Book Review: SEAL Team Six - Hunt the Fox by Don Mann

 

The gripping fifth instalment in the series written by former United States Navy SEAL Don Mann (with assistance from author Ralph Pezzullo) finds Chief Warrant Officer Tom Crocker and his team of highly-trained SEALs on a dangerous mission inside Syria to retrieve canisters of Sarin gas that has been earmarked for terrorist use. The problem is that Syria is being ripped apart by civil war, with various different factions engaged in bloody conflict.

In the midst of the vicious fighting, Crocker and his squad – including returning favourites Mancini and Akil – must infiltrate a Syrian Air Force Base to snatch up the canisters, and get them back across the border and into Turkey. It isn’t an easy mission, with a war taking place in and around them, not to mention the arrival of a heavily pregnant girl, the partner of one of the locals helping Crocker’s squad out with intelligence. Crocker, in his guise as a Canadian medic volunteering in the troubled country, also has a run in with a very influential ISIS leader codenamed The Fox.

Making matters worse is Crocker’s home life: it’s unravelling, and he faces the end of another marriage because of the stress his job put on relationships. Being a former SEAL himself, Mann has first-hand knowledge of this sort of thing, and it makes me wonder how much of what he writes about Crocker’s former missions and personal life troubles is closer to non-fiction than fiction. Reading these fast-paced novels by a guy who’s been there and done that makes it even more realistic.

The mission into Syria takes up most of the book, but it’s only after Crocker and his men get the sarin gas canisters back into friendly hands – but not for very long. There is a double cross, one of the SEALs is badly injured, and suddenly the threat is real again. Terrorists have managed to reclaim the gas and overrun a Disney cruise ship, threatening to unleash the gas on the thousands of passengers if their demands are not met by the White House.

Not surprisingly, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue isn’t keen to bargain with the terrorists, so Crocker’s team, down a man and looking for redemption, go in. Mann doesn’t waste much time with convoluted storylines or plot development. Like his previous novels, Hunt the Fox moves at a rapid pace, and really clicks into gear in the last thirty pages, as the overall scope of the story broadens to include a lot of families at risk on the cruise ship.

The SEAL incursion onto the cruise ship is hold-your-breath stuff, even though you know pretty much how it’s going to end. Crocker saves the day, the bad guys all die, and most of the good guys get to live on and hopefully prosper. Job done, Crocker heads home to smooth out his troublesome home life, the team not seeking any credit for what they have achieved.

In a literary universe where there are dozens of similar characters, Tom Crocker stands out, and a lot of that is to do with the continual struggle he has between his professional life and what’s going on at home. Rather than being a bland action hero, James Bond-style, he’s a guy with real world issues who does a very difficult and dangerous job. He gets more and more interesting with every book, and the supporting cast, particularly his constant offsiders Akil and Mancini, are also great. The back-and-forth banter between the trio is hilarious at times.

I devoured this book. Mann’s storytelling skill increases with each new instalment, and is always very relevant, this time dealing with ISIS and the troubles in Syria. These are fictional stories ripped from real-world headlines.

I’m already excited for the next Tom Crocker adventure. Here’s hoping it isn’t a long wait!