Arctic Storm Rising

This strong series launch from bestseller Brown (Eagle Station) introduces Capt. Nick Flynn, a smart-mouthed U.S. Air Force intelligence officer banished to a remote outpost in Alaska, where he heads up a ragtag bunch of similar military outcasts with little real responsibility. Suddenly, his unit is ordered into emergency action. The Pentagon has received word that a Russian supersecret stealth bomber, commandeered by Col. Alexei Petrov, has landed somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness, and Petrov is asking for $2.6 billion in exchange for revealing its location. As a winter storm builds, Flynn and his men parachute into the frozen frontier, poorly supplied, a traitor in their ranks, and facing Russia’s elite spetznaz fighters. The brisk plot showcases the latest military technology and warfare techniques. The rough-and-ready Flynn, a handsome rogue with good social skills and a doer’s mentality, gets lost at times amid the large cast, but the ending suggests he’ll play a more central role in his next outing. Brown consistently entertains. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (May)