The Athena Project

I came within 100 yards of President Obama today, not that I actually saw him, but it was still pretty cool. Doogie and I were on our way to pick up his friend, Brian, when the President's motorcade drove by on the road just below us. A little while later, we saw Airforce One flying over our heads. That's probably the closest I will ever get to a President!

The Athena Project by Brad Thor is a follow-up to his novel Foreign Influence which introduced readers to the women of the Athena Project. Four women: Gretchen Casey, Julie Ericsson, Meghan Rhodes, and Alex Cooper have been carefully chosen by the government to do jobs that most men could not. Each has specialized abilities, but all are strikingly beautiful, because their beauty is part of their formidable weaponry. When the women are ordered to capture an arms dealer in Venice, the case takes them into strange territory as forces from around the world fight to control a secret power once utilized by the Nazis and beyond most people's imagination. The women will be forced to work together as never before to stop the bad guys from using a monstrous device that would change the world. Thor's writing is action packed and highly suspenseful. Much of the book is building the plot and getting readers caught up on the past, but the book really takes off when Thor allows the women to take charge. Their banter elevates the book above standard American espionage/thriller/military fare. And the women are more than just the sex objects most authors relegate them to. Each woman has a unique personality and voice, and that should carry The Athena Project through several more books with these fascinating characters.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book for review!