If you’re searching for a heart-thumping, nail-biting reading adventure that packs big fun with big action, look no further than Mike Maden’s just-releases new novel, Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier.
The first time I ever covered one of Mike Maden’s books was back in 2016, when his fourth Troy Pearce novel, Drone Threat, was released. Later that year, The Real Book Spy announced via an exclusive article and scoop that Maden would be taking over Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Junior series, and a year later, his first Ryan book, Tom Clancy Point of Contact, hit bookstores. Since then, Maden has been on a crazy hot streak, a stretch that includes an impressive body of work, which now extends into Clive Cussler’s Oregon Files franchise.
Ghost Soldier is Maden’s third Oregon Files book since taking over for Boyd Morrison several years back and the 18th book in the series to date. Thankfully, just ahead of its release, Maden agreed to go back on the record for our Five Questions segment, and I asked him about everything from the difference between writing in Clancy’s world versus Cussler’s to how he came up with the plot idea for this one. Check out the full Q&A below, then make sure to order your copy of Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier, now available everywhere books are sold.
Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier by Mike Maden
FEATURED SELECTION*
Release Date: September 3
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
A deadly war game. An adversary as hard to find as he is to kill. Weapons so sophisticated, none have seen the like before. Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon have finally met their match in this pulse-pounding new adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.
When African jihadis attack a Nigerian regiment using American weapons, Cabrillo and the Oregon crew are on the case, investigating from Afghanistan to Kuala Lumpur to track a mysterious arms dealer—a genius, or perhaps a devil—known only as the Vendor. Cabrillo goes undercover to find the Vendor’s base, but his adversary isn’t just an arms smuggler. He’s an arms maker, and Cabrillo just walked into a lethal military game alongside the most dangerous mercenaries in the world, designed to test the Vendor’s cutting-edge AI arsenal.
And yet, surviving an arena full of flame-throwing robots isn’t even his biggest problem. The Vendor has an army of high-speed drones headed for a pivotal military site, and if the Oregon crew can’t stop them from releasing a deadly neurotoxin, the entire globe will erupt in conflict.
TRBS: As you might have been able to tell by my review here on TRBS, I was absolutely blown away by your latest Oregon Files thriller, CLIVE CUSSLER GHOST SOLDIER. How in the heck did you come up with this story idea, and did anything surprise you in your research before sitting down to write it?
Maden: First of all, thanks for your generous review. To get the Real Book Spy’s stamp of approval is a big deal and I greatly appreciate it.
Regarding your questions, I’ve been tracking drone warfare since 2013 when my first novel, DRONE, came out which at the time seemed like sci-fi to most readers even though all of that tech was reality based.
My first Cussler novel, HELLBURNER, highlighted the world’s first “drone war” in Nagorno-Karabak. My second novel, FIRE STRIKE, posed the threat of a hypersonic missile (a specialized variant of drone tech) taking out a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. Unfortunately, this fictional threat became all too real in the months after the novel’s release, and the US Navy has paid the price. So, it’s no surprise that drones remain fertile ground for me in my writing.
I’m always trying to ground my fictional writing in as much reality as possible. The current Russia-Ukraine war demonstrates how six-hundred-dollar off-the-shelf drones flown by teenagers can take out $10 million-dollar main battle tanks. Inexpensive, precision-delivered munitions have been completely democratized. Even as I write this, there isn’t a single US aircraft carrier stationed in the Pacific despite the growing tensions with China over Taiwan. Ironically, the drone-adverse Pentagon is now promising a defense of Taiwan with a “drone hellscape.”
What continually surprises me in my research is how many Western “experts” in military affairs still fail to grasp the significance of drone combat. It’s neither a trend nor a fad. (Factoid to amaze your friends: Nikola Tesla won a patent for the first radio-controlled drone in 1898.) The next wave? Remote controlled terrorism. And after that? In the near future, AI-controlled autonomous vehicles will completely dominate war in the air, on the ground, and in the sea.
In GHOST SOLDIER I wanted to push the logic (and horror) of an intense combat encounter between special operators trapped on an island against a drone-centric opponent. For movie buffs, think “None But the Brave” meets “The Terminator.” Only worse.
Far worse.
TRBS: GHOST SOLIDER is the 18th book in the series that originated with Clive Cussler. What is it about these characters (and maybe their ship) that resonates with readers to keep them coming back for more?
Maden: I’ll speak for myself because, first and foremost, I’m a fan of the series. Clive created an endlessly fascinating world where an old-school “Mission Impossible” team overcomes their adversaries with Oregon’s near-future “Star Trek” (original series) high-tech capabilities. That dynamic generates a lot of interesting story ideas.
But I think the real secret sauce of the series is the characters he created, particularly Juan Cabrillo. The Oregon Files run counter to our current “post-truth” culture. In the Cusslerverse there are no gray areas, no moral ambiguities, no anti-heroes. The good guys are always unambiguously good, and they always choose to do the right thing for the right reasons, even at the cost of their own lives. In short, the Oregon Files affirms the timeless truths and virtues that built Western civilization, and fans of the series yearn for that as much as I do.
TRBS: How long have you read Clive Cussler, and do you have an all-time favorite book of his (even if it’s not an Oregon Files novel)?
Maden: Clive Cussler wrote FLOOD TIDE way back in 1997 and that’s the first novel I ever read that actually talked about underwater drones. (How did he do that?) I have only just recently read THE MEDITERRANEAN CAPER (Dirk Pitt #2), and right now, I have to say that it’s my favorite. It’s unapologetically old-school and very politically incorrect. It reminded me of an old Johnny Quest episode. It’s a fast read that’s a ton of fun and a real slice of life from a bygone era.
TRBS: Out of the three Oregon books that you’ve written now, which one was the hardest and why?
Maden: They all posed their own specific story challenges but there’s no doubt GHOST SOLDIER was the most hard-fought battle of them all. The readers will have to decide if it was hard-won as well.
TRBS: Lastly, now that GHOST SOLIDER is out, what’s next for you?
Maden: OREGON FILES #19 UNTITLED. Stay tuned!
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor in addition to running TRBS. He is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, and TED BELL’S MONARCH. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.
I hope he does another Troy Pearce installment.