Also by this author: Broker of Lies, Fatal Domain
Series: Travis Brock #2
Published by Tyndale on April 9, 2024
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Suspense, Thriller
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When the past scratches its way into the present, it can leave deep scars.
A series of cryptic clues leads Department of Defense redactor Travis Brock to suspect that a grim chapter from his past is not yet over. With the help of his eidetic memory and his newly formed team, he must unearth the truth and stop a terrorist group from stealing one of the military’s most highly guarded technological breakthroughs. With it, the group plans to commit a daring act of espionage that could upend the work of one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms and impact millions of people worldwide.
In a high-stakes story of action and intrigue that reaches from a refugee settlement in Uganda to the shores of the Potomac in Washington, DC, shattering secrets from the past will be revealed, loyalties tested, and intimate betrayals brought to light as Brock is forced to decide how to forgive what he cannot forget.
From a novelist that Publishers Weekly has called a “master storyteller” comes an intricate and taut thriller that will have you guessing until the final page.
I began my review of Broker of Lies, the first Travis Brock novel, with the line “Steven James never disappoints.” This is what writers call foreshadowing. Fatal Domain released in April 2024 and I had an advance copy, meaning that I’ve had this book for about five months now. The moment I got it, I dug straight in, ready to see where Brock’s story would go. And, frankly, it disappointed.
I thought maybe it was me. I put the book aside for a bit and returned to it later. After the book released, I borrowed the audiobook from my library and listened to it. And maybe it is still just me, but as someone who has read every other Steven James novel and loved the majority of them—I just didn’t find myself drawn in. Fatal Domain has an interesting overarching premise with intriguing characters. Travis Brock is a Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory. Now, the investigator-with-an-eidetic-memory trope has been around for forever. It’s a fun trope when used correctly. Instead, while that talent was underutilized in Broker of Lies, it feels especially absent (except when the plot requires) in Fatal Domain. Brock, who has spent his life mostly in his mind instead comes across as another generic action hero—Bourne, Bond, Bowers, and the like.
James really leans into the tech side of things in this book, often taking time out to explain to his audience what all the tech-gizmo-wizardry is. This is probably a calculated decision on the basis of James sees as his primary readership, but while James’s passion for and knowledge of the tech does come through, that exposition sometimes feels inorganic within the story. (Tom Clancy also had this problem, so I guess this isn’t too damning a complaint.)
Fatal Domain also ratchets up the tension in Brock’s personal life, particularly the storyline concerning his parents. This section of the book almost seems like a different genre that involves his dad getting out of prison and maybe having found Jesus and possibly trying to reconnect with Brock’s mom. The whole storyline feels out of place within the overall plot, which would be forgivable if it was good or connected to the larger story, but it never quite does that except to give Brock even more to worry about.
Then there are the moments where James offers various conservative dog whistles that aren’t necessary for the characters or their story. For example, one character finds herself in the Metro Museum of Art. We get three whole pages about how she does get the modern “art” world, with an entire paragraph devoted to describing the fictional art of Willow Granai, a “gender-nonconforming artist.” What purpose does this serve? Does it offer us any insight into the character? Is it important to their development? Or is it just a way of inserting a “culture war” issue? This also pops up with the main storyline, which I won’t elaborate on to avoid spoilers, but it really felt to me like the same thing that Marvel had to do with Falcon and Winter Soldier—the villains are making a bit too much sense, so they better do something evil to get to their goals.
So yeah, this one disappointed. James appears to have confused complexity for nuance. His protagonist only rarely uses his main skill, morphing into just another generic hero. There are needless side plots that seems to be telling a completely different story. The drama is sometimes melodramatic enough that a telenovela would get jealous. Maybe after twenty-some novels, one has to falter.