- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Recorded Books; Unabridged edition (August 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1402516142
- ISBN-13: 978-1402516146
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 12.7 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Humdrum company would be a more accurate title. This sequel to Higgins's last, ripsnorting yarn, Midnight Runner, is mostly a by-the-numbers effort, though the numbers do speed by. The novel, the author's 35th, begins promisingly, playing to Higgins's greatest strength, WWII action. Young Baron Max von Berger, entrusted by Hitler during the last days of the Third Reich with his diary as well as the key to a vast fortune in Swiss banks, makes a daring and exciting escape from the Fhrerbunker. But once the narrative leaps toward the present, it begins to flag, with a second setup (including a nifty Saddam cameo) explaining why and how the baron inherits the wealth and power of the Rashid family, the Arab oil kingpins destroyed by Higgins's customary antihero, Sean Dillon, in the last book. Problematic is Higgins's use of von Berger and his thuggish son as villains here; they lack the evil charisma of the Rashids. To avenge the death of the Rashids, von Berger targets Dillon and his master, British black ops commander Gen. Charles Ferguson, who fights back with the help of the usual crew of "hard" men, including computer whiz Major Roper, White House black ops chief Blake Johnson, London tough guys Harry and Billy Salter, et al. Matters pick up a bit when von Berger's son kidnaps General Ferguson to Germany, but Dillon's rescue attempt whips by much too quickly, as if Higgins were hurrying to finish this book and get on to number 36. The author's fans will find enough gnarly action and sentiment here to make them anticipate his next, but this entry is sub par and the series as a whole could use a kick in the spine.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Higgins' classic novel of World War II espionage, The Eagle Has Landed (1975), was the thriller that brought him fame--and probably fortune. Bad Company, his thirty-fifth novel, also deals with WWII. As the war is drawing to a close in 1945, Hitler gives his diary to an aide for safekeeping. The diary contains an account of a meeting between representatives of Hitler and President Roosevelt at which they discussed ways to negotiate a peace treaty and then to attack Russia. The aide, Max von Berger, is now (in 2003) a billionaire industrialist and a silent partner with an international crime family. Seeking revenge for a killing, Berger vows to reveal the diary's secret that would destroy the current U.S. president. It's up to an American and a British agent to get the diary before it falls into the hands of the president's enemies. Like other Higgins' novels, the locales in this one are worldwide and include London, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, the U.S., and Iraq. (Yes, Saddam Hussein is one of the many characters.) Both the good guys and bad guys talk tough and smoke and drink a lot--Bushmills Irish whiskey, champagne, and schnapps are among their favorites. By a master of espionage novels, and certain to be requested at the circulation desk. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Higgins, you can do better!,
By
This review is from: Bad Company (Mass Market Paperback)
I have been a long-time Higgins fan. His books, as stated by another poster, are all over the place in quality. When Higgins is "On" he's like lightning. When he's cold, he's like a limp fish. This one is a limp fish. I couldn't even finish the book. Got about 25 pages from the end and just gave up on it. Parts of the book are just down-right hokey; as when he talks about hacking computers...like anyone can hack into the most sensitive files in a computer. He also sprays the book with his usual, and now just old and over-used phrases.If you want good Higgins read "The Valhalla Exchange" or if you want great Higgins, read "Solo" or "The Eagle has Landed". Solo is a killer book...I read it in one day.
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Appropriate Title for this Book!,
By
This review is from: Bad Company (Mass Market Paperback)
It has been a while since I have read Higgins and I realize I have not missed him. I loved his earlier works, but this was pretty boring. It starts with promise, tracking a S.S. Officer who is entrusted with Hitler's secret diary. This fact amounts to basically nothing and we follow his career to current day where he has become a business tycoon. He finds himself at odds with Sean Dillon and the rest of the plot was like watching paint dry. And as Forest Gump said, "That's all I've got to say about that". If you want WWII related plots, read "Black Cross" by Greg Iles or "Sands of Sakharra" by Glenn Meade.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Aptly named - especially the 'Bad' part,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bad Company (Hardcover)
This has to be one of the worst books I've read in recent history. I was new to Higgins but figured, how could a guy that's written 35 novels be that bad?Oh, how wrong I was. I should have known when Higgins' dust-jacket bio described him as being a multi-millionaire. Who puts that in their bio? Things got worse from there. The plot jumped from WWII to Saddam-era Baghdad to current times with alacrity. A major plot twist is revealed in the span of a page. It's done so quickly that it seems like a convenient way for Higgins, his editor or the publishing company to avoid a whole messy chapter explaining what could have been one of the more exciting parts of the book. The final 'battle' is over so quickly that the reader is left wondering what the heck just happened. And so much of the story relies on amazing coincidences, exceptionally good timing and plain old luck, that it wears thin in short order. I have one thing to say to Higgins' publishing house: BAD company! BAD! You're a naughty company! Do NOT publish any more of this drivel.
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