Customer Reviews

Dead Six

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was blown away by this book. First off, it's not set in "our world." It's a world just off set of ours. The world's a bit rougher and more cut throat. Most thrillers I've read have been technically accurate but boring or with completely lame characters. Others had great action, but completely unbelievable. This has great characters, great action and very technically competent. Really, the characters are going to make this book. The action alone would make this book a 5 star, but when you actually care about the characters the tension is even more powerful: and let me tell you about the tension. Tense doesn't begin to describe it. These characters are really in peril. As a combat veteran, I appreciated the accuracy of the arms and the use of them. They didn't make the combat unbelievable with jumping sideways with two pistols, but they made it more like the literary equivalent of a Micheal Mann film. (Heat, Collateral, etc Realistic but still amazingly entertaining. Also, the villains are just as hatable as the heroes are likable. Big Eddie is surprisingly threatening and creepy and the government guy (forgot his name) is like that boss that thinks he knows everything and owns you. We've all had one of those. If you don't mind a completely awesome book with amazing characters and brilliant action, then this book is for you!

I have been a fan of intrigue since I was a kid. But this one takes the cake.

The Story sucks you in, grabs you by the imagination, then puts you through an incredible roller coaster ride of entertaining storyline.

The prose is excellent!

The characters well thought out and uniquely unforgettable!

The best 'good' bad guys put in a world you will never forget!

You come to love 'em and hate 'em!

What a ride!

Mike Kupari and Larry Correia really outdone themselves!

Buy this book or get the eARC version for whatever device you can use.

But get it! It's a keeper!

I give it two winks, a nod, and two thumbs up!

5 out of 5!

Dead Six is a collaborative action-thriller by Monster Hunter writing guru Larry Correia and his Army EOD buddy, Mike Kupari. Larry Correia is currently my favorite author, as well as the leading edge of the urban fantasy market. Any time a Larry Correia book comes out you can sure bet that I will have two copies on order, a signed edition from Uncle Hugo's bookseller for the collection and another from Amazon so that I get to read it the day of release. Dead Six is a first for Larry, in two ways: a first collaboration as well as a first military techno-thriller. The book, while not perfect, was a gripping read that has hooked my interest for later entries in the series.

First things first. Larry and Mike know their stuff. When it comes to shooting these guys know the in's and out's of proper firearm use. I believe both authors shoot competitively. Then throw in Larry's experience as the owner of a gun store, and Mike's army training. So while some of the action sequences may be incredible the action always reads as believable if not entirely realistic. The story itself is broken up into two perspectives. One perspective is told from the ex-mercenary Constantine Michael Valentine, a somewhat jaded young man trying to lead a normal life despite his deadly skill set. The other perspective is that of thief and assassin extraordinaire Lorenzo. Both find themselves neck deep in trouble in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Zubara. For Valentine trouble is the elite black ops counter terrorist group Dead Six. For Lorenzo trouble is infiltrating a terrorist organization for the ultimate heist. Both characters find themselves with opposing objectives and end up clashing, each characters actions having direct or indirect consequences for the other. This awesome concept actually became one of my biggest problems with the novel. Valentine ends up getting random missions that coincidentally interfere with Lorenzo's plans. Once or twice this is acceptable but after several occasions the coincidence becomes a bit glaring.

That set aside this portion of the novel has some exciting special forces sequences as Valentine and fellow Dead Six members eliminate dirty terrorist scum in an attempt to prevent Zubara from collapsing into civil war and chaos. There is a siege toward the middle of the novel that is desperate and heart rending and just awesome. The first half of the novel was a slow burner to me, not slow in the traditional sense because there is a great deal of action but slow in terms of plot development. The betrayals in this novel never really feel that surprising because obviously anyone who signs up for something without any real idea what they'll be doing with the incentive of lots and lots of money should expect the worst and plan for worse than that. Then there is a certain death that strongly affects a certain character but it lacks some impact because of how inorganic the relationship feels. Granted the death still held more impact than I expected but I have to admit it was a beautifully brutally written scene.

The second half of the novel is much better than the first in my opinion. This is when plans finally come to fruition and our two main characters finally converge. The best parts of Dead Six involve the conspiracy theory stuff. The reader is given few answers and there are a great deal of questions that need to be answered. Shadowy organizations, black helicopters, the works. I feel the biggest draw for me with future novels in this series will be the conspiracy angle. I recommend this book to any action junkie. Bits of it read like a videogame (a well thought out videogame where the developers had some experience dealing with firearms). The plot isn't as tight as the typical Correia novel but there is real potential here for future entries. Oh, and co-author Mike Kupari is serving as a bomb disposal specialist in Afghanistan right now so I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank him for his service.

