A techno-thriller series that I started reading a few years back is David Golemon‘s Event Group series.
While Golemon has written other works, I’ve only bothered with his Event Group.
Golemon is a former U.S. Special Operations soldier, and his knowledge of military matters shows. Sadly, to a degree his enthusiasm for the U.S. military also gets in the way at times, making his military characters more competent and noble than is probably realistic. None of his military characters are flawed in any way.
Another issue is that while he has the military and action stuff down pat, he is not so good on the science stuff. So in some of the books that rely on some way-out science ideas, while the ideas are creative, he doesn’t have the science background (unlike other authors like James Rollins) to make it believable at times.
The Event Group series focuses on a fictitious and very secretive government agency, Department 5656 of the National Archives, which was first established by Abraham Lincoln. It’s composed of top military and scientific experts.
Operating from their super-secret base in Area 51, they address matters, which they call “Events,” which must be secured and safeguarded from the world at large. These Events are points in time in which history could have taken a different path. So the intent is by understanding these Events, future points could be better understood. Of course, as a techno-thriller series, sometimes these Events have a weird science basis.
The main military leader of the Event Group is Col. Jack Collins. He is assisted by Navy Capt. Carl Everett. Dr. Niles Compton is the Director of the Event Group. A recurring foe of the Group is Col. Henri Farbeaux, a former French operative, but now basically a mercenary.
The books in the series are set chronologically. While each story stands on its own, the background of the characters and some plot lines run from story to story. So it’s best to read them in order.
Books in the series so far consist of:
- “Event,” 2007
- “Legend,” 2008
- “Ancients,” 2009
- “Leviathan,” 2009
- “Primeval,” 2010
- “Legacy,” 2011
- “Ripper,” 2013
- “Carpathian,” 2013
- “Overlord,” coming 2014
The first book, “Event,” is a great introduction to the Event Group and the series. We meet the organization and learn of its history. In this book, the world is threatened with destruction from aliens, known as “Grays,” tied to the Roswell Incident who release a deadly alien creature. So the Group has to both stop the incursion and keep it quite from the world at large.
“Legends” takes the team to South America to deal with a threat tied to the disappearance of the Incas. A group of students stumbles upon this threat, and needs to be gotten out safely.
“Ancients” deals with the lost continent of Atlantis. Here, Atlantis was an ancient and powerful civilization that was wiped out. Now modern people have found the superweapons of Atlantis, which could threaten the world if the Event Group doesn’t stop them.
“Leviathan” makes use of the story of Capt. Nemo, as we learn the truth behind the story. Some very interesting ideas in this book.
“Primeval” mixes in Big Foot and the disappearance of the Romanov family (yes, really), along with the threat of a lost nuclear weapon.
“Legacy” brings back some of the threats from the first book, as we learn more about the Grays and where we as a race came from. While I thought some of the ideas in the book were interesting, this one is an example of where the author’s lack of a deep science background shows. I wish he had gotten with some scientific types to work things out better. Won’t say more as it would give away too much of the plot.
In “Ripper,” we learn the real story behind Jack the Ripper, and how it was also the inspiration for the story of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” The Group also has a run-in with a deep government conspiracy that will have ramifications for some characters.
“Carpathian” deals with a Lost Tribe of Israel that no one knew existed, now living in Romania. And it includes werewolves.
The next book, “Overlord,” comes out later this year and brings back the threat of the Grays, which have now been revealed to the world. Have to see if this wraps up that storyline or not.
Overall, despite the flaws of these works, I have enjoyed them. As I said, the author has some interesting ideas and stories, and I look forward to the next work to see where he goes with them.
