Redemption: (Ryan Drake: book 1): a compelling, action-packed and high-octane thriller that will have you gripped from page one

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With many major publications singing Jordan’s praises, most are drawn towards his sense of suspense. That and his ability to create action set-pieces which are highly visceral and entertaining for his readers to experience, is what many readers have come to appreciate, as he gains fans both far and wide. The career of Will Jordan is growing from strength-to-strength due to this, something that doesn’t appear to stopping anytime soon. Towards the end, when Drake's pursuers suddenly switched to being his rescuers without any obvious prompt, and in spite of the clear contradiction offered at the very start of the novel, I was half expecting the sort of happy ending whereby the mastermind is brought to justice and all his victims (direct and indirect, those who survive, at least) get the second chance they're after. Thankfully, Redemption didn't disappoint on that score, with the implication of a longer game to be played through later books. Weirdly, it reminded me a lot of Dumas' morally grey ending to The Three Musketeers, which has never once been faithfully adapted to the movie/TV screen.

Redemption - Penguin Books UK Redemption - Penguin Books UK

Sadly the tone of the characters is not always consistent, and several moments that are supposed to be emotionally important come too soon or are otherwise underdeveloped. The closer we get to the ending the more most characters seem to start following a typical Hollywood formula with all the clichés you may find in generic action movies, along with lines we've all heard uttered before. In any case, the book is written well enough and the story is compelling enough to keep the reader hooked. The story is skillfully told and it's a captivating read, yes, but at the same time the events unfold in a way that's seldom surprising. Many of the plot twists are quite easy to see coming from afar, and there's not much that's genuinely new, original or surprising in the storyline. Sometimes the characters are made to do uncharacteristically stupid mistakes for the sake of drama, such as a badly wounded character forsaking their gun and being taunted into a fistfight with a much stronger opponent, even though the same character is supposed to show their enemies (and this one in particular) no mercy. Redemption is a fast paced action thriller, told from multiple points of view, with interesting locations and characters that complement each other nicely. Interaction and banter between the main characters is generally fun and enjoyable, even if unoriginal at times. There are no dull moments in this book, and it's paced in a way that it's hard to stop reading - or, as in my case, listening. As the title suggests, this books is about the pursuit of redemption. Both Drake and Maras have done bad things in their pasts, and are each searching for a way to make that right. However by the end they each realise that redemption can’t be given by someone else – it has to be earned.

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Thrown together in a race to survive, their differing outlooks and experiences allowed me almost endless scope for creating tension and interesting exchanges. Maras on the other hand represents the past. Her character has its roots in the dark days of the Cold War when East and West faced off across a divided Europe. She’s older and more experienced than Drake, having spent the better part of two decades doing dirty jobs for the CIA. Her experiences have left her jaded and embittered, but also extremely dangerous. It sounds like a simple mission. But nothing is what it seems, and within hours of arriving in the war-torn country, Drake and his team find themselves caught in a deadly conflict between a brutal terrorist warlord and the ruthless leader of a private military company. And lurking in the shadows is a woman from Drake’s past determined to take revenge for two decades of betrayal.

Redemption by Will Jordan - Penguin Books Australia

Ryan Drake, the main character, works for the CIA as a Shepherd – a special operative who finds and brings home lost agents. In Redemption he’s handed the task of breaking into a seemingly impenetrable Siberian prison and rescuing an inmate identified only as Maras. Things seem to go well, until a phone call from a disgraced CIA agent and former student of Maras forces Drake to go on the run with her.

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This is an interesting contrast to the author's own recent critiques on how female action heroes are often depicted in modern movies (Drinker Fixes Maras, anyone?). And of course, in addition to being able to punch her way through any man, she's very beautiful and sensual (with so much emphasis on descriptions of her body that it almost feels uncomfortable at times), in a great physical condition, and doesn't shy away from sexuality at all - all this regardless of just having been released from a prison where for years she had been abused in all ways possible. I certainly see Redemption as the first step in a complex overarching story that will develop over the course of five books. There are an awful lot of unanswered questions at the end, both for Drake and Maras, and the next four books will see both of them searching for answers – sometimes together, sometimes apart and sometimes against each other.

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Hunted by his former comrades and those willing to do anything to protect a deadly secret, Drake is left with no choice but to trust a dangerous woman he barely knows. Time is running out for Ryan Drake. With his enemies moving against him and his allies no longer able to support him, his world is turned upside down by a personal tragedy that forces him to return to the UK. This book does not let up. It hits the gas and it doesn't let up on the pedal.' -- ***** Reader review Somewhat ironically, considering how I got interested in reading this book in the first place, my biggest gripes have to do with the characters and the story itself. Drake represents the present. He’s younger and still relatively new to the world of covert operations. He certainly has some baggage (much of which will come out later in the series), but he’s still something of a blank slate with lots of potential for growth.Will Jordan is the bestselling, internationally published author of the Ryan Drake series. He was born in Scotland in 1983. His works to date include: Russia, 1959. Nine members of a Soviet mountaineering team on an ambitious expedition into the Ural Mountains are found dead, victims of massive and bizarre injuries. The Dyatlov Pass incident, as this grisly event came to be known, remains unexplained to this day.

Redemption - Will Jordan - Google Books Redemption - Will Jordan - Google Books

But it's when the mission is successfully completed that the real danger for Drake begins. Faced with a terrible threat, he is forced to go on the run with Maras - a veteran agent scarred by years of brutal imprisonment. Conversely, some of the twists - the introduction of the antagonist, then the later revelation of the shadowy figure pulling the strings - are clearly telegraphed ahead of time, and so lose all their impact. He lives in Scotland with his wife and two sons, and is currently writing the next novel in the Ryan Drake series. After graduating high school he moved on to university, gaining an Honors Degree in Information Technology. To support himself during his degree he worked a number of part time jobs, one of which was as an extra in television and feature films. Cast as a World War Two soldier, he was put through military boot camp in preparation for the role.

There, he finds himself presented with an unexpected offer – travel to Libya, kidnap a high-ranking officer in Gaddafi’s much feared intelligence service, and return him to the UK. In exchange, Drake will be given everything his needs to destroy the career of the CIA’s corrupt leader, Marcus Cain. To be honest, I was more intrigued about Drake's team members than the heavily featured Maras, and it was often the interaction between the side characters that kept the story interesting. Maras could've been great if she weren't depicted in such an unrealistic way, and to me this feels like a missed opportunity to create a truly interesting and strong female character. She would've been equally impressive but much more believable had she prevailed through her conflicts through resourcefulness and deception instead of physically dominating everyone regardless of size or strength. The experience piqued his interest in military history, and encouraged him to learn more about conflicts past and present. Having always enjoyed writing, he used this research as the basis for his first thriller, REDEMPTION. He was able to supplement this with visits to weapon ranges in America and Eastern Europe, as well as research trips to Washington DC. Will Jordan lives in Fife, near Edinburgh. He gained an honours degree in Information Technology and currently works in web design for Sky Digital. Aside from writing, his interests include military history, mountain climbing, fitness training, boxing and, of course, reading.