Addictive Stuff...

SEAL TEAM 666 by Weston Ochse (2012 Thomas Dunne Books / 310 pp / hc)

SEAL cadet Jack Walker is almost done with his training when he's taken away to join a top secret group, consisting of four others and one dog. While he feels guilty about gaining SEAL status without completing his course, Walker earns his stripes quickly enough as his elite team encounter all types of supernatural creatures and situations. Everyone in the group has a special skill, but Walker's is most unique: he's able to tell when something other-wordly is near, and Ochse slowly develops why he's able to do this with each mission.

When an ancient demon god takes over a human body, he begins a series of brutal, multiple human self-sacrifice rituals and awakens powerful spider-like creatures that could destroy the United States and even the world. SEAL Team 666 are on the case, and Ochse brings the action fast without taking any prisoners. Walker's team are the best the U.S. military has to offer, and I especially liked the relationship between Yaya (the team's latest recruit after Walker) and Hoover, their intelligent dog who provides much help along the way.

I'm hoping we get to see more of Walker's relationship with Jen; their busy schedules leave little time for each other, but even their brief meetings in this first novel have already changed the way Walker sees the world.

A cross between Tom Clancy's RAINBOW SIX (without pages of pointless tech-babble) and THE X-FILES, this is the start of what should be a fun, action-packed series. Addictive stuff.