Two thousand years ago, ancient Sparta developed a training system called the Agoge that produced the fiercest warriors the world had ever seen. It was said that one Spartan soldier was the equal to four enemy soldiers, and Sparta's system was the envy of the known world.
Can't get around the facts. I'm a lethal government operative, trained from an early age. Guns, planes, hands-didn't matter, I'm proficient with them all. I'm irrationally drawn to Raisa Sokolov, a beautiful, mysterious Russian woman thrust into my life through a bizarre set of circumstances. Thirdly, certain experiences haunted me more than Moby Dick vexed Ahab. Could I function effectively in light of everything I'd seen and done? Should I take the CIA's warnings about Raisa seriously?
Fast forward to April 1967. The United States was in crisis, younger generations revolting after years of war in Southeast Asia. A desperate President Johnson signs off on a program designed to find the best and brightest among America's youth, children who could be taught from an early age to embrace devotion to the country. A program that eerily resembled that of Sparta's.
Seven-year-old Damon Harker, who possesses extraordinary mental and physical skills, is among those chosen. His parents grudgingly give permission for Damon to enter this new "educational enhancement" program, ignorant of its military bent. Damon is forced to lie to them about what he is really doing, which tears at his psyche.
As Damon grows he and his fellow "Spartans" are pushed into hostile environments as their handlers test them to gauge the effectiveness of the training. Damon's military prowess is called upon again and again, his skills and intelligence enabling he and his team of covert operatives to complete seemingly impossible missions. But are his handlers treating him more like a machine than a person, downplaying the psychological toll these operations are taking on a young boy / man?
While dealing with past memories, Damon must confront a monstrous evil in his hometown, where he meets the beautiful, mysterious Raisa Sokolov, seven years his senior. He engages soldiers of the shadowy Lashkar Legion, suffering grievous injuries in the process. Raisa is tasked with helping nurse him back to health, but can she be trusted, or is she not exactly what she seems? The CIA harbors many suspicions about her, but is mercurial CIA officer Steve Tolliver a friend or foe?
ROBERT A. TAYLER was born and raised in the Midwest. He graduated from Indiana University with a minor in History, including military history. He began writing military fiction shortly thereafter, and The Spartan Initiative is his second completed work. He resides in central Indiana where he continues to write.
