Retrophisch Review: Direct Action

One thriller series from this century that I believe has been criminally underrated is W.E.B. Griffin’s Presidential Agent franchise. Weaving together the histories of military families from the Vietnam War up to the present day, the saga follows Charley Castillo, bastard child of a Texican born-and-bred Army helicopter pilot and a German heiress. We see Charley grow up in two worlds, and part of the ongoing arc is how he navigates the two.

We are immersed in a world of colorful characters, from the Russian SVR agents who would eventually join his family, to his Texican cousin, and his various Army commanders and mentors. Perhaps most famously, there is Charley’s abuela, and the influence Doña Alicia has on him, from the moment she meets him and throughout the rest of the series, is profound.

Griffin authored the first five books in the series solo, then collaborated with his son for the next three. At the conclusion of 2013’s Hazardous Duty, it looked like that was the end of the road for Charley and his merry band of fighters. Their arc battling contemporary terrorism, often emerging in unexpected forms, concluded and it appeared Castillo and company were, to a degree, riding off in to the sunset of retirement.

Griffin passed away in 2019, but the series was revived two years later, with the release of Rogue Asset, penned by the incredible writing duo of Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson. Presidential Agent fans were delighted, and expectations arose this was setting the stage for a continuation of the series, with Charley taking on a more indirect role as he became mentor to Marine Raider Pick McCoy. But then all went quiet once again on the franchise front, as it appeared this foray didn’t get the head of steam everyone wanted.

Boy, is it a thundering locomotive now.

Next week sees the release of the 10th installment in the series, Direct Action, helmed by the remarkable Jack Stewart. Leaving from that foundation laid by Andrews & Wilson, Jack shovels so much coal in to the locomotive that it will have readers on the edge of the seat as they watch it power down the track. (I’m done with the train metaphor. Promise.)

Making the nearly incomprehensible decision to (minor spoiler) sideline the series’ protagonist very early on, Stewart gives us his take on Pick McCoy and the new crew, deftly weaving Pick’s past with his present just as Griffin did in the early days of Charley Castillo’s story. The tension ratchets quickly, from a shootout at the Alamo to intrigue in Vienna, the city of spies. Jack forces McCoy and company to a blistering pace as personalities come together to solve the mystery of the attacks, one of which Castillo attempted to stop, that threaten national security while also navigating the waters of personal entanglements.

Knowing what a fan I was of the original series from our commiseration about it, Jack was kind enough to let me read an early draft of Direct Action to get my input on it vis-a-vis Griffin’s works. I was thrilled to see that he nailed the character and plot components that made Griffin’s entries must-reads, and took it to the next level by deepening Pick’s involvement and development. Stewart delivers on the promises made by Rogue Asset, and I can only hope he gets to bring us more of Pick and Charley in the future.

If you loved Griffin’s original Presidential Agent books, this joins them as a must-read, and gets a coveted five (phive?) out of five phins.

Amazon: Hardcover, Kindle
Bookshop: Hardcover, ebook