Outlaw 
Book Review: Outlaw (Battle Born #2) by Jack Stewart
Narrated by Ray Porter Rating: 5/5 Stars
If you are looking for a military thriller that hits the ground running at Mach 2 and refuses to slow down, Jack Stewart’s Outlaw delivers on every front. The second installment in the Battle Born series masterfully escalates global stakes while keeping the action grounded in blistering tactical realism.
The Narrative: A High-Stakes Global Tightrope
The plot functions like a perfectly timed sequence of explosive charges. What starts as a high-stakes Navy SEAL rescue mission in China to recover a missing CIA case officer rapidly spirals into a multi-theater nightmare. Stewart does an exceptional job of intertwining high-altitude dogfights with granular, boots-on-the-ground tension when a devastating bioweapon enters the equation.
The introduction of the bioweapon targeting Colt Bancroft’s own aircraft carrier changes the geometry of the entire plot. It transforms the book from a standard military rescue mission into an existential race against a global catastrophe.
Characters and Chemistry
TOPGUN pilot Colt Bancroft remains a phenomenal protagonist—capable, sharp, and carrying the unique brand of grit required of a supersonic fighter pilot. Pairing him with NCIS Agent Emmy King is where the book’s human element shines. King is highly intelligent, driven, and brings a personal vendetta to the table that adds a layer of emotional weight to the tactical maneuvering. Their chemistry provides a grounded anchor to a plot that spans continents and threatens a third world war.
The Audio Production: Ray Porter Delivers a Masterclass
While Stewart’s writing is sharp and technically precise, Ray Porter’s narration elevates this audiobook into an absolute powerhouse. Porter proves once again why he is one of the premier voices in the thriller genre.
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Pacing & Tension: Porter understands the cadence of a thriller. He knows exactly when to accelerate his delivery during an FA-18E Super Hornet dogfight to make your chest tighten, and when to drop into a calculated, measured tone during tense diplomatic or tactical standoffs.
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Character Distinction: His ability to pivot between the distinct voices of hardened military operators, intelligence officers, and foreign adversaries keeps the listener fully immersed without a single moment of confusion.
Final Verdict
Outlaw is a brilliant combination of technical authenticity, relentless pacing, and stellar character work. For fans of military fiction and suspense, it checks every single box. Ray Porter’s narration turns a fantastic script into an unforgettable audio experience.
With the stakes left echoing at the end of book two, continuing the Battle Born series isn’t just a recommendation—it’s a necessity.
I have the deepest, most profound respect for Robin Williams. I wish it were more widely known, while he was still living, what a decent, caring, sympathetic person Robin Williams was. I just finished watching the documentary “Robin’s Wish” (available to stream on Plex and Tubi) and learned that the cause of death in the coroner’s report was not “suicide by hanging” but rather “Diffuse Lewy Body dementia.“ Robin Williams was at the mercy of a disease that he could not control and that he did not even know he had. His disease took control of his brain and his actions at the end. He knew something was wrong with his brain, and yet brain scans in 2013 and 2014 revealed nothing.
The devastation to Robin Williams’ brain was one of the worst cases medical professionals had ever seen. When I saw words like alpha-synuclein proteinopathy found in the substantia nigra and occipital cortex, insular cortex, temporal cortex; these are the very same protein pathologies and regions of the brain that I describe in my 2026 journal articles. How could they go undetected until his autopsy?
Robin Williams’ Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) went undetected on brain scans in 2013 and 2014 because standard structural imaging (like structural MRIs or CT scans) generally look for visible tumors, strokes, or major atrophy, rather than the microscopic protein deposits that cause LBD.
The specific limitations of medical technology and the nature of the disease at the time included:
Microscopic Pathology: LBD is caused by a microscopic buildup of abnormal proteins, known as Lewy bodies, inside the brain’s nerve cells. These deposits alter brain chemistry and circuitry rather than causing large-scale structural damage. Because the changes are at the cellular level, they are invisible on standard structural scans.
No Diagnostic Biomarker: During his life, there were no specific, widely accepted blood tests, spinal taps, or highly accurate brain-imaging biomarkers available to detect LBD. A definitive diagnosis could only be confirmed post-mortem through a brain autopsy.
Symptom Mimicry: LBD symptoms—which include severe anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, and sleep disturbances—are widespread and strongly mimic Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and psychiatric disorders. Williams was initially diagnosed with and treated for Parkinson’s disease, as he suffered from physical symptoms like a shuffling gait and tremors.
Symptom Fluctuation: The cognitive and psychiatric symptoms of LBD can come and go. Because a patient can seem entirely lucid for periods and can “pull themselves together,” medical professionals often misattribute the initial cognitive lapses to stress, fatigue, or depression rather than an irreversible neurodegenerative disease.
Ultimately, pathologists discovered during his autopsy that Williams had one of the most severe and diffuse cases of LBD they had ever seen.