The worst of nature and the worst of science will bring the human race to the brink of extinction.Master Sergeant Reed Beckham has led his Delta Force Team, codenamed Ghost, through every kind of hell imaginable and never lost a man. When a top-secret Medical Corps research facility goes dark, Team Ghost is called in to face their deadliest enemy yet - a variant strain of Ebola that turns men into monsters.After barely escaping with his life, Beckham returns to Fort Bragg in the midst of a new type of war. The virus is already spreading. As cities fall, Team Ghost is ordered to keep CDC virologist Dr. Kate Lovato alive long enough to find a cure. What she uncovers will change everything.Total extinction is just on the horizon, but will the cure be worse than the virus?
I've had the ebook of this on my kindle for a few years, but kept putting it off, not sure why but I kept thinking it's a case of "same old, same old." Over the years, though, I started seeing more and more of this and the great reviews it was getting, and while browsing Audible, saw it was available. After listening to the sample, it piqued my interest enough to buy it. Over the course of a few months, I bought all of them with my credits and when I downloaded book 6, I started listening.
So this starts with us seeing some American soldiers during the Vietnam war. They were given an experimental new drug that is said to help them turn the tide of the war. They were to become the weapons, it was to make them faster and stronger, but what they unleashed was monsters who killed indiscriminately. Friend or foe, it didn't matter, all they wanted was to kill.
Years later, Master Sergeant Reed Beckham and his Delta Force Team, are called back into action because a top secret lab has gone dark. Team Ghost are told to proceed with caution as this lab deals with highly contagious and deadly diseases. It was currently working on a cure for the outbreak of Ebola that was gripping the nation. Team Ghost suit up and head out, only to discover that everyone in the lab seems to have succumbed to....something and are now something more than human. They are monsters who will stop at nothing to feed.
Narrowly escaping with their lives, Team Ghost arrive back only to discover that the Ebola virus has spread but also, one person from the lab had left before the place went dark, he was infected with this new strain of the virus and changed! The new strain is creating monsters. It is highly infectious and looks like it's also incurable. What can Team Ghost do?
This book exceeded all my expectations and absolutely blew me away. The plot was extremely fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Ebola is a horrible and frightening disease but add in what they did with it and it was scary. The results of the outbreak were even more frightening.... The Variants are, plain and simply, monsters. The author also explained the science behind everything in such a way that it was quite believable!! You could easily believe how the Variants came to be.
The characters were amazing! Team Ghost are the best of the best and Reed Beckham has kept his men alive through every mission they were sent on. Now though, the new threats aren't easily killed and it's up to Beckham and his team to help save humanity. I loved the friendship that Team Ghost have. They are brothers and would risk everything for each other, non more so than Beckham. Each of them were well written and developed and you can't help but root for them.
Even apart from Team Ghost, there are a lot of other characters. Dr Kate Lovato being an important one. She is a scientist, one of very few left, that deals with infectious disease. It's up to her to try to find a cure, or a way to kill The Variants. She was extremely well written and was one of my favourites.
Anyway!! This book was phenomenal. Fast paced, action packed, brutal and brilliant, it's a must read for everyone. I devoured it and am so glad I have the next book to dive into straight away. Honestly, this book was amazing and I urge you to go try it. I would so love to see this as a movie or TV series!!! Highly recommend!!!!
Bronson Pinchot was also amazing. I can't believe I haven't listened to anything else narrated by him, though I do have some of them in my TBR pile. He nailed the performance and brought this book alive. His narration was flawless and you could easily follow who was talking. He also did an amazing job heightening the tension and keeping me on the edge of my seat. If I could give this book and the narrator 10 stars, I would.
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