Operation Brushfire

By: Rhett C. Bruno, James Wolanyk

Narrated by: Lou Diamond Phillips

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

He’ll do anything for the truth. They’ll do anything to bury it.

Henry Stasik, an Internal Affairs agent for the globe-spanning Coalition, is no stranger to crooked agents or scandals. He's a truth-junkie. An addict. But when international celebrity Anastasia Danicheva specifically demands his presence at a police station, everything changes. The Coalition, which has brought peace through uniting the world under a single banner, wants her dead. But none of their case against her adds up.

Stasik can’t help but need to know why.

Hours after taking her under his department's protection, a cybernetically enhanced hitman nips at Stasik's heels. Witnesses disappear or turn up in pools of blood. And lurking above it all, guarded by a genocidal AI construct, is a secret that threatens to dismantle a perfect world and–Stasik himself.

Man in the High Castle meets Blade Runner with a dash of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in this breakneck sci-fi spy thriller set in a drug-fueled alternate history from the number one Audible best-selling author of Titanborn, Rhett C. Bruno, and James Wolanyk. Performed by award-winning actor Lou Diamond Phillips, star of Prodigal Son, Young Guns, and La Bamba.

©2021 Rhett C. Bruno, James Wolanyk (P)2021 Podium Audio

Critic reviews

"A dynamic tale filled with shocking action, devious subterfuge, and compelling characters. Lots of fun and highly recommended!“ (Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Relentless and V-Wars)

"Operation Brushfire is a stylish thriller with Cold War era paranoia pervading its alternative history setting. National security, surveillance, and artificial intelligence twist together...a great and timely read." (Matthew Mather, international best-selling author of Cyberstorm)

“A pulse-pounding sci-fi thriller that really makes you question the nature of humanity. I couldn’t put it down!“ (Nicholas Sansbury Smith, New York Times best-selling author of Hell Divers)

What a wild ride

First things first. Lou Diamond Phillips does an amazing job on the narration. His voice acting skills will draw you in and becomes part of the story.

Ok the story has the feel of a slow burn at the start but it ramps up with some intense action. The twists and turns in the story kept me engaged and wanting to keep listening just to find out what was going to happen next. There were a couple of times I would sit in the driveway for a little longer because I wanted to hear a little bit more of the story.

Over all a fantastic story and a very high quality audiobook.

The master returns...

Rhett C. Bruno can’t seem to write a bad book. I’ve read all his works and now working with James Wolanyk, there’s this familiarity mixed with something... new.

It’s a nice change of pace from some of Rhett’s other work. We can see James’ influence in this Cyberpunky thriller, but the Bruno element still remains.

Add to that, Lou Diamond Phillips—a great actor who I had no idea could voice act this well—and I think this is one of the best listens this year.

Meh. I guess this just wasn't my cup of tea.

I was incredibly excited to see Mr Bruno had a new audio book out. That about as far as my excitement went. Story was ok, but forgettable. The "twist" at the end was predictable and about as mediocre as the rest of the story. Rhett C Bruno is still one of my favorite authors, and Mr Phillips narration was great. But just like the headline said, meh. Look forward to his next title.

An Alternate History BLAST!

I usually have a hard time when a synopsis of a book compares it to other things that I love. But, in the case where that description is dead on… the book is excellent. Just like Operation Brushfire was. I thought “how on earth could Bruno and Wolanyk make a story that combines Man in the High Castle and Blade Runner?” But by god they did it, but they nailed it.

Operation Brushfire threw me right into the action. I wasn’t sure which side was up. I knew who a few characters were and I definitely knew that someone wasn’t okay. The “truth-junkie” Henry was fun to follow, especially as he starts to question things. But even though we meet her in the intro for a few fleeting moments, Anastasia was such a character that I completely understood why Henry was doing the things he was doing.

Operation Brushfire was one of those books I thought would let off the gas a bit as the story finally took hold, but I was wrong. Bruno and Wolanyk jammed the accelerator into the floor and never let up. They kept throwing new things at Henry and I kept thinking “there’s no way he’s getting out of this” –but he would. A few times I was pretty sure I had either the scene or the ending guessed and I was wrong.

