In northern Uganda, an American special forces team is decimated by a group of normally peaceful farmers. Video of the attack shows even women and children possessing almost supernatural speed and strength, consumed with a rage that makes them immune to pain, fear, and all but the most devastating injuries.
Covert-One's top operative, army microbiologist Colonel Jon Smith, is sent to investigate the attack and finds evidence of a parasitic infection that for centuries has been causing violent insanity and then going dormant. This time, though, it's different. The parasite had been purposely kept alive and crudely transmitted in acts of terrorism. Now the director of Iranian Intelligence is in Uganda trying to obtain this biological weapon to unleash it on the West.
Smith and his team are ambushed and cut off from all outside support just as they begin to suspect that forces much more powerful than the Iranians are in play-forces that can be traced to Washington itself.
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"LOVED this book. I was hesitant, not really liking someone else "riding the Ludlum train" like I thought Mr. Kyle Mills was, but I have to say, this was a very good book. Very "Robert Ludlum like". I now am going to go read the rest of Kyle Mills' books. Excellent!!!"
— Lisa (5 out of 5 stars)
“Don’t ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day.”
— Chicago Sun-Times“Filled with action, intrigue, and a plot that places the team in a spot they may never survive.”
— The Oklahoman“The fun…is finding out how our heroes will manage to overcome a new batch of seemingly insurmountable odds. Fast paced, exciting, and boasting prose that's easier on the eyes than much of Ludlum’s own appoint.”
— BooklistDon't ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day.
— Chicago Sun-TimesThe fun...[is] finding out how [our heroes] will manage to overcome a new batch of seemingly insurmountable odds. Fast paced, exciting, and boasting prose that's easier on the eyes than much of Ludlum's own appoint.
— BooklistPacked with all the classic Ludlum elements...the intricately engineered plot thunders forward at breakneck pace. Bottom Line: Perfectly executed.
— People on The Altman CodeWelcome to Robert Ludlum's world...fast pacing, tight plotting, international intrigue.
— Cleveland Plain Dealer" Not one of the better Covert One books. The whole effort seemed lackluster. I never really got into the characters and the name of the book didn't really seem to make sense. Every time the action tried to ramp up it seemed to drop off quickly. "
— Macjest, 2/15/2014" Another pretty good book in the continuing saga of Jon Smith and the Covert-One team. "
— Eric, 2/13/2014" Though they annoyingly continue to call these books "co-written" years after Ludlum's death, Kyle Mills is a great author in his own right, and this is a great addition to the Covert One series. "
— Julian, 2/7/2014" Jon Smith, Randi Russel, Marty Zellerbach, Peter Howell; i got hooked on them since the Hades Factor, guns, Africa, Iran, CIA, biological weapon, action, thrills, and more action...can't hardly put it down. an interesting read! "
— Ann, 2/1/2014" This was the first of the Covert One novels that I had read and really liked it. I will look for others in the series and read them and will probably look for other books by Kyle Mills. Definitely a good read. "
— Linda, 1/24/2014" Kept the Ludlum feel. Will continue to read book in the series. "
— Magnus, 1/17/2014" Good reintroduction to Jon Smith after a long personal break, though the number of unlikely saves calls for high level suspension of disbelief. Good pacing nonetheless, though the many threads might take a bit of effort to wrap your head around. "
— Sean, 1/16/2014" The first book I read in this popular series, and as I do with new authors, I read it large print so it'd go by quicker should I lose interest. "
— Jeff, 12/29/2013" Thoroughly enjoyable, Mr Kyle Mills did an excellent job with the characters originated by Ludlum. The story ran smoothly with some great twists and turns and developed nicely in the path I think fans will be pleased with. "
— Jan, 12/11/2013" I liked this book. Of course I like Kyle Mills' work so this fit right into my likes. "
— Lynette, 11/30/2013" Interesting read. But when compared to other covert one books, this borders around unreasonable at times. "
— Velu, 11/26/2013" hm. I don't know why I expected this to be a continuation of the Bourne stories. Well, it isn't -- not that anyone says it is, mind you. So once I got over that, it was a good story, lots of gore, yes, fast-moving, lots of twists and turns. And still, didn't grab me as the Bourne books had. "
— Johanne, 9/11/2013" Although this was written by Kyle Mills, it's hard to tell it was not Robert Ludlum. It has all the earmarks of a typical Ludlum action/adventure/conspiracy novel. Although the world can be saved by only this small group of people, it will be saved...maybe. "
— Richard, 9/2/2013" Well-written with plenty of thrills on the way. You have to swing with it a little but Kyle Mills has done a good job. Well worthy of having the Robert Ludlum name on the cover. But it's still a load of bunkum! "
— Chris, 8/30/2013" An exciting tale of good people gone wrong and bad people gone totally evil. "
— Thomas, 8/2/2013" Robert Ludlem and Kyle Mills - thriller every page turn and the scary thing is that everything written could be happening any where on the Earth. This was a book you read all night until finished - thank you again for the thrills and excitement. "
— Lynn, 5/30/2013" An American Special Forces team is sent to Uganda to eliminate the threat of villagers gone mad, and posessing super strength. Many people liked this book, but it was just not for me. "
— Janice, 12/20/2012" Welcome back Jon Smith and Covert-One. About time Mills took part in Ludlum's legacy "
— Paul, 12/12/2012" Great read, found new author. "
— Dick, 7/1/2012" Typical page burner, Pretty good read, but nothing spectacular. "
— John, 5/15/2012" Awesome story! Great action loved it. "
— Amaya, 10/17/2011Kyle Mills is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including The Ares Decision in Robert Ludlum’s Covert-One series. His other works include The Immortalist, Fade, Darkness Falls, Lords of Corruption, and Rising Phoenix, among others. He lives in Wyoming.
Jeff Woodman is an actor and narrator. He is a winner of the prestigious Audie Award and a six-time finalist. He has received twenty Earphones Awards and was named the 2008 Best Voice in Fiction & Classics, as well as one of the Fifty Greatest Voices of the Century by AudioFile magazine. As an actor, he originated the title role in Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin and won the S. F. Critics’ Circle Award for his performance in An Ideal Husband. In addition to numerous theater credits on and off Broadway, his television work includes Sex and the City, Law & Order, and Cosby.