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Rise of the Fallen by D. Michael Olive Infinity Publishing
book review by Lisette Alonso
"He hammered the sign into the ground in the clearing in front of the smoldering ruins… It was signed, 'Azrael, the Angel of Death.'"
Liam Michaels is a celebrated artist, accomplished photographer, and wealthy philanthropist. He is also Azrael, the immortal Angel of Death, charged with pursuing evil hell spawn and bringing them to justice.
After Azrael and his elite armed forces take down a devastating cocaine operation, Liam is inadvertently drawn into a corporate tug-of-war over a struggling biotech firm, headed by the striking and mysterious Dani Suskind. When an ominous Boston investment group fails to gain control of Dani's company, her vice president of research is brutally murdered and her leading virologist comes down with a baffling but lethal illness. Meanwhile cocaine is being shipped to a Swiss chocolate factory guarded by Russian Special Forces, Chechnya is turned to rubble after being attacked by a bio-terrorist virus, and the heads of a weapons development firm are killed in a suspicious plane crash. It is up to Liam and his select team of soldiers to uncover the thread that ties these seemingly isolated events together. As they unearth facts that lead them to the heart of a sinister conspiracy, it becomes clear that the architects of this winding plot are more than human. They are the Fallen—angels fallen from grace.
A doctor of medical microbiology, author D. Michael Olive infuses his narrative with an abundance of fascinating detail. Olive's knowledge of art, technology, and bio-weaponry give this intricate tale legitimacy and authority. It is a high-tech thriller with an exciting and twisting plot as well as contemporary geopolitical overtones.