An engaging story for fans of thrillers and absorbing narratives, Eagle Shield: Milestone Rising by Carl Lakeland features an ex SAS, Nathan, transferred to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and entrusted with a delicate yet vital mission. In the opening pages of the story, Nathan receives the package, a bright little girl called Angel, a girl who calls him “Mate” and who quickly notices that he has a wooden leg. From that rough ride towards safety, everything becomes very interesting. The man known to be skilled in combat and whose life has been austere is given a new assignment — to keep this asset safe and ensure that she grows up to meet the expectations of the ASIS — because Angel is very precious and gifted and she will play a powerful role in the intelligence agency. But can Nathan stay in control with the challenges ahead and a child as complex as Angel?

Carl Lakeland introduces us to an array of characters and a culture that capture both city life in Australia and its back roads. Each character has its unique soul and secrets, well-fleshed out and given a key role in this exciting plot. The story is told in a voice that you can’t resist, and it is perfectly paced and interspersed with surprises that keep the reader turning from one page to the next. I enjoyed the smooth meld of the elements of suspense and psychological thriller. Eagle Shield: Milestone Rising is one of those books you should not start if you don’t have enough time on your hands — great story, awesome characters, and, above all, delightful prose.

I had a feeling that I would like Eagle Shield by Carl Lakeland from the minute I read the blurb. An Army veteran responsible for a ten-year-old mystery girl? What’s not to like? I hoped it would be as good a story as that Denzel Washington movie, Man on Fire. It was better. But then again, I have usually enjoyed good books more than good movies. A soldier protecting a little girl can be a powerful tale in the hands of a good writer. What made Eagle Shield extra special for me is that it takes place in Australia. It wouldn’t have been quite as exotic, and I wouldn’t have learned so much if the setting was somewhere I am familiar with.

Every aspect of Eagle Shield was done in an expert, professional manner, as I would expect a book about a military man to be. The setting is Australia, which I have never visited, but I learned a lot about it from this book and that is a point for Carl Lakeland. The characters are the stars of Eagle Shield, right from the beginning. This book could have felt like something written to a formula, but it never fell to that level. The characters always felt real and unique. Angel is special, and we see it from chapter two until the end of the story. Nathan is also a unique military veteran. The relationship these two formed seemed fated to become something great right from the start. The plot is tight, and the mission is big. The military protocols, action sequences, and minor characters all contribute to make Eagle Shield stand out in the military action genre.

An Australian Secret Intelligence Service mission is jeopardized when the asset is kidnapped, and a vital classified item is hijacked in the exciting and action-packed thriller, Eagle Shield: Milestone Rising by Carl Lakeland. Wounded in a military operation for the Special Air Service Regiment, Nathan is reassigned to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. Nathan's newest mission is to safeguard both a top-secret computer disc and Angel, a ten-year-old orphaned girl. His objective is to get Angel and the disc to a safe-house in Melbourne. However, before Nathan and Angel have gotten very far, Angel becomes ill, and the mission is diverted. While Nathan is rushing Angel to a medic station, someone breaks into their motel room and steals the disc. To salvage the ASIS operation, Nathan leaves Angel in the care of the medical staff to retrieve the disc. However, when he returns to the medical facility, the nurses are dead, and Angel is missing. Can Nathan track Angel down and save her before it is too late ?

Eagle Shield: Milestone Rising by Carl Lakeland is a riveting, action-packed novel about an ex-combat team member's mission that has an unusual twist. Complete with blood, guts, and death-defying scenes, it is impossible to put the book down until you reach the final page. Captivating characters, an intriguing plot, and an intense story line make this novel an outstanding first book in what promises to be an exceptional series. I highly recommend it to those who love stories with military settings, intricate shadowy political plots mixed with alien influences, and special ops units. This sensational Australian thriller will capture your imagination and set it on fire. Word of caution; considering the violent content of this book, it is more suited for young adult and older audiences.

Eagle Shield: Milestone Rising by Carl Lakeland is indeed a thriller, an engaging story that introduces the reader immediately to the action and the conflict, with interesting and well-imagined characters. Nathan is a former SAS, recently redeployed to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and entrusted with a new and delicate mission — to relocate a young girl to a safe house in Melbourne and to protect the computer disk. Angel is a girl with unusual skills and ASIS needs her, so it’s Nathan’s job to protect and raise her for her future mission. But can a killer be a good father, and does he still have what it takes for the new forms of combat that await them?

Carl Lakeland is a brilliant author and an insanely gifted storyteller, and Eagle Shield: Milestone Rising is proof. You can’t resist the human pull of the story, the realism infused into the writing, and the way the author explores the emotions of the characters. This is a book for readers who love great writing and who are looking for a thrilling novel that could help them shake off the doldrums and the monotony of the day and travel unusual terrains with exciting characters. The pacing is great, and it picks up speed right from the very first page, but what caught my attention the most was the author's gift for character. His characters are so real they stay with the reader most of the time. This novel is a masterpiece, crafted with deftness and balance.