Spontaneous human combustion destroys world leaders. The President calls on a crackpot to find the reason.
When world leaders burst into flame like a string of firecrackers, the President calls on a renegade former agent with a history of mental problems. Otto "Aardvark" White possesses a unique quality. He's lucky. What Otto discovers in the mountains of Colorado will blow your mind and change the way you look at the world.
Excerpt
Arthur C. Clarke wrote, 'There's one mystery I'm asked about more than any other: spontaneous human combustion. Some cases seem to defy explanation, and leave me with a creepy and very unscientific feeling. If there's anything more to SHC, I simply don't want to know."
When world leaders burst into flame like a string of firecrackers, the President calls on a renegade former agent with a history of mental problems. Otto "Aardvark" White possesses a unique quality. He's lucky.
Otto's old flame, criminal defense attorney Stella Darling, is the daughter of Sen. Sam Darling, a Spontaneous Human Combustion victim. Stella convinces Otto to take the job. The President believes it is a new form of terrorism.
As Otto and his dog Steve dig into the grisly killings they learn that every victim was connected with Pawnee Grove, an exclusive think tank/gentlemen's club in the Rockies. Infiltrating the exclusive club Otto witnesses an SHC and heroically preserves the body. What they find inside its head will change humanity forever and present an existential crisis that makes terrorism seem like a child's prank.
Whack Job is a genre-twisting thriller unlike anything you've ever read. Imagine a collaboration between Tom Clancy and H.P. Lovecraft. Whack Job covers a vast landscape, from the Libyan desert, to the halls of power in D.C., to the Rocky Mountains, and introduces an unforgettable character in Otto White.
Professional Reviews
Bruise Lee
WhackJob is a witty, fast paced, genre swapping thriller. This review will not mention the swapping aspect since it's a major plot twist and would reveal too much. The story opens with an action sequence that introduces a plethora of characters. The abundance of characters sometimes makes it difficult to follow, but Mr. Baron pulls it off. In addition. Mr. Baron permits the action to slow, but not the story, to allow the reader to occasionally catch his breath with witty anecdotes. There is enough humor to add just the right amount of lightheartedness without the novel becoming silly. And it is a thriller. I feel that anything else I say will give too much away so here I stop. I highly recommend whackjob.
Chuck Dixon
If you're looking for something different and you're tired of cookie-cutter, one-size-fits all international thrillers then you need to pick up Whack Job By Mike Baron. Mike CANNOT write a boring tale. He knows how to get a story off the blocks from Word One and keep things moving even while throwing in arcane bits of knowledge, one-liners and the kind of action only he could think of.
I won't even TRY to describe the plot because, as far as I'm concerned, any synopsis would ALL be spoilers. Suffice it to say that this story owes nothing to any other source than the mind of Baron. You will NOT know where this one is going.
Compelling characters, sharp dialogue and a fresh point of view. Get it now and put it on the top of your must-read pile. Better yet. toss aside that piece of crap you're reading now and look into the abyss with Mike as your guide!
Drew Bittner
Otto White survived a mission gone wrong in Libya, only to be thrown into an even stranger and more dangerous situation: politicians are spontaneously combusting...and the President could be next. What is a "lucky" but disowned spook to do?
In Whack Job, Mike Baron mixes thrillers, political satire and weird adventure to produce a fast-paced, engaging tale of assassination and international high-stakes gamesmanship. As Otto (codename Aardvark) digs into this problem, he finds things are nothing like he expects. He's thrown into a world he doesn't recognize or understand, making contact with conspiracy buffs, gamer geeks and computer hackers, all in an effort to dig beneath the surface of this unfolding scheme.
It's tricky to really synopsize the novel without giving away key plot points, as there are several that make the story twist and turn. Suffice it to say that the deeper Otto goes, the stranger things become...and the deaths of a few politicians is not the most outre thing about this mystery.
Baron has crafted a gem of a story, with a scope that spans from the dusty wastelands of Libya to the White House (and nearby Alexandria, VA) to a loner's shack out in the woods. There are surprise returns and reversals along the way, with a big twist arriving as events race toward their conclusion.
Fans of hard-edged meets tongue in cheek will really enjoy this story, which you can find on Kindle or via the author's own website. I look forward to seeing more tales from this writer (who, if you didn't know, is considered a "founding father" of independent comics, having co-created Nexus and The Badger).
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