Legend holds that when Britain is in its darkest hour, King Arthur will return to save the country, if not the world. That legend is dead wrong.
When a Grove of Druids sacrifices the lives of a group of innocents, including the fiancée of a member of SEAL Team 666, the ancient king is brought back from the dead and sets his sights on subjugating humanity and cleansing his land of all who are not true Britons. Because of political sensitivities, Triple 6 is ordered to stand down, but that order is ignored when one of the team seeks his own vengeance. Now, the members of America’s elite supernatural-hunting force must decide what is more important: their orders or their loyalty.
With its plethora of supernatural and otherworldly myths and legends, I suppose it was only a matter of time before SEAL Team 666 set foot on good old Blighty’s shores. Britain has such a rich mythological heritage to pick from, I’m sure Weston Ochse was spoiled for choice.
Like the other books in this series, Reign of Evil is all about the ride. Don’t over think what’s going on. Just sit back, relax and prepare for the mayhem. As I’ve now come to expect, this author knows exactly what it takes when it comes to delivering on killer action scenes. Once again he proves he has the mad skills describing breakneck, kinetic combat with flair. You’re almost frightened to take a breath in case you miss something. The best thing about all this unfettered chaos? No one single character is safe. In Ochse’s world, actions have consequences and characters sometimes suffer because of them. Too often I read books, especially thrillers, where characters have a near super-human ability to shrug off all but the most serious of wounds. Not so here. The members of the team, and their new allies, suffer more than a few serious beat downs. Having them on the back foot from time to time helps to establish them as the underdogs and you can’t help but find yourself rooting for them all. It does help that their ultimate nemesis is a proper nasty piece of work as well.
There is always so much to enjoy with each new SEAL Team 666 novel, and this latest addition is no exception. It’s nice to see Britain and Ireland both have their own groups for dealing with supernatural threats. Once you are a couple of books into a series like this, you want to see an expansion on the original premise. Starting to include characters from other supernatural military organisations is a nice touch. Here’s hoping Triple 6 get the opportunity to work along side Section 9 and the Finn McCools again. I like the idea that there are yet more groups like this elsewhere in the world that have yet to be introduced.
As an aside, I’ll even admit there is still a certain amount of pride that the leader of the team shares my surname. Yes, I do know he is a fictional character, but I don’t care. I still think it’s cool. He kicks serious ass.
This novel ends with a nice little coda to events that suggests a much larger story arc is starting to develop. I look forward to seeing where this goes in future novels. While I’m waiting for the next book in the series, can someone please get Hollywood on the phone and demand an update re the proposed movie version of SEAL Team 666? I need to see these characters on the big screen, with lots of HUGE action scenes and a suitably bombastic score. Actually, IMAX 3D would be pretty fricking awesome as well while we’re at it. I’m sure I read somewhere that The Rock was interested? Why hasn’t this happened yet movie gods? Damn you! WHY?
What with hell hounds, witches, warlocks, threats to the British crown, more Tuatha De Danann than you can shake a big stick and the odd Saturnalian orgy thrown in for good measure this is all great fun. If only every book I read revelled in the sheer joy of pure escapism I suspect the world would be a far better place. If you are looking for thrills and spills with a darkly supernatural twist then look no further, you’ve just found it.
Reign of Evil is published by Titan Books and is available now.
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