BOOK REVIEW: Primal Origin by Jack Silkstone

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If you’re hunting for a rapid-fire action-adventure story that’s more enjoyable than popping terrorist skulls with a .50 cal, then Primal: Origin will be your literary cup of gunpowder. Penned by Jack Silkstone, one of the rising stars in the resurgence of the “guns ‘n’ guts” genre, this novella introduces the premise behind his popular Primal series; a trio of counter-terrorist operators, funded by a Middle Eastern billionaire, form a covert organization that can wage war against evildoers without worrying about government interference or bureaucratic bullshit. Unlimited resources, cutting-edge technology, no rules other than a sense of justice delivered by bucketfuls of bullets … sure, it’s all testosteronic fantasy, but hot damn if it ain’t a full clip of cocked, locked and ready to rock fun.

As an intelligence and covert operations specialist with real field time, Silkstone brings a “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” verisimilitude to this tale, albeit with all elements cranked to the max. With the salty banter between the warriors to the gnarly weapons to the redline-revving car chases and autofire action sequences, Primal: Origin hearkens back to the halcyon days of men’s adventure fiction, readily bringing to mind such classics as Phoenix Force and Able Team as well as more obscure titles such as Eagle Force.

It’s a high-octane, adrenaline-inducing “trigger-pullers operate outside the law to uphold the law” type of story and by Silkstone’s own admission, it’s not designed to be deep, naval-gazing prose—it’s meant to be entertaining. There’s rough language and brutal gunfights and bloody violence and for the target demographic, that’s all you need to know to one-click this book onto your Kindle.

Primal: Origin delivered the low-drag, high-velocity action goods and accomplished its mission—make me want to read the rest of the Primal series. When I want high literature, I’ll grab some Shakespeare (OK, I never actually want high literature); when I want an unpretentious tale of good guys gunning down bad guys, I’ll pick up some Primal. Just kick the action-craving region of your brain into high gear and hold on tight.