Season of the Witch by David L Golemon - Event Group Thriller 14

From the Book Blurb

The most secret agency inside the American government, Department 5656, otherwise known to a few in power as The Event Group, has finally encountered an entity they have no idea or plan on how to confront. With a past mystery over the strange disappearance of an old friend from its grave occupying the brilliant minds deep inside the underground desert complex, a strike against the very heart of the Group itself is underway. With roots going back to a desert battle in 2006, history has begun to repeat itself. The lives of many men and women of the Group are on the line as a mystical creature more powerful than any they have ever encountered throughout the long history of Department 5656, is determined to rid the world of these cataloguers of the planet’s hidden history through a means of bloody terror most sciences believed was mere legend.

Join Colonel Jack Collins and the rest of the Event Group as they face the deadliest challenge in all of human history and fight the battle of their lives. The only question remaining is—who will be left to tell the tale!

About the Author - David Lynn Golemon

He is the author of the till date 14 Event Group Thrillers, including this one and starting with Event, Ancients, Leviathan and Primeval among others. Legend, the second book in the series, was nominated for a RITA award for paranormal fiction. Golemon learned an early love of reading from his father, who told him that the written word, unlike other forms, allows readers to use their own minds, the greatest special effects machines of all—an idea Golemon still believes. The only thing he loves more than writing is research, especially historical research, and he sees the subtext of his Event novels as being that understanding history allows us to create a better future. Golemon grew up in Chino, California, and now makes his home in New York.

Season of the Witch - Event Group Thriller 14

This series of books right from the first has been a series that kept pushing outrageous assertations and has been able to bring the reader around with a solid explanation and while stretching the imagination the story always falls into the area of the plausible. Where David excels in this series is that he has ensured that loyal readers who follow the series are invested deeply in the characters. Sometimes for new readers who come into one of the books may not get into the same frame with the characters but the mutual interactions of the characters ensure that the reader feels comfortable with what they are doing and provides greater returns from the story.

This novel is also quite in the same ball park and the rationale put in the story is acceptable. The only thing that has bugged me with this story is that while the initial story was well paced with suitable details for all the new characters and a lot of time devoted to the villainous intents of the Russian's as well as the extreme Grey the supervillain of this piece; the last quarter of this book on many occasions seemed jumpy with a lot of details missing and somehow unsatisfactory. It almost seemed as if there was a deadline pressure to complete the story and as a reader I felt a loss of continuity and despite the fact that I have been a keen follower of the series. For new readers the jumps may be too wide. Some of the story points stretch the realms of imagination like the age of the Witch and how the Grey managed to fuel its survival for ten thousand years with its own body; and considering that it had its many acolytes, why did it need to have any alliance with the Russian, considering that its ruthlessness knew no bounds and power seemingly unlimited.

All the i's are dotted and the t's crossed but for a reader who has been following the series closely, the death of an important character from this story, the witch's death did not get much of a mention. Even the demise of the Grey was too easy considering the reams written about it's powers in the book. Considering that it was over water and survived ten millennia in space it could have dived deep to survive. Or were we to understand that such a powerful being was destroyed by its "ego".  Even the death of a principal character was short although it could have a bearing on subsequent books so is forgivable. Matchstick's role which was considered vital to this story and was a resurrection is also not woven well into the last few pages of the story.

All in all the story was magnificent as always and the challenges worth the efforts of the Event group but the ending was a little too quick. 

The story starts with a Russian rover exploring the dark side of the moon for more alien technology and discovering a ten thousand year old prison ship with a still alive Grey, a find that is of major significance for the power hungry committee which is holding the reins of Russia.

On the other hand we have a continuation from the previous book which ended with a cliffhanger where the body of Matchstick, the Green alien a friend of the Event group missing from his grave and looking like he walked away. 

As expected the team gets into action to find their friend and understand the dynamics of his disappearance. We have the easy banter of the team when they are moving around in search of links to the group that subsequently kidnaps Matchstick and a member of their team. Roping in another group arch-nemesis turned grudging friend Henri into the mix and we have a rollicking adventure in our hands and a story that leads us to the dawn of time and the legend of the fallen angel, Asmodius. The story achieves biblical proportions and holds the interest of the reader fueling imaginations. 

The Russian's hitting out at the group forms the other parts of the story. 

This is overall a good thriller and gives a good return on time invested. 

A recommended reading. 

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