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3.0 out of 5 stars
It was okay..., July 19 2004
By A Customer
I'm going to have to disagree with some of the reviewers that have written previously. You know, going into this book, I didn't have extremely high hopes (I hardly ever do), but I like to read reviews of a book before I spend a week or so of my valuable off-work time reading it. I saw all the good reviews and decided to give this one a shot... and I have to say it was... eh. I was more than a little disappointed because usually the reviews here are right on the money if you look at the average. I consider myself a pretty avid reader. I've read most everything Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Lee Child, and Daniel Silva have to offer... as well as a lot of Stephen King, and various other authors that I can't even remember right now as I'm sitting here. I'm not that hard to please as long as the story is decent, characters are somewhat believable, or if they're not believable at least their actions are in the context of who they are. I LOVE a good story, no matter what genre. That being said, the premise was cool... the action was pretty well choreographed... and I liked the bad guys getting it in the end. What about the story in between ? Well... for starters, the dialogue was very subpar considering who Thor is being compared to. I've always thought that it wasn't an actor that won the Oscar, it was the director behind the actor that won the actor the Oscar. I think also, that a good editor should have caught most of the trite dialogue that can sound good to the author at the time, but should come up after a couple of revisions. Scot Harvath, at least for most of the first half of the book, comes off a lot of the time as a petulent child. I mean how many times does he insist on getting up and getting after the bad guys after being injured in the avalanche ? It's like "I get it Mr. Thor !! He's dedicated and wants to get out of bed !! Ok ? Can we move on ?" His actions and dialogue seemed like a 8 year old who's just been told by his mommy he can't go out and play with little Jimmy Jones down the street. And let's not get started on his actions in the case. Breaking the rules is one thing, but being a Navy SEAL does not make you an expert investigator. Nothing in the plot line suggested even remotely that the FBI investigators were inept and couldn't handle things themselves. Again, I was reminded of a child being told he can't do something and then doing it anyway just because he can. I found myself sympathizing with the investigators who were just trying to do their job and Harvath being a total jerk along the way... contaminating crime scenes... stealing evidence, etc. I admit, I grew to like him more and more along the way, but I couldn't get over my first impressions of him. He reminded me of a SEAL that I've seen many times before named Scott Helvenston who recently died in Iraq as private security personnel. Extremely talented, but what a complete jerk. (Remember the show "Combat Missions"?) It seemed there were a few themes going through the story. "Everybody hates the FBI and they're a bunch of goofballs except the ones that are Harvath's friends"... "Nobody understands despite overwhelming proof otherwise what is happening except Harvath, the only one without extensive investigative training"... and "Harvath is a dedicated ex-Navy SEAL who is a top of the line Secret Service agent who has superhuman instincts and senses that he got from his SEAL days. Did we mention he was a SEAL ?" There were little things here and there that bothered me... such as Harvath and Claudia only bringing ONE magazine a piece for their firearms to a potential gunfight. Also the bit about bringing a toy Airsoft gun along to intercept some bad guys. Inventive, yes, and I understand why... but extremely stupid and unprofessional. And I thought it odd how the "most notorious team of professional killers the world has ever known" according to the jacket cover... could miss EVERY SINGLE TIME they shot at Harvath and Claudia when they were standing completely still. One time, maybe... but every single time ??... well except for the flesh wound he got in his arm when he was running. Make Harvath run ! Because you're not going to get him if he's standing still ! He must have learned that skill in the SEALs. This along with the other "themes" I mentioned are beat into your head time and time again. I don't mind melodrama. Hey, The Bourne Identity is one of my favorite books ever... and at one point I thought I'd had enough of the "I'm Jason Bourne. No, I'm David Webb. No, I'm Michael Jansen. No wait. Wrong novel" type stuff. But the story was wonderful and original and the dialogue was at least passable. I was disappointed because of what this book could and should have been. Better than Clancy or Ludlum ?? Are you nuts ?? If you like the tough guy who beats up and/or kills all the bad guys in a satisfying fashion type book, read Lee Child. Start with "Killing Floor" and work your way up. There's none better. I gave this one 3 stars because the action was good, and the premise was pretty original. The storytelling is what made it suffer. All the emotion felt dry and forced. Not a bad first try, but let's hope for better in the future. As for Harvath, Bourne or Reacher he is not... but did I mention that Harvath was a Navy SEAL ?
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