SEAL TEAM 6

A fictional account of SEAL Team 6, the unit responsible for the assassination of Osama bin Laden, taking on other covert operations.

Geno Genelli, having led the “takeout mission” against bin Laden, is pulled away from visiting his ailing mother for an assignment deemed more treacherous than any the SEAL leader has previously experienced. Terrorists, under the guidance of Arab Imran Ali Hamza, are planning an attack on the royal family of Saudi Arabia. The mission becomes more crucial, however, when the terrorists seize the royal palace, and Secretary of State Kathryn Kurtz is one of the hostages. In his debut novel, Narmi expertly unifies real-world events, such as 9/11 and the failed Operation Eagle Claw during the Carter presidency, with the fictional characters and narrative. Several of the earlier chapters detail the political unrest in the Middle East, but Narmi keeps the story grounded with indications of Genelli’s opinions as constant reminders of the protagonist. The author’s style, approaching the material as if he were writing a historical book, is retained for exposition of characters, which gives the story and its players a more credible depiction. The drawback to such a method is its detrimental impact on minor characters, including the SEAL team members (apart from Fats Walker, Genelli’s friend called away from retirement), who are introduced quickly before the mission commences, making it difficult to care when one or more are killed in action. The bulk of the story deals with strategic maneuvering, but the combat sequences are invigorating, as SEAL Team 6 renders the enemy powerless in mere minutes. The book is split into two parts, with the operation concluding at the end of Part I. Part II unnecessarily recaps the events immediately preceding it, but another mission, Team 6 working with the CIA’s SOG (Special Operations Group) in the detainment of Iran’s president, is as remarkable and intriguing as the earlier assignment.

At times excessively patriotic, but on the whole an entertaining, edifying account of the War on Terror in full swing.