Twisted conspiracy.... ( )

In "Arctic Fire," Stephen Frey introduces us to Red Cell Seven (RCS), an ultra-secret arm of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. RCS has been operating for over 40 years and is apolitical, protecting the interests of the United States rather than any one political ideology. The new president, however, is not willing to let RCS operate with impunity any longer and is threatening to dismantle the organization. Certain rogue elements within RCS will not allow that to happen, no matter what it takes to survive.

Troy Jensen is an operative in RCS, unknown to all his family except his father, former Marine Colonel and CEO of one of the worlds largest banks. Jack Jensen, Troy's adopted brother, thinks Troy is just a spoiled rich kid, traveling the globe in search of adventure. But while Troy is off climbing mountains or fighting bulls, he is actually gathering intelligence and using his "hobbies" as cover. His latest adventure sees Troy working on a crab boat in Alaska, one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. But it would seem Troy tempted fate once to often and his family is notified that he was washed overboard by a wave during a storm.

Jack had never come to terms with his being adopted. In addition to wondering who his real parents were, he never could seem to live up to Bill's expectations. Troy was seemingly the perfect son and the pride Bill had for him was painfully evident. Jack thought part of the reason was that blood was thicker than water. But Jack cared for Troy as only brothers can, adopted or not, and he did not believe the story of Troy's death. Troy was a survivor. There was no way Troy would have been the only person washed overboard. If anything, he would have been the one to save the others as he had done in the past. Jack quits his job as a bond trader and treks to Alaska in order to find the truth. But Jack makes some very dangerous people nervous and is soon running for his life.

This was an enjoyable read, fast paced and full of action. The plot was, for the most part, very believable if not somewhat scripted. The ending was a stunner and seemed to come out of left field. I am not really sure what the author was intending with it. It is obvious he was setting it up for a sequel, but the ending seemed to raise more questions than necessary. That being said, if you are an action junkie, then you will enjoy this book. ( )

Uneven

nice plot good action but uneven and a bit unpolished.
with this kind of story you expect the occasional "and then luck saved them all" but not this many.

Stephen W. Frey is another one of those authors whose books I can’t believe I haven’t read before. While sometimes his phrasing is a bit stilted and awkward, I really enjoyed Arctic Fire, his latest novel. At some point, I’ll make it my business to read some of his earlier worksbb as well.
Arctic Fire is a fast paced spy thriller. The espionage all happens in the United States, and a super-secret U.S. intelligence agency is responsible. “Red Cell Seven” not only spies on U.S. citizens, it is responsible for numerous acts of vigilante justice. Even the President is not aware of all the murder and mayhem that RC7 is causing.
The action centers on Jack Jensen, the 30 year old adopted son of wealthy and powerful banker Bill Jensen and his wife Cheryl. Jack’s younger brother Troy is the Jensen’s natural son and, Jack believes, the favored child.Troy is an extraordinary athlete, and a dare devil. When the Jensen family learns that Troy has died while working on a king crab fishing boat in the Bering Sea, they are shocked. But Jack soon realizes that something is amiss. Troy has been able to cheat death on so many occasions, Jack cannot believe that a mere 70 foot rogue wave is responsible for sweeping Troy overboard, while other members of the crew of the Arctic Fire survived.
Jack soon quits his job, and tells his father that he is traveling to Alaska to find out the truth of Troy’s disappearance. Bill tries to dissuade Jack, which seems suspicious.As soon as Jack leaves Bill’s office, he is nearly run down on the street by a speeding van. As he begins his journey, other events occur which only affirm to Jack that something very strange and sinister is going on.
Obviously Frey is a great believer in conspiracy theories, and Arctic Fire involves one of the more extensive and bizarre conspiracy theories I’ve read. But the characters are interesting, and the plot moves along nicely. I really enjoyed reading it. ( )

Arctic Fire is the name of a fishing boat that is used to set traps in the Bering Sea during the lucrative crab season. Crewing on the boat is one of the most dangerous jobs on earth with the exception of protecting the US from real evil-doers. The captain and crew are tough and the weather is tougher, but that cannot account for two men being lost at sea in two crabbing seasons. We learn that the supposedly dead men are members of Red Cell Seven, an elite secret corps of US citizens who do whatever they are told by the leader of the RCS Carlson who takes direction from the President. Unfortunately, when there is almost unlimited power and license to kill, evil men like Maddux, who have a distorted view of their mission and their own agenda, work their way up the ladder and gain the confidence of their leaders. Maddux is determined to carry out an unauthorized plot using RCS personnel to change the world and is instrumental in the deaths of the two agents/crew members from the Arctic Fire.

This is exciting so far, and there is enough daring action, murder, and mayhem to get the readers’ hearts accelerating. Stephen Frey adds elements of family history, father-son complexities, widow anger and fear, secret deals and disloyalty, inferiority complexes, narcissism, private wealth, public power, travel and adventure, and an idyllic love affair in the eye of the thriller storm. How do the short sections of chapters and rapid changes of points of view of the violent action combined with the peaceful, longer scenes of a developing love affair hang together to form a novel?

In the first 50 pages, I wondered how is all this was going to come together so that Arctic Fire is not just another potboiler in the fiction thriller category. Frey’s experience and talent as a writer become apparent forcing me to suspend disbelief and boredom and get into the excitement of the interaction of all the standard and required categories of the genre. I enjoyed the plot and the character development and even the themes involving limits of power and justification of violence that are relevant in our current period in the US. Everything comes together in the novel thanks to Stephen Frey’s talent and his 16 novel experience. This is a 5 star work in the fiction thriller category. ( )