PIKE LOGAN

Full Name:	Nephilim 'Pike' Logan
Nationality:	American
Organization:	The Taskforce
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Brad Taylor
Time Span:	2011 - 2019

ABOUT THE SERIES

       Pike Logan is an agent with the Taskforce.
       Certainly he is at the start of the series and while his actual affiliation with that small agency changes quickly, his closeness to it keeps the statement close enough to accuracy to stand.
       The Taskforce is a small department put together by Presidential decree designed to handle the most urgent and secret of assignments, missions that are so sensitive that Congressional oversight is a danger. Answering to the National Security Council, this band of mostly elite soldiers can go places that most "legitimate" agents cannot and get out alive. Their check in a world of checks and balances is that they cannot initiate their own tasks and must be approval before heading out. Once done, their only criteria is to succeed.
       One of the founding members of this force is Pike Logan, a man given that nickname many years before and finding it far less objectionable than his given name. As described in the first book, "his assignments read like a who's who of the military elite". He joined the military and immediately volunteered for Ranger service. From there he moved to the Special Forces in Okinawa for a couple of years and then Delta Force for more than a decade. Serving was what he loved doing and he was incredibly good at taking nearly impossible missions and pulling them off.
       During that time he met a woman, fell in love, married, sired a young daughter, and then, while on a mission for the Taskforce, learned of their horrific murder back home. Suddenly his world crashed around him. His interest in anything other than escape grew more and more, his irritability and anger growing enough to push away his friends and his career.
       Most of that happens in the earliest part of the first book. What follows and makes up the majority of the series is Pike Logan's return to life and his finding new purpose. Most of that is at the hand of one incredibly interesting young woman, Jennifer Cahill. A woman in her mid 20s, Cahill is finishing up college after a brief interruption and trying to fit in with the younger people in her class when a chance meeting Logan sees her saving his life in a bar fight. This is a fortunate act of kindness because soon thereafter she is in need of saving and Logan reluctantly returns the favor. It does not take long for the two to make up one enjoyable and efficient team.
       At the end of the first book, when Logan has a chance to return to the fold of the Taskforce having worked again with them in the first adventure, he decides to instead form a company partnered with Cahill, willing to work with the Taskforce on assignments but also able to handle other jobs should they decide. Together Logan and Cahill are a great duo.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	13
First Appearance:	2011
Last Appearance:	2019


1			One Rough Man Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2011 Life dealt Pike Logan a very bad hand and destroyed his career with the Taskforce. Now a second chance is offered if he can find two terrorists holding a powerful weapon though no one knows where they are or what their target is.

2			All Necessary Force Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2012 Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill face an incredible decision - how to find and stop the explosion of a tremendous bomb somewhere in the U.S. when their Taskforce credentials do not allow them to operate inside their own country.

3			Enemy Of Mine Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2013 As the newly worked treaty between Israel and Palestine nears an historic signing, word comes to the Taskforce that the American envoy most responsible for the agreement is the target of assassination unless Pike Logan can track down the elusive killer.

4			The Widow's Strike Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2013 A nation angered by strict sanctions had gotten its hands on a mutation of the Bird Flu virus and implanted it in a female terrorist's body, planning for her to infect hundreds in America, letting those victims unleash an epidemic. Pike Logan and the Taskforce are the best hope.

5			The Polaris Protocol Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2014 Pike Logan and his partner Jennifer Cahill take a break from their terrorist-hunting to travel to Mexico to locate Cahill's missing reporter brother, a man who was writing about the drug cartels and found an even deadlier threat.

6			Days Of Rage Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2014 Russia has passed to the radical Islamic group Boko Harum in Nigeria a very old weapon that was once capable of huge destruction. The Russians believe it really too old to be of use but they are wrong and it becomes the job of Pike Logan, Jennifer Cahill, and the Taskforce to get it away from the terrorists.

7			No Fortunate Son Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2014 For their actions in saving hundreds of lives in their last mission, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are rewarded by being fired. Angered by the treatment, Logan is hardly interested when his former boss asks for help on a personal matter dealing with his missing niece. Reluctantly taking the case, they learn there is a lot more to the matter.

8			The Insider Threat Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2015 While numerous nations of the West try to combat the forces of ISIS, that terrorist organization has an insidious plot underway that will hit the countries where they are not expecting it.

9			The Forgotten Soldier Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2015 The death of a Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan is unfortunately nothing new but this death has a non-combatant's hand in it and the U.S. government want to pretend it did not happen. Pike Logan is not so inclined.

