Drone by Mike Maden

Release Date: October 22, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Adult

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Newly elected President Margaret Myers has upset a lot of the political players on Capitol Hill by putting a spending freeze into effect and bringing the armed forces home. Not long into her term, the country's resolve is tested by what seems to be random acts of violence that hit too close to home. Fighting to keep the upper hand will require the services of Troy Pearce, former CIA operative and current CEO of Pearce Systems.

But Troy got out of the government business for more reasons than he cares to remember. When the President comes calling, he must decide whether to refuse her offer and let the country descend into chaos or get back into the saddle to take out the bad guys.

Review:
Having won this book in a free giveaway at Goodreads, I was a little concerned that a lot of the subject matter would be too much for me to understand. I'm not the most educated person when it comes to politics and global industries. But in his debut novel, Mike Maden does a wonderful job of laying out all the information in a way that makes sense to someone like myself and yet still entertain veteran readers of the political/spy-thriller genres.

There is a lot going on within the pages of this book. Not only is America affected by the actions being taken in the book, but the countries all around the world. In the case of this book, there is a definite ripple affect from the moment the first bullet flies until the last word is spoken. It's just a matter of which side you want to find yourself on. Maden was able to weave so many political topics into a solid tapestry of a book without taking away any of the serious impacts they could have on the country at large.

I really liked the way the characters came to life in the story. They weren't just dropped into the reader's lap and left there. Each of the major players and a few of the minor ones were given enough time and coverage to fool the reader into thinking that these are real players affecting the world around us. With each twist or hint of intrigue, the story shifted and took off into another direction which kept the pace moving.

Overall, I think this book is a great read. It drew me into its grasp about five pages in and didn't let me go until the very end. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of a certain list of characters because there are many issues left to settle. Great action sequences, believable characters and a sophisticated yet layman-like way of looking at the big political issues all add up to a pretty great way to spend a few late nights.

Drone by Mike Maden is currently available in either hardback or Kindle forms. You can purchase your copy from Amazon by clicking on the provided link.
Drone by Mike Maden