David Rollins Books In Order

Publication Order of Tom Wilkes Books

Publication Order of Vin Cooper Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Sydney based author David Rollins is a popular writer of military thriller and espionage novels. With a number of books set around the various exploits of fictional special-agent Vin Cooper, he’s become well known for creating intricately researched and interwoven narratives.

Early and Personal Life

Born in July on the 30th, 1958, David Rollins initially hoped to get himself a job in the military either flying helicopters or fighter-planes. This wasn’t to be though and his dreams of flying had to be put to one-side after he was rejected. He accepted this though due to his aversion to authority as he also credits it for the career path he took instead leading to him becoming an author. After working for a while in publishing driving various vehicles for magazines, he gained himself some qualifications in journalism.

All this soon led to a career in advertising becoming a copywriter as he furthered his own writing skills. It was only when he had what he described as a ‘mid-life crisis’ that he turned to writing his first novel. Taking some time out from advertising allowed him to finish his book as he found his initial inspiration in the 1999 Australian invasion of East Timor. During this time he also learned how to fly aerobatics, thus providing him with further inspiration needed for his novels. Now living in Sydney, he continues to write whilst being married with three children. Not only this, but he’s also managed to keep flying as well.

Writing Career

With over nine books published now, David Rollins has had a successful writing career which will continue to progress and move forwards. His first book, Rogue Element, was published in 2002 and was praised by critics for its attention to detail and realism. This featured Sergeant Tom Wilkes and was to form the basis of much of his future work being that of high-tech espionage along with those in the secret-service. This success was shortly followed up in 2003 with ‘Sword of Allah’ which featured Tom Wilkes once again in the lead role.

It was in 2005 though that his signature character of Vin Cooper arrived in the novel ‘The Death Trust’. A special-agent once again, this was the protagonist who came to define much of Rollins writing career. Now an adept hand at political thrillers, David Rollins was to bring the exploits of Vin Cooper to life over a succession of six books, the most recent being ‘Standoff’ which was released in 2013. During this time he also wrote ‘The Zero Option’ which was published in 2009 featuring a political conspiracy as well as many of his other trademark themes.

With critical acclaim and positive reviews, Rollins continues to write in his Sydney home. Known for researching his work thoroughly, he always makes sure to speak to those involved with his material, such as military officials and the police. For ‘The Zero Option’ he featured a real-life incident from 1983 that involved cold war politics, and this saw him speaking to a number of officials involved in the original case who filled him in on the details. This has led to his work becoming far more defined and intricate in both its approach and style.

Rogue Element

The first book of David Rollins, this introduced its readers to the fast-paced world of Tom Wilkes in a story of espionage and intrigue. Joe Light is a retired computer hacker who’s taking a first class trip abroad to London. Meanwhile there’s an electronic intruder detected breaking into the National Security Agency network in the Hawaii office, and all from a government network. After a plane crash occurs when an explosion takes place on a 747, Joe Light finds himself plummeting alongside his fellow passengers. The mystery happens though once the wreckage of the plane isn’t to be found, with Indonesia disavowing all knowledge of it. It is only when the Australian Secret Intelligence Service find out that it wasn’t accidental and there are survivors that they become involved.

Enter sergeant Tom Wilkes onto the scene. It is up to him to find out more and discover the truth behind what happened in the plane crash. Taking a team through the jungles of Indonesia, he leads his operatives as they help him on his mission, but in doing so they also need to evade capture whilst avoiding a potential all out war. Can they manage to avert conflict whilst getting themselves and the survivors back to safety? Will they bring light to the truth behind the mystery? This was the book that was to build the foundations of much of the career of David Rollins.

The Death Trust

Setting the scene for special-agent Vin Cooper, this book marked a new foray into the world of espionage for David Rollins. Found to be an unruly yet reliable agent, Cooper is both a blessing and a curse for his commanding officers. It is after a bad battle and an ugly divorce that Cooper finds himself teamed up special agent Anna Masters. Their first case is to be the crash of seemingly suspicious glider that went down somewhere over the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It was suspicious as it killed the commanding officer of the base in question who was also a four-star general.

To add to the mystery a U.S. Army sergeant is killed in Iraq by a sniper and he just happens to be the son of the four-star general killed in the glider crash. This then leads to a conspiracy as seen through the eyes of Cooper who offers a humorous yet cynical take to the proceedings which lead all the way up to The White House. Going though Baghdad’s war-torn streets and the Latvian sex-trade, it depicts a tangled web of lies and deceit as Cooper tries to take his mind of his marital problems. Will they uncover the nefarious plot in time and get to the truth? Can Cooper keep it all together in the process as he and Masters work side-by-side as the book progresses? This is the novel that allowed David Rollins to set up many of his themes, thus creating the character of Vin Cooper that readers still enjoy today.

One Response to “David Rollins”

1. Greg Dixon: 3 years ago

   David, it’s been three long years… is Vin coming back?

   Regards,
   Greg

   Reply