Gorgon: Alex Hunter 5

I love this character. Though I hated what Beck "did" to him in the Bigfoot novel. He is bringing the character back to being someone who is more real. OK, ok, he is super strong [more about that], he is fast and he is sympathetic and he is aware that he has to control his "inner beast."There is a century worth of philosophical discussion possibilities in the book. Kudos.Beck created two "Arcadians." One is a bio construct and the other is a Russian. The Russian is the personification of Arcadian's "beast." He has no conscience, no empathy, no remorse, no compassion, nothing that remotely approaches humanity. He is, in fact, the reality of a social psychopath without any of the good "parts". He is just evil and has no concept of morality or humanity. A character who deserves anything bad that happens. And it does and it is so justified.It caused me to roll my eyes that the Russian was almost as strong as Arcadian and got the "skeleton" by just sending in a request with a forged digital signature. If Arcadian is so strong, yet he can be out matched by a metal skeleton on a regular person, why bother to build an Arcadian, just build a lot of the metal bio skeletons and work to make the constructs invincible.I loved the mythology, the cave and the resulting "investigation." I loved the entire thing, it would make a great movie.Unfortunately I see a really bad road ahead for Arcadian. And that is his son and what the Russians have done with regard to the scientist who, I am ashamed to say, deserves what the Russians are doing to him. I would like to feel sorry for him, but what he did to Arcadian passed humanity a long time back. Does no one take moral responsibility for what they do?I laughed when the Russians thought that the Gorgon was a "secret weapon" that needed to be brought to Russia for "back engineering" so that Russia could have the weapon. I wondered how that was gonna work out for them. Not well, it would seem.I was disgusted with the idea that the Russians were going to try and build their own Arcadian because, after all, they have thousands of "volunteers in the Gulag."Well, regardless, Beck, if he will permit me, has put the series back on the road to investigating things that are out there but no one really wants to deal with until it shows up and slaps them upside the head.S[POILER ALERTAnd, this is almost a "kitchen sink" novel. That is my designation for a book that out of no where brings in aliens. And if you were starting to feel sympathy for the Gorgon, Beck makes sure that is a very short lived scenario.Kudos to Mr. Beck.It was a fun, fast read. There were a lot of really good bits, there were interesting characters, really "neat" bad guys, really good, guys and I was sorry when some of them were lost.I like the scenarios, the history and the "oh, oh, what do we have here" bits.A lot of fun, perfect for summer.

GORGON is the latest in Greig Beck's "Alex Hunter" novels featuring the eponymous super soldier who seems to grow stronger, more powerful and to gain more superhuman abilities with each novel. In this outing, Alex, who has survived tremendous physical and psychological insult in the last two entries (THIS GREEN HELL and BLACK MOUNTAIN) is finally healed and returns as leader of Hammerson's elite HAWC unit. There is trouble in Turkey where an antiquities thief has loosed a deadly entity that turns anyone who looks at it to stone. Alex and the HAWC's mission is to figure out what it is and how to stop it before it reaches Turkish and Greek population centers and kills millions. All this is complicated by the appearance of Uli Borshov, Alex's Russian counterpart who once shot Alex in the head, leaving him for dead but triggering some of the changes that turned Alex into the Arcadian.GORGON is a fun, easy read. One should probably read the other Alex Hunter novels, in sequence first, to get the full backstory, but also to see how Alex has changed over the course of the novels, growing more and more powerful with each entry. Beck excels in pacing, and as in all of his novels, things get faster and tighter and the excitement builds over the latter quarter of the novel so much that it is almost impossible to put the book down.As in the other Alex Hunter novels, Beck uses matters of historical record, pseudo-scientific tidbits and his own fertile imagination to fashion an original story that captivates. Beck is fond of cryptobiology and xenobiology, which feature prominently in GORGON as well as all the other Alex Hunter entries. This makes these stories a novel blend of sci-fi and military adventure.I do have a few bones to pick, however. The science in this one is unusually weak and there are several rather large errors in the descriptions of the eye and visual system, the nervous system and how exoskeletons like the MECH suits (which really exist, although not quite so powerful as in the book) are controlled by the user. And truth be told, I think I liked Alex a little better when he was a little less superman-like. Finally, the final showdown between Borshov and Alex, after all this time, was very anticlimactic.Not the strongest entry in the series but nevertheless, still a fun read. If you have read the other Alex Hunter novels, I don't see how you can not read this one. And I'll be around for the next one.Recommended.J.M. Tepper

OK. I love the series, the characters and the story so far.This book started off great and the premise worked really well. It is presented and developed with style. Then at a certain point he lost the plot on this one. For 2/3 of the book the protagonist is virtually indestructible. Every armament including anti-tank rounds has no effect. And then by the end of the book the hero is able to hurt the monster with his bare hands. It just didn't stack up. And the ending is a little tired as well. Don't want to give it away so I won't do any details, but there could have been a better way to win (not really a spoiler saying he wins).All in all it is still a good read and well worth it. The series is great (I'm finishing book 7 now). Just a small blip in an otherwise great series.

There are not that many rules when you read a Greig Beck book. First don't read them late at night, if youdo, double check if you locked the doors and the windows. Greig and his fellow writer Ben Hammott havethat effect on me. Secondly realise that several places on the planet become a go never again area. I willnever again sit down to read the papers, say in an old mine, the jungle, the woods or Antarctica (i admit a little bit rare) And now Turkey and Crete are spoiled also. To get back to this book, well i liked it more than Black Mountain. Why? well Alex was at his best, enhanced yes, but still human. In the mountains, he is overwhelmed by his dark alter ego and turns into more beast than man. In Gorgon, he returns to his oldself with the help of friends. As if the alien entities aren't enough, his old nemesis Borshov reappears tofinish the Arcadian. All in all one of the better Alex Hunters until now.

I tried this Alex Hunter books based on the reviews but I found I is quite boring and superficial. The plot, such as there was, really did not excite. The supernatural creature (no spoiler here) seemed to wipe out swathes of people and yet it never made the news, Twitter or any social media? It was all a bit comic book. The protagonists and antagonists seemed invincible except against each other. I just could not careless about Alex. Probably won't buy another.

I love the series, and this one though was one of the best in it, definitely the best since This Green Hell. Arcadian has been pitted against a seemingly unstoppable foe from Greek Mythology. Did enjoy the first half more than the second- just liked the helplessness of the situation for people against the Gorgon.

Another great effort from Greig Beck. For those who have read the series before then expect the same mix of action, adventure & violence. The plot taken at face value is completely bonkers with Gorgons roaming the earth but somehow Greig Beck gets away with it. My only criticism of the book was the fact you couldn't look at the Gorgon via a tv screen but could if a computer built a picture up. Surely they are the same thing!!! However it's a minor point and didn't distract.Looking forward to the next in the series.