Mike Guth‘s review  Jun 28, 2026  · really liked it

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars   Format: Audiobook

Brad Taylor’s American Traitor takes the Pike Logan series to the high-stakes arena of the Asia-Pacific, delivering a tech-heavy, pulse-pounding thriller that manages to be both frighteningly plausible and occasionally exhausting.

A Bold and Refreshing Geopolitical Plot
The standout feature of American Traitor is Taylor’s willingness to tackle a looming real-world flashpoint: a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. In a genre where authors frequently pull punches or invent fictionalized stand-ins to avoid being banned in massive overseas markets, Taylor deserves immense credit. Using China’s aggressive stance toward Taiwan and the manipulation of an artificial intelligence defense system as the central plot device provides a refreshing, authentic, and high-stakes backdrop that elevates the entire narrative.

Strong Action, But a Exhausting Pace
As expected from a former Special Forces officer, the tactical realism and action sequences are top-notch. When Pike Logan, Jennifer Cahill, and the Taskforce team are on the move to rescue their colleague “Dunkin” from Chinese agents in Australia, the momentum is undeniable.

However, the book’s pacing suffers from its own ambition. Listening to the audiobook split across two distinct four-week blocks separated by a couple of months highlighted a structural issue: the narrative simply goes on and on. While individual shootouts are meticulously detailed and thrilling in isolation, the sheer volume of tactical engagements begins to feel repetitive.

Too Many Moving Parts
Ultimately, the book gets weighed down by its complexity. There are too many characters to keep track of, too many narrative twists, and an overabundance of firefights between the good guys and bad guys that do little to actually advance or resolve the core plot. Instead of driving the story forward, these endless loops of conflict sometimes feel like treading water.

The Verdict
American Traitor is a strong, 4-star entry in the military thriller genre that excels when focusing on grand strategy, cutting-edge tech threats, and raw tactical realism. If you can overlook a bloated character roster and some narrative spinning-in-circles, it is a highly engaging ride that isn’t afraid to look a real-world adversary in the eye.