I kept hovering between a 4.5 and a 5 just because of the different twists and turns. The ending was not what I expected and I thought for sure if it ended in a way I wasn’t expecting I would give it a 4.5 – but Bruno and Wolanyk surprised me so well that I have to give them the 0.5 stars back. They earned it.

Now, I feel like I can’t say much about Lou Diamond Phillips that hasn’t already been said – but good god is he a great narrator. He absolutely took this already 5-star book to another level and really made it shine. His narration was perfect for this story and I couldn’t have asked for a better narrator.

Excellent Narration Brings a Dark Noir Sci-Fi Story to Life

I’ve been a fan of Lou Diamond Phillips from when he broke out in La Bamba in the 1980s to his recent stint as Henry Standing Bear in Longmire. That range of acting experience serves him well as narrator of a varied cast of characters in this first-rate alt-history Sci-Fi noir tale of international intrigue. All the familiar noir tropes are here—the kind that make a story feel comfortable, not stale—the femme fatale, the conflicted leading man who’s honorable at his core, the conspiracy of lies that threatens them both. Sift that through Bruno & Wolanyk’s prose—taut, tight, and tongue-in-cheek sometimes—and then toss everything into a bin of alternate history where the familiar ISN’T always comfortable, and you get a great story. Henry Stasik’s obsession, his need-to-know the truth acts as a proxy for the listener/reader and drives the story forward to a breath-catching climax. Recommended by candlelight, with a glass of wine nearby and no need to get up early tomorrow morning…

1984 on Steroids

I absolutely love this book. It's largely about mind control and government control of the population. A tale told from a spy's seemingly tough viewpoint. Lou Diamond Phillips has an awesome voice for narration, definitely will be looking for more books narrated by him.

Interesting story.

The story was good, has the Total Recall and Blade Runner feel. Lou Diamond Phillips did a good job on narrating.

A futuristic version of 1984 using 1950s tech

I'm not sure if there is a genre to describe this. Midcentury techno-punk? Retro-noir? It's a gritty, dark, alternate history where instead of the cold war, a dystopian society emerges after WWII, orchestrated by a ubiquitous mind-control network possibly more evil than today's Internet, if such a thing can be imagined.
The performance is excellent and the story keeps you involved. The ending is thoroughly telegraphed and is a surprise only in being a better-written version of exactly what you expect.

It's the End of the World As We Know It

Wars have ravaged the planet. Many died and many others suffered. The governments of the world united to form the coalition. The coalition is now in control and guides the world away from the cruelty of bombs and rifles. One people, one coalition. The ‘training’ starts in early and a lot is done through implants in the children. The coalition knows all, the coalition sees all.

Henry Stasik is a Coalition Internal Affairs agent who figures out what is what. Most times, he is figuring out which agent has gone rogue. In a few cases, he is specifically asked for, his current case is one of these instances. A fashion celebrity, Anastasia Danicheva, who asks to be called Nata has asked for him and only him. He tries to keep a low profile and never is in any of the media reports. How does she know him or why to ask for him? He knows he has never met her, so why him?

An agent pulled Ms. Danicheva over with false traffic pretenses and made a hands on arrest. Internal Affair agents left Stasik alone and didn’t want anything to do with him. He was on his 5th partner in the last 5 months. They become targets just because they work with him. As he headed towards the interview room to meet with Nata, most whisper about him as he passes. They didn’t want the truth like he did. They didn’t care that much. Nata says that the coalition is trying to kill her and if Stasik doesn’t help her, she will be dead later tonight. She even supplies what he will be told and what car will pick her up. Nata provides a list of higher ups’ names that most people have never heard of as people who are responsible for what will happen. Stasik doesn’t understand why she knows these names and even why they would want to kill her. Nata says that her associates prevented accidents in their sectors. Things like bombs in fuselages and derailing train cars and had full files with credible proof. All the associates are dead and the proof is gone. The entire building is gone by a gas leak somehow by crossing a street and through steel reinforced doors. What does she expect him to do?

Lots of action, intrigue and a great story. Highly recommend!

Outstanding

I loved it. Rhett C Bruno is one of my favorite authors because of books like this. Between the perfect performance by Lou Diamond Phillips and the story by Wolanyk and Bruno, this was a perfect storm.
I love how easily I got fully invested in the characters here.
I don't do spoilers. This is a great story, worthy of full price or a credit. I'm blown away again.