Patrick Larkin Books In Order

Publication Order of Covert-One Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Nick Flynn Books

Patrick Larkin is an American author best known for the thrillers and military fiction novels he has written over the years in collaboration with Larry Bond. Patrick has a passion for history and since setting out to write novels on his own, the author has made it a point to focus on historical fiction.

+Biography

Patrick Larkin has been writing since he was nine. The habit struck him almost out of nowhere. He knew he was meant to thrive in the publishing arena when he wrote a story in fourth grade and his teacher read it aloud to the rest of the class.

Like most kids, Patrick was pretty embarrassed by the occurrence. But he also found the whole experience rather exhilarating. Patrick knows the story wasn’t particularly impressive. But he couldn’t believe how excited the kids in his class got.

Patrick had all the classics in there, from knights to epic battles involving cavalry charges. He knew every button to push to get a reader his age enticed. A lot of the inspiration that drove Patrick Larkin at the time was rooted in his love for history.

The subject has fascinated Patrick for as long as he can remember. When he was three, Patrick couldn’t get enough of this one book filled with colored pictures of some of the greatest battles from history.

Patrick doesn’t know if that was what got him into military history. He does know that his parents worried whenever they found him organizing his toys in battle formations. Of course, by then it was too late to dissuade him from his passion. Patrick Larkin was set in his ways.

However, it wasn’t history that the author pursued when he attended the University of Chicago. Patrick graduated with a degree in English. Opportunities in the House of Representatives opened up for him and Patrick took a job on one particular committee as a researcher.

From there, the author dug deeper into the political arena, eventually becoming a speechwriter. Patrick Larkin got his foothold in the literary arena when he was asked to do a bit of writing for the roleplaying game Battletech.

The company behind the game wanted the author to fill out the game’s historical background. Patrick somewhat regrets his involvement with Battletech, mostly because of the flawed financial decisions he made at the time.

Patrick had a chance to take a percentage of the royalties as payment. But because he didn’t think Battletech would ever garner any notable popularity, he took a one-time payment that he believes is minuscule in comparison to the money he would have made if he had taken the royalty deal.

But Patrick cannot complain about his involvement with Battletech because it opened up many more opportunities for him. The company behind the game asked Patrick to answer a couple of questions about the history he had written for Battletech at a convention.

During the signing session, Patrick Larkin was invited to a join a gaming group in northern Virginia. Even though Patrick politely accepted the invitation, he had no real intention of showing up.

The idea of a member of the congressional staff attending a geeky gaming session at someone’s house sounded too ludicrous. Yet Patrick did show up that Saturday, to his own surprise.

An even bigger shock was learning that the house belonged to Larry Bond. Not only was Larry waiting inside but he was in the company of Tom Clancy. That was in 1985. ‘The Hunt for Red October’ had just come out and it was a big hit.

So Patrick Larkin was pretty star struck. Bond and Clancy were collaborating on a story at the time. Just two years later, Patrick’s own collaborative effort with Bond produced ‘Red Phoenix’. The book was a bestseller and it was all the encouragement Patrick needed to abandon speechwriting in favor of literary publishing.

‘Red Phoenix’ was just the start of Bond and Patrick’s collaborative efforts. They produced a few more thrillers before Patrick went off and wrote ‘The Tribune’, his first notable solo publishing effort.

The book has allowed Patrick to delve into his love for history, though the title and its sequels have been overshadowed by the author’s collaborative efforts with Robert Ludlum which has produced titles like ‘The Lazarus Vendetta’.

Patrick has been commended for his detailed exploration of history and his fast-paced battles. The author imputes his success to his extensive reading habit. The author reads a lot.

When he sets his mind on a time period, he doesn’t stop researching until he has read every textbook, diary and soldier’s memoir. He will dig into classical historical fiction and pick every historical brain he can find to better understand the historical setting about which he’s trying to write.

For Patrick Larkin, the more he knows about a historical setting, the more effective he will be in taking readers to that setting. And most readers agree that the author succeeds more times than he fails.

+The Tribune

Lucius Aurelius Valens was born in the wrong era. He has the sort of honor and thirst to serve that is sorely lacking in ancient Rome. So when he steps up and prevents corrupt officials from pursuing their nefarious goals, no one is surprised when his righteous acts see him marked for death.

The assignment to a cavalry regiment in Judea was meant to save Valens’ life. And Valens didn’t think he would have more to do than maintaining Rome’s peace in a land where his kind is heavily despised.

But then an ally of Tiberius was murdered and his Praetorian Guards massacred. Valens knows that Rome will seek violent reprisal and he will be the one to burn the nearest village of innocents down as a result.

So he makes it his mission to find those responsible for the massacre.

+Red Phoenix

This book takes readers to a turbulent time on a world stage where North Korea makes a play for South Korea. It begins with foreign agents infiltrating South Korea and instigating violent riots.

North Korea uses that opportunity to unleash a speedy invasion, using Soviet resources for support in its effort to recreate the United Korea of old.

The future of South Korea and the world at large is in the hands of a handful of brave American and South Korean men and women who stand against the North Korean invasion.