The Pentagon Files

Rezensionen / Stimmen

With The Pentagon Files, Ethan Ross returns to the Jack Copeland
series with a gripping, tightly woven thriller that shoves Copeland deeper into
the shadows of state power and takes him to the edges of experimental science.
Known for his ability to merge sharp political insight with cinematic
storytelling, Ross once again proves his skill in crafting high-stakes
narratives that remain grounded in real-world plausibility.



This latest instalment sees former CIA operative Jack Copeland
navigating one of his most dangerous missions yet - not against a known enemy
now, but rather against the hidden machinery of his own government. Ross
doesn't reintroduce Copeland so much as fill him out, making him more
accessible and uncovering some of the inner conflicts that have always made the
character compelling. Copeland is a man trained to follow orders. However, here
he sees that some orders can and do enable hellishness on a level he's not seen
before.



Project
Redline is the novel's central menace. It is a covert eyes-only military
initiative aimed at engineering human beings who can perform beyond the normal
limits of mind and body. These are the 'super-soldiers', who have been
genetically enhanced through groundbreaking biotech protocols and genetic
manipulation are not merely weapons. Instead, they are horrifying proof of a
disturbing new arms race.



Ross
deftly explores how the human body becomes a battlefield, manipulated by
governments eager to erase the unpredictability and vulnerability of ordinary
soldiers. The Redline subjects are formidable, tragic-and in some cases,
utterly monstrous.



What
makes this element of the tale so enthralling is how Ross treats the threat
outlined: not as pure science fiction, but as a plausible next step in the
evolution of warfare. The biological enhancements are terrifyingly realistic
yet fascinating.



The
super-soldiers have an unnaturally accelerated reflexes, high pain tolerance and
cognitive reduction to ensure that their masters have total control. What makes
it more alarming (and apt) is that this project has been backed by decades of highly
classified research funded by black budgets, which the ordinary person would
never know existed. There's nothing of the comic-book villain about these
super-soldiers. To the contrary, they are what happens when you push scientific
ambition too far and discard any ethical constraints.



The experienced and courageous investigative journalist, Maya Keller, occupies
a central role in this story. Her intelligence, resilience, and sense of moral lucidity
act as a vital counterbalance to Copeland's trained and planned detachment.
Their dynamic, centred on mutual trust and professional acknowledgement, gives
the novel its emotional centre.



Ross's prose is never overwrought. He writes with a crisp and confident
hand pacing the plot with precision. In this way, he never sacrifices nuance,
but keeps the reader spellbound. The story features the Pentagon's underground
archives, shadowy European backstreets, and ex-directory black sites. Because
of this, The Pentagon Files manages to feel concurrently sprawling and controlled.



Once again the reader is immersed in a pacy tale in the Copeland series
which asks us to consider uncomfortable questions about the use of technology,
bioweapons and science to fulfil governmental agendas. In so doing, it also reveals
the cost of silence. We see the alarming and dangerous ease with which
democratic oversight can be overridden in the name of progress. Ethan Ross
doesn't just write thrillers - he writes warnings. And this one lands with impact.
What's more, Ross is skilled at homing in on the most relevant issues facing
the world today, in terms of governmental manipulation and encroachments on the
freedoms most people take for granted.



Colleen
Figg -Professional freelance editor and reviewer