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CRAIG ARCHER

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Full Name: Craig Archer
Series Name: The Division
Nationality: New Zealander
Organization: The Division
Occupation Agent

Creator: Angus McLean
Time Span: 2015 - 2020

ABOUT THE SERIES

Craig Archer is an agent with the Division.

The fuller though unofficial title of this organization is the Special Operations Division. Officially it "carried the fairly non-descript title of Division 5" operating out of the eighth floor of the headquarters for the New Zealand government agency it was a part of - The Security Intelligence Service. We are told in our introduction to the group that for many years the SIS "had never been a major player in the intelligence scene, but with the opening of borders had come more pressure from international partners to get involved". Now when it had to take an action but needed it to remain hush-hush, the SIS would pass the assignment to Division 5, aka the Division.

The collection of recorded adventures are labeled by the chronicler as 'The Division Series' and there are definitely other operatives in the Division which play major roles in those missions. Archer was chosen here to be the focal point because he is the lead agent in three of the five assignments and has a major role in a fourth and a smaller one in a fifth. Other agents who see action are Jack Travis, his son Brad Travis, and Rob Moore.

Archer comes to the Division by way of a lengthy time in New Zealand's SAS with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as other countries in Asia, such as Indonesia, where matters of importance to New Zealand required violent resolution. Archer was especially good at such matters. After leaving the SAS as the most experienced and most decorated soldier in his Unit, Archer spent a period of time in the private sector where men of his talents made a lot more money. But when an offer from a former member of the SAS to join the Division, Archer was more than ready.

In addition to Archer's impressive skills as a soldier and then with the Division as a black-ops agent, Archer has considerable language skills and is able to speak more than passable "Arabic, Bosnian, and Tetum [spoken on the island of Timor], along with a bit of French and Russian".

BOOKS

Number of Books:5
First Appearance:2015
Last Appearance:2020

1 Smoke and Mirrors Smoke and Mirrors
Written by Angus McLean
Copyright: 2015

"A simple snatch and grab operation leaves a trail of dead bodies behind and sets a ruthless Saudi terrorist on the run. Haunted by the ghosts of his past and blamed for the botched operation, deniable intelligence operator Craig Archer is thrown headlong into an adventure he could have lived without-and may not live through. Drafted to the black ops unit of the SIS, known as The Division, he finds himself chasing shadows as he hunts the escaped Saudi moneyman, a former IRA bombmaker and a possible traitor in the Service."
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2 Call to Arms Call to Arms
Written by Angus McLean
Copyright: 2015

"A $20 million gold bullion heist executed with military precision. A Special Tactics team is decimated and the streets of downtown Wellington are left littered with dead bodies. A disgraced spy known as The Pastor is caught out in a weapons deal with a ruthless Somali warlord. A shadowy puppet master is pulling the strings of a brutal outlaw motorcycle gang. The cops are out-gunned and bound by rules. The Government’s ultra-secret black ops unit known as The Division are deployed to stop the carnage. "
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3 The Shadow Dancers The Shadow Dancers
Written by Angus McLean
Copyright: 2016

"A politician’s daughter goes missing in Turkey, as Russia bombs neighboring Syria and chaos explodes throughout the Middle East. Rob Moore of Division 5 is sent from London to find her, but he’s a man with his own problems. Racked with self-doubt and facing middle age, former Special Forces operator Moore is on a downward slide of self-destruction and his career is about to implode. He’s the last man who should be diving into a powder keg right now, but it may just be his last shot at redemption-if he makes it out alive."
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4 The Berlin Conspiracy The Berlin Conspiracy
Written by Angus McLean
Copyright: 2018

"A plane hijacking above Los Angeles sets Archer on the trail of a terrorist mastermind. The CIA want him. The Germans and Brits want him. But The Division are after him. Berlin is in the grip of nationalist uprising against immigrants, and tensions are running high. The Germans don’t want a foreign agent on their patch, but a spectacular is planned and Berlin is the target. Archer will stop at anything to prevent innocents being killed, even if it means crossing borders and breaking laws."
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5 No Second Chance No Second Chance
Written by Angus McLean
Copyright: 2020

"The Five Eyes spy network is crumbling and turning on each other, threatening the stability of the Western intelligence world. Terrorist-for-hire Viktor Kozlowski is on the loose, and Archer is paying a hefty price. Heartbroken, ashamed and about to be pushed out of the Service, he is in a downward spiral. Until the slimmest of leads presents itself. A hacker, an activist group, the world's most wanted man. And an operator with vengeance on his mind."
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MY COMMENTS

It is expected, at least by me, that when the main character of a series is involved in black-ops, there is going to be a lot of military action - usually far more than anything really spy-related. That is certainly the case with this series and when I am in the mood for tons of action and a lot of things blowing up and bad guys getting their just desserts, a series as well written as this one definitely fills the bill.

The author/publisher considers this series about the Division, not just about Craig Archer, and most readers likely would agree, as do I, sort of. But then again, I liked Archer with all his flaws and enjoyed these four books.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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