The Taine McKenna Adventures ~ Reviews and Giveaway

Posted: April 25, 2019 in Action/Adventure, reviews, Science Fiction, thriller
Tags: , , , ,
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Into the Mist
Taine McKenna Adventures Book 1
by Lee Murray
Genre: SciFi Action, Thriller
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mckenna review
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A hot, steamy jungle. people with their own agenda’s, and something big and ravenous stalking them. Sure does sound fun. And it was.

The author’s descriptions immediately put me in the jungle with the character’s.  All of them have to deal with the harsh environment. But, that’s not the only problem. Something huge, primordial stalks all of them, and it’s right at home in the jungle. Perfect camouflage until it strikes, leaving not much more than blood splatters to show someone was ever there.

I’m always looking for stories where the character’s have to struggle against the environment as much as the creature stalking them. And I liked the mythical aspect when the local legend comes into play. Made for a deeper, more thrilling reading experience for me.

This would be great to see on the big screen. I’d have to buy the DVD. It’s a keeper.

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When NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna and his squad are tasked with escorting a
bunch of civilian contractors into Te Urewera National Park, it seems
a strange job for the army.
Militant Tūhoe separatists are active in the area, and with its cloying mist
and steep ravines, the forest is a treacherous place in winter.
Yet nothing has prepared Taine for the true danger that awaits them.
Death incarnate.
They backtrack toward civilisation, stalked by a prehistoric creature
intent on picking them off one by one. With their weapons
ineffective, the babysitting job has become a race for survival.
Desperate to bring his charges out alive, Taine draws on ancient tribal wisdom.
Will it be enough to stop the nightmare? And when the mist clears,
will anyone be left?
 
 
Into the Sounds
Taine McKenna Adventures Book 2
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mckenna review
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My Review
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I’ve become really fond of Taine and his cohorts. They are double tough and do the dirty work. Taine is actually on a bit of a vacation when his special talents are called upon again. There’s no rest for the wicked and once again the wilderness isn’t the only thing he has to contend with. It’s what lurks out of sight and what’s in the water that could spell disaster.
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This second book was every bit as fun as the first one. Plenty of action, some hair raising encounters and I liked where the author went with the ending. Neat and with a twist.
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On leave, and out of his head with boredom, NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna
joins biologist Jules Asher, on a Conservation Department deer
culling expedition to New Zealand’s southernmost national park,
where soaring peaks give way to valleys gouged from clay and rock,
and icy rivers bleed into watery canyons too deep to fathom. Despite
covering an area the size of the Serengeti, only eighteen people live
in the isolated region, so it’s a surprise when the hunters stumble
on the nation’s Tūrehu tribe, becoming some of only a handful to
ever encounter the elusive ghost people. But a band of mercenaries
saw them first, and, hell-bent on exploiting the tribes’ survivors,
they’re prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way. As a
soldier, McKenna is duty-bound to protect all New Zealanders, but
after centuries of persecution will the Tūrehu allow him to help
them? Besides, there is something else lurking in the sounds, and it
has its own agenda. When the waters clear, will anyone be allowed to
leave?
Murray pretty much nails small unit tactics.” ‒ Justin Coates, author of
The Apocalypse Drive
A fantastic blend of military fiction, a very real primordial monster,
and powerful mythology.” ‒ Paul Mannering, author of Hard Corps,
Hell’s Teeth, and Eat.
 
