Oldies But Goodies
{Put This One on Your TBR List}
Book Review: Alex Hunter Adventures - The Arcadian by Greig
Beck
by Karen S. Wiesner
The Alex Hunter Adventures includes some ten plus books and all feature Captain Alex Hunter, code named The Arcadian (modified to be something more than human--the ultimate super soldier), and his highly trained, elite team of commandos called HAWCS along with some ancient horror they're sent to investigate. I stumbled across this Australian author years ago while looking for my next horror fix, and this series has always delivered from one book to the next.
Beneath the Dark Ice, the first in this series, was Beck's first novel, and it was (and possibly one or two of the subsequent were) released in mass market paperback (2009) by a major publisher. I haven't always been able to find print editions of the later books in the series, published elsewhere, which is frustrating, and when they are available, they tend to be shockingly expensive. I'll add that the stories contained in them are worth the price, but only just. Books that aren't hardcovers shouldn't be so pricey, but that's the inevitable limitation of POD.
The characters in all the Alex Hunter stories are complex with internal conflicts that are just as richly weaved and spellbinding as the action-packed plots. There's a lot to love with hidden horrors and/or fascinating, labyrinthine locations submerged, unearthed, and set free. Without Alex's modifications, could anyone survive what the team is put through in each exciting installment? This is a series that's been around for a while, but it's only getting better. A new book was released in 2022 with another coming in 2024. Note that the publication order isn't the same as the chronological order, which is listed below:
Prequel (0.5), "Arcadian
Genesis"
Book 1: Beneath the Dark Ice
Book 2: Dark Rising
Book 3: This Green Hell
Book 4: Black Mountain
Book 5: Gorgon
Book 5.5: "Hammer of God"
Book 6: Kraken Rising
Book 7: The Void
Book 8: From Hell
Book 9: The Dark Side
Book 10: The Well of Hell
Book 11: The Silurian Bridge (forthcoming)
Worth noting that Beck is the author of many series and standalones with a supernatural slant. His website at www.greigbeck.com is well worth a serious gander if you're looking to satiate your own horror fix.
Next week, I'll review another Oldie But Goodie you might find worth another read, too.
Karen Wiesner is an award-winning,
multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.
Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/
and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog
Find out more about her books and see her art
here: http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor
Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/