Jon Land, a prolific author who has written numerous books in numerous series, began a series in the 1980s featuring an ex-military war hero named Blaine McCracken. Silly name aside, McCracken is a hero in the same vein as Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, with a little bit of James Bond and Indiana Jones thrown in, as well. Apparently the market for men's action-adventure was not nearly saturated enough back then, because Land went on to write eleven books in the McCracken series.

"The Alpha Deception" is actually the second book in the series, but it's the first I've read. Don't worry, though, because you probably don't need to read the first book to understand what's going on. While I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help but feel that Land took a "kitchen sink" approach to writing it. Basically, he threw a lot of stuff into it, some of which works, some of which didn't.

Without giving too much of the plot away, the book involves a particle beam weapon that can destroy entire cities from orbit, a rogue group of Soviet hardliners bent on destruction of the U.S.A., a precious and rare gem that may or may not have come from the lost continent of Atlantis, Hasidic Jew assassins, a sea monster, and a Native American named Johnny Wareagle who can talk to animal spirits (of course) and has the magical ability of sneaking into any office anywhere in the Pentagon.

Having just written that, I'm surprised that this is not a Thomas Pynchon novel.

This book is silly and ridiculous, but it's also harmless good fun. If you enjoy Clive Cussler, you'll probably this series by Land. action-adventure espionage maritime ...more8 s Nicholas GeorgeAuthor 1 book19

Land could have titled this book "No Kitchen Sink" because he threw everything else into it. A superhuman hero; stereotypical psychopathic, maniacal bad guys; the tragic murder of a loved one; the sexy counter-spy from the other side; incredible narrow escapes all over the world; a ridiculous, complex plot; constant, pulse-pounding action. So over-the-top that you lose interest. An obvious pitch to attract readers by promising them absolutely everything. Way, way, too much.2 s James Hein907 3

Enjoying re-reading this series. It hasn;t lost any of its original appeal. Good action and story.1 Wenzel Roessler667 6

Jam packed with every type of action you could think of, so that's a plus. Dialog leads a lot to be desire. The character of Wareagle is almost comical in how poorly he is portrayed, bordering on pure racist and making him out to be the most mystical War Machine of all time. But if you crazy action for Crazy Action sake this is for you. Proflover18

Ages pretty well for an older action/adventure book with politics, espionage and some technology elements. Not quite as good as the newer books in the series but well worth the read. Fred KleinAuthor 1 book2

A good read but way too many cliches including Casablanca, Atlantis, Star Trek, and others. T.W. Barton266 22

The second in the Blain McCracken series.

I've come to this series in a backward way. The first book of the series that I read was the 11th. That book I put in my top 5 so, I was ready to dig back into more.

If your asking why I jumped to the 2nd book and not the 1st, I can only say that I just picked one. It should be said that this is one of those rare series that you can really jump in anywhere and fully enjoy it without feeling confused through half the book. As with any series with recurring characters there is obviously a history built through each book and there are times when you sense that your not quiet getting the subtext of some things but as with skilled writers the author includes just the right words for fans and to feel the thread but not so much as to confuse new readers.

This book showed me the earlier version of McCrakenballs (I love that!) and Wareagle that helped me better understand them, especially some of the Native American mysticism of Wareagle.

This story revolves around a crazed Russian (How appropriate for the recent current events), spies, traitors, killers, Atlantis, massive shoot outs, the total inhalation of a town in the blink of an eye, and a deadly weapon capable of harnessing the power of the sun.

Early on there is a pivotal event that serves as the catalyst for the unleashing of Blaine.

That should be enough to whet your appetite.

P.S. I discovered a character that spans at least two different series from the author. The two couldn't be more different. The characters appears in this book and also the Strong series, a series that brings out a female Texas Ranger that is no joke. I highly recommend those books as well. Richard172 3

This book should have been good, I the series and the author but, it was a struggle for me to read and I was glad when it was over.
I've had a bad week and that may be the reason I didn't enjoy the book, I'm not going to read it again to find out.
I have read books that I can enjoy even on a bad day but, I'll give this one the benefit of my doubt and rate it 3 stars instead of 1. Julie651 17

I didn't realize when I picked this up to read that it was sci-fi, and not even very good sci-fi at that. I ended up skimming through to verify the story and action remained predictable (it did). Probably won't pick up another one of these.library-returned Michelle144 1 follower

What I love about Jon Land's books, is he keeps coming up with new scenarios, so we're never bored!
Another great Blaine McCracken and a nostalgia trip back to the 80's Lisa Crotty8

This was my first book with Blaine McCracken. Seems pretty cool, but I think Reacher could take him. Michele bookloverforever8,006 38

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