 
Into the Ashes 
Taine McKenna Adventures Book 3
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mckenna review
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My Review
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This is the third book in the series and it took off and steam rolled all the way to the end. I really enjoyed the first two books and was pretty sure Lee Murray would make me happy again. She did that, for sure.
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There is so much I loved that I wish I could tell you. There’s the time when…, and those guys were…., and Taine drew a bead on….. The whole book was jammed with action and suspense, along with some scenes where I was really worried about some of my friends. The bad kept on coming and I didn’t see a way out for these people. There might not be any dinosaurs or sea monsters in this newest adventure, but there’s something just as deadly.
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I’m happy to say the series keeps getting better for me and this is my favorite one yet.
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mckenna excerpt
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A deadly wash of lava and rocks, as wide as the Waikato River, surged around the house, taking the line of least resistance. The side of the house exploded in flames. Taine had no time to take it in because the front wheels of the Unimog were lifting in the swell, the air blackening with the smoke and stench of immolating tyres.
“Hine, go!” Read croaked. Grabbing Brooker by his shirt, he dragged him back onto the Unimog.
She jumped clear, landing near Taine as the lava surged around the Unimog. Carried on the broiling wave of lava, it circled in a bizarre ballet, Brooker and Read still inside.
Floating.
Dammit. Taine had to get them off now. That truck was a toaster oven bobbing on a sea of red heat. “Read!” “I’m sending Brooker to you. Line-out style. Be ready!”
Taine had to hand it to him: as ideas went, it was gutsy. With the bed of the Unimog still floating above the flow, there was a chance it could work.
“Hine, we’re going to have to catch Brooker.”
Hurry it up, Read.
Standing as close as they dared, Taine and Hine braced themselves…
The Unimog circled.
Come on!
The vehicle came around. Read bent his knees, grabbing Brooker by the overalls below his hips. When the vehicle neared the lava’s leading edge, Read thrust him upwards, Brooker jumping as best he could.
Brooker yelped.
Dammit. He was going to fall short. Taine stepped forward, his boot searing at the edge of the liquid rock. He leaned out and yanked Brooker to him, while, crouched low, Hine caught the boy’s trailing leg before it hit the lava.
Taine snatched his own foot back.
“Fuck me! That was close,” Brooker panted, his chest heaving.
One down, one to go. What if Read leapt and missed? Taine glanced at Hine. He could spare her that at least. “Help Brooker to the twin cab,” Taine shouted. “I’ll get Read on the next pass.”
Suddenly, Lefty was there, pushing Hine out of the way. “It’s okay. I’ll do it. You get clear.” The soldier hefted Brooker over his shoulder, carrying him down the driveway, where Miller was backing up the truck, slowing just enough to allow the men to pile on.
The Unimog was like a raft on the rapids, the viscous current pulling it towards the middle of the lava-river.
“Read!” Taine yelled.
“Is Brooker safe?” Read called over the roar of the lava.
Taine glanced back. Lefty and Pringle were lifting Brooker onto the truck while, on the flatbed, Parata dragged him in.
“He’s safe. Read—” Taine jumped back as a spray of lava spurted off the surface.
“I know, I know. I’m coming. Just waiting until the…” he trailed off.
“Matt,” Hine whispered.
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No longer content to rumble in anger, the great mountain warriors of New
Zealand’s central plateau, the Kāhui Tupua, are preparing again
for battle. At least, that’s how the Māori elders tell it. The
nation’s leaders scoff at the danger. That is; until the ground
opens and all hell breaks loose. The armed forces are hastily
deployed; NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna and his section tasked with
evacuating civilians and tourists from Tongariro National Park. It is
too little, too late. With earthquakes coming thick and fast and the
mountains spewing rock and ash, McKenna and his men are cut off.
Their only hope of rescuing the stranded civilians is to find another
route out, but a busload of prison evacuees has other ideas. And,
deep beneath the earth’s crust, other forces are stirring.
INTO THE ASHES is a kick-ass thriller with twists you will never see
coming! Lee Murray serves up a nail-biter of a weird-science action
adventure. Brava!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling
author of DEEP SILENCE and V-WARS
 
 
Lee Murray is a Bram Stoker-nominated writer and editor horror
fiction, and multi-award-winning writer of dark speculative fiction
(Sir Julius Vogel, Australian Shadows). Her works include the Taine
McKenna adventure series, and supernatural crime-noir series The Path
of Ra (co-written with Dan Rabarts). She is the editor of ten dark
fiction anthologies, the latest being Hellhole: An Anthology
of Subterranean Terror
 (Adrenalin Press). Lee lives with her
family in New Zealand where she conjures up stories from her office
overlooking a cow paddock.
 
 
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Comments
  1. I love the idea of a New Zealand setting, but I think this series would be too scary for me!

  2. This series sounds so cool! I can totally envision it as a feature film as well. Although, I think it would be better to see something like this in a theatre. I’m not sure my TV would compare. lol

  3. All three covers are good, but the third one is the best. Great reviews, sounds like a super series!

    • fuonlyknew says:

      It was funny that not only did I enjoy the third book even more, it was also my favorite cover too!

  4. Tammy says:

    This series sounds really exciting! I love when a series gets better with every book😁

  5. These have great covers – I love the eyes. And since you’re loving them, chances are I would too!

  6. Beware Of The Reader says:

    Well Laura it seems these books get better and better! And the covers are giving me the chills just imagining chicken Me in THEIR shoes!

  7. Carole says:

    Wow, this sounds like a wonderfully exciting series. I am so glad you enjoyed all three of these books as much as you did, Laura!

  8. Sandra Watts says:

    Yeah the covers are good and the book looks like it will be too.

  9. StackingMy BookShelves says:

    Sounds like a great series. I haven’t started it yet but I want to.

    Mary

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