“Dead Man’s Hand” is Brad Taylor’s 18th installment in the Pike Logan series. Brad served more than 21 years in our nation’s military, 8 years as a member of the elite 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, more commonly known at Delta Force. He holds a Master’s of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, with a concentration in irregular warfare.

His previous 17 novels have all been ranked on the New York Times best seller list. His latest novel is titled “Dead Man’s Hand”.

He wasn’t intending to write about Ukraine & Russia, but in preparing his research he was reminded of the Russian “Perimeter System”. The Perimeter System was created by the Soviet Union in response to the US ”Star Wars” initiative. It was an early form of artificial intelligence that would automatically launch their nuclear missiles if it was determined that the US had decapitated Soviet leadership with a successful first strike. NATO called the system the “Dead Hand”.

His novel “Ghosts of War”, published in 2014 was about Russian invading Ukraine.  “Dead Man’s Hand” centers on a Ukrainian plot to assassinate Putin and the potential for triggering the Dead Hand system.

Brad says it is always a risk to write in a theme that reflects current events. In this case there were three main risks that might happen before publication; the Ukrainian war would be over, Sweden’s NATO membership would be approved, and the potential that Putin would be removed from power before publication.

Brad prides himself in actually exploring the locations that are featured in his book. He says he was not about to get shot at in Ukraine and go traipsing across Russia. However, he did discover some interesting features in Sweden and Denmark that made their way into the book.

During our conversation I also take the opportunity to pick Brad’s brain about the current world events taking place in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza. His informed answers may surprise some listeners.

TAKEAWAY: “One of the best traits for a special operator is someone who is a problem solver.”