10			Ghosts of War Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2016 Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are in Poland helping verify artifacts from a Nazi gold train when they find themselves in the middle of the growing tension between the West and Russia as the latter moves forces into Belarus.

11			Ring of Fire Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2017 An American defense contractor had many years before established a slush fund to bribe a major Saudi official to win lucrative contracts. Now the Panama Papers are being leaked to the press and a whole lot of unwelcome facts are coming out. This includes the slush fund as well as activities by the Taskforce. Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are ordered by the President to get the next set of leaks.

12			Operator Down Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2018 The Taskforce with Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are on the trail of an American arms dealer operating in Tel Aviv who is suspected of trying to sell nuclear weapons parts. This investigation will take them to a plot to overthrow a democratic nation in Africa.

13			Daughter of War Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2019 While looking into a North Korean's attempt to sell US secrets to Syria, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill learn of something even worse - a deadly substance known as Red Mercury also being peddled which the Syrians want to use to wipe out the American and Kurdish forces in their region. Just as things get really rough, the North Korean element gets hotter.

NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES

Number of Stories:	7
First Appearance:	2013
Last Appearance:	2019


1			The Callsign novella Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2013 The recently established Taskforce is about to go on its first mission but Pike Logan, the man heading the expedition, is concerned about how well the team that is not a team will work together.

2			Gut Instinct Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2013 Pike Logan is injured in a mission and as he recovers, a request for assistance comes in from another Taskforce team. Jennifer Cahill answers the call but finds the team leader will not listen to her suggestions so she goes it on her own.

3			Black Flag Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2013 Two Taskforce operatives join Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill at their Grolier Recovery Services company, a real company used also as a Taskforce cover. One of them accepts a job helping look for Blackbeard's treasure but the employer has a different plan in mind.

4			The Dig Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2014 Taking place right after One Rough Man, Pike Logan is determined to get Jennifer Cahill admitted to the Taskforce but she is set on getting their new private company going and their first paid job is to look into the Roswell area for artifacts. They find something a lot more dangerous.

5			The Target Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2016 A short story from before the days of the Taskforce in which we are shown an adventure with Israeli agents Aaron and Shoshana hunting a former Nazi officer hiding in plain sight.

6			The Infiltrator Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2017 In Jerusalem for the wedding of their two former MOSSAD agent friends, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are on hand when a terrorist cell decides striking any and all tourists there is a good idea, not knowing they are being manipulated by a third party.

7			Exit Fee Written by Brad Taylor Copyright: 2019 No family is happy all the time and Pike Logan finds that out when he has an argument with Amena, the young Syrian refugee he and Jennifer Cahill were watching. When she storms out of the house in Charleston, she befriends a young Serbian girl, not know she was falling into a trap. Logan is determined to find her and bring her home but that will prove to be a very messy undertaking.

MY COMMENTS

       Once in a while there will be a series that I put off reading for one reason or another and this is, much to my embarrasment, is one of those cases. The first book languished on my to-be-read shelf for several months. I forced myself to read it. This is important to note. I forced myself to read it.
       At least the forcing was needed for the first three pages or so. Then the power reversed and I would have to be forced to put the book down by work or family. But I grabbed it again as soon as I could. It was that enjoyable.
       I read one commentator talk of Logan being arrogant and boy did I agree at first So did several of Logan's teammates in the book. Then life sucked all the arrogance out of him and what was left was a man that was fun to read about and to watch in action. What made the series an absolute delight was when Cahill came on the scene and decided he was a jerk and treated him like one and made him a better man again.
       When not quite done with the first book, I ordered the second and right after it arrived, I bought the ebook version of the third.
       Now, it might be possible that, like a fine wine, the book just got better sitting on my shelf for so long. Probably not. I hope if you like lots of action, really good characters, terrific dialogue, and scary plots, you will not wait as long as I did. Maybe if lots of people buy these books, the author will write more. I hope so.

       One more comment and it is needs a tiny SPOILER alert. I will not say which book or which situation or which bad guy this happens to but there is one scene that is so unlike anything I have read, I had to read it twice more to make sure I was right. Logan is suddenly faced by a particularly bad man who has everyone around him scared to death of him. When this bad guy, seeing himself face Logan, proceeds to tell Logan in no uncertain terms just how badly he was going to regret getting in the bad dude's business. Logan blows him away. He does not talk with him, he does not share threats, he does not laugh in the face of danger or try to bully his own way out. No macho. No bravado. Bad guy in the way. Bad guy dead. Moving along.

       I like Pike Logan. I am in love with Jennifer Cahill.

GRADE

My Grade: A

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