HARVEY BENNETT

Full Name:	Harvey 'Ben' Bennett
Nationality:	American
Organization:	Civilian Security Organization
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Nick Thacker
Time Span:	2014 - 2021

ABOUT THE SERIES

       Harvey Bennett is an agent with the Civilian Special Operations.
       Agent is probably not the best word. It is likely more accurate to say he is a member of the CSO, which he is, or rather will be once it is established.
       When we first meet him, he is a park ranger in Yellowstone and enjoying it a lot. It mostly involved solitude and being outdoors with nature surrounding him instead of buildings and lots of people. It is not that he is anti-social but more that he is happier when not needing to be overly social. He has been a ranger for some time and it suits him and he would not have chosen to give it up if life and circumstances did not push the issue. What he gets pushed eventually to is the CSO.
       To understand more about the CSO, it is necessary to know more about Mr. E. That is the only name I have found for the man so far and apparently I am not the only one in the dark about him as most of the people who work for him also know next to nothing. Mr. E is a very, very wealthy man who, being very paranoid, has a major desire for anonymity, hence not using his real name. Most of his dealings seem to be via video chat and what the people viewing it see is a very posh, expensive interior and the mystery man himself.
       As for the CSO, Mr. E. explains when he first presents the info to Bennett and friends, "I was recently approached by a contingent of representatives from each branch of the United States Armed Forces to discuss the possibility of leading a project they're calling CSO, or 'Civilian Special Operations'." The idea was to put together a team of civilian experts "who possess the knowledge and training to accompany select members of special force units to accomplish missions that are considered taboo by the U.S. government". Further, "these missions are not expected to be militaristic in nature, which is specifically why it was decided men and women from the civilian sector should make up the majority of its membership".
       So, from being a "leave me alone" park ranger to a member of a specialized team of civilians heading into extremely volatile and unknown situations, Bennett's life takes quite a shift.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	11
First Appearance:	2014
Last Appearance:	2020


1			The Enigma Strain Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2014 Harvy Bennett is a park ranger enjoying his work in Yellowstone when an explosion takes the life of his partner. Investigating he learns of terrorists active in the park and a plan to unleash a deadly virus unless he and a beautiful doctor from the CDC can stop them.

2			The Amazon Code Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2016 The Amazon rainforest is a bit far away from his previous haunts of Yellowstone but Harvey Bennett heads there when evidence of the organization he is hunting shows they have operations there.

3			The Ice Chasm Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2016 Now in charge of a team out to take down Draconis Industries, Harvey Bennett must deal with that organization, a frozen wasteland, and an army of Chinese soldiers out to get their hands on the new technology.

4			The Jefferson Legacy Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2017 The Civilian Special Operations building is just about done when Harvey Bennett and team are asked to check into a murder and the theft of an artifact. The stolen item did not seem that important but the American Philosophical Society which called them in seems very upset. They also seem to be hiding something.

5			The Paradise Key Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2017 OceanTech Paradisum is a top of the line theme park and its opening is a grand event. The CEO is excited and wants to be sure everything goes perfectly, including security. He hires Harvey Bennett's CSO to check things out. Bennett and team find something going on beneath the surface, literally and figuratively.

5.5			The Icarus Effect Written by Nick Thacker, M. P. MacDougall Copyright: 2018 Book 1 of a prequel trilogy. "When tragedy strikes Harvey during a family camping trip, he does the only thing he knows how to do: he runs away. The Icarus Effect is a coming-of-age story set in the woods and backcountry of the US, following the saga of a young man who just wants to find his place in the world. He's alone, scared, and stubborn."

6			The Aryan Agenda Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2018 An old friend, Sarah Lindgren, contacts Harvey Bennett and the CSO to ask for help. Her father has been kidnapped and she needs their assistance. Giving it will pit them against neo-Nazis and a revived Aryan call for control.

6.5			The Severed Pines Written by Nick Thacker, Jim Heskett Copyright: 2018 Book 2 of a prequel trilogy. As a park ranger, Harvey Bennett did not come across dead human bodies very often. This one was a gruesome murder. He did not want to play detective but circumstances did not leave many alternatives.

7			The Book Of Bones Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2019 The Book of Bones was written in the times of Ancient Greece by Plato and depicts the rise and fall of the Atlantean nation. Powerful people want it and think Harvey Bennett and his team can get it for them. To force the issue, they kidnap one of his friends.

7.5			The Lethal Bones Written by Nick Thacker, Jim Heskett Copyright: 2019 A call from an old friend brought Harvey Bennett to Denver. There a strange woman makes him a proposition which, when he looks interested, makes him the target of hitmen. Things get worse when they also look to his family.

8			The Cain Conspiracy Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2019 Harvey Bennett and the CSO have a powerful enemy in Vincente Garza and his Ravenshadow. It is not a good thing Garza is still loose. Now in Peru whole villages are disappearing and Bennett is certain Garza is involved.

9			The Mendel Paradox Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2020 In Switzerland a research facility has for the past ten years been working miracles in the field of medicine but suddenly everything goes very wrong and people die. Harvey Bennett and the CSO are asked to look into what is causing the tragedies.

10			The Minoan Manifest Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2020 Something puzzling is happening on the continent of Antarctica and Dr. Sarah Lindgren is the person leading the US investigation. She asks for the help of her boy friend, Gareth Red and soon they and Harvey Bennett are in the deep south frozen waste.

11			The Napoleon Job Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2020 Since the era of Napoleon, a secret cabal has been striving for power. They have a new plan to achieve it and a weapon that is just getting more powerful. Harvey Bennett and his CSO team could pose a threat so the cabal decides to strike first.

NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES

Number of Stories:	1
First Appearance:	2021
Last Appearance:	2021


1			Phoenix Project, The Written by Nick Thacker Copyright: 2021 A plane crash near Harvey Bennett's Alaskan home draws him in to help any survivors but he soon begins to suspect that the pilot is not who he claims to be. And there is someone else out looking for the pilot, as well as what he was hauling.

MY COMMENTS

This is a series for those who like lots and lots, and lots and lots, of action. Poor Harvey Bennett does not seem to have much time to wash his socks after one dire mess is cleaned up before the next one falls in his lap. It's no wonder that the fellow missed his relatively calm life at a park ranger. Fresh air, serenity, good exercise. None one shooting at you or trying to blow you up. Too bad those days are long gone.
The prequels are even more fast-paced, IMHO, so I guess that guy was used to it.

GRADE

My Grade: B+

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