THE PROJECT

Full Name:	Nick Carter and Selena Connor
Nationality:	American
Organization:	The PROJECT
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Alex Lukeman
Time Span:	2011 - 2020

ABOUT THE SERIES

       Nick Carter and Selena Connor are agents of the Project.
       The Project is "... the President's brainchild, a counterweight to the big intelligence agencies. Project is an acronym. Presidential Official Joint Exercise for Counter Terrorism. The joint part doesn't work too well, though, except for NSA. Harker's job is to cut through the smoke and mirrors tossed out by the big agencies and tell the President what's really going on. She's not afraid to speak her mind and she's a brilliant analyst. The three letter agencies don't like her. She answers only to the President..."
       The Elizabeth Harker mentioned is the head of the small but well-funded group, described as "...small, with milk-white skin, small, pointed ears and raven black hair. Her eyes were like a cat's, wide and green. She looked like an elf dressed in black and white, but a kind of elf you wouldn't want to mess with." As indicated she was picked to tell it like it was to the President and she is very good at that. Helping run the show is Stephanie Willits, Harker's deputy and a genius with computers.
       Nick Carter is the lead agent with the Project, a man hand-picked by Harker and pulled from the Marine's Force Recon detachment where he had served for a good number of years in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was tall, athletic, and might be considered ruggedly handsome by some though not all of the women he met. None of the women would have denied he had a magnetism to him. Carter, for all his dependability and his resourcefulness, suffers from two problems that keep his night's sleep from being restful. The first was a horrific event in Afghanistan in which a young boy not yet a teen was sent to kill his platoon with a grenade and Carter knew the only way to stop him was with a bullet. The other was the loss of his first love and fiancée, Megan, in a plane crash, taking from his the one solace he had found for his nightmares.
       Selena Connor is a highly intelligent and gifted woman, earning PhDs in oriental and ancient languages and considered one of the top experts in the country in her field.
She is described as "all contained, taut energy, with the rippling grace of an athlete. She was in her thirties. Her hair was short and reddish blond. Her face was tan from the outdoors. She had high cheekbones and violet eyes. There was a small mole above her lip." When she first learns of the Project she is on the periphery of a case the organization was investigating but she quickly became an active part in the matter (through no desire on her part) and she quickly showed that her skills in driving, hand-to-hand combat, and thinking on her feet were exceptional. She learned when the op was over that her quiet life in academia would never be enough and when the offer to join the group came, she took it.
       Two other agents complete the list of field operative the Project has to call upon. Lamont Cameron is an African-American former SEAL. Ronnie Peete is a Navaho who was with Carter in Force Recon.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	17
First Appearance:	2011
Last Appearance:	2020


1			White Jade Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2011 A wealthy man is murdered to get a hold of a 2000-yr old book. Looking into it, his niece, an expert in ancient languages, comes into contact with Nick Carter of the PROJECT as well as a plan of someone to take over China to attack America

2			The Lance Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2011 A device long lost in time, known as the Lance, has been recovered in Antarctica and with it someone is planning on starting another world war. Nick Carter of the PROJECT must lead his team to stop it.

3			The Seventh Pillar Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2012 The fanatic who sees himself as the next Islamic leader and the one to bring about the Apocalypse is using an ancient brotherhood of assassins. The PROJECT sends Nick Carter and Selena Connor to Africa to start to bring the plan to an end.

4			Black Harvest Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2012 Three separate experts in crop viruses are murdered making the PROJECT believe someone has something very unpleasant in mind. Nick Carter and Selene Connor are sent to investigate even though both are suffering from personal issues.

5			The Tesla Secret Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2013 Nikola Tesla was a great inventor and one of his less known discoveries is a weapon which had incredible power. The plans for this item were stolen and Nick Carter and Selena Connor is sent to get it themselves.

6			The Nostradamus File Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2013 The rare book dealer who finds an unknown set of Nostradamus predictions is murdered and the info stolen. Looking into the case, Nick Carter and Selena Connor find themselves looking for the Ark of the Covenant as they are sent into the case.

