Customer Reviews

Terminal Event: A Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book is great as I knew it would be having read others from this author.
Ordered 02/09/2011. Received 03/14/2011 If you're Canadian like me, don't hold your breath waiting for your book - it does take a while to arrive.

ï¿Terminal Eventï¿ by James Stewart Thayer, Large Print, Beeler Large Print, Hampton Falls, NH, 2000.

This book opens with a horrific scene: former NTSB investigator, Joe Durant, is running towards an airplane crash and encountering parts of human bodies. As a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator, Durant has seen many crashes, but this one is different: he knows that his wife was on Emerald Airlines plane calledï¿ Sacajaweaï¿.

Author James Thayer then develops three major plot lines in the investigation into the cause(s) of the crash and each plot line depends upon the kind of people, the characters, involved. The first centers on Joe Durant, the NTSB engineer, who develops an engineering theory based upon improper design or, perhaps, incorrect maintenance. The second revolves around the FBI and ATF agents, who scour the Northwest part of the Untied States for skinhead groups who are anti-government enough to shoot down commercial airliners. The third plot line introduces a Saudi Arabian prince, in the United States for treatment of alcoholism. His presence on the crashed plane is ascertained from identification of those attending funerals and memorial services, and determining why those individuals would be at these events. All three plots compete and it seems, to the reader, that each competing cause is plausible: engineering failure, or terrorist attacks or assassination of the Saudi. But then, not to give away the surprise ending, the main protagonist , Joe Durant, discovers the one important clue that leads to the actual killer.

The discussion of technology is appropriate to this type of mystery, and the hint of romance, with the hotshot FBI agent, Linda Dillon, serves to lighten the book. Author James Thayer does know the Northwest part of the country. Read the book to find out ï¿who dun itï¿.

This book was gripping from the start. Thayer does a great job at detailing crash sites and the remarkable actions of the NTSB. The relationship with the female FBI agent adds an interesting dimension, without the typical tacked on love story feel, and certainly without the expected happy ending.

It is an easy read, and I was also baffled by the nearly complete inaccuracy of the description on the back cover (there is never any suggestion of pilot error). However, if you can put aside the expectations of the story his publisher is advertising, this really is a great story.

There are some books --The Name of the Rose comes to mind-- which absolutely drench you in arcane detail. A page is fascinating. A chapter is interesting. An entire book leaves you comatose. Other books --pick almost any one of today's "adventure writers"-- are full of action but feature characters who seemingly are taken off a shelf somewhere, like Campbell's Soup. And then there are the books full of character... well, you presume they are, but since nothing ever happens you can't be sure.

Thayer's "Terminal Event" finds a wonderful balance among those three elements. The action is compelling, the technicalities interesting and germane, and his characters are appealing and real.

Joe Durant, his daughter, Wayne Ray, the FBI agents --they are all well-drawn and each advances the story line. Linda Dillon, arguably the central character, even if the book is told from Durant's point of view, is fascinating but, frankly, is a bit much. The only reason I didn't rate this book 5 stars was her over-the-top assaults on credibility (to say nothing of civil rights) while arresting Fahey and Dietz or disrupting the shipping carrier's offices.

Still, even Linda Dillon is a refreshing change, for all her ramboism: here is someone in a story who actually has morals, beliefs and prejuidices, and acts on them... we could watch one million Hollywood movies and never see anything like it.

There are a couple of irritating editorial lapses --for example, when Joe Durant interviews the "Lady in the Hat" in her limousine, she's described as wearing a pants suit, but in the next paragraph she's adjusting her hemline-- but those are minor.

The relationship between Durant and Linda Dillon is particularly well handled --a growing, believable intimacy, but with the clear understanding that there's a line which can't be crossed, not because the author chooses not to but because the character won't allow it.

This book made me want to read more of Thayer --a rarity these days, believe me-- and I recommend it to all of you. I'd be interested in hearing from others who've read it.

FJB

The impression from the description on the back of the book is of a fast paced search for answers; bomber threatening to strike again in ten days, obsessive search for clues. This book had none of that.

My biggest problem with the book was the complete lack of a sense of time. They have ten days to figure out who the bomber is yet events that take place in the book are frequently those which would take much longer (ie: the owner of the airline selling his house to make payroll? in less than a week? and his having to move out immediately?). In fact, I thought that whole plot point was forgotten about until late in the book when it's noted the deadline was the next day....

Have read all of Mr. Thayer's books and I sincerely consider that he has become a great writer. He might have given you an impression that he's only a two-dimensional writer before his "White Star," but definitely not afterwards. Now he's a multi-dimensional and a more interesting writer. I appreated his in-depth research for his books, and it has really taught me a lot by reading his books. His books still got some inevitable flaws but those could be and would be improved if his editor(s) knew where to cut (less, mostly) or add more (not so often needed), especially in the middle of all his books. But all in all, Mr. Thayer is an endearing writer to me.

I loved this book! I delayed making dinner so I could finish a few more chapters. Also, I disagree with Larry about the descriptions of the topography. I enjoyed them. I felt like I was there. In my mind's eye I could see the terrain and the conditions under which the investigators were operating. An enjoyable read!

After reading the reviews,I almost quit reading this book after just a few pages. I was glad I finished it. Maybe the terminalogy wasn't perfect, but it didn't make a difference to me. I enjoyed the trails that were taken to find the cause of the plane crash and where they ended up. The hero and his daughter were real to me and I suffered with them. I'm really glad I wasn't swayed by some of the reviews!

Most reviews concentrate on the plot and character development. I believe this has been adequately covered by other reviewers. I want to point out that the typography in this tome is excruciating. There are no spaces after periods so that the whole thing reads like one run-on sentence. My wife gave up reading it after only a dozen pages. I finished the book, but I couldn't read it straight through the way I usually read a suspense novel, because I was fighting to find the ends of sentences all the way. I find it hard to believe that a reputable publisher would inflict this on readers.

Why did I read this book? I have at least a dozen waiting to be read on my bookshelf that have got to be better written and more interesting. As I reached the last 15 pages, where the mystery was to be revealed, I realized that the explanation was as likely to be as uninteresting as the many false leads that lead up to it were. I skimmed through the last few pages to make sure I was right. I was.

I thought that the book would be interesting, as it deals with an NTSB investigator, the folks that investigate plane crashes. The details about how they work were interesting, but I am not sure how accurate they are. At the beginning of the book, where a little bit about air traffic control is mentioned, the general picture is right, but details are wrong and terminology is used incorrectly. I am left wondering if the information about the NTSB is similarly sloppy.

The other reasons to read a detective story, engaging plot and interesting characters are entirely absent. The plot involves a sequence of stereotypical "bad guys" that come under scrutiny by the FBI. The characters, including the main character, are similarly flat and simple. Although the NTSB hero has lost his wife in the crash, and at moments maudlin sentiments are trotted out, for most of the book he is a guy thoughroughly enjoying his job and tagging along after the FBI as they engage in Friday night TV type escapades.

If you want good reading, look elsewhere. If you want to learn about the NTSB, look elsewhere. I can't think of a reason to recommend this book.