Gorgon Paperback – July 1, 2014

...started at the beginning of this series! Not knowing that this was a part of a series I started out reading this book (which is actually the third in the series) But thank goodness Beck writes his books in an uncommonly stand alone way. Though all the books in the Alex Hunter line are linked together, Beck writes like it is a separate story, then adds a few tie-ins. It's a great way to write. a little confusing trying to get them in chronological order, but you have the best of both styles actually; read them separate, their great...read them in order, even better!Now, as I said before, this is the third book in the series, but it is a gripping story in and of itself. The lead character, Alex Hunter, goes on each mission and it's like a mixture of 'James Bond', a little 'X-Files' mixed in, with a pinch of bizarre horror..mix well..and you have Greig Becks style of writing.In ancient Grecian history, the Gorgon is Medussa. In other mythos the Gorgon is one of three sisters; but their all basically the same: a huge reptillian creature with ropes of snakes writhing on their heads and it only takes a glimpse and one is turned to stone from terror. But you need to read this book, because Beck takes you through several different myths by several different societies. Their all wrong. (according to Becks story) The Gorgon is an immortal ancient race of aliens with insidious intent for the Whole human race. The books concept is very interesting and entertaining as well.Alex Hunter. The captain of an -extremely top secret- elite group of super high tech agents that's sole purpose is to go into any situation that requires a surgical type of entrance, execution of orders, then disappear like ghosts. BUT..there is something different about Alex. After being mortally wounded and nearly dead, the secret organization, using prototypical rehabilitation, along with a little Devine intervention, Alex becomes something way beyond the human norm. Although the government tries again and again, they cannot copy the process that happened to Alex. He becomes, code name, The Arcadian'...He's stronger, faster,than any human alive. And heals at a rate that is miraculous. But there's a catch; in return, he has to constantly reign in the terrible anger that comes with his mysterious super strength. And this time his strength is challenged to the max when he comes face to face with the terrible creature unleashed from the bowels of an ancient tomb.

GORGON is the latest in Greig Beck's "Alex Hunter" novels featuring the eponymous super soldier who seems to grow stronger, more powerful and to gain more superhuman abilities with each novel. In this outing, Alex, who has survived tremendous physical and psychological insult in the last two entries (THIS GREEN HELL and BLACK MOUNTAIN) is finally healed and returns as leader of Hammerson's elite HAWC unit. There is trouble in Turkey where an antiquities thief has loosed a deadly entity that turns anyone who looks at it to stone. Alex and the HAWC's mission is to figure out what it is and how to stop it before it reaches Turkish and Greek population centers and kills millions. All this is complicated by the appearance of Uli Borshov, Alex's Russian counterpart who once shot Alex in the head, leaving him for dead but triggering some of the changes that turned Alex into the Arcadian.GORGON is a fun, easy read. One should probably read the other Alex Hunter novels, in sequence first, to get the full backstory, but also to see how Alex has changed over the course of the novels, growing more and more powerful with each entry. Beck excels in pacing, and as in all of his novels, things get faster and tighter and the excitement builds over the latter quarter of the novel so much that it is almost impossible to put the book down.As in the other Alex Hunter novels, Beck uses matters of historical record, pseudo-scientific tidbits and his own fertile imagination to fashion an original story that captivates. Beck is fond of cryptobiology and xenobiology, which feature prominently in GORGON as well as all the other Alex Hunter entries. This makes these stories a novel blend of sci-fi and military adventure.I do have a few bones to pick, however. The science in this one is unusually weak and there are several rather large errors in the descriptions of the eye and visual system, the nervous system and how exoskeletons like the MECH suits (which really exist, although not quite so powerful as in the book) are controlled by the user. And truth be told, I think I liked Alex a little better when he was a little less superman-like. Finally, the final showdown between Borshov and Alex, after all this time, was very anticlimactic.Not the strongest entry in the series but nevertheless, still a fun read. If you have read the other Alex Hunter novels, I don't see how you can not read this one. And I'll be around for the next one.Recommended.J.M. Tepper