Suspense Magazine July 2013

Brad Taylor
Has a Tactical Advantage
Interview By Suspense Magazine
Press Photo Credit: Rod Pasibe
There are a handful of heavy-hitters
who come to mind when you think of
the best authors in the political thriller
arena: Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Brad
Meltzer, and Brad Taylor.
Born in Japan, but raised in rural
Texas, Brad began his military career
after graduating from the University
of Texas. He served our nation for
more than twenty-one years, retiring
from the U.S. Army as a Special Forces
Lieutenant Colonel.
Consistent praise regarding
the authenticity and believability of
his characters is one of the reasons
fans clamor for more. Brad uses his
experience to breathe life into tough
subjects that hit closer to home than
we’d like.
Brad took the time to talk to us
about
his newest release “The Widow’s Strike,”
his main character Pike Logan, and
what’s on the horizon.
Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): Can
you give us some inside scoop on “The
Widow’s Strike” that’s not on the back
cover
Brad Taylor (B.T.): Well, for one, I left
the Middle East as a setting. With the
Arab Spring and all the other turmoil
penetrating throughout the Levant and
North Africa, I decided to go back to my
old Special Forces stomping grounds in
Southeast Asia. Doing the research for
“The Widow’s Strike” was a blast, and
there are some settings that I had no
intention of using, but ended up doing so
because of my travels.
For instance, the gambling
mecca of Macau, China, figures
prominently in the book, but
only because of happenstance.
We landed in Hong Kong with
about fourteen hours before our
flight was to leave for the United
States. With nothing better to do
than sit around an airport, and
being mildly insane, we decided
to take a hydrofoil to Macau.
Of course, we got no sleep
whatsoever, but it was pretty
fun, and it would have been a
mistake to not include that setting in the
dynamics of the Taskforce’s attempts to
stop a global pandemic. My only regret
is that Pike Logan doesn’t wear a tuxedo
and play baccarat, drinking a shaken
martini.
S. MAG.: This is your fourth Pike Logan
book. How has he changed from book
one, “One Rough Man”
B.T.: By the end of the third book,
“Enemy of Mine,” his redemption is
complete. He’s grown out of the cesspool
where we first found him in “One Rough
Man,” returning to what he once was.
Unintentionally, those first three books
ended up completing a trilogy. In “The
Widow’s Strike,” he’s back in charge
and more than capable of solving the
problem of the Iranian Qud’s force. The
true character growth is seen in Jennifer
Cahill, who, after having some heinous
things happen to her in “Enemy of Mine,”
has become a bit hardened, and more
comfortable with her combat skills. To
that end, for the first time, Pike Logan’s
team begins to accept her as an equal,
instead of calling her a potential liability
(something, of course, they’d never say
out loud to Pike, or even within earshot,
as Decoy finds out to his detriment).
S. MAG.: Why Pike Logan What
made you think of him as your main
60  Suspense Magazine July 2013 / Vol. 049