One Rough Man

A Pike Logan Thriller

By: Brad Taylor

Narrated by: J. D. Jackson, Neil Kaplan

Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

A former Delta Force commander, Brad Taylor proves with this breathtaking debut thriller that Vince Flynn and Brad Thor have company.

A collection of top operatives, the Taskforce was commissioned by the highest levels of government, kept secret from the media and even Congress. The best of the Taskforce bunch, Pike Logan, knows the greatest threat to American security is one or two idealogues. Unfortunately for them, they’ve just crossed Pike’s path.

©2011 Brad Taylor (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Narration not enjoyable

The story wasn't bad, but whoever did Pike's voice was awful. And he made the female whine. He isn't a very good actor.

Terrible narration

Love Pike Logan and the Jennifer character was a good add but the narration was awful. Almost to the point of not being able to continue the story.

This is a great series and very well written!

If you like a thriller then the Pike Logan Series is for you. High adventure, with a bit more of realistic take than some of the other series out there.

Promising first novel ruined by narration!

I'm catching up on reviews of older books.

I first read the printed version and gave it 5 stars. Then I listened to the audiobook to find that a great first novel by a new author was completely ruined by horrid narration. Thankfully, the later audiobooks in this wonderful series have been narrated by Henry Strozier and Rich Orlow. Their narration is close to perfect.

For those new to Brad Taylor's Pike Logan series my advice is to read the printed version of One Rough Man and then purchase the audiobook version of the later novels and novellas in the series.

An action-packed thriller!!!

An outstanding debut novel, Brad Taylor draws on his experience as a Delta Force commander to deliver an action-packed thriller. The realism and attention to detail makes this a must read for fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. Pike Logan is a flawed hero who I found myself rooting for time and time again.

Authorized by the President, the Taskforce was formed to operate outside the law and without sanction from congressional oversight in order to deal with the increasing presence of terrorists. Pike Logan was the best of the best, and as team leader never failed to complete a mission successfully. At his best when the plans started to break down, Pike was known for his quick thinking and decisive action. Finally succumbing to his wife's repeated requests to retire from his job, Pike was on his last mission when tragedy struck his family. Unable to deal with the guilt of being away when his family needed him most, Pike went on a downward spiral and sought solace in the bottom of a bottle.

Meanwhile, Professor John Cahill was in the Guatemalan jungle searching for his mythical Temple of the Priests. When his guides refused to go any further into the jungle, two young natives seeking treasure stole his GPS and found the Temple. They also found a white powder which quickly killed one of the boys while the other made it back to tell the story. Cahill, ever cautious, embedded the GPS coordinates in some music mp3 files and e-mailed them to his niece Jennifer, who was a student at the College of Charleston. He then deleted all information from his laptop and GPS.

Miguel, who was a very successful smuggler, was in negotiations with two Arabs to smuggle certain items into the United States when the young boy from the jungle told the tale of finding the Temple and the ensuing death of his friend from the mysterious white powder. Feigning ignorance of the Spanish language, the two Arab terrorists became interested in the powder as a source for a WMD. Miguel, also known as "Machete," was more interested in the treasure and potential wealth it may bring. Machete ordered his henchmen to pick up Professor Cahill in hopes of finding the location of the Temple. Cahill told Machete that he had FedExed the GPS to his niece in Charleston, South Carolina. Professor Cahill died as Machete was torturing him to find out additional information about the GPS. The two terrorists found the key to the embedded mp3 files on a thumb drive amid Cahill's possessions and were able to obtain the deadly powder.

Machete sent a team to Charleston to retrieve the GPS from Jennifer and as luck would have it, Pike was able to thwart the attack and kill the mobsters. Pike did not want to be looking over his shoulder from the Machete's agents for the rest of his life, so he agreed to go to Guatemala and deliver the non-existent GPS. Jennifer went with Pike and they formed a somewhat tenuous and unlikely partnership. It was in Guatemala that Pike and Jennifer learned of the terrorist's possession of the WMD and they decided they had to stop the attack in order to prevent widespread death and panic.

In Washington DC, a member of the government also learned of the terrorist's intentions and decided to delete all known references to the attack in order for him to play the part of hero and savior, thus catapulting him to a higher position in the government. He wanted no loose ends and ordered Pike and Jennifer to be killed. Therefore the dynamic duo found themselves chasing the terrorists and dodging multiple assassination attempts.

This was a very good debut novel with an interesting plot and in depth knowledge of special forces operations. If you enjoy action packed novels as I do, then this is the book for you. I look forward to reading the future adventures of Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill.

J.D. Jackson and Neil Kaplan's narration was first rate. They conveyed all of the emotions covered in the novel, so much so that I felt like I was there. I heartily recommend this audio book.

Bad narrator

Struggled through this book as I wanted to know the back story on subsequent books in this series. The narrator nearly made this impossible. He might be good in other genres but as a rough and tough Black Ops type guy, he ain't it. Sorry but it seemed he had difficulty in getting into character. I will listen to the next in the series since he is not a part of it.

Written for young teen reader.

The author of this book writes as if writing for a younger teen audience. I would not recommend this book to friends.

Action Packed

This is a good thriller. It had an interesting twist for the WMD. I liked the interaction of the main characters Pike and Jennifer. This one is worth the credit and I will continue the series. Not my favorite narrators but not as bad as some of the reviews indicated in my opinion.

loved it

energetic experience entertaining smart great listen loved it recommend it to anyone who needs something to keep themselves engaged.

Not Brad Thor or Vince Flynn but OK.

I would listen to a other book by him even though the comparisons to toner authors aren't on point.