Brad Thor’s latest thriller, Rising Tiger, is as patriotic as The Fourth of July and just as full of crafted spectacle as the pyrotechnic wonders created for our national celebrations. As Brad Thor fans have come to expect, Rising Tiger grips your imagination from the beginning and doesn’t turn loose until the last page. Your summer at the beach is in good hands with this latest book from a master of the Thriller — Rising Tiger releases today.
Thor told Townhall that, he’s “trying to entertain people…I’m not writing a training manual…a book on politics, I’m trying to write a good, fun thriller.” Beyond that, he sees a real opportunity to instill an “appreciation for democracy and our commitment to taking care of each other and protecting our republic.” Ultimately, Thor hopes to help readers realize, “how blessed and fortunate we are to be living in this country.”
But, Rising Tiger isn’t a vapid summer read, moribund with torture porn or gear worship. Thor weaves thoughtful geo-political analysis within the powerful forward motion of the classic thriller narrative. He strikes the perfect balance between entertainment and substance, creating a summer read that is both fun and worthwhile.
RISING TIGER arrives in just two days! Looking for your very own signed copy? @PoisonedPen is ready to take care of you. Check this out: https://t.co/7lTHo70BRc pic.twitter.com/f33zGUJnTO
— Brad Thor (@BradThor) July 3, 2022
Scott Harvath, Thor’s perennial protagonist, finds himself threading the needle between the tectonic forces driving China and India toward open conflict. The book opens with a tableau of barbarity ripped from actual headlines. Chinese and Indian forces clash in the frigid Himalayas, wielding weapons from medieval nightmares.
Rising Tiger is a fascinating look into global, political dynamics that is barely fictional. And Harvath plies his deadly trade across multiple continents in a cloak-and-dagger pursuit of an accomplished assassin — a consummate professional who has murdered a pivotal figure and friend of Harvath. Harvath’s bread and butter brand of meting out justice with bullets and explosives come into conflict with cutting-edge weapons that populate today’s asymmetrical battlefield.
But it’s not just high-tech weapons Harvath must confront, but the oldest and most dangerous weapon known to man — a beautiful, highly skilled female operative. This isn’t just a dude book, this thriller has an abundant depth of developed female characters that earn their place in the spotlight alongside the legendary Scot Harvath — no social justice stand-ins here.
Thor has created feminine characters that break the mold but remain true to their nature and demonstrate the innate power of genuine femininity. Far from the “lesser sex”, Thor portrays women in all their complexity — powerful, loyal, capable, intelligent, and, at times, treacherous and lethal. His female protagonists are accurate and worthy of emulation.
Thor’s exploration of counterintuitive characters also extends to people with physical challenges. A primordial dwarf features in the narrative and plays a pivotal role. Though Rising Tiger isn’t social commentary, these characters develop naturally from Thor’s innate respect for patriotic and noble characters, regardless of their physical attributes. There’s something here for everyone. This is certainly in keeping with Thor’s desire to reach and encourage as many people as possible with the positive message of duty, honor, and country.
However, in real life, pessimism abounds, and not without good reason. The Biden administration is completely out to lunch and skyrocketing fuel prices are actual policy. We’re weaker and diminished in ways we would have never dreamed of two years ago. Consumer goods are still in short supply, inflation will soon become stagflation — a state of inflation in conjunction with a shrinking economy. The looming stagflationary economic environment reveals the false claims of the Biden administration; inflation is not the result of an overheated economy and certainly isn’t the result of robust economic expansion. It’s the product of abysmal monetary policy — a big government debacle.
But, Thor provides a respite from all the thorny problems that have arisen during the Biden administration. Rising Tiger envisions a robust America guided by principled leaders who wisely pursue a liberty-first agenda. Thor posits a clever alliance to counter China’s “roads and bridges initiative” — its expansionist policy designed to indenture countries like Pakistan. If NATO has proven to be an effective coalition in Europe, why not something similar in Asia? This sounds like something out of Red Cell, and Thor constructs a creative narrative around this, as yet, fictional initiative.
In Rising Tiger, Thor creates a compelling story without getting bogged down in extraneous detail or droning about policy ephemera. Thor told Townhall, “You want a certain amount of specificity, but you don’t want to overdo it.” For Thor, the question writers need to ask themselves is, “is this driving the narrative forward? Is it keeping the energy moving? It takes a lot of self-disciple to make sure the details…feed the pace.”
The pace in Rising Tiger is blistering. It’s a can’t-put-it-down kind of book. Thor is very successful at creating living, breathing characters that compel you to care. You even feel twinges of sympathy for those foolish enough to come between Harvath and the completion of his mission. The bad guys have dimensions and are, therefore, true to life.
Everyone will be talking about Rising Tiger over the summer. Don’t miss out on the thrill and suspense, because in a couple of weeks, your friends will be spoiling the end for you. Even the title contains a mystery — but, let’s leave that morsel for the ending chapters.
Much like the new Top Gun movie, Rising Tiger is about an ascending America, about being proud of our heritage — the liberty bequeathed to us by the sacrifice of patriots who have gone before. Harvath is an ideal and ideals are good things. They push us forward to become more than we were before we knew them. He’s an exemplar of duty and responsibility. We find great meaning in serving something beyond ourselves.
So, pick up a cop of Rising Tiger and prepare to be entertained, informed, and inspired.
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