7			The Ajax Protocol Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2014 The President is almost killed in an assassination attempt and is laid up. As all agencies seek to learn who was behind it, The PROJECT unleash Nick Carter and Selena Connor even as they try to figure out their personal relationship.

8			The Eye Of Shiva Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2014 It is ancient gold coins found in a terrorist hideaway that puts the PROJECT and Nick Carter and Selena Connor on the trail of a man who sees himself ruling a Caliphate in India.

9			Black Rose Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2015 A lethal plague is stolen from a secret biological warfare facility in North Korea. Its new holders want to reduce the overcrowding of this planet in a most horrendous way.

10			The Solomon Scroll Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2015 The search is on for the burial site of King Solomon. Some want the tremendous treasure said to be there. One wants the Seal of Solomon because he feels it will grant him the control of the world.

11			The Russian Deception Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2015 Someone is investing billions of euros to finance a coup in Russia and help hawks there who want to take back land lost when the Soviet Union fell.

12			The Atlantis Stone Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2016 A photograph lost for over a century may hold the key to finding the true location of the lost kingdom of Atlantis. The PROJECT sends Nick Carter and Selena Connor to get there first, wherever there happens to end up being.

13			The Cup Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2016 It is nothing less than the Holy Grail that is the goal of a group of terrorists hidden inside the horde of refugees fleeing their homeland.

14			High Alert Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2017 The sinking of an American submarine in the Sea of Japan is the opening salvo in an attack by a crazed man who wants to start the next World War. The second volley includes the assassination of the Chinese ambassador in Washington.

15			Solomon's Gold Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2017 The team of the Project have what looks like a simple, danger-free assignment: locate a missing treasure put together by Solomon to build the first Jewish Temple. Selena Connor is the code-breaker and linguist heading the operation. Nothing is as simple as they thought. Or as safe.

16			Phoenix Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2018 The President tasks the Project with finding the cause of a U.S. Navy destroyer and a Chinese freighter. Was it negligence or something sinister. Knowing the kind of missions the people in the Project get, it is not hard to guess.

17			The Last Option Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2018 The plot was not a new one: a group of powerful men decide to destroy much of the world and rule what is left. These insane men might have the means to pull it off which is what the Project team must prevent.

18			The Black Templar Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2019 With the Project in a state of uncertainty, Selena Connor is getting bored so when she is offered a job to translate a 13th century Templar document, she happily accepts. This document turns out to have a clue to a treasure lost for hundreds of years so she and Nick Carter start following the clues. There are others on the hunt, though.

19			The Sword Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2019 Now with the Project being a private concern, Elizabeth Harker and her team is hired by a Japanese concern to find an ancient missing sword. It seemed like an interesting but safe assignment until people began dying.

20			The Lair of Anubis Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2020 An ancient text describing the last days of Cleopatra points to a secret cache of treasure from the days of Alexander the Great. The Project sends its key team to Egypt to investigate but a secret band dedicated to preserving the legacy of Alexander wants to stop it.

21			End Game Written by Alex Lukeman Copyright: 2020 Four nuclear weapons have been stolen by terrorists wanting revenge for the loss of their family members. The Project is sent to find and recover the devices before tens of thousands die.

MY COMMENTS

       This is a series that I pondered whether it belonged in the collection or not for a year or so before I finally did something silly like read the first book and saw that it most definitely did belong. Not only that, I really, really enjoyed it. I liked both Carter and Connor. I liked their boss, Harker, which is not something authors usually seem to want but this author did and was successful at. I started to write up the series after the first book but then got sidetracked by the second book. And then the third. Eventually I got the series added and here we are.
       The style is easy and fast but there is not any "huh?" moments where you wonder how you got here from there. The author is a skilled writer who seems to know what he wants to say and says it succinctly. The bad guys are bad enough to want to watch them whupped. The plots are just out there enough to make your eyebrows rise a bit and then settle down for an enjoyable trip.
       There are a good number of adventures in this series so far and I hope the author keeps them coming.

GRADE

My Grade: A-

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