I really wanted to enjoy Brad Taylor’s books. Alas.
He is the best-selling author of the Pike Logan series of action/adventure/political thrillers.
He is a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces including eight years with Delta Force. He retired in 2010.
“I try to make (my books) as realistic as I can,” he said in a Library Speakers Consortium online mid-April interview. He is a good-looking man with loads of charisma who lives in Charleston, S.C., with his wife and two daughters.
Before he left the military he taught at The Citadel. He found he had a lot of extra time on his hands.
“I told my wife that I was going to write a book,” he said. “She said: ‘Whatever.’ ” (Note: Now she is his enthusiastic first reader.)
His books are heavy on geopolitics and international struggles. They include the strategic, tactical, and operational details of an imaginary Delta Force. There’s less focus on character development and narrative flow.
“I never set out to be a writer,” he said. “I never knew I would write one book, much less 20.”
It took me a long time to read the book I picked up, “Dead Man’s Hand,” (HarperCollins, 2024) because I found it dense, confusing, and ultimately boring because I couldn’t follow a coherent plot. Then I picked up another of Taylor’s, “Into the Gray Zone,” (HarperCollins, 2025) and found it a little easier to follow. But still not great.
I’ve been reading books for a long time and have rarely been so stumped. I cannot tell you why this author is a best-seller. I think he must appeal to a large niche audience made up of people who are intrigued by current geopolitical events and like to see someone – even a fictional someone — cut through the military red tape to solve problems.
His latest book is “Shadow Strike” and the plot involves an assassination attempt on the Israeli prime minister.
Taylor was asked if a new reader can be expected to jump in and follow the action in book No. 20 without reading any of the previous Pike Logan adventures.
“All the books stand alone,” said Taylor. He said it’s difficult to keep the readers who have been following him for years as engaged as a new reader:
“It’s a very, very hard thing to do.”
And in my experience the books in this series do not stand alone. I was half-way through “Dead Man’s Hand” when I realized Pike was married to Jennifer, another member of his team.
The next adventure puts Pike Logan and his off-the-books team in North Korea. OK, that sounds like it has potential, too.
But I wish Taylor, who writes about one book a year, would take some time off and slow down a little. He already has a formula for success but could be so much better.
I never would have read a Brad Taylor book had I not been introduced to him via the Library Speakers Consortium. Even though I don’t love his work, I am thankful that the consortium features a very wide spectrum of writers from Philippa Gregory (historical fiction) to Michael Perry (small town memoirist) all available on Zoom. And who knows? I might return to Pike Logan when he appears in book No. 25.
The Library Speakers Consortium is a network of over 500 libraries that provides live, virtual talks with bestselling authors and experts. The next two Library Speakers Consortium talks will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, featuring Marjan Kamali, author of “On Courage, Turmoil, and the Transformative Power of Love,” and at noon on Tuesday, May 12, featuring Vivienne Ming, author of “How to Robot-Proof Your Kids (and Yourself).” Click here to access past event recordings or to see the list of upcoming author talks.
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