SAVAGE SON - The Novel I've Always Wanted to Write

SAVAGE SON was an extremely personal book for me to write. Upon first reading Richard Connell’s 1924 masterpiece THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME in the 6th grade, I knew that one day I’d write a novel that paid tribute to this classic tale of hunter versus hunted. It was one of the storylines I wrote out when deciding which idea would become my first novel. THE TERMINAL LIST, however, with its theme of revenge without constraint, was the clear choice to introduce readers to Navy SEAL sniper James Reece. The follow-up novel, TRUE BELIEVER, continued what Joseph Campbell describes as the “Hero’s Journey,” as Reece finds his purpose through violent redemption. It was only at this stage of the monomyth that I could finally write the novel I’d been dreaming of writing since I was eleven years old. The result is SAVAGE SON.

SAVAGE SON explores the dark side of man, incorporating much of what I experienced as both the hunter and hunted in Iraq and Afghanistan. By experienced, I do not mean simply the art and science of manhunting, but rather the emotions attached to building a pattern of life on a targeted individual and then executing the mission to capture or kill him. Also woven into the fabric of the story are the feelings associated with being the hunted; what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the ambush. 

Though a completely fictional novel, if the emotions and feelings the protagonist experiences through the course of the narrative ring true, that is because they come from a real place. They come from my experience hunting the most dangerous of game.  

I could not be more appreciative of readers’ support for THE TERMINAL LIST and TRUE BELIEVER. The success of my first two novels is due to the word of mouth recommendations of readers who enthusiastically spread the word about a new protagonist in a series of books rooted in the realities of modern warfare. 

Strength and Honor.

Jack Carr