The King of Fear

A Garrett Reilly Thriller, Book 2

By: Drew Chapman

Narrated by: George Newbern

The blistering sequel to The Ascendant: an action-packed thriller starring a bond trader turned antihero. Unlikely patriot Garrett Reilly can identify threats against America from both inside and outside the nation's borders. But now the whole world economy is at risk....

Garrett Reilly sees what others do not: numbers, patterns, a nation on the brink of collapse. His unique talents saved countries from falling into a world war in The Ascendant. But it also made him a marked man - marked by terrorist groups; marked by the US government.

In The King of Fear, Garrett recognizes a string of events that could lead to economic Armageddon in the US: banks closing, grocery shelves lying empty, the nation's currency rendered worthless. Total chaos could engulf society within a matter of days. Garrett and the Ascendant team reunite to face enemies on all sides: a wounded Russia bent on keeping its crumbling empire in place, a cyber genius fixated on Garrett, a femme fatale willing to do anything to establish a new world order. In the midst of this, Garrett must also confront his own demons: his class rage, growing paranoia, and a dependency that he cannot seem to shake. After all, it takes only one card to make the whole house fall....

A hero with complete disregard for rules and boundaries, Drew Chapman's rogue genius gives readers "a wild ride through the headlines of our times" (Kirkus Reviews on The Ascendant), and this sequel will not disappoint.

©2016 Andrew Chapman. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

A good "read"

fast paced, engaging, with short chapters so I can listen while driving on short trips.

As Good As Before, And That's Saying Something

Would you consider the audio edition of The King of Fear to be better than the print version?

Liking both the writer and the narrator quite well, I didn't stop for the print.

What other book might you compare The King of Fear to and why?

Very good storytellers are always only like themselves. But if I reached for a similarly clever expertise, the writer who comes to mind first is Daniel Suarez.

Which character – as performed by George Newbern – was your favorite?

I liked every one of them. Good character writing always results in a balanced ensemble, and so does good narration.The combination of Chapman and Newbern was a seamless and flowing experience among all the different characters, just as every audiobook should be. But isn't.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I don't answer spoiler questions- and even a few people answering this one could easily ruin the most important scenes in the book for many readers.

Any additional comments?

Wish I could write an enthusiastic review just by pointing and waving very energetically toward the title. That way there's no danger of giving away main story lines, salient details, great reversals, or sly and subtle reveals.But words are required, so here goes. First of all, if you haven't read Drew Chapman's first Garrett Riley book, of course start there. You already know this new book is an up-to-date thriller about financial terrorism. Are you bored yet- at the very thought of listening to a thriller based on a financial system? I might have been, but others gave the first book in this series very good reviews. And something about the way reviewers praised its virtues caught my eye. So I tried it and was more or less instantly captivated. This one is also hugely enjoyable-- for a certain percentage of minds anyway. If you like very intelligent writing, fascinating information delivered in interesting ways, and humor and originality in your characters and stories, here it is. All in all, I think it is among the best in its general category.

Naturally, opinions will differ- that's the point. There has never been a book that didn't generate a range of different experiences in the various minds of readers. This one's mine.

Worthwhile read

Very interesting ideas, though occasionally tedious. I did enjoy it and would recommend it to those who live in an information world.

Good read. .

Always enjoy Garrett Reilly, so good at what he does. The accompanying crew. Techy thriller. More. More. More.

Hard to tell the good from the bad or the bad from the good.

Was it or is it possible to manipulate the system. Possible I’d say. Made me think. Lagged a bit in the middle but picked me up till the end. I would have taken the job.

A huge disappointment

After reading Drew Chapman's first book, The Ascendant, I had eagerly awaited the sequel. Well, I could not have been more disappointed. The first few minutes say it all (not a spoiler, really, since it's the first thing that happens): a prominent figure is murdered and the murderer blurts out that our protagonist made her do it right before taking her own life. FOR SOME BIZARRE REASON, this is deemed enough reason for an FBI agent to risk her career by warning our protagonist to RUN because they're coming to arrest him. And run he does. ARREST HIM??? Seriously? Because a deranged woman blurted out his name?!!! Wouldn't they merely want to QUESTION him?....But, no, our protagonist runs. So crazy, lazy plotting! I figured I'd ignore this stupid start because I had full faith that Mr. Chapman would get the story going ANY MINUTE NOW. But, no, the book continued with the crazy plot full of coincidences and with NONE of the inventiveness that made you ignore the few holes in the plot of The Ascendant. (Here, the holes overwhelm the story.) There is absolutely no character development either. The author assumes you know the characters from the first novel...and adds nothing to them as people in King Fear. In fact, the characters act out of character in many instances. A total fail, as far as I am concerned. IF there is a third novel in this series, I'll make sure to wait and read other people's reviews first. I gave King Fear two starts simply because I finished it (although I probably would not have done so had I not read the author's first book...I kept hoping this one would get better right up to the end).