I was quick to order this because of my enjoyment for the MHI series, but was really impressed by Dead Six. I think this book may be better than the Monster Hunter books as well. I was curious how the story would work being told from two main points of view, but it was very easy to read going between the characters and both protagonists are very likable and fun characters. The storyline kept me anxious to see what happens next, and even the areas that were somewhat predictable were still very enjoyable to read. This book packs a ton of storyline, wit, and action into its pages. Stop reading these reviews and just buy this thing already, you'll be glad you did.

Larry Correia does not dissappoint with this book. However it is his co-author, Mike Kupari, who is the true newcomer this being his first published work. Mike writes the Valentine character, while Larry tackles the thief extraordinare, Lorenzo. Both characters were great to read and the dual perspectives that you receive are both fun as they events of their story begin to merge into one story. I am a huge Larry Correia fan (have been ever since Monster Hunter Internation), and I can safely say that Mike Kupari has a fan in me as well. Mike's character Valentine was by far my favorite of the two (not that they both aren't great). So if you like good military thrillers or just a book that reads like a great action movie this is the book for you. It is full of guns, explosions, and a trail of bodies across several countries.

This is a good read. I contemplated giving it 5 stars, but in the end decided it was a 4. Lots of good stuff. Guns, action, naked women, conspiracy, etc. No aliens, but there is a mysterious artifact. I have said before that there are two kinds of authors I like - one that is good enough that he convinces you to suspend disbelief, and those who write stuff that is eminently believable. The absolute best authors (like Clancy) can do both. This is a suspend belief type of book. Most of the book consists of action sequences of stuff that just ain't gonna happen, but is told well enough that it is fun to read. Think of it as a gun oriented fairy tale. It is a fairly long book, so you get your money's worth. And really, there are only a few places that made me scratch my head. To me the ending was not all that well done. After hundreds of pages of two protagonists who operate well outside the law, kind of on opposite sides, to come together with a strait laced federal agent is a little tough to take. If you are going to have evil cabals and conspiracys, dealing with them in a few pages is just not satisfying, at least not to me. But that is more of a quibble than a complaint. A few pages out of hundreds is not something to whine about. Read the sample chapters and if you like them, you will like the rest of it. It is pretty much non-stop action, even if logically some of the things just are way out there. Turn off your thinking cap for a while and just enjoy. It is well worth the $6 the ebook costs. This story was originally published on a gun forum (thehighroad) where I read it a few years back. The editing on this version is a lot better, but it is mostly the same story.

Clancy's got nothing on these guys. The action sequences are awesome, the plot kept me reading late into the night. Great character development, I felt like I could picture the characters in my head. I love the dual author format.

I have to say I was a bit aprehensive going into this book. I've been a big fan of Larry Correia's books since reading his first Monster Hunter book. I feared that co-writing with a newcomer such as Kupari may hinder this book. I was completely wrong.

Set in a slightly different political world than our own, Dead Six follows an ex special forces soldier after he has been hired by a shadowy government agency. They send him to a country, Zubara, very much like the current UAE to take out terrorists that have been hiding in the county. The book also follows another male in "The Zoob" who is there to steal from the exact same terrorists.

What Correia and Kupari have created is a non stop action filled book that just brims with testosterone and gunpowder. Ten pages in and you'll be hooked. A hundred pages in and you will be addicted. Imagine a Tom Clancy novel if Clancy actually had some balls and a wicked sense of humor.

Can't wait to read more from this team!

So they write this book with two main characters that you want to root for. They pit them against one another and you wonder, who do I want to win?

Realistic gun fights, hand to hand combat, tactics. These men know what they are talking about when they put it down on paper. I could not stop reading once I started and had to finish it before I went to bed.

A very believable world and just a hint of something else, something outside of normal. I believe that this is the first of three if I remeber correctly from Larry's blog. Let's hope it is. I can't wait to read more about Valentine and Lorenzo.

I've read the first 2 of Larry Correia's Monster Hunter books. While enjoyable, they weren't a perfect 'fit' for my tastes.

"DEAD SIX" is.

A great action/adventure/thriller written in the first person by two protagonists that are on opposite sides. Or are they?..

Writing in the first person is rare enough. Having two characters narrating is a nice twist.

The writers get the gun stuff right and the action is very believable. There is plenty of action, but the pacing is good. The characters are interesting and well developed, flaws and all.

Read this book, even if you have to plan a covert op to steal it from your buddy's night stand while he sleeps!

Anxiously awaiting more from Larry and Mike