GRANT STEVENS

Grant Stevens is an agent for the President.

When the series begins, he is the best investigator the U.S. Naval Investigative Service (NIS), the forerunner to the modern NCIS. The adventures take place likely in the early 80s (possibly very late 70s though this is not expressly stated but can be inferred from events and time-lines) and the NIS was the main department in the Navy for handling all major criminal activities including espionage. It is with the latter that Stevens excels.

Stevens is, again at the start, a Commander in the U.S. Navy and more specifically and importantly, he is a former SEAL. In fact, he is one of the very first SEALS to have existed as he got his start with that Special Forces group in 1962, the year the SEAL program came into existence. He was a member of the first major mission the SEALs took part in - a foray into the jungles of Cuba to find more proof of Soviet missiles on that Caribbean island. He was a very junior Ensign at the time, likely just having graduated from the Academy (supposition).

As a result of the actions in the first book, Stevens receives a promotion to Captain and it is stated that he is at the time the youngest man with that rank, likely making Stevens at or near 40 years old, within the reasonable range for the hijinks he gets involved with but still making his physical actions even more impressive. Years of action and a dedication to staying fit have served him well.

After nearly a half dozen recorded adventure, Stevens opts to leave the Service and it is at this point that his working on behalf of the President starts up as a quartet of wealthy patriots approach him with the plan to establish Team Alpha Tango, a small group of highly trained operatives working outside the normal chain of command to take on the tasks deemed vital for national security by the President.

Stevens is a native of California having been born and raised in a small community north of the Bay area near the coast, giving him ample time to take part in one of his favorite sports, surfing. Standing 6'1" he is in excellent shape. He has brown hair and eyes and is fluent in Russian and Japanese with a spattering of other languages along the way.

I hesitated on this series for some time, not because it was not enjoyable but because I wondered if it fit in a compendium devoted to spy guys and gals. The first five adventures were exciting and interesting and did deal with international intrigue and fighting Soviet agents and the like. Still, it was far on the side of a military adventure and not in the cloak and dagger arena. When things changed up in book 6 with Stevens finally retiring and looking for something else to do, the invitation to form Team Alpha Tango to work on behalf of the President, it looked more like it fit.

Still I waited and collected and occasionally read and finally decided the stories were too good to not include. The action is hot and heavy and the characters are interesting and fun to follow. Make no mistake in thinking the military aspect has slacked off at all, though. Stevens and his teammates in Alpha Tango may have shed their uniforms but they remain SEALs and the same sort of impossible missions they had to face before they continue to confront as "quasi-civilians". The danger is just as powerful and they would not have it any other way.

Fun series which I hope will continue.