The King of Fear

The blistering sequel to The Ascendant: An action-packed thriller starring a bond trader turned antihero. Unlikely patriot Garrett Reilly can identify threats against America from both inside and outside the nation’s borders. But now the whole world’s economy is at risk…

Garrett Reilly sees what others do not: numbers, patterns, a nation on the brink of collapse. His unique talents saved countries from falling into a world war in The Ascendant. But it also made him a marked man―marked by terrorist groups; marked by the US Government.

In The King of Fear, Garrett recognizes a string of events that could lead to economic Armageddon in the US: banks closing, grocery shelves lying empty, the nation’s currency rendered worthless. Total chaos could engulf society within a matter of days. Garrett and the Ascendant team reunite to face enemies on all sides: a wounded Russia bent on keeping its crumbling empire in place, a cyber genius fixated on Garrett, a femme fatale willing to do anything to establish a new world order. In the midst of this, Garrett must also confront his own demons: his class rage, growing paranoia, and a dependency that he cannot seem to shake. After all, it only takes one card to make the whole house fall…

The King of Fear (Thriller)

“The Complete Saga”

Simon & Shuster

ISBN #978-1476725918

Price $8.82 (Pre-Order)

364 Pages

Rating 4-Stars

“An Unlikely Hero”

This book actually contains Books #1, 2 & 3, which follow the premiere novel, THE ASCENDANT. Garrett Reilly is a financial genius. He sees numbers, and recognizes global bonds and money traffic. He was part of a team in The Ascendant stopping an attack that could have resulted in war, and now it appears terrorists are after him, and planning another attack on the West. In Part 1, the President of the Federal Reserve is assassinated, and his killer names Garrett as the man behind the assassination. In Book #2, the team is up against a mysterious terrorist, while Garrett struggles with his own drug addiction. Book #3 brings THE KING OF FEAR to a conclusion, but only after discovering the terrorist attack may have a personal connection.

I came into the series cold; not having read THE ASCENDANT first, and then was given this edition containing the three novels. Although the writing was good, and the characters interesting, it was a real task finding the book itself interesting. I felt that the main character, Garrett Reilly was hard to believe as the hero. An injury in a bar fight had cracked his skull, leaving him with headaches, and on a lot of pain killers; plus, at times he was filled with paranoia and didn’t know who he could trust. The drugs certainly helped in his confusion. Cyber attacks and hidden power money is a good plot, but I felt we needed a better hero than Garrett to save the world. He could have been the go-to man behind the scenes, but not the front line G-I Joe. Still, readers who like a good thriller will find this series a good read. It just wasn’t of interest for me.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH