaders tell him to do, no matter how dangerous or heinous. Young uses every opportunity to gin up the suspense, but the outcome of the struggle between Parson and Hussein is never in serious doubt. This is a strong series, and readers will hope that Parson and Gold tackle a more exciting and complicated mission in their next outing. Agent: Michael Carlisle, Inkwell Management.

July 1, 2015
Young's latest military thriller to feature Colonel Michael Parson and his love interest, Sophia Gold, continues to showcase how dangerous life is in the Middle East. Parson is asked by Gold to fly relief supplies into Somalia, but a ruthless terrorist has other ideas. He uses children as recruits to his cause, and Young tells the story of one of these orphans, named Hussein, who knows no other life than that of violence. The ultimate collision between Parson and Hussein is stunning. Young writes very fine thrillers set in war-torn areas, and his background brings an authenticity to the proceedings that helps lift the stories above others of its kind. An author's note that explains where the idea of The Hunters came from is fascinating reading as well. Military-fiction fans should have Young's books on their TBR piles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2015

The sixth book (after Sand and Fire) in Young's military series featuring U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Parson and his friend Sophie Gold is set in Somalia, one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Parson has volunteered to deliver humanitarian supplies for World Relief Airlift in order to impress Gold and garners the assistance of some of his fellow pilots to fly an old twin-engine DC-3 cargo plane. The aircraft doesn't have a lot of modern features, but it's a reliable piece of machinery--until it develops an oil leak. An emergency stop along their route finds them appointed to escort an A-list actress filming a documentary while the team makes their aid deliveries. VERDICT Young does a fine job balancing the perspectives of the hero and the young Somali caught in a battle for survival with the religious extremists. There are plenty of vividly described battle scenes and close calls. Young includes an unlikely result for one of the characters that series aficionados will forgive upon reading the author's explanation in the afterword. [See Prepub Alert, 2/2/15.]

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2015

It's generous of Col. Michael Parson to agree to fly relief supplies into Somalia in a positively ancient DC-3 cargo plane, but now the supply planes are under attack after a leader of the Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab declares all aid a sin against Allah. And what about that teenage al-Shabaab fighter seeking asylum? Authentic reading.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.