Ironsides' Peril

A Zach Colt Adventure

Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist
393 Pages
Reviewed on 05/30/2013
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Michael D. Urban was born outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Now he lives in New England.

For over a decade Mike lived and traveled throughout Central America.

He has worked in federal law enforcement both in the States and overseas.

Most recently he was a trial lawyer in private practice.

He writes award-winning thrillers, for both young and old, with his faithful dog Ziggy at his feet.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Samantha Rivera for Readers' Favorite

When old Ironsides turns 215, the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and the Fourth of July all happen to fall within the same time frame; it is obvious that the country will celebrate. After all, how often do such amazing things happen all at once? The city of Boston is poised to celebrate and they are determined that the celebration will be great. That is until a series of terrorist attacks strike the day of the big event. The bombings and the firefight are only the beginning of what will turn out to be one of the most terrifying and harrowing days in American history even counting the wars of our past.

There are not many authors who will take you inside the mind of a terrorist, but Urban takes us into the minds of three. Not only that, he provides captivating details about the history of Old Ironsides, the military and his main characters. Zach Colt, his girlfriend Eleni, the police, Coast Guard and several others are all the heroes of this story. And Urban was able to provide great details that made every single one of them come alive and seem extremely real. It was easy to relate to each character and easy to understand their motivation (even of the terrorists) because of the way they were described. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be interested in finding any more by this author. I'm also happy that I found out there were more books about these same characters. I’ll definitely be looking into those as well.

Jack Quick

"Ironsides’ Peril" by Michael D. Urban has Zach Colt featured in a contemporary thriller with roots in the War of 1812. In 1805 the United States waged war on the Barbary Pirates. This led to the formation of the US Navy which would play a pivotal role in the War of 1812. The USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat and is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships. It is now 2012. The War of 1812 is long over, but the War of 2012 has just begun. July 4, 2012. A terrorist with roots to the original Barbary pirates and his ruthless band have hijacked the USS Constitution while on a celebratory cruise of the Boston harbor. On board are the former President of the United States, the current Vice-president, the Secretary of the Navy and the ship's crew and other hostages. Unfortunately for the terrorists, so is Zach Colt. The quandary for Zach is how do you recapture an 18th-Century warship and sacred American icon using 21st-Century weapons and tactics? The answer is ingenious.

As thrillers go, this one benefits from an unusual setting – the USS Constitution – as well as a likable hero in Zach Colt, a combination of Bruce Willis and Batman, who is not content to simply use his vast wealth to do good, but also seeks some hand on action when necessary. I suspect Mr. urban is on the way to the creation of an impressive series that can be successful as long as he comes up with plots such as this one. A good read.