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Literature & Fiction |
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Blowback: A Thriller
written by Brad Thor
Studio : Pocket
by Pocket
Publisher : Pocket
Released : 2006-05-23
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781416505419
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 51 reviews)
List Price : $7.99
Our Price : $4.05
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Product Description |
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Scot Harvath's counterterrorism career has just crashed and burned -- thanks in part to a ruthless senator with her sights set on the White House. But when the war on terror takes a chilling turn, the president has no choice but to secretly bring Harvath back inside. Deep beneath an Alpine glacier, an ancient weapon designed to decimate the Roman Empire has been unearthed -- and a shadowy organization intends to use it for America's downfall. Racing across Europe, Harvath must secure the ultimate instrument of destruction before it brings the United States and the rest of the world to its knees. |
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Good read, Timely and full of action. |
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Good book with lots of action involving real time events and social issues. Keeps the reader reading late in the night. |
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Way Too Much |
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A littl too much over the top for me. This guy is too unbelievable! |
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Caricatures instead of characters |
I picked up this book because I usually enjoy thrillers - especially political and legal. I wish I'd paid more attention to the negative reviews. In my opinion, this is a pale imitation of the Baldacci, Ludlum, Follett, Forsyth etc. I've enjoyed in the past. The few chapters I've read thus far are formulaic (at best) and the characters are so over-the-top that they read like a Saturday Night Live parody. I don't think I'm going to waste my time finishing the book.
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Ingenious plot |
Having read several of Thor's novels, I think this is his best one to date (May 2008). The back drop for the story is Hannibal's crossing the Alps to attack the Roman Empire, and a book called the Arthashastra (which is actually a 15 volume Indian treaties on government written by Chandragupta Maurya around 300 BC).
Thor weaves an imaginative and interesting story with several surprises for the reader. The plot is based upon a fanatical Islamists, Akrep, who wants to bring back the caliphate, with a few hidden caveats. But to do so, Akrep needs a suitable man to be caliph, and he needs to find Hannibal's secret weapon, an ancient biological weapon mentioned in the Arthashastra. Oh yes, the Great Satan must be destroyed, along with a few hundred million kafirs in other places. Only pure Muslims can remain--but who exactly is a "pure Muslims?" How can Allah protect the pure Muslim? Thor comes up with an interesting solution. The method to be used to dispense the agent is unique and plausible. Hannibal's biological weapon is mostly fiction, but similar bio-agents were developed and stockpiled by the Soviet Union, and terrorists could find one of these.
Scot Harvath, the protagnists, with the aid of a beautiful scientists, Jillian Alcott, unwind the sinister plot. Ancient weapons, modern technology, political intrigue--including a woman senator who will stop at nothing to become the next president--some insights on Islam and its internal conflicts, and what goes on in Saudi Arabia, add flesh to the bones of the story.
As the author of the first two novels of a trilogy with a somewhat similar theme, I found Thor's book to be fascinating, and in most cases accurate. Like all fiction authors, he took some liberties, but overall BLOWBACK is believable, educates the reader in several areas, and is a great read.
I am looking forward to reading Thor's next novel, The Last Patriot: A Thriller.
Lee Boyland, author of the Clash-of-Civilizations trilogy: The Rings of Allah and Behold, an Ashen Horse. |
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Professional By-the-Book Book Writing, A Read and Leave on the Plane Book |
It's all very professional but very much by the numbers and following some how-to-write-a-book template. It's worth a skim on a plane as a time-killer but beyond that - not very much.
The author tries to pull off emulating Tom Clancy, Daniel Silva & of course Dan Brown but is unconvincing. From Tom Clancy, he uses policy & intelligence-gathering wonk as his foundation but unlike Tom Clancy who manages to give you real insight in what feels like secrets (whether they are or not) and technology in driving the story, Brad Thor's delivery style is never quite convincing that he and his characters knows more than the reader.
This book is also filled with weakly defined characters (as no traits are revealed in the story-telling, just what he spells out for us) and some How-to-write-a-thriller class or book that says to be more deeply involved, we must have disturning backstories as motivation for the characters so we get them randomly shoe-horned with zero payoff. The inept dialogue between characters is never convincing because it's not dialogue but exposition.
The character travels around the world but you never get a feel they are anywhere other than inserting a random comment from a travel book.
The undelying premise is intriguing (while a stretch, but acceptable) and crosses into Dan Brown territory but is strangely buried after until about 80 pages into the story - mainly because the author is so convinced we want to read about DC politics and he wants his character to be a lone wolf against all odds "with no backup." but it seems there are less dull ways to set that up. The premise and the concepts are fine, they just need to be organized by a better editor and not be sidetracked by the author's bigger interest in DC politics.
So, if you want more convincing wonk & intel details, read Clancy. If you want spy stores that are fully fleshed with real characters and simply better writing, read Daniel Silva or to a lesser extent, Barry Eisler ... and he's certainly no Dan Brown when it comes to mixing sci-mystery into intrigue ... it's all very professional by the numbers but ultimately instantly forgettable. |
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